The 10 greatest temples and shrines we can send you to, from the oldest stone halls on the Nile to the gilded chapel of Thailand's kings, and the city guide that gets you there.
We ranked these ten by the site itself: its age, its scale and how much of it survives, with the tiebreak going to the one that is still a working place of worship. Eight of the ten still are, so go early, dress for it and leave shoes at the door.
Some two thousand years of building, mostly to the god Amun, begun under Senusret I in the Middle Kingdom and still being added to by the Ptolemies. The Great Hypostyle Hall alone holds 134 columns; come at opening, before the Nile cruise groups.
The largest religious structure ever built, on 162.6 hectares, raised for Vishnu by Suryavarman II in the early 12th century and Buddhist since the 13th. Monks still tend its shrines; buy the pass only from the official Angkor Enterprise office.
A 9th-century Buddhist mountain of stone with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddhas, buried under ash for centuries and restored with UNESCO from 1975 to 1982. Climbing the terraces is capped by daily quota, so book the upper-level ticket ahead.
Raised by King Dutugamunu around 140 BC and still one of the most revered stupas in Sri Lanka. Its white dome, restored in the 20th century, stands about 103m; come at dusk, when pilgrims in white walk round it with flowers.
The one temple in Hampi's ruined Vijayanagara capital that never stopped working, with worship traced to the 7th century. Its nine-tier east gateway rises about 50m over the old bazaar street; go for the morning puja.
One of the largest stupas in the world, its dome about 36m high, at the heart of Nepal's Tibetan Buddhist community. Restored after the 2015 earthquake and reopened in November 2016; walk the kora clockwise at dusk with the butter lamps lit.
Head shrine of Japan's more than 30,000 Inari shrines, founded in 711, before Kyoto was the capital. Around 10,000 torii climb Mount Inari; the tunnels empty out past the Yotsutsuji crossroads, about halfway up.
Home of the Buddha's tooth relic since 1595, and the reason Kandy is a UNESCO site. The relic stays hidden in its caskets, but the dawn, noon and evening rituals are open to all; the Esala Perahera parades it each July or August.
Built under King Setthathirath in 1559 and 1560, and one of the few temples in Luang Prabang spared in the 1887 sack. The sweeping Lao roofs are the draw, and the glass Tree of Life mosaic on the rear wall is worth walking round for.
The royal chapel inside the Grand Palace, built in 1782 when Bangkok became the capital, and home of the Emerald Buddha. The youngest site here and the best kept; the dress code is enforced at the gate, so cover shoulders and knees.
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