Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

This Hindu temple is in northwest London in Neasden, a little away from the tourist routes, even so more than 5 million visitors have passed through the temple since it was built in the late nineties, making it a frontline local attraction. The building was built to accommodate London's growing Hindu population, just in west London there are almost 100,000 Hindus, and it's the largest active temple outside India, though unlike Indian temples this Madir has walls that provide shelter from English climate, heated floors and is accessible to people with disabilities. It's open to people of all faiths and even agnostics, and if you visit coincides with a celebration you can enjoy the colorful rites and perhaps can be forgiven for thinking you have moved to the Indian subcontinent for a while.

The Hindu Temple of Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is a perfect illustration of multi-ethnic London. The building is beautiful: built between 1992 and 1995, the Mandir is in fact the largest Hindu temple outside India. Everything has been built according to tradition: the construction temple followed the sacred texts of the "Shilpa Shastras" which govern the architectural rules of religious monuments. Marble and limestone was cut by some 1,500 workers before being imported to England, where it was assembled. The stone work is amazing: the main hall is full of arches, vaults and porches, carved into hundreds of thousands of details.