Palitana, Gujarat, India

At Palitana, some 860 Jain temples grace the top of a lonely, rocky hill in the middle of nowhere; mostly small but beautifully carved, some date back almost a thousand years. To see them, you must climb over 3,000 steps from the base to the top of the mountain (there's this idea in India that temples have greater powers if you have to expend a great deal of effort to reach them). Pilgrims start the climb around 4 AM, reaching the summit before sunrise, so we were the only fools going up in the blazing sun of the afternoon. The benefit was that there was hardly a soul up there and we had the still, beautifully haunting space to ourselves.      [ - Usha Alexander, Apr 06]

A modern temple (more)	The ascent to Shatrunjaya	Doli (more)	Palitana from above (more)
Shatrunjaya hill (1, 2)			Jain temple portico
Sculpture at the entrance			Sea of domes and spires
Jain temples (more)	Jain temples	Jain temples	Jain temples (more)
Gateway to more temples			Average temple detail
Marble tops			Densely packed temples
Temple details	A temple entrance	Skinny Ganesh having fun	Temple details
Main temple	Main temple	Main temple	Main temple
Musician	Portico	Main temple (more)	Shiva
Carved in stone	Carved in stone	Carved in stone	Carved in stone
Another temple	Female archer	Dancer	Decking up / writing a letter
Sculpture	Musicians	Mother and child	The neighboring hill (more)