As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my goal this year is to explore beyond the confines of intown Atlanta. My last venture was south to Griffin, Georgia, so yesterday I made my way just north of the city to Lilburn where the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is located.

As you can see from the photos, the building is majestic. It’s a Hindu temple that was completed in 2007. A total of 1.3 million volunteer hours were put towards sculpting this place of worship. I use the word “sculpting” literally because there are over 34,000 intricate pieces that were hand-sculpted into the Turkish limestone, Italian marble and Indian pink sandstone that were used to construct the temple.

Photos are not allowed beyond the main stairway that leads into the temple, so I don’t have any close images of the temple. However, photos do this building zero justice. And as beautiful as the exterior appears, the interior is even more breathtaking.

The Mandir is free to visit and opens daily during the times listed on its website.  The Mandir is an active place of worship, so I recommend reading the visitor information before visiting. Enjoy.