BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

It's the sort of undertaking that requires faith or a lot of chutzpah. Build the largest Hindu temple outside India, in the finest materials, using master craftsmen with ancient skills rarely found outside the diaspora. Ask unpaid, untrained members of the community to give up their time to work on the site. Building BAPS costs more than £10 million, with no government aid. And it was finished within three years. The Great Pyramid of Giza took 100,000 workers 20 years to assemble its 2.3 million stones, but the Swaminarayan Hindu Temple, also known as Neasden Temple, can stand shoulder to shoulder with it.

Inside, the Mandir is a space of almost blinding whiteness and purity. Every vertical surface is carved with stories from the scriptures (Veda) and lacy motifs. A forest of pillars fills the floor and above them soars the central dome, stepping up in wedding-cake tiers towards the two-and-a-half tonne keystone which drips downwards like a glorious stone chandelier. It is a labor of love and a work of art. Anyone is welcome to look around the mandir, Hindu, or heathen. On Saturdays, it hosts 2,000-strong prayer meetings.

• Address: 105-119 Brentfield Rd, London, NW10 8LD
• Transport: Tube (Neasden/Harlesden); Bus (then 206 bus)
• TripAdvisor Rating: 4.5/5
• Website: https://londonmandir.baps.org/
• Contact: 020 8965 2651