Shri Sanatan Mandir, Wembley
a carved wonder on ealing road
A dazzling hand-carved Hindu temple on Wembley's Ealing Road, free to visit, built from Indian stone without a single steel support.
Free to visit · Wembley · Alperton · HA0 4TA
Opening: Daily · roughly 8:30am to 6:30pm · check times
Wembley has two extraordinary Hindu temples and this is the one people forget, distinct from the white marble Neasden mandir a few miles away. On the Ealing Road, the Shri Sanatan Mandir rises in glowing carved sandstone, and it is free to walk into.
It opened in 2010 after a fourteen year build, made the traditional way with no steel frame, from Indian stone carved by hand. The exterior is yellow Jaisalmer sandstone, the interior pink Bansi Paharpur stone, and inside two hundred and ten pillars are covered with carvings of scenes from Hindu scripture, every surface worked except the smooth marble floor.
Visitors of all backgrounds are welcome for free, as long as you dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered. Photography is not allowed inside out of respect, which is no bad thing, it leaves you to simply look.
Getting there: On Ealing Road in Wembley, a short walk from Alperton on the Piccadilly line.
Best time to go: A weekday for calm, or near an evening aarti for the atmosphere. Dress modestly.
Insider tip: No shorts or bare shoulders, and no photos inside. Time it near an evening aarti if you can, then take a slow clockwise loop of the carved hall.
Official site: https://svnuk.com
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide