Martand Sun Temple

Near Anantnag stand the remains of a temple raised in the 8th century AD for Surya, the sun god, whose Sanskrit name Martand gives the site its title. Lalitaditya Muktapida of the Karkota dynasty planned and paid for it, and builders worked in carved black stone, drawing on a mix of Gandharan, Gupta, Chinese, Greek, Roman and Syrian-Byzantine styles.

The main shrine sits inside a courtyard about 220 feet by 142 feet, ringed by colonnades and 84 lesser shrines, and it absorbed an older, smaller temple. Carvings such as a four-armed Brahma survive among the ruins. The Archaeological Survey of India lists it as a monument of national importance, Kashmiri Pandits count it among their three holiest pilgrimage sites, and films including Haider and Aandhi were shot here.