Gopura

A gopuram or gopura is a monumental, usually ornate entrance tower of a Hindu temple in the Dravidian architecture of South India and Sri Lanka. In other parts of India, temple entrance towers are generally more modest, whereas in the South, the gopuram is often the tallest structure in the temple complex and taller than the vimana tower over the main shrine. They also appear in temple design outside India, such as the Khmer architecture in Southeast Asia.