(gopura) gateway of south indian temples, in the shape of a steep pyramid, ornamented in profusion with deity, monster and other character statues. The gopuram can reach 60 meters high in certain Tamil Nadu temples. Temples generally own four gopuram, one for each cardinal point; but when several successive enclosures have been erected at different periods, each enclosure can have its own gopuram, smaller and smaller from outside (the most recent) to inside (the most ancient)

Entrance tower

a towerlike structure over an entrance (gateway) to a temple or temple compound, shaped like a wedge standing on its wide end, consisting of many tiers that are highly decorated (sculpted), often with images of deities and figures from Hindu cosmology

elaborately carved tiered towered entrance gateway to a Hindu temple

Temple Tower crowning entrances; the foremost of these towes crowning the main entrance is the Raja Gopuram.

An southern India shrine.

Soaring pyramidal gateway tower of Dravidian temples

Gopuram or gopura, a prominent feature of the Hindu temple architecture of South India, is the rising tower at the entrance of a temple. Gopurams are exquisitely decorated with sculpture and carvings and painted with a variety of themes derived from the Hindu mythology, particularly those associated with the presiding deity of the temple of which a particular gopuram is.