Fo Guang Shan Nan Tien Temple

The temple belongs to the Taiwanese Fo Guang Shan sect. Said to be the Southern Hemisphere’s largest Buddhist shrine, it’s billed as an international tourist attraction; busloads of Asian visitors mill the grounds yet the temple maintains an overwhelming sense of serenity, almost solitude. Gawk at the eight-story pagoda and the 10,000 images of Buddha, take a moment by the lotus pond, then retire to the tearoom for osmanthus oolong and dumplings stuffed with bitter greens.