In Chino Hills, California, United States, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is dedicated to Swaminarayan, Radha Krishna, Sita Ram, Shiva Parvati. It is also known as BAPS Los Angeles Mandir, Chino Hills Mandir.
One of the largest traditional Hindu stone Mandirs on the West Coast of the United States and a major BAPS pilgrimage and community site, known for its earthquake resistant base isolator engineering and its scale, with five pinnacles, two domes, 122 hand carved pillars and 129 archways on a 20 acre campus. Pramukh Swami Maharaj visited California in 1977 and encouraged local devotees to gather for assemblies.
United States carries a distinct temple identity of its own: Home to the largest Hindu temple outside India, alongside decades-old community mandirs built by generations of the diaspora.
Darshan hours and daily worship
| Session | Timing (as published) |
|---|---|
| Morning | 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM (murti darshan approx. 9:00-10:15 AM and 11:15 AM-12:00 PM, Arti Rajbhog at 11:15 AM) |
| Evening | 4:00 PM to 7:30 PM (murti darshan approx. 4:00-5:50 PM, Sandhya Arti at 7:00 PM) |
Mandir and visitor grounds generally open 9:00 AM to 7:30 PM daily; the main shrine may close for a few hours midday on weekdays. Confirm current schedule on the official website before visiting.
Festivals and special-day timings
Regular darshan hours are usually extended, or set aside entirely, on these dates.
| Festival | Period | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Diwali and Annakut | October or November (per Hindu lunar calendar) | Major annual celebration marking the Hindu new year, observed with a large Annakut food offering display. |
| Janmashtami | August or September | Celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna. |
History and architecture
Architecture
Traditional North Indian Nagara style based on the Shilpa Shastras, hand carved from Italian Carrara marble and Rajasthani pink sandstone, engineered as the first earthquake proof Mandir in the world
History
Pramukh Swami Maharaj visited California in 1977 and encouraged local devotees to gather for assemblies. A small BAPS center was inaugurated in Whittier in 1984. In 1996 the growing local community proposed a larger traditional stone Mandir, and land adjacent to State Route 71 in Chino Hills was acquired. The project faced strong local opposition and took roughly 14 years to gain final municipal approval, with a code change denied in 2004 and approved in 2011. Groundbreaking took place on September 4, 2005, and the completed Mandir opened in December 2012 after about 900 volunteers, many of them second generation Indian Americans, contributed an estimated 1.3 million volunteer hours, with craftsmen in India carving 35,000 pieces of stone.
Planning your visit
How to reach
Located at 15100 Fairfield Ranch Road, Chino Hills, CA 91709, adjacent to State Route 71; reachable by car from the greater Los Angeles and Inland Empire areas with on-site parking.
Where this information comes from
Confidence: Medium. Core history, architecture and construction facts are well corroborated by Wikipedia; exact current daily darshan time slots vary by source and should be reconciled against the official BAPS site before publishing; entry fee, dress code and specific poojas list could not be verified.