India is not the only country that reveres snakes and worships them as we do on Nag Panchami. Several cultures do.
Many temples across the globe are dedicated to the reptile. Or are guarded by them.
The Malaysian Buddhist temple is home to a nest of venomous vipers that roam freely around the shrine. It was built in honour of a Buddhist monk Chor Soo Kong -- he was said to protect snakes.
Tucked away in a quiet Kerala woodland near Haripad, the shrine honours the serpent monarch Nagaraja and is well known for its vast collection of over 1 lakh (1,00,000) stone serpent sculpture.
West Africa's vodun religion respects snakes and there is a temple in Benin where pythons are treated as holy and honoured as sacred beings.
The Karnataka village is the locale of a temple that has stood for over six centuries -- one of its main deities is seven-hooded Lord Subramanya, considered the god of serpents.
At last count the Taiwanese folk temple, that honours goddess Bai Suzhen, Lady of the White Serpent, kept around 300 white albino pythons that are involved in their rituals.
This is a rare shrine devoted to Lord Shiva in the form of a serpent deity. What makes it truly special is that it opens to the public only once a year, on Nag Panchami.
Dotted around Nepal are Naga Sthans & Naga Dhungas for worshipping the Nagas. The dhungas are stones resembling a serpent that folks regard as holy. A sthal is a small temple/shrine where snake deites are worshipped like this one in Kathmandu.
Also informally nicknamed the Snake Pagoda, located near Mandalay, Myanmar, pythons live here coiled around the main Buddha murti.