Akshardham Temple

The five years of non-stop, round the clock construction gave birth to the massive and outstanding Akshardham Temple in New Delhi. The temple was inaugurated in the year 2005. The awesome temple got built by the BAPS foundation - the builders of the various Swaminarayan temples across the world.

It is one of the biggest and most intricate religious places of worship ever constructed. It exhibits a perfect blend of several completely different and contrasting architectural styles of Hindu temple architecture from northern India -Rajasthani, Orrisan, Gujarati, Mughal and Jain -- the Akshardham Monument is entirely constructed of marble and the red-sandstone that Delhi is famous for, and that so many of her monuments are constructed of. It is heralded as one of the greatest masterpieces India has ever produced.

Akshardham Temple - A Bird's Eye View
The temple is entirely composed of sandstone and marble with no use of steel. It consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, 9 ornate domes, 20 quadrangled shikhars, a spectacular Gajendra Pith and 20,000 murtis and statues of India's greatest sadhus. The temple has a tinge of pink stone and pure white marble. The monument was built after over 300 million man hours of services rendered by 11,000 volunteers, sadhus and artisans.
Some of the buildings that make up the temple complex:-
Hall Of Values - This is a huge museum of India's spiritual heritage and the heritage of Swaminarayan sect. The umpteen exhibits here portray the messages of ahimsa, endeavour, prayer, vegetarianism, family harmony etc through 3-D dioramas and presentations from the life of his holiness Bhagwan Swaminarayan.

The Garden Of India or The Bharat Upavan - This garden features the flora and fauna from all across the globe. From the Himalayas to the Kanyakumari, and the Deserts of Persia to the Jungles of Burma. The Bharat Upvan also has statues and figures of India 's Kings, Warriors and Freedom Fighters, India 's National Figures, and India 's Women Personalities.

Musical Fountains/ Yagnapurush Kund - It is the world's largest yagna kund measuring 300' * 300 ' with about 2, 870 steps and 108 small shrines. At night the center comes to life with a colorful musical water fountain that echoes the Vedic sentiments of India .

Scoop
Place - New Delhi
Area - 100 hectares
Altitude - 141.3 ft.
Built In -2005
Built By -HDH Pramukh Swami Maharaj
Best Season To Visit - October to March
Local Transport - Taxis, local and DTC buses

Accommodation Options
Delhi has many hotels range from luxury, deluxe, star to budget hotels, which provide enough accommodation options. The hotels are well-equipped with modern facilities and offer the world class services.
Some of the most popular hotels are Crown Plaza Surya (5 Star Deluxe), Ashok Hotel (5 Star Deluxe), Hyatt Regency (5 Star Deluxe), Le Meridien (5 Star Deluxe) and Radisson Hotel (5 Star Deluxe).

Major Highlight
Every night tourists can enjoy the mesmerising sight of the magical fountain show that is carried in the Akshardham temple premises.

Map Of New Delhi
http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/delhi/delhitourist.htm
Getting There
Air : Delhi International airport is connected to major cities of the country. Flights from major cities of India as well as world are available to Delhi
Rail : New Delhi, Delhi, Nizamuddin railway stations have trains from all major towns and cities of the country.
Road : Delhi is well-connected by good network of roads with rest of the country. The buses are available to the temple from different places of Delhi and other nearby towns.