Everything you need to know about Akshardham: news, reviews, in-depth analysis, opinion and more

There are two Akshardham temples in India. Both of them were built by Bochasanwasi Akshar-Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). The first one to be built is at Gandhinagar, Gujrat and the second is in Delhi, capital city of India. Both of the temples are dedicated to Lord Swaminarayan.

Akshardham Temple of Delhi holds the Guinness books of World Record to be the largest comprehensive Hindu temple of the world.

Akshardham (Delhi):

Built on the bank of sacred river Yamuna, this temple was the dream project of Yogiji Maharaj (one of the spiritual head of BAPS) and was completed by his successor Pramukh Swami Maharaj. This temple was opened for visitors in November 2005, built by 7,000 artisans and 3,000 volunteers.

It attracts 70 percent (approx.) of the tourists who visit Delhi.

The temple is 141-foot high, 316-foot wide and 370-foot long and has 20,000 idols, 234 carved pillars and 9 domes. It used Rajasthani Pink sandstone and Italian Carrara marble in its construction.

Elephants are considered sacred in Hindu religion and thus this temple has 148 elephants that weigh a total of 3000 tons.

Boat ride inside 'Sanskruti Vihar' gives you the glimpses of history of India. 'Bharat Upavan' the lush green lawn has a number of beautiful trees, shrubs and sculptures. Narayan Sarovar surrounds the whole temple.

As the sun sets, visitors gather around a beautiful musical fountain, 'Yagnapurush Kund' the largest step well of India.

'Nilkanth Kayan Yatra' a theatre has a 85 feet long and 65 feet high screen that shows a film depicting 7 year pilgrimage made by Swami Narayan.

Entry Timings: Tue to Sun: 9.30am-6.30pm (Monday Closed)

Akshardham (Gandhinagar):

This Akshardham was the predecessor to the one made in Delhi and is one of the largest temples in Gujarat. It was inaugurated on November 2, 1992 during the centenary celebrations of Yogiji Maharaj.

The height of the temple is 108 feet and its length is 240 feet.

There are three halls that holds permanent exhibitions.

Sahajanand holds a video show, a miniature recreation of Chhapiya village and three 'sound-n-light' shows. Sat-Chit-Anand shows an IMAX large format film named Mystic India depicting the rich culture and soul of India. Nityanand houses an audio-animatronics show, a recreation of Hastinapur palace from the Mahabharata. Also a 45-minute Sat-Chit-Anand Water Show depicting story of Nachiketa from the Kathopanishad. This show uses 4,000 nozzles, 2,000 lights, over 100 pumps and 12 fireball throwers.

It came into attention when two armed terrorists attacked it in September 2002.

Timings: (Tue to Sun): 9.30am-7.30pm, Exhibition: 10.00am-5.30pm (Closed on Monday)