Akshardham temple is located in the capital city of Gandhinagar, which lies near Ahmedabad. The temple was constructed in the direction of Pramukh Swami Maharaj who was the spiritual leader of Bochasanwasi Akshar-Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Sanstha. The temple was inaugurated in the year 1992 and has become a major tourist attraction in India for the last few decades. It has an area of 23 acre and is chiseled out in the pink sandstone. The height of the temple is of 108 feet and around 6000 tones of stones were used during its construction. The magnum opus monument in the rock is keeping in mind the Vaastu Shastra and not even an inch of steel is used in its construction. The main shrine contains 1.2 ton gold plated idol of Lord Swaminarayan, the 7 foot idol is in its sitting position with its right hand raised in abhay mudra; the idol is accompanied by two other idols of his disciples on the both sides. Swami Gopalanand on his left and Swami Gunatitanand are on his right. For the visitors here there is special light and sound shows organized, the show which depicts the glorious past of Sanatan Dharma. To enlighten themselves with Hindu philosophy ever year millions of visitors visit Akshardham temple.
Sahajanand Van is a garden around the temple which has a lake, children’s park, waterfall, rides and games and an herbal garden. Additionally it has a marble statue of Lord Swaminarayan. There are exhibitions held from time to time in the three halls in the premises of the temple; they are Sahajanand, this hall via imaginative settings and show exhibits the life history of Lord Swaminarayan; Nityanand gives the message of Ramayana Mahabharata and Upanishads to the people, through figures and wall paintings. There are even exhibitions on the world religions and ancient Indian era; and Sat-Chit-Anand this hall represents an IMAX large format film named 'Mystic India'. It is an epic on the history of India and also elaborates on the journey of the Lord from childhood from the places he has been. There is also an Akshardham Center for Applied Research in Social Harmony (AARSH) which is ultra modern research institute that comprise of study centres, loaded library, archives and study centers. The centre aims at studying the present trend, utilizing the insight of the past and arranging solutions of the future.
Akshardham Temple is the centre to encourage culture, art and values of India, which is an outstanding example of the Indian roots where values are changeless, art is ageless and culture is borderless.