Swaminarayan Akshardham, National Capital Territory of Delhi, India

5krishna292 5:00 PM Mar 12, 2023

A Must Visit Place in Delhi For a Lifetime Experience
We visited Akshardham when our son had come from US. From Ghaziabad, we hired a cab and reached this great and imposing temple at about 2 PM as we also wanted to stay there till the Laser show timings. There is too much security around Akshardham. After parking the car, we were directed to proceed to reception. There we had to keep our mobile phones for which, a receipt was given. Larger bags are also to be deposited here. As we had not taken lunch before leaving home, we went to the canteen, which was crowded. Lot of variety is available here, both north Indian and south Indian but the food is available only through self service. Then we went inside and as guided, visited several halls where audio-visual illustrations are done about the saint Swaminarayan, who left his family, denounced the worldly pleasures and devoted his life for the service of mankind. There are also some pavilions where the visitors are taken around and life of many Hindu Gods, Such as Rama, Krishna and Shiva are beautifully depicted through attractive tableaus. Visit to all these Halls took about 3 hours and then we again went to canteen to take tea and pass some time. Though many visitors were seen to be leaving the temple premises but we also found new visitors entering the premises and sitting in the central arena. we also went to the central open air theater where a Laser or water Show was to commence after sunset. We took good positions and had to wait about one hour when the show began. To our surprise we found that the crowd started swelled each minute as if they were waiting for this show and hundreds of students started thronging the place. In fact there were much more numbers to watch this display rather than the people visiting the main temple in the afternoon. This display was really marvelous and worth the money that we had spent for the tickets. In fact there are separate tickets for this show. A mythological and popular story was very beautifully narrated through colored laser lights and water fountains. The display was really mesmerizing. It was a great experience for us and I strongly recommend the visit to Akshardham at least for this evening water-cum-laser show. The sad part is that one cannot take the photos as cameras and mobiles are not allowed.

5Monika S 5:00 PM Dec 28, 2022

Mesmerizing, spiritual, thoughtful, and fun - all in one!
I visited the temple along with my parents, not realizing beforehand the magnanimity of the temple space and time it would take to experience everything in offering. Every step in the temple that we took passed through a really well-organized process, beginning from parking to security check to entry and then the tours. We began by paying our tributes at the temple, that besides being a spiritual abode was just out of the world in its carvings and beautifully laid out statues. We then proceeded to the tours that worked like a perfect assembly line, moving people from one room to the other, taking you through the stories, learnings, and history of both Swaminarayan and India. The boat ride was just exceptional not to say that the robotic show and the movie were any less. And the final piece - the light and sound show - was a marvelous combination of arts and technology, coordinated and choreographed superbly. A day outing cannot go without the mention of food facilities. The food court is decent, with availability of strictly vegetarian food and beverages. There is a big courtyard space made available to enjoy food along with nice view of the temple. At all places in the temple space, there are carts selling tea/coffee and snacks. The price of the food is not all expensive. Make sure to leave your bags, mobile phones, cameras, and any electronic items outside in your vehicle or deposit them in the cloak room. The toilet facilities are not as clean but manageable. Wear comfortable shows for all the walking you need to do (you remove them only while stepping into the temple). Try to take a center seat for the light and sound show (right in front of the Swaminarayan statue) at least 45 minutes before the show start time. Overall, every moment that we spent at the temple was enriching spiritually and the huge space filled with lush greenery, beautiful architecture, very well organized activities, and polite and supportive staff made it an exceptional day.