Best Travel Deals in India | Interesting facts about Akshardham Temple

Akshardham Temple, the mammoth temple in Delhi sprawling over a huge campus is located right next to the Commonwealth Games Village, is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city. The temple is a beautiful blend of rich Indian spiritual culture and traditions and gives an insight into the life of Shri Swaminarayan. â?– Spread over 83842 sq feet â?– One of the largest in the world. â?– Parikrama around the temple is framed in the form of a pavement comprising of two stories and has 1200 pillars and 155 pinnacles.

• It has ten ‘Welcome Gates’ which symbolize ten directions and openness to accept auspicious and good from all directions.

• Bhakti Dwar (Door of Devotion) symbolizes the dual forms of devotion – God and the devotees. It has 208 carved pairs of Bhakta-Bhagwan.

• The temple also has two Mayur Dwars (Peacock Doors), each one of which has 869 intricately carved stone peacocks.

• In between the Mayur Dwars, there’s a large marble replica of footprints with holy Hindu signs, called Charnarvind.

• Narayan Sarovar is a lake inside the temple filled with water of 151 sacred lakes and rivers from around the country. 108 gaumukhs have been carved along the river, which stands for the 108 Hindu Gods. Best Travel Deals in India

• The temple has two gardens, namely Bharat Upvan and Yogi Hridy Kamal. The gardens have statues of great people and also quotes from across the world.

• More than 8,000 volunteers from across the world participated in the construction and it took more than 300,000,000 volunteer hours to build it. • The structure of the building is made in such a way that it can last for at least 1000 years more.

• One of the most striking features of the temple is its food court named Premvati Ahargruh.

Based on the design of Ajanta and Ellora caves in Maharashtra, the food court also has an Ayurvedic Bazaar.

• The temple has a research center called ‘AARSH’ dedicated to studies related to rural and tribal welfare, education, ecology, Medicare and Indian culture.

• All parts of the temple are not wheelchair accessible. • Entry is free for all and the timings are from 9.30am to 6.30pm.

• Taking pictures or videos inside the temple is not allowed.

• Like all other Hindu temples, shoes are not allowed inside and can be deposited at the ‘Shoe-ghar’. Also dress appropriately for the temple.