Private Akshardham Temple Tour with Water and Light Show Delhi

Swaminarayan Akshardham, the mandir

Swaminarayan Akshardham opened in 2005 on a hundred-acre site beside the Yamuna in east Delhi and is one of the largest Hindu temple complexes in the world. The central mandir is built of pink sandstone and white marble without structural steel, in the traditional style, and its exterior is covered with some 20,000 carved figures of deities, sages, musicians and dancers, while a frieze of 148 carved elephants runs around the base. Inside, the main shrine holds the gilded image of Swaminarayan.

Your Akshardham Temple tour begins here with the guide, who explains the symbolism of the carvings and the story of the saint to whom the complex is dedicated. Entry to the complex itself is free, and this part of the visit takes about forty-five minutes. Phones, cameras and all electronic devices must be left in the free cloakroom at the entrance, so photographs are not possible inside; shoulders and knees must be covered.

The exhibitions: Sahajanand Darshan and Neelkanth Darshan

The ticketed exhibitions are what turn a temple visit into a full evening. Sahajanand Darshan is a sequence of multimedia halls with life-size animated figures and dioramas presenting values such as non-violence, perseverance, prayer and family harmony through episodes from Swaminarayan's life. Neelkanth Darshan is a large-format film that follows his 12,000-kilometre journey across India as a young ascetic, from the Himalayas to the southern coast, filmed on location.

Together the two exhibitions take about an hour, with the guide accompanying you between halls. The Akshardham exhibition tickets are included in the default option and in the car, guide and tickets option; in the other options you buy them at the ticket counter on arrival. Many visitors find the film the most memorable part of Akshardham, so allow the full time for it.

Sanskruti Darshan, the cultural boat ride

The third Darshan is a twelve-minute boat ride through an indoor waterway lined with hundreds of figures and scenes of India's past: the Vedic era, the ancient universities of Takshashila and Nalanda, traditional village life, and India's contributions to mathematics, astronomy, medicine and surgery. It is designed as a journey through ten thousand years of heritage and is especially popular with children.

The boat ride is included with the exhibition tickets and takes about twenty minutes with the queue. Between the exhibitions and the water show there is time to walk through the Yagnapurush Kund, the enormous stepped tank in front of the mandir, and the landscaped gardens with their bronze statues. If you wonder whether Akshardham is worth visiting in the evening, this sequence of exhibitions, gardens and the show after dark is the reason to go late rather than in the morning.

Sahaj Anand water and light show

The visit ends after sunset with the Sahaj Anand Water Show, staged in the Yagnapurush Kund, a stepped tank laid out as a giant lotus with 108 small shrines around it. For 24 minutes, fountains, water jets, underwater lights, lasers, fire effects and video projections tell a story from the Kena Upanishad, in which a child confronts the gods, with surround sound across the amphitheatre seating. The show runs once after dark and is the reason the tour starts in the afternoon.

The water show ticket is included in the default option, and your guide makes sure you are seated in time. Afterwards the default option includes dinner before the driver returns you to your hotel. Because Akshardham is closed on Mondays and the show depends on the season's sunset time, our team confirms the exact start time for your date when we confirm your booking.

Optional: India Gate and the ceremonial avenue

On the way to Akshardham the driver can pass through the heart of New Delhi if you wish: India Gate, the 42-metre sandstone war memorial arch; Kartavya Path, formerly Rajpath, the ceremonial avenue of lawns and canals that leads from the arch to the government district; and Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential residence, and Parliament House, both seen from the outside. These stops are entirely optional and can be skipped to spend more time at the temple.

For a fuller day, two longer private options are offered: one that adds India Gate, Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk and a drive past the Red Fort in Old Delhi, and one that adds India Gate, Qutub Minar, Lotus Temple and Humayun's Tomb in New Delhi, each about five hours before the water show. In those options the monument entry fees and the Akshardham tickets are paid on the spot.