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Gandhinagar
 Gandhinagar, named after Mahatma Gandhi, is the capital city of Gujarat. Built on the river Sabarmati it is just 32km away from Ahmedabad. In 1960 when the old Bombay State was partitioned into Maharashtra and Gujarat, the city of Bombay went to Maharashtra. It was then decided to construct a new capital for Gujarat. Thus came into being Gandhinagar, the second planned city in India after Chandigarh. It presents a spacious, well-designed look of an architecturally integrated city. Extensive planting of trees and large recreational areas along the river gives the city a fresh, green garden city atmosphere.
The sole tourist site here is the splendid Akshardham, the most famous temple of the Swaminarayan Sect, one of the richest religious sects in the world. It is a unique cultural complex built in the memory of Sreeji Swami its founder in 1993, Akshardham is an intricately carved, majestic monument of 6000 tonnes of pink sandstone and is surrounded by lush green gardens and beautiful fountains. Besides a 7ft gold-leafed idol of Lord Swaminarayan and his holy relics, there are three exhibitions on Indian Culture with Sound and Light shows, a multimedia show and an animation show. It also incorporates an amusement park, a museum, a cafeteria, picture gallery and library.
PRIME ATTRACTIONS
 Shamlaji
This famous Vaishnava Shrine is situated at 126 km from Ahmedabad .
Akshardham: It is the most famous temple of "Swaminarayan Sect" - the richest sect in the world. The splendid temple of Bhagwan Swaminarayan is built from Rajasthani pink marbles. The temple, 108 feet high, 240 feet in length and 131 feet in breadth took six years to complete. It is surrounded by lush green gardens and admirable fountains.
EXCURSIONS Koba
At a distance of 10 kms from Gandhinagar on the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Highway is the village Koba, which has shot into eminence because of its Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra, a Jain Temple Institute that carries out research in philosophy and religion. The temple itself is of high aesthetic and artictural value set in lush green environs.
Vaijanth Mahadev at Vasan: At a distance of 13 kms from Gandhinagar is the village of Vasan, which is famous for its Shiva Temple believed to be 2000 years old. The temple has seven storeys. The Shiv-Ling is of
'Yoni-ling' type.
There are 24 Shiv-Lingas in the ambulatory path of the temple.
From the site, bricks and silver coins of Maitrak period were obtained, which supports the antiquity of this temple. There are some coloured pictures drawn on the ceiling of the 'sabha-mandap' dome depicting Ras-Lila. These paintings are 150 years old according to the scholars.
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Air : Indian Airlines connect Gandhinagar with Bangalore , Calcutta , Chennai, Delhi , Hyderabad , Jaipur and Mumbai . The city is also connected to Kuwait, Muscat and Sharjah by international flights of Indian Airlines. Ghandhinagar's airport is 15 kms
from city centre.
Taxis and buses are available for city
sightseeing.
Rail: Railway Station is on the western side and trains from Mumbai, Delhi and other parts of the country are connected with Ghandhinagar.
Road: Two state highways skirt the capital,
Ahmedabad - Mt. Abu State Highway and the Mumbai Delhi National Highway
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