Gandhinagar, named after Mahatma Gandhi, is the capital city of Gujarat. Built on the banks of 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.