It looks like India but is just 40 minutes from NYC... the mini kingdom where you take off your shoes to enter
A New Jersey Hindu temple transports visitors to India as it houses the second largest temple in the world, and it's conveniently located only 40 minutes outside of New York City.
The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham sits on 183 acres in Robbinsville and is the biggest Hindu temple in the United States.
But visitors walking along the grounds could be fooled into thinking they took an international trip to India.
'It is genuine, built just like temples in India,' Darshan Patel told NJ Monthly.
The temple took 12 years to build from 2011 to 2023 and it is designed according to ancient Hindu scriptures, the temple said.
It features 10,000 statues and statuettes and has carvings of Indian musical instruments and dance forms.
And like tradition, those inside the temple will have to remove their footwear.
It also houses the largest elliptical dome of traditional stone architecture that's ever been made and the stone found throughout the grounds were sourced from Turkey, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, India, and China.
When one enters the grounds, they're met with a 49-foot statue of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, an Indian yogi who founded a major branch of Hinduism. The statue has him in a yoga pose where he's in deep prayer to symbolize discipline and empathy
The Brahma Kund, a stepwell, also contains water from more than 300 bodies of water around the world, including from 108 holy rivers in India and all 50 US states, the temple said.
When one enters the grounds, they're met with a 49-foot statue of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, an Indian yogi who founded a major branch of Hinduism. The statue has him in a yoga pose where he's in deep prayer to symbolize discipline and empathy.
The temple also has a café that is filled with greenery, ornate tiles, and full of natural light that makes the place feel serene and calm.
Visitors can get a taste of vegetarian Indian and Western cuisines that helps promote the religion's call for non-violence.
The temple will also be adding a Hindu Learning Center to help visitors understand the religion and learn about it.
New Jersey is home to the largest Hindu population in the United States, followed by California. And the US has the seventh largest Hindu population outside of India.
BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham gathers more than just Hindus looking to worship, but many visitors fascinated by the breathtaking architecture right off Route 130.
The temple gets tens of thousands of visitors a day. They get so many visitors, the temple now has timed entry and visitors have to book their free ticket in advance.
'The campus is meant to bring all people together from all backgrounds. That's how the temple was built, how it operates,' Patel told NJ Monthly. 'We did expect this.
'The ancient idea is that, when you build a temple, it will last for at least a thousand years.'
Debbie Stetzer heard about the temple from her Indian friend and brought her daughter, she told NJ Monthly.
'It's awesome, it's totally amazing,' she told the publication.
When she sent a photo to her friend, she asked if she was on vacation as the place looked like anything but the Garden State.
The campus does have a dress code, which includes no sleeveless or low-cut tops, shorts, skirts, or dresses above knee length; and no clothing featuring offensive language or imagery, its website read.
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