Gadhada is a town and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in Botad District in the state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Gadhada is situated at bank of

River Ghela The River Ghela, is a river that runs through the town of Gadhada in the Indian state of Gujarat.Ghelo river originates from Jasdan hills (Around Fulzar village, Jasdan Taluka) & meets in Arabian sea. Its length is 118 km. & 622 km2. catch ...

Swaminarayan Swaminarayan (IAST: ', 3 April 1781 – 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami, was a yogi and Asceticism, ascetic, who is believed by followers to be a manifestation of God Krishna, or as the highest Theophany, manifestation of ...

lived here for more than 25 years.

Geography

Gadhada is located at . It has an average

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of 104 metres (341 feet).

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Gadhada had a population of 26,751. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Gadhada has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 70%, and female literacy is 54%. In Gadhada, 16% of the population were under 6 years of age.

Transport

Gadhada is well connected by roads to the cities of Gujarat. Regular bus service and private vehicles are available from Ahmedabad and other big cities of Gujarat. There's no rail track passing through the town. To reach Gadhada by train, you may get down at

Botad Botad is a city and district headquarters of Botad district, Gujarat, India. It is about 92 km from Bhavnagar and 133 km From Ahmedabad by road distance. Botad district is made from Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar. Erstwhile, it was part of ...

or Ningala in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a States of India, state of India. It was founded in 1723 by Gohil Koli, Bhavsinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, whi ...

track. Connecting bus service to Gadhada is available from both these stations.

Landmarks

The

Swaminarayan Temple Swaminarayan, the founder of the Swaminarayan Sampraday, established temples, known as ''mandirs'' (Devnagari: मन्दिर), as part of his philosophy of theism and deity worship. These mandirs are known as Swaminarayan Hindu temples. He ...

, also known as Gopinathji temple in Gadhada is regarded as one of the important places of pilgrimage for followers of the

sect, as Lord Swaminarayan spent more than 27 years of his life in Gadhada. Swaminarayan Hindu Temple in Gadhada is one of the one of six temples which was made under the supervision of Lord Swaminarayan himself.

Notes and references

Swaminarayan Sampradaya Cities and towns in Botad district {{Bhavnagar-geo-stub