Places to Visit in Gujarat

Places to Visit in Somnath

• Somnath Temple — The first of the twelve Jyotirlingas, standing on the shore of the Arabian Sea at Prabhas Patan. Stay for the evening aarti and the sound-and-light show.
• Triveni Sangam — The sacred confluence of the Hiran, Kapila and Saraswati rivers, with bathing ghats a short walk from the temple.
• Bhalka Tirth — The shrine where Lord Krishna is believed to have been struck by the hunter’s arrow, on the road between Veraval and Somnath.
• Golokdham Tirth — On the bank of the Hiran, where Krishna is said to have left his earthly body — with the Gita Mandir and Balramji’s cave.
• Surya Mandir — An old sun temple near Triveni Sangam, one of the quieter stops of Prabhas Patan.
• Ban Ganga — A Shivling set in the sea near Somnath, washed by the waves at high tide.

Places to Visit Near Somnath

• Gir National Park, Sasan Gir — The only wild home of the Asiatic lion. Book a jungle safari or visit the Devalia safari park.
• Junagadh — The old princely town at the foot of Girnar — Uparkot Fort, the Mahabat Maqbara and the Sakkarbaug zoo.
• Girnar — The sacred mountain above Junagadh, its Jain and Hindu temples rising to the Dattatreya peak — climbed by the old stone steps, or by the ropeway to Ambaji.
• Porbandar — Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace, Kirti Mandir, and the Sudama temple by the sea.

Places to Visit Near Dwarka

• Dwarkadhish Temple — Jagat Mandir, the temple of Lord Krishna as king of Dwarka and one of the Char Dham, above the Gomti ghat.
• Nageshwar Jyotirlinga — One of the twelve Jyotirlingas, with its tall seated Shiva, on the road to Bet Dwarka.
• Bet Dwarka — The island of Krishna’s own residence, reached across the Sudarshan Setu or by boat from Okha.
• Rukmini Temple — The finely carved temple of Krishna’s queen, just outside the town.

Places to Visit in Diu

• Diu Fort — The Portuguese sea fort with its cannons, lighthouse and views over the Arabian Sea.
• Naida Caves — A maze of carved rock passages and light shafts — a photographer’s favourite.
• Nagoa Beach — A calm, horseshoe-shaped beach lined with palms, good for a swim and water sports.
• St. Paul’s Church — A white baroque church from the Portuguese era in the heart of the old town.

Statue of Unity & Ahmedabad

• Statue of Unity, Ekta Nagar — Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 182-metre statue at Kevadia, the tallest in the world, with a viewing gallery that looks out over the Sardar Sarovar Dam.
• Ahmedabad — India’s first UNESCO World Heritage City — Sabarmati Ashram, the Adalaj stepwell, the Sidi Saiyyed jali and the pols of the old city.

Bhuj & Kutch

India’s largest district is a world of its own — a white salt desert that glows under the full moon, the palaces and lakes of Bhuj, craft villages, a quiet sea coast at Mandvi and the 4,500-year-old city of Dholavira. It is a long drive from Porbandar, best enjoyed over two or three days, and we plan the whole trip: vehicle, route and stays.

• White Rann, Dhordo — The great salt desert, dazzling white in winter, when the Rann Utsav tent city opens and full-moon nights turn the Rann to silver.
• Kalo Dungar — The Black Hill, highest point in Kutch, with the Dattatreya temple on top and a view across the Rann to the horizon.
• Bhuj — Aina Mahal & Prag Mahal — The old capital of Kutch: the 18th-century mirror palace, Prag Mahal’s Italian-Gothic clock tower, and the Kutch Museum, the oldest in Gujarat.
• Hamirsar Lake & Smritivan — The lake at the heart of Bhuj, and the Smritivan memorial on Bhujiyo hill, built in memory of the 2001 earthquake.
• Dholavira & the Road to Heaven — The Harappan city on Khadir island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, reached by a road that runs straight across the white Rann.
• Mandvi & the craft villages — A calm beach, the Vijay Vilas Palace and the yards where wooden ships are still built by hand — with Bhujodi’s weavers and Nirona’s Rogan painters on the way.

Bhavnagar & Palitana

The old princely capital on the Gulf of Khambhat, with its hilltop temple and palace gardens — and close by, the Jain temple hill of Palitana, the blackbuck grasslands of Velavadar and the sea shrine of Nishkalank Mahadev at Koliyak. An easy two-day tour from Porbandar, or a stop on the way to Ahmedabad.

• Takhteshwar Temple — A white Shiva temple on a hillock in the middle of Bhavnagar, with a view over the city to the Gulf of Khambhat.
• Nilambag Palace & Gaurishankar Lake — The royal family’s palace, now a heritage hotel set in green lawns, and the city’s great lake, Bor Talav, for an evening walk.
• Palitana — Shatrunjaya Hill — Hundreds of marble Jain temples crown the sacred hill, climbed at dawn by thousands of steps — one of the holiest places of the Jain faith.
• Hastagiri Jain Tirth — A hilltop Jain tirth near Palitana, its white marble steps and gateway looking out over the plains.
• Velavadar Blackbuck National Park — Open grasslands where herds of blackbuck run and leap — with wolves, jackals and harriers for the patient.
• Nishkalank Mahadev, Koliyak — Five Shivlings in the sea, reached on foot when the tide goes out and hidden again when it comes in.