I would like to share with the reader that I have been, since school days, enamored by the map of the Gujarat peninsula; to me,it is like jewel that enhances the beauty of the country's shape,this appendage,between the gulf of Kutch and the gulf of Cambay. And... other than Kandla, it is dotted with numerous minor ports which all had a significant role to play in the days of yore.
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| Bhavnath Shiva temple, Junagad |
Day 1 Rajkot - Gondal - Junagad - Sasan Gir - Veraval - Somnath - SasanGir
Upon reaching Rajkot we got into our hired car and drove south towards Gir forest.Our driver taking time over stocking up on his mawa (chewing tobacco with lime) did not hinder our progress.
I have inserted a map of our route for your convenience
As we were traveling we noticed a cordoned area in the middle of the wide road.This is the Bus Rapid Transit System which run on special corridors constructed for mass transport.No other vehicle can enter this space. Hmmm..This is an initiative of the Rajkot municipal corp. and has evoked a good response from the city folks.
Way to go!
After a breakfast of Fafdaa, Jalebi and special chai,as we progressed, the driver announced Gondal. It is a small town, 40 km south of Rajkot that sports a string of palaces and an almost dried up river.So what's new? It was once capital of a 1000-sq-km princely state ruled by Jadeja Rajputs.The Gondal Rajas' collection of vintage cars was and even now a talk of the town.We hurried through for want of time as we were keen on looking up historic Junagad just 70 kms away.
Located at the foot of GirNar hill with its many Hindu and Jain temples,the city is a holy pilgrimage for the multitude.They say a climb of 9999 steps leads you to Lord Dattatreya.The town was agog with preparation for Mahashivaratri event just 5 days away.Shamianas,tents and stalls being set up for saints and pilgrims. Irrespective of the time of the year climbing of the hill and Darshan is a daily activity for the devout and the curious with good or bad legs.Sadhus from the Himalayas come here to celebrate Mahashivaratri in Bhavnath Shiva Temple which has a very attractive entrance as you can see in the pic above.
Godliness is a way of life for all classes of Indians everywhere in the country and a place of pilgrimage increases the fervor.
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| Mt.Girnar from the Fort |
On the way to these sacred hills a visitor comes across a very white museum,in stark contrast to the pink/brown of temples all around. Inside is a huge stone carrying 14 edicts of emperor Ashoka, a period piece dating back to 250 BC ! The carvings in Brahmi script instructs on the resistance to greed and animal sacrifice
and also moralizes the principles of purity of thought, secularism in
thinking, kindness and gratitude.On the same rock are inscriptions in Sanskrit added around 150 AD by the then ruler and by Skandagupta the last Gupta emperor in 450AD 
Uparkot, the fort from which the city takes its name, is believed to have been built in 319 BC by the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta. In places the walls reach 20m high. It’s been besieged 16 times, and legend has it that the fort once withstood a 12-year siege.There is a lot of history and folklore attached to this ancient citadel which is in ruins today.
As you enter and
go up the slope, on your left, overlooking the city you see the cannons.They were built in Egypt
in 1513,were procured by the Turkish Navy,supporting the then Raja, to defend Diu
from the Portuguese.The battle was lost and the Turks departed leaving their cannons behind and Diu as a Portuguese colony
Behind them is the Rani's palace, converted into the Jumma Masjid in 15th century. It's ceiling used to be supported by 140 pillars.It has a roofed courtyard with three octagonal openings which may once have been covered by domes. From up here behind the Fort you can see Mount Girnar which I have reproduced above.
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| Only Rani's throne is missing |
Close to the mosque is a set of Buddhist caves, not actually caves but monastic quarters carved out of rock round about the 3rd century! The three-story complex is awesome and the main hall contains pillars with weathered carvings.Later,the monks left for Maharashtra to work on Ajanta and Ellora .
Junagad Trivia ...At the time of Independence,the last Nawab decided that Junagadh should become part of Pakistan, much to the displeasure of many, an overwhelming majority of whom were Hindu.The Nawab acceded to Pakistan against the advice of Mountbatten, arguing that Junagadh joined Pakistan by sea. A crisis erupted and India closed all its borders to Junagadh and stopped the movement of goods,transport et al. With the region in crisis, the Nawab, fearing for his life, felt forced to flee to Karachi with his family and his followers.
Heady with all that history we continued on our way to Gir forest and reached Sasan Gir (65 Km)
and the jungle lodge for a much needed break and some lunch to keep us going . It is a nice place to stay,spacious and made up of cottages both regular and tented.Lots of mango trees.
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| A view of Jungle lodge |
South of Veraval, is the
famous Lord Krishna temple, Bhalka Tirtha, where he is
said to have been mistakenly shot in the foot. Nearby is Dehotsarg,
where he succumbed to his mortal wound.A tulsi tree has been
planted in Lord's memory on the temple site.  |
| Dehotsarg |
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| Triveni Sangam |
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| Holy of Holies |
Thus, a long day was completed to our satisfaction and we drove back to our Lodge for dinner and rest.
Day 2 SasanGir - Gir wildlife sanctuary - Rajkot - Jamnagar
Gujarat State Lion conservation society have made it easier for people desirous of visiting Gir for a jungle safari.They allow you to book your "permit" on-line and save you the bother of standing there and wondering whether you will be awarded with a permit. Out of 90 permits given out each day by the forest Dept. 50% is allotted on-line.The Safari allows you a 3 hour ride and you can pack the vehicle with 6 adults and 2 children max
With permits in hand we set off at 6:30 AM for our tryst with the wildlife at the forest.A Maruti Gypsy with a driver and guide, all achieved efficiently,and we were off to see the Lions.
Dr. Salim Ali the "bird man" believed that, had the Asiatic lions not been there, the area would have been one of the most fascinating bird sanctuaries of the country.
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| Just like a Monet or Cezanne Impression |
Every now and then the driver would slow down or stop the vehicle to show pug marks on the stretch below.He would put Holmes to shame with his exact estimation of the size of the Lions judging by the marks on the ground.
Birds were announcing the day break or were they alerting the Deers and Peacocks about the prowling predator? Nothing was visible.
A little later we saw these spotted Deers
A unique side to Gir forest is that it houses the - Maldharis - cattle grazers,and Siddis who look like Negros and speak Gujarati and are believed to have come here in medieval times from Africa. There have been many a time when a lion and a Maldhari are seen walking together.
Oh! look at those peacocks.I present one of them here
Very pretty and they were foraging....early bird trying to catch the worm
Two hours in the forest and no lions sighted yet.I see other vehicles with people looking forlorn Eventually we catch up with officialdom and greetings are exchanged.Happy to hear that a Pride of lions are relaxing half a mile away.And so we rush......
The deep jungles of India are famous for ; the Bengal tiger, the pygmy elephant and the Indian rhino, but
hidden in the Gir Forest is
the Asiatic lion.
Once found roaming across India and the Middle East the Asiatic lion population was decimated to just 13 around 1907 following years of persecution by trophy hunters. By 1975, after the ban on hunting, the species was awarded protection and the population rose to 185 lions.In the last three decades the population has risen from the brink of extinction into a conservation success story to around 411 today. And growing
I doff my hat to the guys who worked at this transformation.
The rare Asiatic Lion is paler and shaggier than the more common African breed, with longer tail tassels, more prominent elbow tufts and a larger belly fold.
Don't they do justice to MGM
After completion of Safari we headed back for lunch and drove to Rajkot to see off our friend returning to Mumbai that evening.
A cup of tea by the roadside and we were on our way to Jamnagar driving north over the plush Rajkot - Jamnagar Hwy, (90 Kms). In less than 2 hours we were locating President Hotel our abode for the night,amid the cacophony of street noise of this small city which has shot into prominence with the establishment of Reliance and Essar Refineries.
Day 3 Jamnagar - Narara - Dwarka
As advised by the Owner/Manager of the hotel,Mr.Mushtak,we went for a drive to Lakhota lake a short distance away.The best site for bird watching within the city,this is where upto 75 species of birds are known to descend in winters.
Whether a lover of birds or not,one can sit under the Banyan tree and enjoy nature,feed the birds or take a walk around the perimeter. We drove around the lake and passed by road side food stalls and as the stomach grumbled at 9:00 in the morning we decided to dig into some local delicacy.
We found this guy selling Dal Pakwan, a Sindhi delicacy that is devoured by locals for breakfast.I had a couple of helpings and achieved a decent high,what with the variety of spice and ingredients used in the preparation of this mix.
A cup of Chai followed and the icing on the cake was a Jamnagar Meetha Paan.
Checked out of the hotel taking a parcel of sandwiches with us on our trip to Narara.Click on the link to read the blog on our experience.Narara Marine Sanctuary-Coral walk
From Narara we traveled to Dwarka (100 Kms) on the Hwy passing both Reliance and Essar refineries and reached this remote pilgrimage town at the western tip of the peninsula in 2 Hrs and checked-in into our hotel in the proximity of the temple
It is one of the four "most holy" Hindu sites in the country.Krishna is said to have set up his capital here after fleeing from Mathura. Legend has it that after Krishna died and the subsequent end of the Yadava dynasty, the entire town of Dwarka sunk in water. It is also said that the town of Dwarka was rebuilt six times by various civilizations. The present-day Dwarka is believed to be the seventh attempt of rebuilding this holy town.
We visited Dwarkadeesh temple that honours Krishna just as Aarti was under way behind the curtain? (There must be a reason for this). There was a mad rush towards the Sanctum as soon as the idol was revealed to the mass of devotees thronging there.We had a quick Darshan and came outThe temple had thousands of pilgrims from different parts of the country. Janmashtami must be quite a carnival out here.
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| All Decked up |
Trivia....The temple flag is changed three times a day for which Pilgrims/Donors vie with each other to foot the bill.There are specially authorised tailors to stitch the flag which is taken around the temple by the donor before hoisting.
It is one of the important moksh dhams. The Gomti River flows nearby.
Later we dined at a Thali Diner which served both Gujju and Rajasthani.
Day 4 Dwarka - Okha - Bet Dwarka - Porbandar - Rajkot - Mumbai
As the morning breaks in the temple town we are up and about,completing formalities,to begin the final day when we have so much to cover yet. We hit the road and are taken to the sea-side,to the Sun set point!We were destined to go there in the morning and look at this decent facility they have here for crowds to view the last rays of the sun.  |
We make haste and take the road to Okha- the horn of Gujarat -which passes by Mithapur where Tata Chemicals have been making Salt for 75 years. It is 35Kms of clear road and we cover it quickly.
We are pushed to visit the island of Bet Dwarka which is across the creek from Okha (5Kms).
Bet Dwarka, is popularly known as ‘kingdom of Lord Krishna’ where he and his wife Rukmani spent endless hours in conjugal bliss in the temple premises.Well! they certainly chose a remote corner where "Do Not Disturb" signs were not required
The surging crowds waiting to get on the Junks dissuaded us from making the trip but we caved in eventually and said we will do it having come to the very tip of the world as it were.Once we got going after all that overloading, we reached the other side in less than 30 minutes.
We took the help of a cartwala to push us through the busy narrow lane which leads to the temple, lined with shops selling knickknacks, and he deftly maneuvered the cart to take us to the temple entrance.
Completed our Darshan and returned by the same cart back to the jetty for the return trip.The journey was peaceful with lots of Gulls to keep us amused and we reached our car and continued our tour.
Heading back towards Dwarka we hit Gopi Talav, famous for the many stories of Krishna’s naughty pranks and romance that have occurred here.
When Krishna was small, he would playfully dance the raas with all
the gopis in the town of Vrindavan.But, he migrated to Dwarka leaving the gopis
heartbroken.They
re-united with the Lord here on the auspicious night of full moon,
observed as Sharad Purnima. Elated with meeting Krishna, they once again
started the raas dance with him. 
On the way to Dwarka we came by this
important Lord Shiva Temple. It is one of the 12 jyothirlinga shrines. A 25 m tall statue of a sitting Lord Shiva is a major attraction here.
It is well past 1:00PM as we get to Dwarka and we are in no mood to see any more temples.So without stopping for lunch and relying entirely on our meagre supply of Farsaan and water we
direct the car towards Porbandar,100 Km due south.
Driver did not complain as he had his stock of mawa and Kumar Shanu was belting out his favorite songs.A decent drive followed on the H'way dotted with plenty of windmills generating power by the seaside and in less than 2 Hrs (100 Kms) we are in the vicinity of MKG's house.
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| Kirti Mandir |
The memorial to Gandhi- Kirti Mandir - that abuts the house was built in 1950. Reflecting Gandhi’s age when he died, it is 79ft high and symbols from all the world’s major religions are incorporated. There’s a small bookshop and a photographic exhibition
A quick drive alongside the beach and a stop for take-away food followed before taking the national H'way to Rajkot (180 kms; 3 1/2 hrs ). We were at the airport well in time for our return to Mumbai
