Gujarat, the ‘Jewel of the West,’ is a tourist destination that offers something for every visitor. A journey through Gujarat unfolds a religious, cultural and historical panorama. The state with the longest coast line (1290km) in the country is renowned for its beaches, holy temples, historic capitals replete with immense architectural assets, wildlife sanctuaries and hill resorts. However the famous Somnath temple here is an exemplar of architectural splendor.
Location:
Somnath at Somnath Patan, near Veraval in Gujarat is a pilgrimage center held in great reverence throughout India. Somnath is considered to be the first of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Shiva. Somnath is situated on the south coast of Saurashtra.
Prabhas Patan Museum : The museum houses art treasures of various periods from Somnath.
Triveni Tirth : The Triveni tirth is an important place of pilgrimage, specially to immerse ashes and pray for dear departed.
Veraval Beach : 4 kms from Somnath, Veraval has a picturesque fishing harbour. The Veraval beach is a good place to relax, with benches and a jogging path.
Bakhla Tirth : A short distance from the Somnath temple is Bakhla Tirth, where Lord Krishna was hit by accident by an arrow of a Bhil tribal.
Surya Mandir : The Sun temple of Prabhas Patan has a sabha mandap, sanctum sanctoruim and intricate carvings. Next to the temple is the Pandav Gufa, a cave associated with the 5 Pandawas, with mosaics of lord Ganesh and other religious art.
Ahilya Mandir : This cream colour domed temple was commissioned by the famous queen, Ahliyabhai Holkar of Malwa.
Plan Your Trip:
Somnath temple can be visited and explored in 2 days. The adjacent areas also can be covered within that time.
Climate:
The climate in Gujarat ranges from humid in the coastal areas to extremely hot in areas like Kutch. Summers are extremely hot & winters are extremely cold. The best time to visit Gujarat is October and March.
Transport information:
Air: Gujarat has 10 domestic airports apart from an international airport at Ahmedabad. There are daily flights to Mumbai, Delhi and other cities from Ahemedabad. Other airports are at Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Bhuj, Surat, Jamnagar, Kandla, Keshod, Porbandar and Rajkot. Most of the domestic airlines operate out of Ahmedabad connecting it to rest of the country.
Rail: Gujarat has a good railway network that not only connects the state internally but connects the state to other places in India also. Click for from Ahmedabad
Road: Gujarat has a better road network than most of the other Indian states and they are in a fairly good condition. The total road length in the state is 73,397 km by the end of 1999-2000, out of which 1,572 km is the share of National Highway, making the state easily accessible. The Gujarat State Transport Corporation and private operators operate regular buses to all the major destinations of the state from most of the larger cities.
