Veraval is cluttered and chaotic, and smells strongly of fish – not surprising given that it’s one of India’s major fishing ports (nearly 4000 boats work from here) and its busy harbour is full of bustle and boat building. On the south coast of Saurashtra, Veraval was the major seaport for Mecca pilgrims before the rise of Surat. In the west of town is the eerie Old Nawab’s Palace (closed to public). The main reason to come here is to visit the Temple of Somnath, 6km to the east.
Category: Gujarat
This beautiful, off-the-beaten-track, 34-sq-km park (Indian/foreigner Rs 10/250, car Rs 20/250, 4hr guide Rs 30/250, camera Rs 5/250, video Rs 200/2500; 7.30am-6pm 15 Oct-15 Jun), 65km north of Bhavnagar, encompasses large areas of pale, custard-coloured grassland stretching between two seasonal rivers.
Vadodara Baroda Gujarat India Travel
Vadodara (or Baroda as it’s often known) is a cultured, harmonious university town 100km southeast of Ahmedabad, which explodes into life during festival season. The impressive museum, overwrought Indo-Saracenic palace and beautiful Tambekar Wada can be visited in a day or two, but the main reason for coming here is the nearby, wonderful Unesco World Heritage site Champaner, with its mosques lost in the landscape.
Surat Gujarat India Travel
On the Tapti River, Surat is a busy commercial centre for textiles and diamonds. It’s long attracted outsiders: Parsis settled here in the 12th century, it later became a vital Mughal port and transit point for Mecca, and in 1613 was the first English settlement in India.
Somnath Gujarat India Travel
Somnath consists of a few streets leading away from its phoenix-like temple. The rugged sea below gives it a lonely, wistful charm. The pilgrim trade is constant, but merchants are surprisingly relaxed – perhaps in deference to the shadows cast by the awe-inspiring temple.
Saurashtra Gujarat India Travel
Saurashtra, also known as the Kathiawar peninsula, is the poster child for Gujarati diversity. Never part of British India, it consisted of 200 separate princely states until Independence during which time the laid-back landowners had amassed considerable feudal wealth. Head to toe in white, with turbans, pleated jackets and jodhpurs, and huge, golden stud earrings, these men are marvels of modern India, while the rural women are as colourful as those of Rajasthan and wear embroidered backless cholis and heavy jewellery. City folk, meanwhile, continue to be hard-at-it and industrious.
The last refuge of the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) is 59km from Junagadh via Visavadar. The rugged, hilly, 1400-sq-km sanctuary feels beguilingly uncommercial, and encompasses some beautiful forested land. It was set up to protect lions and their habitat: since 1980 numbers have increased from fewer than 200 to an estimated 325 in May 2004 – a trend unheard of in modern India. However, while lions have been lucky, the distinctively dressed local maaldharis (herders), a devout, nomadic community, have lost valuable grazing land. In recent years the lions have been wandering outside the limits of the sanctuary in search of easy game – namely calves. One ended up on the beaches of Diu! The problem is compounded by the declining areas of forest outside the sanctuary, forcing villagers to forage for fuel within its precincts, reducing the lions’ habitat.
Rajkot Gujarat India Travel
This former capital of the princely state of Saraushtra has matured into the second city of Gujarati affairs. Once a base for the Western States British government office, Rajkot rapidly expanded into a prosperous, lively business centre, with an evocative old city. It’s also a testament to modern Gujarat, where farmers sell ghee on street corners, and mall-dressed young professionals race to lunch through lanes selling fresh produce.
Porbandar Gujarat India Travel
The port town of Porbandar, located between Veraval and Dwarka, is famed as the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. This friendly beachside town on the southeast coast is Gujarat now builds its reputation on cement and soda ash, and is well off the tourist map. You can’t swim here due to rough, repugnant seas; in fact, you can’t do much except stroll the tree-lined streets enjoying the invigorating sea breeze, visit the former house of the loin-clothed fakir, or pay respects at a neighbouring shrine. Back towards Jynbeeli bridge you’ll find some lovely mangroves replete with birdlife.
Palitana Gujarat India Travel
The hustling, bustling town of Palitana, 51km southwest of Bhavnagar, has grown up to serve the pilgrim trade around Shatrunjaya.