Gujarat: The unexplored state

The first thing that comes to mind on thinking of Gujarat is the “Kuchh din to guzaro Gujarat mein” campaign line. So, when we got the opportunity we planned a week’s trip the non-mainstream places of Gujarat

TLDR of our itinerary:

• Day 1: Bhuj-Koteshwar-Dhorodo
• Day 2: Dhorodo-Dwarka
• Day 3: Dwarka
• Day 4: Dwarka-Porbander-Somnath-Gir
• Day 5: Gir-Diu
• Day 6: Diu
• Day 7: Diu-Veraval-Mumbai

From the looks of it, it looks like I visited a lot of temple cities. Its not wrong, Gujarat has a rich history related to Lord Krishna and Lord Shiva. But not a lot of people know that Gujarat also has an undisclosed connection with the Harappan Civilisation. Apart from this, there is the area of Rann of Kutchh that is considered to be among the harshest regions to live in.

Lets go through the itinerary one by one.

Day 1: Bhuj - Koteshwar - Dhorodo

Places Of Interest: Koteshwar, Narayan Sarovar, Rann Utsav

We took a train from Mumbai in evening and reached Bhuj the next day. We freshened up at the Regenta Resort and left for Koteshwar.

Right before Koteshwar is Narayana Sarovar. Narayana Sarovar has a temple devoted to Lord Vishnu. This lake has huge historical significance, it is considered to be an outlet for the now dried-up River Saraswati.

In Hindu culture, this Lake is one of the 5 holy lakes - Panch-Sarovar: Mansarovar, Bindu Sarovar, Narayan Sarovar, Pampa Sarovar and Pushkar Sarovar, and thus a pilgrimage spot.

Koteshwar is a small temple in the Kutchh district. It is located at the mouth of Kori Creek. This village is popular for its Lord Shiva temple and is built upon a Shivlinga.

From Koteshwar, we left for the Tent City - Dhorodo. This is the place where the famous Rann Utsav takes place. We reached Dhorodo in the evening. There were stalls of Gujarati food and crafts which hosted some local artisans. It was a lively fair.

After spending some time, we went to our resort - Rann Kandhi resort. They have Gujarati style cottages called Bhunga. They also had their own cultural program where local musicians played Gujarati music near a bonfire. They also served home-cooked Gujarati food which was light and delicious.

We enjoyed the evening and went to rest for the night.

Day 2: Dhorodo - Dwarka

Places Of Interest: White Desert, Road to Heaven, Harappan Civilisation

The next morning, we woke up around 6am to go for Paramotoring and hot air balloon rides in the white desert as part of ‘Rann Utsav’. We got the opportunity to see the sunrise from the hot air balloon.

We also walked in the White Rann Desert. The entire area is covered in salt crystals. It was a very unique experience.

After this, we went to Dholavira via the Road to Heaven. The Road to Heaven is a under-construction road, that passes through the Rann of Kutchh. There is a sea of salt crystals and salt water on both the side of the water. This road cut short our travel time.

In Dholavira, we visited the excavation site of the Harappan Civilisation. The site was accidentally discovered by locals while building a dam in 1968. The site was explored by archeologists till 2005, after which the exploration stopped. The site is only 15% excavated, fearing structural damage to entire city. The city was very well planned with water reservoirs, wells, clearly defined houses for nobility, servants and craftsmen, stadiums and mines.

After this, we left to Dwarka, where we reached late at night.

Day 3: Dwarka

Places Of Interest: Dwarkadhish temple, Bet Dwarka Temple, Shivrajpur Beach

In Dwarka, we visited the local temples early in the morning - Dwarkadhish Temple and Bet Dwarka. We visited the Shivrajpur Beach as well. It was a very clean beach.

In the afternoon, we headed back to our hotel and rested for the rest of the day.

Please note that timings of meals are fixed all across Gujarat. You will find all restaurants closed if you reach after this time - we ended up having snacks too many times because we missed the fixed times due to travel

Day 4: Dwarka - Porbander - Somnath - Gir

Places Of Interest: Kirti Mandir, Sudama Temple, Somnath Temple, Saavaj Resort

The next morning, we headed to Somnath from Dwarka. Porbander falls on the route to Somnath, so we decided to make a stop there.

Porbander is the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi. His birth house is known as Kirti Mandir. Porbander is also the place where Sudama, Lord Krishna’s friend took residence. There is a temple devoted to him called Sudama temple. This temple has a very unique way of doing parikrama - there is a labyrinth which you need to walk through.

The highway from Dwarka to Somnath is along the sea, and you can see a lot of beaches from the highway. You will not expect this in Gujarat but there are a lot of coconut plantations along the coast.

We reached the popular Somnath temple in the later half of the afternoon. This grand temple was once rumoured to be covered in gold. It lost its grandness over time owing to repeating plundering by Mughal conquerors. The temple which is devoted to Lord Shiva, is very well maintained and is on its way to be restored to its grandness. It is right on the coast and you can see the fast waters of the sea crashing against the coast.

After this, we headed to our resort in Gir forest. We stayed at the Amidhara Resort. The resort was close to the Gir national park and was spread across a huge area in Nature’s Lap.

In the evening, there was a local cultural program presented by the descendents of African workers who stayed in Gir as part of their labour contract with the then king. The program looked like a celebration the locals would do around a bonfire and is very festive. This cultural program is organised in Saavaj Resort from 8:30 PM onwards.

Day 5: Gir - Diu

Places Of Interest: Gir Lion Safari, War Memorial

The next morning we woke up early for our scheduled Lion safari in Gir National Park from 6:30 AM onwards. We had to pre-book permits for this safari beforehand using their online portal. They only have a fixed number of permits for a time slot.

The Lion Safari is an open jeep safari. We went in mid december, so it was very cold and windy. We were wrapped in jackets and caps throughout.

The safari was very scintillating. We got to see two lions sitting very close to us, waiting for the sun to rise. In the 2.5 hours that we were in the forest, we got to see a lot of different birds, deers, owls. We even got to see 2 lioness and 3 cubs basking in the morning sunlight.

After the safari, we headed to Diu. Diu is a union territory and is not part of the Gujarat state. It has a very quaint atmosphere, the vibe of the city is very relaxing, there is no hustle.

In the evening, we went to visit War memorial built in the memory of Navy officers who lost their life on board INS Khukri during the Indo-Pak war of 1971. It is a very well built monument on the sea coast.

After this, we headed back to our hotel and retired for the night.

Day 6: Diu

Places Of Interest: Ghogla Beach, Diu Fort, INS Khukri Museum, Naida Caves, Jalandhar Beach, Nagoa Beach

Early in the morning, we headed to Ghogla Beach to see the sunrise. It is a very clean and quiet beach - must visit.

After seeing the sunrise, we headed to Diu Fort. The fort was very quiet - probably because we went early in the morning before the touristy time. You can rent a cycle outside the fort to roam around in the fort. Outside the fort, there were local folks selling very good quality dry fruits. They get these dry fruits from Goa, and this is the other main source of income for them except tourism.

From the fort, we visited INS Khukri Museum. It is a decommissioned boat converted to a museum. Inside you can see how a naval warship looks like.

We wanted to visit Naida Caves, but they were closed. So we headed to the heritage walkway nearby on Jalandhar Beach.

Post this, we headed back to our hotel for lunch and rested. In the evening, we went to Nagoa Beach to see the sunset. We spent some time on the beach, then went back to our hotel for dinner and rested.

Day 7: Diu - Veraval - Mumbai

The next morning, we needed to catch our train back to Mumbai. The train was to start from Verval station. So we went to Veraval, which is the hub for fishing and shipwrights. On the way we got the chance to see a sea of boats and ships, in water, still new and yet to test the waters and under construction.

We wrapped up our long and eventful journey in Veraval, then headed back home to Mumbai.