Gujarat can be divided into three parts. Eastern Gujarat, the middle Kathiawar or Saurashtra peninsula and the western Kutch peninsula.
In Eastern Gujarat, is the medium sized city of Vadodara (Baroda). It was the capital of the princely state of Gaikwad at one time. It is about a 100 Kms south east of Ahmedabad. About 47 Kms North East of Vadodara is the city of Champaner. It was at one time also known as Mohammadabad. Besides Champaner is the ‘HILL OF PAVAGADH’. Champaner too is an 882m high hill in the range of GIRNAR HILLS. It has an old ruined fortress on top of it. The Pavagadh fort is visible for miles around. Legends have it that Pavagadh is a part of the Himalayan Mountain that had been carried off by the monkey God Hanuman. It is said that the Hill of Pavagadh is about a quarter of that mountain. Parts of the massive fort wall still dominate the skyline. It is said that in 1553 Humayun himself with his army captured the fort by scaling its wall after driving iron spikes into its walls. A festival takes place at the foot of the hill in the month of March/April. The festival is in honor of the great goddess Mahakali. The fort of Pavagadh rises in three storeys. It has the ruined fort, the palace and middle fort and the upper fort with its Hindu and Jain temples. The hill climbs steeply and one can pass several ruins including a summer pavilions.
It is a very old town. Historical records tell of this town’s existence nearly about 2000 years ago. It lies between Vadodara and Surat and is about an hour’s journey from each town. It has a fort on the hilltop, which looks down at the Narmada River meandering below. At the base of the hill is the Jama Masjid. Upstream of Bharuch is the controversial Sardar Sarovar Dam.
This hill station is situated is southeast corner of the state. It has an altitude of 1000m and is a popular starting base for trips to the ‘Gira Water Falls’ situated 52Kms away and to the ‘Mahal Bardipara forest wildlife sanctuary’, which is about 60 Kms. away. This place has the Sarpagana river flowing nearby which has a sacred snake image on its banks. This is so because the name of the hill resort means ‘Home of Serpents’.
It was founded in 1743. It is an important trading port for the cotton goods made in Gujarat. It has a lock gate, which helps keep ships afloat at low tide. Nearby is a small hillock upon which sits the ‘TAKHTESHWAR TEMPLE’. The hillock provides a fantastic view over the city and right upto the Gulf of Cambay.
Palitana is situated about 51 Kms. South west of Bhavnagar. It is about 182m above sea level and is the base for the nearby hill top complex of Shatrunjaya. ‘SHATRUNJAYA’ literally means the place of victory and is Jain's most sacred pilgrimage site. At the foot of the hill flows the Shatrunjaya River and looking up at the hill the scenery is bound to leave a person spellbound. The hill has about 863 shrines. These temples, built over a period of 900 years stand alone and pregnant with powers at dusk. Even the Priests leave the temples alone for the gods to play. Shatrunjaya is the largest temple City of its kind in India. The hillside is about 3½ Kms up with 3950 steps. The temples are grouped into nine enclosures. Each has a central temple with smaller ones clustered around. Local traditions and legends tell the stories about Adinatha, the first Jain tirthankan. His temple is quite notable. Next to it is the Muslim Shrine of ‘Angar Pir’ where women wanting children offer prayers and tiny cradles.
The temple ceremonies are elaborate and worth a visit. Tall solid walls or battlements surround the temple. The ‘Chaumukh’ temple also known as the ‘Adinath Temple’ has images of Adinath facing all four directions. Over it rises a tall thin tower. There is the ‘Adishvara Temple’, which has a double storied mandapa inside. In it is the image of Rishabhanath with eyes of crystal and a crown made of gold and jewels. The southern group of temples has the temple of ‘Ramaji Gandharia’ and the Labyrinth of ‘Bhulavani’. This is a temple with a number of chambers resembling crypts each with their own domes. The Elephant gate or ‘Hathipol’ faces the southeast. Some of the temples are dedicated to Vimal Shah, Kumar Pal and Sampriti Raj. Leather items are not allowed in the temple complex. The Jains believe the ‘Pundarika’, the chief disciple of Adinatha attained nirvana here. The temple bells and the chanting of the pilgrims create a peaceful serene environment on Shatrunjaya Hill. Some of the names of the nine enclosures or ‘Tuk’ are Vimalavasi, Khartaravasi, Saka Premchand, Ujambi Hemabai, Sheth Hemabai Vakatachand and others. The ‘Vallabhai Temple’ has clusters of finely sculpted spires, which provide an amazing site for the visitors.
Moving towards Northern Saurashtra one can reach Rajkot, the town where Mahatma Gandhi grew up. On the way to Bhavnagar, about 60 Km. South East of Rajkot is the hill top castle of HINGOLGADH. It is situated near Jasden. HINGOLGADH Castle has a small Sanctuary surrounding it. One can find Nilgai, jungle cat, gazzelle and lots of different birds belonging to the scrub type of the vegetation. Another sanctuary nearby is the Botad Panjarapole Sanctuary. It is an animal haven and has hundreds of black buck antelopes that wonder around freely in the grasslands.
This city was once the capital of Gujarat. It is situated on the edge of the GIRNAR and DATTA HILLS. The GIRNAR HIILL top is reached after climbing about 10000 steps made of stone. At the base of the Hill is a scrubby forest of teakwood. The ascent takes about 2½ hours. At the top of the hills are temples, which hold great significance for the Jains. Five of the temples are Jain. These include the oldest 12th century ‘Temple of Neminath’ (22nd Jain tirthankar) Nearby is the triple structured temple of Mallinath, another Jain tirthankar. At the top of the peak is the ‘Amba Mata’ temple most popular with newly weds.
The ‘Bhavnath Fair’ is held during the month of January/February. The Nagas or naked sadhus visit the temple at this time. Again, predictably folk music and dancing is very popular with the people. Other times for gathering of sadhus at his temple are the festivals around the year especially the ‘Kartik Purnima’ fair held in the month of November/ December.
These are 14 in number written in the Pali script. Emperor Ashok, around 250 B.C, inscribed them. One can see them on a huge boulder on the moral teachings, telling people to be gentle with women, kind to animals, planting medicinal herbs and giving alms to the poor. The Sanskrit inscriptions added later on by other kings talk of the events that took place during their time like the recurring floods which destroyed the nearby (now no longer in existence) Sudarshan Lake.
It has a fort, which stands, upon a plateau. It has Jama Masjid, which was built by using the remains of the destroyed Ranakdevi Mahal and Tomb of Nuri Shah. It is known as the Uperkot fort and was built by Chandragupta Maurya in 319 BC. It has an extensively carved and decorated triple gateway and was a stronghold of the Mauryas as well as the Gupta Kings. It has been attacked at least 16 times and one of the times the attack continued for a period of 12 years. It is said to have remained abandoned for about 300 years from the 7th to the 10th century AD. It contains a ‘baoli’ or stepwell called ‘Adi Chadi Vav’. This well has a spiral staircase and 172 steps. Two slave girls had been bricked up as a sacrifice so that the well may continue to supply water. Another stepwell is the Navghan Kuva’ It is 52m. deep and was built in the later half of the 11th century. The west wall of the fort has a couple of guns, the larger of which was cast in Egypt in 1531. The smaller is called ‘Chudanal’ where as the larger is known as ‘ Nilam’. The Turkish Adminal Sulaiman Pasha left them for the local ruler. He used it to repel the Portuguese. Near the fort lies the ‘Buddhist Care Monastery’. They date back to the time of Emperor Ashoka. The cave has a gallery with pillars carved out of the rocks. The ventilation as well as the drainage system is quite advanced. The ventilation has managed to balance the movement of breezes within the monastery and keep it a cool place even during the hot summers.
It is a religious town located on the borders near Rajasthan. It is about 65 Kms. away from Palampur. It has the temple of Maa Amba devi situated on top of the Gabbar Hill which is about 3 Kms. away from the town. This temple is one of the 52 Shakti peeths of Goddess Parvati. It is said that her heart fell at this place. The temple is very old and its origins are not known. On the Gabbar Hill, footsteps of the Goddess are imprinted. The yantra is made of gold and has 51 ‘Shlokas’ written on it. It is one of the oldest, richest and holiest temples of Gujarat. One can either walk up a steep, winding pathway or travel on a ropeway. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to reach to top on foot.
Also, near the borders is the POSHINA PORT. It is about 45Km. From the Aby Road and is situated on the Aravali Hills. The fort was made in the 15th century near the joining (confluence) of two holy rivers. One can see the local tribal villages working as silversmiths, potters, arrow makers as well as basket weavers. The fair held in the month of March/April about a fortnight after Holi is quite unique and colorful. The Bhils and the Garacias tribal gather here in large numbers. Apart from the usual tribal festivals dancing and music, they also mourn their dead. Near the end of the festival or fair, the tradition of elopements takes place in large numbers. Many couples elope all with the blessings of the elders.
Near the town of AMBAJI is the small town of KUMBHARIYAJI, which has beautifully sculpted Jain temples.
HILLS OF GUJARATIn the extreme south of Gujarat, bordering Maharashtra, the western Ghats extend into the state, while in the North Eastern part of the state, it is the Aravali Range moving in right upto the areas surrounding Ahmedabad. On the southern side of the Kathiawar peninsula are the Marrday and Girnar Hills. The rest of Gujarat is either plain and barren or cultivated land.