Blissful trip to Duuwarika and Somnath

Without any guesses,the possible destination to be covered  during this January vacations was Dwarka and Somnath ,as these were the last dhams pending in our Chardham yatra .So we decided to make Rajkot as our base ,and beginning from Dwarka would cover Porbander, Somnath, Bhuj and White Rann. Extended the journey  till Kutch as it was the time of Rann Utsav. For those who love sea, sun, birds, sand , temples and heritage this is an amazing trip,and indeed it turned to be a cozy, easy,private trip.

The trip started by Boarding 11.50 a.m flight from Mangalore to Rajkot with a change over at Mumbai .The first sight that drew my attention as we touched Rajkot runway were the  scattered colorful kites on the turf , hinting that Rajkot citizens had a vibrant kite flying festival.
Our accommodation was booked at Hotel SS Inn above Sankalp Restaurant located at Race course road. We were allotted a studio room ,Race course garden view  from the window was awesome.      It was a chilly and pleasant evening for any Coastal kannadiga. When we enquired for sight seeing arrangements available at Hotel desk,the Hotel Manager turned to be an introvert ,did not respond to our enquiries. We roamed around the city in an auto catching some sights and sounds.

Sri Swaminarayana Mandir,Rajkot

The temple built in pink stone is decked in intricate stone detailing on arches and columns .No concrete or cement has been used in construction.Central shrine has idol of Lord Swami Narayan , other shrines are Harikrishna Maharaj and Lord Krishna & Radha.

Swami Narayan Mandir Rajkot

Jain temple
Temple architecture is outstanding.

Love temple

Culmination of religious arts inside Love Temple

Love temple is a Syro-Malabar cathedral dedicated to Sacred heart of Jesus.It blends the architectural features of other religions but looks like a temple. There is a mosaic of Jesus seated in a meditation pose above a lotus like an Indian holy man.

Night had crispy Masala dosa at Sankalp restaurant. Quite contented to taste south Indian quality dosa accompanied with 3 chutnies and perfect sambhar in Gujrath. There were wide variety of dosas, idlies,bisibele bat  and other authentic South Indian tiffin items,the waiters were explaining about composition of bisibele bat to guests (I was in all smiles)

We had booked a taxi from Deepak Travels -Rajkot to traverse this figure 8 tracing circuit starting from Rajkot- Bet Dwarka, Somnath, Junagadh, Rajkot, Bhuj, Koteshwar, White Rann and back to Rajkot . The total travelling cost suggested was around Rs 20,000 for the 6 days itinerary, apart from the hotel accommodation .

Early morning , driver MukeshBhai picked us in  Tata A/C Manza  ,briefed us about day’s programme,he spoke fluently in hindi .

Rajkot to Jamnagar  (100 kms)

First  spot in this series turned to be Aradhana Dham after Jamnagar. This is a Jain temple dedicated to Shree Halartheerth , there are galleries depicting Hindu mythology and a garden in the premises.Spent some 30 minutes inside the temple.

Nageshwar Jyotirling

Nageshwar Temple is located on the route between Gomati Dwarka and the Bet Dwarka,the powerful Jyotirlinga symbolizes protection from all poisons.The massive statue of Lord Shiva in meditation posture  could be  spotted from long distance as we approach Nageshwar. We performed abhishek to the lingam, ladies are permitted to enter sanctum ,pooja thali items need to be purchased  at the temple .The silver shivalingam is  Nageshwar accompanied by  Devi Nageshwari faces south.

Kneeling before  85 ft Statue of Lord Shiva seated in Meditation position

at the temple entrance. From Nageshwar left to Dwaraka. The road all through the drive is dotted with wind mills (pavanchakki).

WIND MILLS -SOURCE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE

Bet – Dwarka is an island surrounded by sea from all sides. Boat service is available between Okha and Bet-Dwarka, it’s a 15 minute journey but one has to wait till the boat is full, there is no ticket counter, gents are not allowed to sit on the floor of the boat.Feeding the sea gulls can be good time pass. The temple opens at 5.00 p.m due to  construction work of temples going on.One has to deposit camera ,mobiles and luggage at the counter. This temple is considered as residence of Lord Krishna, Sudhama came from Porbandhar to meet his friend here.One can buy prasadam,there is a free meal service for pilgrims.It was almost 6.00p.m when we reached our taxi, so after an hour long drive reached Dwarka .

Jetty ride from Okha to Bet Dwarka

Archway to Lord Krishna temple at Bet Dwarka 

Jamnagar to Dwarkadish temple (100 kms)
Straight away headed to the Dwarkadish temple to witness evening arthi. Liked this aspect of devotees greeting the Lord as their soulful friend by raising both hands. Drum beats and keerthans made the environment divine and serene. There were many Tamilians in the crowd. Women and men are allowed in separate queues, luggage,mobiles & camera are not permitted.

We retired in our room at Hotel Bhansi, this hotel is near to temple has parking facility. Even though I voluntarily wrote my reviews about the hotel, I continue to get calls from other travel sites regarding our stay even after a week .

Dwarka-Porbandar-Somnath (250 kms)

Dwarkadish Temple 

Next morning had another glimpse of Lord, dip in Gomti river.There are shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva, Balram and Devki in the premises of Dwarkadish temple. Purchased Balgopal and souvenirs from the Adi Shankarcharya Mutt at the temple. After breakfast of Dhokla and Parota left to Rukmini Temple.

Rukmini Matha Temple
Our driver told that us that without visiting Rukmini Temple Chardham circuit is not complete. This temple is said to be some 2500 years old. This is a carved temple, decorated with Sculptures of Gods. The priest gave a commentary on the significance and the history of the place, we donated towards Jaldhan as Dwarka is completely dependent on Potable Water from outside.

Enroute Porbandar visited Harsiddi Mata Mandir, spotted Dhirubhai Ambani’s Ancestral home .

Porbandar turned to be a dusty town due to the ongoing cable laying excavation work throughout the town . Visited the house where our father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi was born in the city of Porbandar. The house is situated in a small road. Though it is renovated at the exterior, the basic house with 22 rooms and 2 storeys is maintained, Photographs of Gandhiji are housed in a museum, library are worth visiting. Purchased a T Shirt from souvenir shop .Also visited Bharath Mandir ,Akash Bhavan (could have been skipped )and Sri Sudama Mandir dedicated to humble friend of Lord Krishna.

Bharath Matha Mandir at Porbandhar

Mahatma Gandhiji's birth place at Porbandar

Mahatma's house ..visitors entry gate

A peekaboo moment inside Gandhiji's house

Dhirubhai Ambani's ancestral home

Sudhama Temple

At Somnath we had booked Maheshwari Bhavan, after dumping the luggage left for Sri Golaknath Dham near Triveni Ghat, Pandu Gufa and Surya Temple.

Lord Krishna breathed his last at Gujarat’s Prabhas Patan. Golok Dham was the place from where Krishna embarked onto his journey to the Nijdham .The footprints of Krishna are present at the place from where he left for the Baikunth Dham. Following in Krishna’s footsteps his elder brother Balram also made his journey to Nijdham via same route.

Golakdham- Bhagwan Shree Krishna took his divine journey to Neejadham

Footprints of Bhagwan ShriKrishna 

Temple of Lord Somnathji

Somnathji temple is a beautiful, cleanest and hi-tech temple complex,  Standing tall on the ocean shore , the temple is an example of recent Indian craftsmanship in Chalukya style built at the site of the old temple which was ransacked by the Moghuls. Security check up is tight at this temple, bags are not permitted inside the campus. Arthi can be viewed from outside on the big LED screens , abhishek can be performed electronically without entering the sanctum. Shehnai music during Arthi for some 30 minutes left us mesmerized .Next part of the post will cover journey from Somnath to Bhuj and back to Rajkot.