Best Tourist Places in Somnath, Junagadh, Gujarat, India

Best Tourist Places in Somnath, Junagadh, Gujarat, India

Somnath Temple is a sacred place among the Hindu religion and is sighted on the Indian continent in the state of Gujarat in Junagadh district.  The place, Kshetra is famous throughout the country because of the existence of the Somnath Temple. The temple lies close to the Arabian Sea. The geographical coordinate puts the temple at 20053’169” N and 70024’50” E. During summer season the temperature ranges from 240 C to 420 C and in winter season the temperature ranges from 100 C to 340 C. The temple, Somnath is 202 meters above sea level.

The month from November to February is the most convenient time to tour Somnath.

History of Somnath

According to mythology, the Moon God received a curse from King Daksh who married his 27 daughters to the Moon God. The King on being acknowledged by the fact, that the Moon God created partiality among his daughters, while displaying feelings for only one of the 26 daughters, he threw a curse on the Moon God. In order to find a solution to break the curse, the Moon God began to pray to Lord Shiva. The Lord on being impressed by the prayers of Moon God relieved the Moon God from the curse.

The Moon God then constructed the Somanath temple using gold at Somnath. During the Ramayana Yuga, the King of Sri Lanka, Ravana modified the temple using silver. In the Dwarka Yuga, Shri Krishna further modified the temple using sandalwood.

Over time, the Indian country was invaded by the Turkish and Arabs who plundered and looted many temples in India. One of these temples happens to be the Somnath temple. After the end of the British Raj in the country, the temple received restoration work from the then Government of India.

People & Culture of Somnath

Kshetra, the place where Somnath Temple is located offers a rich and diverse culture, with people from all caste, religion and sect residing throughout the place. Gujarati, English and Hindi are the languages spoken by the people in and around Kshetra, with Gujarati being the local language.

Garba dance has been the main culture in this region and is mostly performed throughout the district during the Navaratri Festival. Other festivals such as Christmas, Holi, Diwali etc., are celebrated in a grand way throughout Junagadh district.

Food and Shopping at Somnath

There are plenty of eateries and café joints in and around the Kshetra. Restaurants at Kshetra are specialized in catering continental and non-continental cuisines. However, vegetarian food is regarded as traditional food in the entire region. The traditional food typically consists of rice or chapattis, pulses, vegetables, salad, papad and curd.

Dhokla, Khandvi are some of the popular snacks of this region.

Kshetra is filled colorful shops, emporiums and malls that sell any commodities from fashionable garments, magnificently crafted handicraft and souvenirs, required by an individual.

Tourist Places in and near Somnath

Somnath has religious places with amazing picturesque landscapes of interest. Some of these interesting places are mentioned below

  • Somnath Temple

This is one of the oldest temples in the state of Gujarat and constructed during the ancient times. The main deity of the temple is the holy Shivlinga. According to Hindu mythology, the temple was built by the Moon God after being acquainted from the curse thrown by a King.

  • Gita Mandir (Birla Temple)

This temple was constructed in the year 1970, by the Birla family. The place is situated next to the meeting of three sacred rivers and this river hence got the name Triveni Tirtha.

  • Lakshmi-Narayan Mandir

The temple is quite near to the temple, Birla. The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, in the incarnated form of Lord Lakshminarayan.

 

  • Junagadh Gate

This gate forms the entrance of the temple. Just like the Somnath temple this gateway too is an ancient monument with inscriptions written on it.

  • Panch Pandava Gufa

This temple is at a place, Lalghati located in Somnath. It was constructed in the year 1949 by one Baba Narayandas, and is devoted to the Pandavas of the Mahabharata epic.

There are other interesting places with amazing scenes of interest in Somnath such as

  • Dehotsarg Teerth
  • Shree Parshuram Temple
  • Suraj Mandir
  • Bhalka Tirth
  • Triveni Ghat

 

Means of Commutation to Somnath

Kshetra is well connected with the rest of the places in India through roadways, railways and airway. The place has very good public transport facilities.

The distance of Kshetra from some of the cities in Gujarat and neighboring states are given below

  • Ahmedabad is located at a distance of 401 km
  • Mumbai is located at a distance of 889 km
  • Pune is located at a distance of 1015 km
  • Bhopal is located at a distance of 1075 km
  • Delhi is located at a distance of 1305 km

Veraval railway station located at a distance of 6 km from Somnath. There are regular trains from cities like Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Mumbai do stop at Veraval railway station.

Airports located at Koshed and Diu is the closest airports to Kshetra. Koshed airport is located at a distance of 57 km from Somnath, while Diu is located at a distance of 90 km from Somnath. Flights are available from Mumbai and Ahmedabad to these airports only. The international airport at Ahmedabad is located at a distance of 400 km.

Accommodation Options at Somnath

Hotels such as three star, four star and resort at Somnath offer world class amenities such as car on hire, free breakfast, Wi-Fi, etc. These hotels have rooms such as luxury, deluxe and suites which start at tariff of Rs. 3000/- per day. Decent budget hotels are also available at Somnath where one could enjoy a memorable hospitality for Rs. 500/- per day. Some of the names of hotels in Somnath are

  • Lords Inn
  • Hotel Kaveri
  • Hotel Sukhsagar
  • Safari Hotel & Resort
  • Hotel Subh Suvidha
  • Rajdhani Hotel
  • Park Hotel
  • Hotel Radhika
  • Hotel Anand Inn
  • Shiv Sagar Hotel
  • Hotel Madhuram
  • Hotel Rajdev
  • Hotel Paradise
  • Tanna Guesthouse

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