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Pop: 108,000, Area
Phone Code: 02876
Veraval
This is the city next to Somnath and Prabhas Patan. You would normally
use this town as a base to visit the pilgrimage toawn of Somnath, as
Somnath is very small town.
Mahmud of Ghazni broke the ancient Junagadh Gate when he entered the
town to loot the Somnath temple. About a km from the gate is the ancient
Mai Puri, previously a sun temple and now a mosque.
Information
The State Bank of India, near the railway station,
changes cash only. No banks in Veraval exchange travelers cheques.
JP Travels (220110; fax240014) changes travelers checks.
Magnet Cyber Cafe, in the Hotel Ustav offer Internet
for Rs 25 per hour.
Where to Stay—Veraval
Satkar Hotel (220120),
near the bus stand, is a good place to stay. It has well-maintained,
clean rooms for Rs 250/250 to Rs 550/600 with A/C. It has hot water
in the morning and dorm beds for Rs 50. It is on a side street, so it
is quiet at night.
Hotel Ajanta, across from the bus stand, is a good
place with rooms with bath for Rs 250/375 and Rs 400/500 for a deluxe
room with TV.
Toran Tourist Bungalow (246588, 220488), College Rd,
near the seashore and lighthouse, has quite well-maintained rooms for
Rs 400/500 and with A/C for 500/600. Dorm bed for Rs 125. It is inconveniently
located and checkout time is 9 am. Have balconies with a good view of
the ocean and sunset.
Chetna Rest House (220688), across from the bus stand,
has clean basic rooms with bath for Rs 100/150 and with common bath
for 85/150.
Hotel Park (242702; fax 242056), on the road to Junagadh,
has rooms for Rs 750/950 and Rs 1150/1400 with A/C.
There are Retiring Rooms at the railway station for
Rs 150/175. Dorm beds are Rs 75.
Where to Stay—Chorwad
At Chorwad, 20km from Veraval, there is a former summer
palace of the Nawabs of Junagadh, now converted into the Palace
Beach Resort (02876 88557). Rooms in the cottages are Rs 550.
Rooms in the annex are Rs 300 and Rs 700 with A/C. This place can be
booked ahead at a Gujarat tourist office. It is a pleasant place with
a nice garden, although it has been poorly maintained and is beginning
to fall apart.
Where to Eat
Sagar Restaurant
(223-939) Riddhi Siddhi Complex, Depot Road, between the bus stand and
the clock tower, is a good A/C place. Recommended.
Foodland Restaurant, a five-minute walk from the bus
stand near the clock tower, has good all-you-can-eat thalis for Rs 40.
The service is good.
New Apsara, near the railway station, is a good vegetarian
place.
Travel
Air
There is an airport 47km away in Keshod, from which daily flights to
Mumbai (1 daily, $110) depart. There is no Indian Airlines office in
Veraval, but Somnath Travels, Satta Bazaar, can obtain tickets.
Rail
The Girnar Exp #9845 (7:30 pm, 10 hr) and the Somnath Mail #9923
(5:05 pm, 9½ hr) go to Ahmedabad (14 hr) via Junagadh (2 hr).
To get to Mumbai, you can take the Veraval-Rajkot Mail #9837 (11:25
am, 5 hr) to Rajkot (4 hr), and from there, the Saurashtra Mail #9006
(5:20 pm, 13 hr) to Mumbai Central via Ahmedabad.
There are two trains a day to Sasan Gir and Delwada (for Diu).
The Railway Station (220444) is 1 km north of the main downtow area.
Bus
There are buses to all over Gujarat, including Dwarka (7 hr), Junagadh
(2 hr), Rajkot (5 hr), Diu (2½ hr), Sasan Gir, Bhavnagar, and
Porbandar (3 hr).
Mayur Travels and Neelam Travels
(221602) are agents for the private bus companies. HK Travels
(221934) St Rd arranges private buses.
Veraval to Somnath
Between Veraval and Somnath there are buses departing from the bus stands
every fifteen minutes for a few rupees. To go between Veraval and Somnath
by auto-rickshaw is around Rs 50.
Buses to Somnath depart every half-hour from the local bus stand close
to the STC long-distance bus station.
You can hire a rickshaw to take you to the Somnath Temple, stopping
on the way at Bhalka Tirtha and Triveni Tirtha.
You can hire a bike opposite the bus or railway stations,
which is a good way to get around. Try New Kohinoor Cycles
across from the station.
The road from Veraval to Somnath is in bad condition.
Somnath
Phone Code: 02876
One of the twelve Siva Jyotirlingas has been established in the Somnath
Siva Temple. Somnath is on the extreme southwest coast of Gujarat, on
the Arabian Sea, about 300km southwest of Ahmedabad. The town of Somnath
consists of a few streets near the temple and bus stand. There is a
nice beach by the temple. Somnath is said to be located where the River
Saraswati flows into the sea.
Somnath is famous as the place where a hunter shot Lord Krishna in
the foot. It is also known as Prabhas Patan and is the location where
the Yadavas, Lord Krishna’s relatives, fought a fratricidal battle
by the Lord’s will. The explanation is that after Krishna completed
his mission on earth, he wanted to recall his eternal associates, the
Yadavas. They were, however, too powerful to be vanquished by anyone
else, so by the Lord’s will, they were cursed to fight among themselves
and destroy one another.
Somnath Temple
The temple is on the shore of the Arabian Sea, 6km south of Veraval.
In this temple is established one of the twelve Siva Jyotirlingas. A
temple dedicated to Siva has been located here since ancient times.
The temple was destroyed and raided by the Muslims several times, first
by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1026.
It is said that this temple was originally built by Soma, the moon-god,
to atone for the curse Daksha put on him. Daksha cursed Soma because
he was partial toward Rohini over his other wives, who were all Daksha’s
daughters. Because of the curse, the moon began to wane. Daksha advised
Soma to go to Prabhas to free himself of the curse. The moon bathes
here on amavasya, the new moon day, before he regains his light. Because
the moon regained light here, this place is known as Prabhas. Somnath
means the “Lord of the Moon.”
This temple is said to have been built by the moon-god out of gold,
then rebuilt by Ravana out of silver, then by Lord Krishna out of wood,
and later by Bhima (one of the Pandava brothers) out of stone. Two thousand
Brahmins are said to have served in this temple. The temple was also
said to have once had 300 barbers, 500 dancing girls, and 300 musicians.
The temple was raided and destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1026. He
removed a solid silver gate at that time and brought it back to his
homeland. The temple was later destroyed in 1297, 1394, and for the
last time in 1706 by Aurangzeb, just before he died.
The present temple was rebuilt in 1950. It is large, but not artistic.
The present temple has a tower over 50m (165 ft) high over the main
sanctum (altar). It was constructed on the exact spot where the original
temple was situated. You can see remains of an ancient temple right
next to the present temple.
The main aratis are at 7 am, noon, and 7 pm. It is a popular temple.
Non-Hindus are permitted to enter.
Prabhas Patan Museum
This interesting museum has remains of the magnificent old temples.
It is located about a five-minute walk down a small road to the right
of the temple entrance. The entrance to the museum is on the left and
is a little difficult to find. Open daily except Wed and holidays 9
am to noon and 3 to 6 pm.
Prabhas Patan (Bhalka
Tirtha)
“Bhalka” is the name of the village, and “Tirtha”
indicates that it is a holy place. After the destruction of the Yadu
and Bhoja dynasties in Dwarka, Lord Krishna left his palaces and came
to this area called Prabhasaksetra. Uddhava accompanied him. When he
was absorbed in deep thought, a hunter named Jara shot an arrow that
accidentally hit Krishna’s foot, apparently wounding him.
There is a temple built by the tree that is said to be the same tree
under which Krishna was sitting. On the altar there is a white Deity
of Krishna in a sitting posture. One can see the bottom of Krishna’s
foot, pink colored with different auspicious symbols. Nearby is the
hunter, Jara, with folded hands and one knee on the floor. This place
is a few km east of Veraval on the road to Somnath.
Other Places
Near Prabhas, the Yadavas became intoxicated and fought
with one another. Arjuna also came to Prabhas.
The Gita Mandir is located at the confluence of three
rivers, or Triveni Tirtha, about 1km south of the Somnath Temple by
the sea. It is said that Lord Krishna walked about 4km from Bhalka Tirtha
to this place after he was s hot in the foot by the hunter, and left
the planet at this point. There are a few other temples here and the
place where Lord Balarama is said to have left the planet.
The ancient Suraja Mandir, a temple dedicated to the
sun god, was half broken by Mahmud of Ghazni. It has some carving on
it.
Where to Stay—Somnath
Sri
Somnath Guest House (231212),
close to the Somnath Temple, has basic rooms for Rs
60/80.
Hotel Mayurama (231286), across from the bus stand,
has clean, basic rooms with bath for Rs 250/300.
Hotel Sivam (233086), not far from the temple, has
double rooms with bath for Rs 225 and Rs 400 with A/C.
If you know of
a informationthat is not correct or if you would like to help update
our listings, please e-mail us at:
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