Having visited the dham of Dwarkadheesh on previous day and enjoying the boat ride to Beyt Dwarka , I was anxious to the core about the coming days of the trip.
Today a road trip from Dwarka till Somnath via Porbandar was on the cards. I did my research and was ready with the places to stop on the way to enjoy the scenery that was on offer. We had our breakfast and immediately hit the road.
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When the Road & the Sea travel together! |
On about running for 25 km on a beautifully laid down road, we drove our car off the road and onto the sand. We were near the Bechtel Beach near a place called Okha Madhi. This place is comparatively less known to the tourists as they drive straight to Porbandar from Dwarka.
Our driver was also surprised to record that I knew about this beach. One has to walk some 50 metres uphill to reach the beach. Once you are at the top, the views that you see are as spell bounding as any of the Harry Potter novel/movie!
It is an image taken right out of the imagination of the world’s greatest artist. Since it is less known to the public hence had countable visitors when we reached. Words will fall short to describe the sheer beauty of the place. I am attaching the images to let you sink in the feeling.
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Our companion on the trip! |
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The peeking view from the top |
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First view of the Bechtel beach |
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As serene as it can get |
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Looks like a painting |
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Land sea & sky meeting @ horizon |
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After spending a good time at the beach we were on the road again. One feature of the road trip in this part of the country is that you will get to see a lot of wind mills.
Next we arrived at Porbandar. We visited two major places here – Sudama Puri Temple and Kirti Temple [Birthplace of - Mahatma Gandhi (‘Bapu’) ].
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Group of windmills |
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Windmill right on the road |
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We first visited the Sudamapuri Temple. The temple was constructed in reverence to Sudama the childhood friend and devotee of Lord Krishna. It is said to be the only temple in India dedicated to this ardent devotee of Lord Krishna. The structure of the temple was somewhat similar to the Dwarkadheesh temple of Dwarka.
The interesting part of this temple is the maze! According to a common belief among the devotees, if a person crosses this maze all his sins are forgiven. We also did go through the maze , and about the sins I can’t say :-P
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Sudamapuri Temple complex |
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Maze that is said to wash away the sins |
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Magnificent architecture of Sudamapuri Temple |
Post walking through the maze, we visited the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi – Father of the Nation. His home is now converted into a memorial temple where people can visit and get a glimpse of the place where a man like none was born.
The original house was built like a haveli with three storeys. The height of the temple is of 79 feet symbolizes the 79 years of lifespan of Gandhi. Also there is a well preserved ‘spot’ exactly where the great man came to earth.
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Kirti Mandir |
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Entrance to Kirti Mandir |
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Kirti Mandir complex |
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Images from different stages of life of Gandhi |
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Entry to Birthplace |
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Spot of the Birth |
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By the time we finished paying homage to the Father of the Nation, it was lunch time. We sat down at a local restaurant and once again enjoyed the Gujarati dishes to feed our bellies. Post lunch we were again on the road to Somnath.
Running for about 60 kms from Porbandar we came across a stretch of the road where road and the sea ran parallel and adjacent to each other. This was the most scenic part of the drive! Also there is a beach called Madhavpur beach on this stretch where one can get off the road and spend some time.
We relaxed for a while on the beach. This beach though not as serene and calm as the Bechtel beach but is definitely beautiful nevertheless. We enjoyed some coconut-water (Naariyal-paani or Daab) at the beach.
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Scenic view of road & sea adjacent to each other |
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Looks like a marine drive |
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Madhavpur beach |
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A bird spotted @ Madhavpur beach |
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Long running Madhavpur beach |
It was another hour and half drive from Madhavpur beach to Somnath and the skies had started becoming darker. Upon reaching we got fresh and visited the Somnath Temple.
But because of less time left to cover it and still a lot of people trying to get in we decided to pull back as we had full next day for Somnath and Gir National Park – Home of the Asiatic Lions. Nevertheless I was able to capture the night vision of the magnificent temple!
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The Somnath Temple |
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All lit up Somnath Temple |
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With this the second day of the trip came to an end. We will soon come back and share the experiences of the third day! Till then keep holidaying and enjoy the onset of winters in the Northern part of the country!
Planning a trip to Gujarat for your next vacations ?? Feel free to get in touch with us with for any help for your trip.
Phone : +91-9313-777-577 , +91-9312-777-577
5 comments:
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