Budget Trip to Gujarat

We reached to Gondal early in the morning around 4:00Am. To get refresh and keep our bags we booked The Grand Shiva Hotel which costs us around 1k. We took some hours of sleep and then get freshen up. We started our day with popular Gujarati dish Dhokla and Khandvi in our breakfast and tea. There is one thing i noticed and was common to all places where we traveled that the chaiwallas in Gujarat has saucer to serve tea, and people majorly opt for that over paper or glass cup. We started with Naulakha Palace. It is a private palace and museum which shows the royal culture and lifestyles of Maharaja of Gondal, specifically about Maharaja Bhagvat Singhji. Then visited to Swaminarayan Mandir, which is beautiful and has full of positive vibes. Then we decided to visit the Royal Garage, as name suggest this garage is maintained and owned by the successor of Maharaja Bhagvat Singhji. Car collection is very Vintage as old model from 17-18th century and colors were so vibrant and beautiful. This car collection also includes an F1 racer car and an latest red Audi which the family currently use too. Sadly the photography fees where high for the budget trip so we did clicked photos. Then we returned to Hotel.

We got off from hotel for our next destination Shri Jalaram Bappa mandir, Virpur. We chose GSRTC bus to travel between our destination to maintain tight budget, We did same to go to Virpur. Shree Jalaram Bappa mandir is 15-20 mins away from bus stop. The temple is well maintained and organized. Luckily we also got in time there for the prasad bhojan, food was delicious not doubt. After spending some time at temple we took bus to reach final destination for the day, Junagadh.

We reached Junagadh between 4-5 PM. We were planned to stay near Girnar for early morning treck. We were exhausted after that travel so we booked stay in Shree Narashinh Mehta Dham dharmashala. The cost of one room with two bed was 800/day, totally budget friendly. The rooms were spacious, 24hr hot water available, and good view of Girnar. Though the washrooms cleanliness can be improved, but compare to price in that locality the place was good. The rickshaws are available till Junagadh main city, so we took the same to have Dinner in city. We went to bed early for early morning climb

We woke up 4 Am in the morning, It was very cold outside. We took sip of chai and started our 10,000 steps of redemption. There were many people started with us, It was dark when we started. At the start of the steps Shree Bajrangbali mandir is there, it is considered he gives you energy and confidence to climb those steps. The wind was chilled and very powerful in the morning to keep up the pace. There are small temples and shops side of the steps. The first destination mark point was Jain mandir. The sec0nd mark point is Ambika mata mandir on 6,000nd step. After walking further there is sunrise point, view was very beautiful. Then we started again(not done yet..) and we further found two directions main Shree Datta temple and prati-Shri Datta temple. We went to main temple first which is at highest peak of the Girnar mountain, temple is small but beautiful. The view is magnificent from the top, everything felt so small from the top. Then we visited Prati-Shree Datta temple, luckily here also we got chance to have Prasad Bhojan in Breakfast. A big smile came on our face by having that cause we were so hungry, I guess Shree Girnari really take care of his devotees. It took us 8-9Am to reach to the top. We hold hands to Shree Audunbar and got off from the Girnar. The climb was totally legs breaking.

Note: There are 10,000 steps as we read. There is Rope way till Ambika mata mandir cost 700/rs per head. For old people locals offer carrying service depending on persons weight goes around 8,000 to 15,000 Rs.

We went back to dharmashala and took our bags and checkout had lunch and took bus from Junagadh city to our next destination Sasan-Gir.

That day was totally exhausting we reached Sasan gir around 4-5 Pm. We did inquiry for the stay in national park but it was all booked for the day. So we searched around and decided to go for "Nitin Bhais Homestay". The place was good to stay, after haggling we settled for 800/day for the room for two. The room was decent and washroom was clean too. we slept for sometime and had our tea then we were wondering around nearby, the stay has also provides all services. We had dinner there only.

The Safari booking for Gir National Park is suggested online. The gypsy safari takes 6 person max for gypsy. The total cost went to 3200/- including gypsy charge(2000rs), Permit charge (800rs) and mandatory Guide charge (400rs). There are three slots available 7-9Am, 9-12 AM,3-6PM. Morning and evening slots are suggested to take, we got to know that once we booked middle slot and it was really bad decision. But we did saw deers, crocodiles, peacock and some rare birds.

We took bus from Sasan Gir to Talala naka (near Somnath temple). We had lunch, then we went to visit temple. There was private places to park your luggage at minimal cost. It is mandatory to submit your mobile and accessories before entering in temple. Temple is really big and it gives you positive vibes as soon as you enter in the temple. Temple is well maintained and well constructed. There is Baan Stambh behind temple, pointing towards north pole. There is no land from that stambh to north pole. We took prasad and got out of the temple.

Then we visited another Somnath temple nearby said to be the oldest one, build by Rani Ahilya Bai Holkar. It is small but beautiful too. We took our things and went to Bus Stop, as it was around 4-5 PM we decided not to stay in Somnath but to go for Diu. We took GSRTC bus to Diu, It took us 3-4 hrs to reach there due to traffic.

We reached Diu by 8Pm around. We were Looking for stay, the time we visited there was only few Hotels there, so they did not haggled. Luckily we found one new but less popular hotel "Hotel Anant". They let us stay there for 1,800 for 2 nights. The hotels services were okay i would give 3/5, cause though room service was not that good but price was very low compared to 4 hotels we checked there. We went to Madras cafe there for dinner, then we went bed early after that long day.

We Woke up early then had breakfast in same Madras cafe to start the day. We decided to visit Diu Fort first. While going towards it we found INS Khukri Ship was there, which we decided to visit. They cost around 80/- Rs per Person to visit. The ship is well maintained and u can go inside the cabinets, kitchen and there were many machines around, It was an wonderful experience to visit it. Then we move to Diu Fort, the time we visited the Diu fort some maintenance work was going. The fort is big and will take minimum 3-4 hrs easily to visit its parts. There is small church inside, canons, and beautiful architecture.

We Then move further to another location to Saint Paul Church, These spots are at walk able distance from each other. The Church architecture is very old a good place to take pictures. Then we went to visit the Diu museum, but it was closed since pandemic. We wanted to visit Naida caves, but due to some issue the entry was closed there too. It was unhappy moment for me, cause it was one of the best attractions of Diu. We walked further (lots of walking) to heritage walk. The spot was under construction, but as it was sunny day we decided to spend afternoon there chit-chatting and having some snacks.

After some time we moved to our next spot INS Khukri Memorial. It is build in the memory of brave martyrs of Indian Navy, they fought in Indo-Pakistani war 1971 in Navy ship INS Khukri. There are trees planted in the memory of each martyr. It is well designed and well maintained architecture. We spend our evening there watching beautiful sunset and we call it a day.

Next Day we woke up early at 4:00 AM to catch bus to Dwarka, As there is no direct bus to Dwarka, we switched bus from Porbandar. The traveling was too hectic and was longer than expected. It took us 2 PM to reach to Dwarka. We booked an cheap hotel, around 600 for a day we booked hotel for 2 nights. The hotel services was not that good compare to price, but as we are on budget crunch we accepted it. We took some rest, and in evening 7:00Pm we went to Dwarkadhish temple.

The temple services are very poor, You needed to put ur things outside but compare to people visiting the service was slow. We went back and kept our things at hotel only. The temple was crowded But it has its own aura. The vibe you feel in there is truly amazing, there are small temple of other Hindu God and Goddesses too. We took our prasad and went back to hotel. After that we went to stalls to eat street foods, Dwarka is full of food stalls and hotels. We talked to natives about three spots we wanted to visit next day. Then we booked, a round bus trip organized by Grampanchayat for those spots for costing around 120 rs only. After then we ended our day.

We got up early, had breakfast. Our Grampanchayat Bus ride was at 9:00 AM. The bus covers Rukmini Mandir-Nageshwar Jyotirling-Beyt Dwarka.

Firstly we visited Rukmini mandir, it is outside the border of Dwarka. There is a story behind it, But i suggest you should hear directly from the Pujaris. The temple simple and decent, beautiful in its own way.

Then we visited Nageshwar Jyotirlinga Temple one of the twelve jyorlingas in Bharat. There is big calm Shree Shankar statue, showing true nature of Lord Shiva. The temple area is big, temple is well maintained and very beautiful. It gives cool and very positive vibes.

The next stop was Beyt Dwarka. It is an island,so you need to catch boat ferry from Okha costing around 20-40/- Rs. We were in rush cause as informed to us the temple closes at 1:00Pm. The place was very very crowded, normally i don't visit over-crowded places but it did not knew if i could be visiting it any time in future so went in. Temple was well carved but due to crowd, i did not get good views of all parts. There is a place where said to be Lord Krishna's friend Sudama, gave Lord Krishna gift of three handful of rice/puffed rice. The way pujari told that story was a very good and one of a kind experience. We left the temple took ferry, then bus took us back to the starting point.

After that we had lunch in a local hotel and had rabdi. Then we started wondering around the city to spend the rest of the day. We found there was a sunset point nearby we went there. There is a big public garden well designed and maintained. but very few people were there. We spend our evening there, and the view was fabulous.. we were listing Legends Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Raffi songs. That evening was just perfect spot to end our Gujarat tour. After that we went back to our hotels. As we had to take train in the morning from Dwarka Train Station to back to Mumbai.