Somnath and Dwarka Religious Trip

25th Nov '25

Alliance Air Flight from Mumbai to Diu

Ideally this same airline also flies Keshod which is closer to Somnath city 

We reach our hotel in Somnath after a cab ride from Diu around 3 pm, take a 1 hr short nap, freshen up and start our journey.

I recommend and what we did is cosy up a Rickshaw driver, advantages being they know the spots, trickeries, economical shopping spots and it's fun riding in an open sided vehicle.

The trick to finish this trip in 1 day is cover Triveni Sangam, Lakshmi Narayan Mandir, Geeta Mandir, Bhimnath Shivshankar Mandir, Krishna Charan Paduka, Surya Mandir, Surya Kund, Hinglaj Mata Mandir, Paanch Pandav Gufa, Somnath Temple together. 

In the opposite direction is Banganga and Bhalka Tirth.

Our first stop is a quick 7 min boat ride to see the confluence of three rivers called as Triveni Sangam - Hiran, Kapila and Saraswati.

Short ride ahead is set of temples in the same compound.

Lakshmi Narayan Temple, Geeta Temple, Bhimnath Shivshankar temple and Krishna Charan Paduka Mandir. It is believed that the etch is of Krishna's foot. Sharada Math, and Adi Shankaracharya Gufa is close by.

A minute ride away is Surya Mandir and Surya Kund (a small tank like structure for collected rain water). In the same complex is Five Pandavas Gufa (cave) and similarly a Kund used by Pandavas. Also there is a temple of Hinglaj Mata. Hinglaj Mata is the KulDevi of Pandavas. A very large temple of Hinglaj Mata still exists in modern Pakistan. We also visit the Baldevji Gufa.

Next stop is Somnath Temple, being a weekday, the rush is not heavy. We were blessed to experience the 7 pm Aarti. 

Somnath is one of 12 Jyotirlingas. 

The Somnath Temple has a strong historical context, having been destroyed and reconstructed numerous times over centuries by invaders and rulers, symbolizing the resilient faith of the devotees.

We head for a dinner at Madhav Hotel a famous Kathiawadi Thali joint. The Khichdi, Shrikhand, hot ghee rotlis, bhakris and eat as much drink chaach as much you want for a tiny sum makes this place a hit among the tourists young and old, poor and rich. 

We walk back to our hotel a stone throw away distance and rest for the evening.

26th Nov 

We start our day at 7am by visiting Banganga. It contains a Shiv Ling at the banks of sea. Low tides a blessing! We do our prayers by pouring milk on the Shiv Ling and head to next stop -

Bhalka Tirth Mahatmya is the significance of Bhalka Tirth. (1)

The city of Somnath is a famous fish harbour with plenty of fisheries companies operating consolidating cold storage shipments to be shipped to Bhavnagar port heading to UAE, Europe and Americas.

At 10 am we head to Dwarka in a shuttle bus a 4.5 hrs drive.

After a short nap we witness the mahima and chants of Radha Krishna in Dwarkadish temple at 5.20pm a short walk from our hotel. Management of temple crowd not done smoothly. We witnessed the charm of Krishna as the temple curtains are drawn for his dress change for 15min. A true fashionista!

Very close to the temple is Sudama Setu was closed for unknown reasons.

We dip our feet on the banks of Gomti river at Gomti Ghat.

2km distance is the Bhadkeshwar Mahadev Mandir. After sitting for evening aarti we make our way back to the hotel and rest for the day after a similar Gujarati thali.

27th Nov

Started at 8 am with Rukshmini Temple. (2)

Visited Nageshwar Jyotirlinga. (3)

Headed to Gopi Talav. (4)

Finished off with Beyt Dwarka. Here Krishna met his friend Sudama.

Back to hotel at 1.30 pm. Tired of Gujarati Thali this time we comforted ourselves with Punjabi food. A local meetha paan was our digestif.

After a 2 hrs nap we just didn't know what to do. Being a beach front property we headed to the beach and were pleasantly surprised that we ended up visiting eight small temples on the way dedicated to Swaminarayan, Gayatri, Kanha, Ishwar, Baldevji.

Pristine blueish green waters, coarse grain sand and sunset views are natures relaxants.

We end the trip with a walk to the light house.

Our entire day's step count was under 9k.

28th Nov

Travel to Jamnagar at 7 am and head back to our flight from Jamnagar to Mumbai.

Jai Shri Krishna 🙏

Sambh Sadashiv 🙏

Significance and extra points.

(1) Here Lord Krishna was mistakenly shot by a hunter named Jara, leading to his death and the end of his earthly life. The event is known as the Shri Krishna Nijdham Prasthan Leela. 

The incident: A hunter named Jara, mistaking the Lord's right foot for a deer, shot him with an arrow.

Krishna then walked to the nearby Goloknathdham Tirth (4 km away) to depart for his heavenly abode.

The name "Bana Teertha": The name comes from the word "Bana" (arrow), as a holy spring emerged from the spot where the arrow hit the ground.

(2) The temple is 2km separate from Krishna's Dwarka temple because sage Durvasa cursed the couple. Durvasa was insulted when Rukmini drank water before he did after Krishna fetched water for her during their chariot ride. Hence there is no sweet water in the temple premises. Tankers ply in bringing fresh water and it is recommended to donate fresh water here.

(3) What is a Jyotirlinga? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyotirlinga

(4) After the Kurukshetra War, Arjuna believed himself to be the greatest warrior.

To humble him, Lord Krishna ordered him to escort his queens to Bet Dwarka.

On the way, near the pond, Arjuna was attacked and defeated by a community called the Kaba.

The queens were shocked and died in the pond, leading it to be named Gopi Talav (Gopi Pond).

The sand from this pond is known as Gopi Chandan. 

Matt Gulla Recipes

 Matt Gulla Recipes

Vegetarians

Matt Gulla Smash

350 gms (Matt Gulla)Brinjal

Salt as per taste

Red Chilli powder as per taste

Tamarind in water base

Parsley

Mustard Oil 2-3 tea spoons

Garlic 2-3 cloves

Roast the brinjal in mustard oil till soft and mushy. A cast iron skillet will add flavor.

Remove the skin and smash.

Fry the garlic, in the same pan/skillet add the red chilli powder and imli water in the same left over oil and mix in the smash.

Garnish with salt and parsley. 

Enjoy with bread of your choice.

Non Vegetarians

Matt Gulla Prawn Curry

350 gms (Matt Gulla) Brinjal diced in small cubes

 250 grams shrimps

Salt as per taste

Fish masala powder

Tamarind

Coconut milk

Mustard Oil 2-3 tea spoons

Garlic 2-3 cloves

1 Onion thinly diced

Green Chilli 

Coconut oil

Fry the garlic and onion till golden brown in coconut oil

Add the fish masala, tamarind, Green chilli, coconut milk and cook for 8 min.

Add the cubes of brinjal and cook till soft and mushy. Approx 5-6 min. 

Half way through add the prawns and cook for another 12 min. 

Add salt as per taste.

Enjoy curry with par boiled red rice.

A Spiritual Travel Trip to Uttar Pradesh

On 16^th Jan we decided we had to visit the Kumbh Mela, Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi. Dad joined me on the trip from Mumbai and I from Dubai. Here is post on my experience.  

I tried to book flights from Dubai to  Ayodhya but seemed all commercial flights had a halt in Mumbai, Bangalore or Delhi. We fixed our itinerary from 21^st Jan to 24^th Jan.

On 21^st Jan the most optimum route for me seemed flying Indigo, Sharjah 01:55 to Lucknow 06:55 and taking a bus transport at 12 pm to spend some short time in city and travel to Ayodhya. Spend a day or two in Ayodhya head to Prayagraj visit the Kumbh Mela and head to Varanasi.

 

21^st Jan

Arrived in Lucknow airport at 06:55 but it was too early for the city that couldn’t find a local breakfast. Dad Spicejet flight to Ayodhya from Mumbai had been delayed to land at Ayodhya at 11.

I forfeit my bus at 12 pm and took a cab from Polytechnic Chauraha (Reaching here was easy a metro costing 60 Rs from Lucknow airport to here). I booked a sharing cab which took me straight to Ayodhya costing me 450 Rs. I had mid morning butter aloo paratha and headed to sleep.

Our hotels were such that we were 400 mtrs from Ram Mandir. Dad took a cab from airport to hotel which is 30 min away. However due strict security measures the Ayodhya police doesn’t allow out of Ram Mandir registration town cabs to drop off at the hotel. A local rickshaw brings him to hotel. We made sure to travel light.

After lunch at Udupi express we walk around the city a bit and headed to siesta nap.

At 4 pm we decided to pay Ram Lalla a vist. Due to our odd timing we didn’t need a VIP ticket which needed to be booked 15 days in advance. We had a smooth Darshan and in 45 min we were out of the temple complex. The main temple is built with a similar stone used in Abu Dhabi temple (red marble) but surrounding areas are still under construction.

We head to Hanuman Garh and Bharat Kund which are in walking vicinity. Our energies are high now thanks to Bhakti (a Hindi word for spiritual motivation)

After a quick dinner we decide to forfeit our next day hotel stay avoiding staying one more day as we have covered the main events.

22^nd Jan

Our Honda Amaze cab Ayodhya -> Prayagraj -> Varanasi (costing us 9000 Rs) was ready at 06:30 again from outskirts of Ram Mandir complex which in 4 hours would take us to Prayagraj. It seems expensive but hotel stays in Prayagraj prompted us to use this route.

Its foggy in the morning, so a little tense but the drivers all use parking indicator lights to notify the trailing cars.

We reach Bada Baghada Parking at 10:30 and start walking towards Sangam Dwar ( a place where you can take holy dips). We made a mistake of walking which was a 6km journey(also the entrance we chose the police had barricaded the EV scooters path) but on the bright side we get to see a plenty of sadhus resting, the ISCKON distribution center. After a tiring walk we reach the Sangam Dwar at 13:30; another 500 mtrs and we reach the river bed. We take a holy dip blessing at the Triveni Sangam bank(A confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati) river and after quick steamed corn snack we decide to start our back journey. By this time we are very tired. Luckily we head to main road from here at 200Rs a person the rickshaw drops us right to our transport car. We now start our onward journey to Varanasi which is 3 hours drive.

Our hotel was 400 mtrs from Assi Ghat in Varanasi. We were amazed by narrow lanes of Varanasi but it is called the golden bird city (सोने की चिड़िया) of Uttar Pradesh. There were a plenty famous brands showroom which you generally see only in Tier 1 city. After a light dinner. We book a tour guide at the hotel reception for the next day.

23^rd Jan

We wake up at 7am and head to Kashi Vishwanath temple. We book a priest and quick entry darshan (costing 500 Rs plus dakshinas). Again in 45 min we were lucky to finish the darshan. The Shivling in the temple is situated down so if you plan to visit look down when your turn comes. The temple campus has been expanded by buying land from the local priests. In the campus is the Gyan Vyapi mosque which is in dispute in courts. The back structure of the Gyan Vyapi mosque has same marble tower and patterns as the Kashi temple. We have a quick delicious breakfast of special Puri (made of wheat, fenugreek, and fennel crushed seeds) and Chokha.

 

We visit Kaal Bhairav Mandir and Durga Kund. We were late for Sankat Mochan temple so we headed back to the hotel at 13:30. A relaxed veg (our entire trip is pure veg) lunch at Nathu’s a 1939 built establishment. The highlight was sweets for lunch was a delicious tiny jaggery balls laddu which breaks in to tiny round pieces. We definitely don’t miss out on local Banarasi Sweet Paan.

 

At 16:00 we finish Sankat Mochan temple buy our ladies the famous Banarasi silk sarees and head to Assi Ghat and book a one and half hour river cruise over the Ganga ji river Ghats. Roasted peanuts with shell is our staple on the cruise.  At 18:30 the boat halts in the river we witness the famous evening Ganga aarti.

(It is advisable to book a local tour guide in Varanasi (available at all hotel receptions) as they negotiate with rickshaws for you and reduce your travel time within the city. All the temples are not at walking distance from each other)

At the banks of Assi Ghat we do our pooja and order the famous tomato chaat. The Ganga Aarti lasts for 1.5 hours.

For dinner the highlight was a Paneer and Sattu stuffed litti with chokha. For dessert we order the famous malai (a light milk foam) and head back to hotel at 20:30 which is at walking distance.

24^th Jan

We visit the Jangamwadi Math (envisioned and funded by the Wadiyar dynasty of Kodagu) at 07:00 and 108 Shivling Mandir called Mani mandir in vicinity. After idli and dosas for breakfast we have a thandai. We got to also see bhang crushing process which we avoided consuming in our thandai.

One more commendable thing of Uttar Pradesh is they avoid using any form of paper cups. All tea is served in kulhads ( an earthen glass). We use EasemyTrip.com a public listed entity for our flights, hotel booking for which I am a shareholder. It is priced correctly now after the recent dip. 

At 12:00 we head to the airport for our flight Varanasi to Mumbai. Nirulas the famous Delhi eatery spots had an ice cream counter at the airport. We shared a tutti fruit ice cream after lunch and waited for our Akasa Air a Boeing 737 max flight which was delayed by 2 hours.

Back to Mumbai at 19:50 and I take a flight back to Dubai after 3 days.

Thank you and Jai Shri Ram!