ALSphere Foundation
Introduction:
India, a country with rich religious and cultural heritage, has religious places spread all over the country. Among these, Dwarka, one of the most sacred places for Hindus, is in Gujarat state. It is regarded as one of the four ‘Dhams’ (Holy Abodes) of Hindus in India.
Legend Of Dwarka
Legends say Dwarka was an ancient town founded and ruled by Lord Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in ‘Dwapar Yug’. It is said that he had reclaimed 36 square miles of land from the Sea-God to establish the town, which was washed away by the sea, after His departure to heaven. As per the historical estimate, the ancient Dwarka town, which is under water, dates back to about 3500 years. The first archaeological excavation took place in 1963.
Modern Dwarka
Modern Dwarka is a taluk in Devbhoomi Dwarka district of Gujarat state. It is located on the right bank of Gomti river and at the mouth of Gulf of Kutch, facing Arabian Sea.
How To Reach
Modern Dwarka is well connected with other towns by train, bus and taxi. Nearest airport is Jamnagar. It is well connected with Ahmedabad by train also. There is a long stretch of coastal roads connecting Okha, Dwarka, Porbandar, Veraval, Somnath and Diu. If your pocket permits, you can have an enjoyable taxi journey to all these coastal towns.
Our Plan
We made our plan in the 1st week of August 2024, two months before our journey in the 2nd week of October, 2024. Accordingly, return flight tickets from Bhubaneswar to Ahmedabad, train tickets from Ahmedabad to Dwarka were booked. Since we had a plan to visit Porbandar, Somnath and Diu, we booked a train ticket from Veraval to Ahmedabad for a part of our return journey.
The Journey
We started on 10th October night and reached Ahmedabad airport at 1:00 AM on 11th, and proceeded to Ahmedabad Jn. station by cab. Our train to Dwarka was at 9:40 AM, which reached at 5:40 PM. We went to a pre-booked hotel.
On the 13th morning, we left for Porbandar, Somnath and Diu as per our plan. At the end of our complete journey, we returned to Bhubaneswar at 11:00 PM on 17th October.
Our Stay
We had a two night stay in a comfortable budget hotel near Dwarkadhish Temple. All the hotels follow a fixed Check-in and Check-out time like 12:00 PM and 11:00 AM or similar. The rates of hotels range from Rs.1000 to Rs.7000, but you can get a nice budget hotel between Rs.2000 to Rs.3000. Auto-rickshaws and taxis are available for tourists.
Places We Visited
Day-1: After an hour of rest, we visited Dwarkadhish Temple in the evening. Darshan of Dwarkadhish took about 30 minutes. We visited all other temples in the complex and returned to the hotel at about 9:00 PM. We went to bed after dinner.
Dwarkadhish Temple
Day-2: We got up early, finished our daily routines and breakfast, and started at 8:30 AM for a local sight-seeing visit with a pre-booked cab.
The forenoon visit included Geeta Mandir, Bhadkeshwar Mahadev Temple, Rukmini Devi Temple, Gopi Talav, Nageshwar Jyotirling, Sudarshan Setu, and Bet Dwarka.
Nageshwar Jyotirling
In the afternoon, we visited Gomti Ghat, Dwarka Beach, and a few small temples.
Sudama Setu and Shivrajpur Beach were closed for maintenance. We couldn’t visit Pandava well, Gayatri Mandir, ISKCON, and Swami Narayan Temple.
We had dinner at 9:30 PM and went to bed.
Day-3: We got up early, finished our daily routines, checked out of the hotel at 8:00 AM, and started for Porbandar in a cab.
Conclusion
Dwarka, a must visit place of pilgrimage for Hindus, attracts tourists round the year. However, the best time to visit is October to March. The underwater lost city of ancient Dwarka can be visited through government-restricted scuba diving. There is a plan to open submarine tours to underwater remains before Diwali of 2024. If done, the visitors will have a beautiful experience to explore the lost city of ancient Dwarka.
Kishor Kumar Mishra
