GIR,DIU, CHORWAD & SOMNATH

 You can fly down , take a train to junagadh , drive down or take a roro ferry from surat hazira to gogha ( with your car) and drive the rest of the way.

We chose to drive down . We stopped at valsad & ahmedabad before reaching Gir.
We stayed at club mahindra. It's a small property located in a mango orchard.
The rooms are spacious and cozy.

We went to explore diu the next day by car. We had lunch at 'o coqueiro' of a Portuguese coconut curry with vegetables and rice & headed to the diu fort.
The fort was built in 1545 AD . Its mostly intact. As you enter there is a jetty . You can walk on the entire outer periphery of the fort. The base of the lighthouse inside the fort has a view of the ocean and diu. It was soothing sitting there in the afternoon heat , with the lighthouse casting a shade and a cool breeze blowing. The iron cannons are kept on the bastion .

    

Cannons at the Diu Fort

Spotted a bird at the fort.

                                        

Before we left diu we went to Ghogla beach ( not so crowded, probably due to the afternoon heat) and had a fresh lime soda at a restaurant facing the beach.


Next day is the most awaited because it is safari day. We woke up @5, & reached the sassan starting point for safari around 6.15. It was still dark and cold when we started the safari. They took us around the area in a open gypsy with a guide and driver. The safari went beyond expectations. Within 5 minutes we saw 2 lions feeding on a carcass, least bothered by the audience. We saw spotted deers fighting . Peacocks posing for the camera & deers in groups were a frequent sight.

A spotted deer looking at us curiously

Very soon we saw a lion sunbathing and another one near it roaring & stretching. We spotted a lion in a morning nap and missed one by seconds. In all we saw 5 of them. The silver monkeys were playing and jumping around trees. A variety of birds and animals made their Jungle calls. Our route took us to a man made beauty amongst nature, of kamleshwar dam. 

Kamleshwar Dam inside sassan gir

We also spotted a wild boar, black nilgai and a baby eagle. This safari brought sheer excitement of spotting wildlife in the wild.

 

We did a second evening safari where we got to see 8 lions amongst them a lioness with 2 Cubs.

Lion with Cubs.

The Cub at the back was so cutely hiding & peeping at us from the back.

The third day of sightseeing was reserved for girnar and somnath and we added chorwad beach since it was en route.
It took us a couple of hours to reach girnar ropeway. The ropeway management have sanitizers every where & they did a compulsory rtpcr. Girnar is steep and i felt that ways even though we took the ropeway. On reaching the top we decided to go to the derasar first, which is climbing down 1k steps. The main derasar was crowded and there was a celebration because the dhwaja was being taken up( not sure how often that happens). The small derasars surrounding, match up to the peace , cleanliness and calmness all derasar give. Climbing back was a bit tough & hot.

Girnar Derasar

We took the blessings on Ambaji Mata before coming down the hill.

Driving through the coconut farms of chorwad reminded us of goa.
Chorwad beach was our next stop. It was the cleanest and most deserted beach I have ever seen ( must mention it was afternoon time) and we had the beach completely to ourselves. The water was a turquoise blue . It's hard to believe such a untouched beach lies in India.

Me at the chorwad beach.

As i said, we had the chorwad beach to ourselves.

 Also must mention though the water & the heat make it tempting to take a dip but there is an absolute warning against it because the waters can get rough on the chorwad beach.

Fun Fact - for those who don't know, chorwad is dhirubhai ambani's hometown.

Somnath is an hour away from chorwad. No electronics or for that matter nothing is allowed inside. The temple has been invaded 17 times in the past and damaged too but it still retains its glory. The carvings are reinstated. The deity looks so kind that it gives you conviction you will get everything you have asked for. Also it is located next to the ocean. You can sit & watch the sea all day.

Speaking to the locals and our experience here has shown us that life here is simple, basic and hospitable. There is no luxury of clothes, fancy food etc available( we ate simple gujarati food for every meal). They go out of their way to help ( we got back a phone we almost lost).

On our way back we made a stop at willingdon dam and took blessings of jalaram napa at virpur. Willingdon dam has huge fishes which you can feed and birds coming to drink water . I had a kada there which was delicious made of mint, lemon , ginger and green coffee.
The temple at virpur was simple and they serve a simple meal as a prasad at a place 15 minutes away. They don't accept donations.

Had a pomegranate soda outside the temple. A variety of sodas are available everywhere in saurashtra and they are so tempting in the afternoon heat.

A proud gujarati is more proud after visiting the Garvi Gujarat!!