Jamnagar

On the shores of the peninsular state of Gujarat, adjoining the Arabian Sea lies the city of Jamnagar, known after the Jam Sahebs who were ruling here. As in any part of Gujarat, this city has numerous religious sites like Bala Hanuman Temple, Mota Ashapura Maa Temple, Shantinath Mandir for Hindus. There are more than thirty Jain temples of which Vardhman Shahs Temple is one of the main four. Jamnagar is known for its four marble Jain temples and many temples dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Every historical era has left a bit of itself here in the guise of historical palaces and forts. Darbargadh Palace, Lakhota Fort, Willingdon Crescent, Pratap Vilas Palace, Kotha Bastion, Bhujio Kotho, Bohra Hajira are monuments built by erstwhile rulers of Jamnagar of whom, Maharaja Ranjit Singh is prominent.
Unique to Jamnagar are Dhanvantri Mandir (Ayurvedic University), Solarium (Institute of Poly Radio therapy), Khijadia Bird Sanctuary, Marine National Park, Rozi and Bedi Ports, Cremation Park and Joggers park. Today, Jamnagar is nicknamed Oil City due to large oil refineries setup here by Reliance and Essar companies. The city is well connected by rail, road and air.

Best Time to Visit: October to April

Languages Spoken: Gujarati

Climate: Hot and dry summers and pleasant winters
Holy places: Bala Hanuman Temple, Mota Ashapura Maa Temple, Shantinath Mandir, Badri kedar Nath, Nilkanth Mahadev, Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Vardhman Shah’s Temple, Raisi Shah’s Temple, Sheth’s Temple, and Vasupujya Swami’s Temple.
Ancient Temples: Sidhnath Mahadev Temple, Navlakhi Temple, Kileshwar Temple, The Sun Temple at Gop and the Bhid Bhajan Temple.
Historical sites: Darbargadh Palace, Lakhota fort, Willingdon Crescent, Pratap Vilas Palace, Kotha Bastion, Bhujio Kotho, Bohra Hajira
Knowledge centres: Dhanvantri Mandir (Ayurvedic University), Solarium (Institute of Poly Radio therapy)
Fun places: Jansaheds palace, Rozi port, Bedi port, Khijadia Bird Sanctuary, Marine National Park, Marine National Park, Cremation Park and Joggers park.

Road Journeys – Jamnagar to Bhuj: Tankara, Birthplace of the Ascetic “Swami Dayanand Saraswati”

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Maharshi Dayānand Saraswati was born on 12 February 1824 at Tankara, Gujrat. He was an important Hindu religious leader of his time. He is well known as the founder of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement of the Vedic tradition. He was a profound scholar of the Vedic lore and Sanskrit language. He was the first to give the call for Swarajya as “India for Indians” in 1876, later taken up by Lokmanya Tilak.

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Road Journeys – Dwarka to Jamnagar: Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary

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Excitedly, without caring I entered through the bushes and soon found a wide spread wet land with thousands of birds hovering, nesting, feeding, fishing and swimming. A dusty path on the right leads towards the wet land with ample water for the water birds for their activities. A little further is a watch tower where the track ends at the banks. The tower was almost abandoned, but the view around was so enticing that I cynically could not stop myself from reaching atop despite my wife’s skepticism. My extra-zoom camera captured whatever within range and my nature crazy mind was carried away with inveigle of ensnarement.

It is pertinent to mention that once you happen to visit the park, don’t forget to carry good quality binoculars and extra zoom cameras. Most of the photos clicked by me are on digital zoom, despite of 50x compatibility. It is wise to carry a tri-pod to avoid blurred results due to trembling on digital zoom.

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