Somnath -> Junagadh (28.1.25)
100 km is not to much to travel in a day, right? I am sure our driver was like Moses at the end of his wanderings, parked beside the Red Sea. We had Gir tentatively on the cards, but we had not booked for a safari, and there is not much point visiting Gir without chasing the disappearing lions, is there?
Leaving Somnath (9.00 am)
The huge horizon greeted us once again when we swished the curtain aside at 7.00. This being the west coast, sunrise is a bit later. We tanked up on masala dosa in the restaurant downstairs, took a few snaps in the bright light of the morning sun, and pushed off for Junagadh.
When travelling from Ahmedabad through Bhavnagar to Somnath, we had noticed that a lot of land was fallow. However, on this western stretch, it was a pleasure to see the variety of crops on the fields - wheat, chana, toor daal, bajra, cotton, and - we did a double-take here - coriander. Somewhere else peanuts are produced aplenty, and potatoes. It is a wonder to see the colour of the field change every kilometer through various shades of green and white.
Girnar ropeway, Junagadh (12.00 pm)
Girnar mountain is a venerated hill here, mentioned in the puranas, a place where various historical characters had circumbulated the required 36 kms of forested stretch. In current times, many devotees climb 5000 steps to the Dattatreya temple on top, and another 5000 steps takes the masochist to a beautiful Jain temple complex located even higher. We are no trekkers, but there were many people, not all of them young and fit either, doing the first stage at a minimum, which takes 2.5-3.0 hours (the full climb takes 5 hours). I am sure those who have done the Kedarnath trek or Tiger’s Nest, will address this in proper spirit, but our toes curled at the prospect and our calves started mooing for milk. We opted for the ropeway (brand name “Udan Khatola”), that would take us up the first stage, a height of a kilometer and a length of 2.3 km, which, incidentally, makes it Asia’s longest ropeway.
The climb of 10 mins revealed nice views of Junagadh town and surrounding countryside. We were unloaded beside Ambaji’s temple where a lot of people were paying homage. We could see people climbing with bamboo sticks in hand, while some rode rudimentary palenquins, called “doolies”. Plenty of rest stops on the way, but if one takes too much rest, one does not reach, right?
Uperkot fort, Junagadh (2.00 pm)
A quick thali lunch after we descended from the ropeway, and we were off to see the famous Uperkot fort (meaning Upper Fort), the living historical reminder of the turbulent history that Junagadh has been through. Built in 319 BC by Chandragupta Mauriya, the fort, which grew up to be a self-contained locality of around 3000, was ruled by a series of Rajput rulers, who used to be besieged by the Moghul invaders. Finally, after 1730, nawabs took over the fort, developed the Junagadh town outside, and basically let the fort go to ruins. The last and ninth nawab, Mahabatkhan III, in 1947, actually wanted to join Pakistan, but was foiled by Sardar Patel, and escaped to Lahore under Bhutto’s wings. Junagadh was declared formally as part of India on 9th Nov 1947, and the locals celebrate this day also as Independence Day. Didn’t know that, did you?
Meanwhile, under the Rajput rulers, Junagadh fort was a hot and happening place. Rani Ranak was a famous character here. Her father was a king, but deserted her in a battlefield as a baby since she was said to carry a curse. She was brought up by a potter. Gujrat’s king, Siddharth Jaisingh Solanki, while searching for a bride, came upon her and decided to marry her. But meanwhile, she was in love with the ruler of Junagadh fort, Rao Vijaypal Waghela. When Gujrat’s king sent his sword to their wedding venue as was the custom, the fort ruler simply abducted her, whisked her away to his fort and married her. Incensed, Gujrat’s ruler attacked Junagadh fort (later called Uperkot) and laid siege for 12 long years, during which period, Queen Ranak did not waste time but produced two children. When finally SJS broke through, he killed both RVW and his two kids. Rani Ranak Devi, however, did not like SJS's face, and committed sati. So it was all for nothing, you see, except to supply material for a historical potboiler.
The fort is visually quite a treat and taking a guide is highly recommended (where do you think we got the stories from?). The palace, the stables, the bauri or well, the storage rooms, rooms accorded to Buddhist monks during AÅ›oka’s time, have all been preserved in good condition.
Junagadh museum, Junagadh (4.15 pm)
Highly recommended by our fort guide, we visited the museum, which was a bit of a disappointment. A small building with around six rooms, it displayed silverware, glassware, wooden furniture, guns, swords and palenquins of the period. A number of oil paintings of the usual suspects (nawabs and Brits) were also on display. There was a huge queue of schoolchildren doing the rounds, clocking up credits for their social sciences score, no doubt, but they slowed us down significantly, as a result of which our engagement period increased from ten minutes to twenty.
Mohabat Maqbara, Junagadh (4.45 pm)
Superb mausoleums these were, constructed by two generations of Mohabatkhans, in a style that was a mixture of Indian and Asian (Islamic), during the late 19th century. The declining sunlight was setting up the beautiful relief work on the walls with deep contrasts. The Maqbara was also called the local Taj Mahal, being a domed structure surrounded by four minarets. Not much drama in this location, but a lot of beauty.
Reaching Hotel Sapphire, Junagadh (5.30 pm)
Our hotel this time was a small business hotel in a market area, where parking our car was a bit of a challenge. Rooms were fine and we swiggied our dinner in.
Tomorrow we leave early for Beyt Dwarka.
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