NAYSTRIP AND TREKS

GUJARAT: STATUE OF UNITY & SAURASHTRA TOUR

Journey to World’s tallest statue !!

Kuch Din to Gujaro ……..

Planned 4 days trip to Gujarat with Statue of Unity and Saurashtra area of coastal Gujarat. We were group of 25 family members, everyone agreed to join the trip in short notice from 20th to 24th April.

Booked bus from online aggregator and we all gathered at Ghansoli on 20th evening as our scheduled departure was 10 pm.

Bus arrived in time, we boarded the bus and started by 10:00 pm from Mumbai. All were very excited and joyful especially kids as after a long time (due to Covid restrictions) we all were going together for long trip.

Day 1: STATUE OF UNITY

Reached Kevadiya in morning and after freshen up we went to see the different attractions at Statue of Unity.

Morning at Statue of Unity Entrance Gate waiting for River Rafting

Statue of Unity: This is the world’s tallest statue, 182 mtr (Approx 598 ft). This statue has been created in honour of Iron Man of Indian Politics “Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel” who was the first deputy Prime minister of India.

This statue costs nearly INR 3000 crore on construction, it started in 2014 and completed in 2018. The base of the Statue constructed with the 129 tons of scrape iron, which is donated by the farmers of India. Statue monument is facing Narmada river and Sardar sarovar dam with scenic mountain view.

Our group splits in two, eleven of us mostly youngsters chose to go for river rafting and others (Kids & Senior citizen) went to see the Cactus garden, Ekta Nursery, Children Park, butterfly garden, Valley of flowers.

RIVER RAFTING:

Narmada River is the largest west flowing river of India and lifeline for millions in MP and Gujarat. From Sardar sarovar dam 600 cusec water releases regularly for river rafting, those who are adventure enthusiastic can enjoy river rafting in 4.5 km stretch with rapids, turns which will give thrilling experience.

At one place you need to take out your raft boat and carry it for few mtrs and then again need to start rafting.

The place from where the rafting start is little away from Statue of unity so need to board in their vehicle to reach at the start point and again at the end point vehicle come and take us back to the Statue of Unity main gate near parking.

We took two rafting boats and the instructor gave instructions before rafting. If we need photographs and video they charge extra INR 1000/- for soft copy. We can spot Crocodile on the rocks situated on the bank of river and Owl can also be seen. Its unforgettable experience of river rafting, water is clear and the beautiful nature awaits you to the way to proceed further, there were around 6 rapids where you test your adrenaline. The place is ideal for hiking and camping alongside the river.

One of our young member Durva couldn’t hold the rope properly at one rapid and jumped in to the river however rescued immediately by the lifeguard.

We all enjoyed a lot and then returned to the parking area then went to our hotel, had lunch and took some rest.

In evening by 4 pm we planned to visit Statue of Unity, Museum and subsequently laser show for which entry normally starts at 6.30 pm

For laser show you need to occupy the seats before it gets full as it is on first come first serve basis and only 600 guests allowed for laser show who have opted this option while booking online tickets.

Laser show is all about the Political and personal life of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and how he re-united 560 princely states into Union of India.

After this we visited Glow garden where the kids enjoyed dancing and watching the entire garden which is lightened and giving awesome experience, we can see the view of Sardar Sarovar dam from Glow garden.

Everyone was exhausted and we boarded to bus, had Kathiyawadi dinner on the way to Kevadiya and started journey towards Kingdom of Lord Krishna – Dwarka.

Best time to visit: Best time to visit Statue of Unity is from October till March however it is open throughout the year.

Ticket Price: There are four types of tickets available, one needs to book it online from official website https://www.soutickets.in/ or through official app of SoU.

Basic Entry Ticket: The cost of ticket for Adults Rs. 150/- and for children between 3 -15 yrs it costs Rs. 90/- which includes entry to SoU, access to light & sound show, museum, valley of flower.

Viewing Gallery Ticket: Cost of ticket for Adults Rs. 380/- and for children between 3-15 yrs Rs. 230/- as the name it gives access to viewing gallery which is located around 500 ft from ground near the chest level of statue and one can view the valley, river Narmada and Sardar Sarovar Dam.

Express Entry Ticket: This ticket priced at flat rate for both adult and kids Rs. 1030/- give access to all above ticket with priority and no waiting area at elevator of viewing gallery.

Foreigner Express Entry Ticket: This is for foreign guests, includes all benefits of above tickets at Rs. 1530/- for adults and Rs. 830 for children.

Timing: Statue of Unity opens at 8 am & closes at 6 pm from Tuesday to Sunday. Laser light and sound show entry starts from 6.30 pm.

Statue of Unity remains close on Monday for maintenance work.

How to Reach:

By Road:

Kevadiya – 3 km

Vadodara – 90 km

Ahmedabad – 198 km

By Train: Nearest and major Railway stations

Kevadia – 3 km

Vadodara – 90 km

Ahmedabad – 198 km

By Air: Nearest Airport

Vadodara – 90 km

Ahmedabad – 198 km

Day 2: DWARKA- BYTE DWARKA – NAGESHWAR

Morning around 8 am we reached to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya near Rajkot and took short break for freshen up, tea and breakfast at residence of my brother’s friend.

We then continued our journey towards Dwarka, reached & checked in at VITS Dwarka Hotel by 1.00 pm. Everyone was tired from the long journey and taken rest for a while. After lunch we headed towards the place called Bhet (Byte)-Dwarka, on the way we saw Tata Chemicals – manufacturer of Salt located at Mithapur. After Mithapur we reached to Jetty where colorful boats lined up. We board on one boat which was supposed to go but until unless it’s full, the boatman won’t let boat start as they want to fully utilize the capacity, it was public boat and cost Rs. 20/- to cross the river to reach byte Dwarka.

One can hire private boat which cost approx. Rs. 2000 – 3000/-, boats operational from 6.00 am to 7.00 pm.

This place is also called byte Shankhodhar as people believe it is Shankh or Conch – shaped. Priest of the temple tell stories of Sudama and Lord Krishna that how Sudama came here and met with Lord Krishna so named the place as “Bhent Dwarka”. Bhent means meeting, Priest give rice to all devotees and ask them to take it back and keep it in their kitchen and finally ask devotees to donate whatever they can.

YOUNG SEA CAPTAIN (Helmsman)

We took Darshan and got last boat at 7.00 pm, while returning back to Dwarka we went to “Gopi Talav” the place where Gopi’s used to take bath & Nageshwar jyotirlinga. The temple has large statue of Lord Shiva which is built by T-Series company. We reached to Dwarka and straight went to take blessing of Dwarkadheesh at Dwarka Temple as the closing time was 9:30 pm. Our group was lucky to have darshan of Lord Krishna before it gets closed.

We took auto and reached our hotel VITS Dwarka, had dinner and took rest at respective rooms.

How to Reach: Dwarka is well connected from major cities of Gujarat through road and railways. Nearest airport is Jamnagar which is around 140 km from Dwarka.  

Where to Stay: We stayed at VITS Devbhumi Hotel which is hardly 600 mtr from temple and hospitality was good. Other hotels like Ginger, The Fern can be a good option to stay near the Dwarkadhish temple.

Nearby Places to visit: Gomti Ghat, Dwarka beach, Nageshwar jyotirlinga, byte dwarka, Gopi talav, Dunny point, Gita temple, Swaminarayan temple, Rukmini devi temple, Sudama setu.

Day 3: DWARKA – SOMNATH

Somnath is also known as Prabhas Patan/Dev Patan/Prabhas Kshetra and it is situated near the port town of Veraval. Dwarka to Somnath road distance is around 240 km and it took around 4 hours to reach. The route goes from Porbandar, the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi.

Keeping Eye on Driver and Enjoying Sight seeing

We had Gujarati lunch on the way and liked the food specially Dahi tikhari, Kathiawadi food and Kadhi.

Favorite Didi (Taya) to all kids

We took darshan at Shree Somnath temple which is believed to be the 1st of the 12 Jyotirlingam of India. This temple is situated on the coastline & overlooking Arabian sea. Cycling and jogging trek has been now constructed and one can enjoy it with the entrance of the beach side near the temple where we can enjoy horse and camel ride as well.

There were no rush for darshan we took our own time to get glimpse & connect with Lord Shiva at temple premises since no one was pushing the devotees to go further like other temples.

There is Prasad counter from where one can buy prasadam, there is a electric vehicle free pick up and drop facility available from main entrance to temple for senior citizen and after darshan vehicle drop at main entrance, others can also avail this facility with minimal charges of Rs. 5/-. We took small break for refreshment & by the time ladies in the group got a chance to shop at nearby market. After group photo all boarded to bus, had dinner on the way and reached at hotel in Gir for stay.

How to Reach Somnath: Somnath is well connected from major cities of Gujarat through road and nearest railway station is Veraval. Nearest airport is Diu which is around 80 km from Romnath.

Nearby places to visit in Somnath: Old temple constructed by Ahilyabai Holkar, Prabhas Patan Museum, Triveni sangam, Bhalka tirth, Panch pandav gufa, Kamnath mahadev temple.

Day 4: GIR JUNGLE SAFARI

As our booking for Gir Jungle Safari was at 8.30 am, we got ready by 7.30 am, had Gujarati breakfast Thepla near main entrance gate of Sasan Gir National Park and stayed in queue as it was a Sunday and we could see lot of people rushing for the safari.

We need to take the permit which cost INR 1000/- for Six person on weekends and INR 800/- on weekdays online through the official website https://girlion.gujarat.gov.in/

Gypsy charges INR 2000/- and guide charges INR 400/- need to pay at counter once we reach to collect our ticket.

We booked four safari and were allotted two different route for each two gypsy with the forest department guide. Guide informed us about the Gir national park area, geography, number of Asiatic lions, other animals Nilgai, Jackal, wild boar, spotted dear etc.

We were lucky to see Asiatic lions roaming in Gir national park, kids were very excited & happy to see the lions very closely.

How to Reach Gir National Park:

By Air;Nearest Airport is Diu around 100 km from Gir

By train; Nearest railway station is Veraval 45 km and Junagadh is 60 km.

By Road; It is well connected from the various cities of the Gujarat.

Best time to Visit: Between November and March is best time to visit Gir national park

Gir national park remains close for visitors from 15th June till 15th Oct every year.

After completing Safari we did shopping at Sasan and then boarded to our bus for the return journey to Mumbai with mesmerizing memories of Gujarat specially Saurashtra together and reached Mumbai on 25th April morning to get back to work.

If you liked this blog please do leave comment!!

4 thoughts on “GUJARAT: STATUE OF UNITY & SAURASHTRA TOUR

  1. Atul R.

    Wow nicely put together all the minute details. Enjoyed reading the blog. Must read for all who are planning to visit Gujarat.