Accommodation facilities in Rajkot, Gujarat

Chouki Dhani
Near All India Radio
Jamnagar Road
Village Targari
Rajkot, Gujarat
Tel : 0281 25544664 / 4366
EMail : info@choukidhani.com

Hotel Aditya
Opposite Rajasree Cinema
Bhupendra Rao Road
Rajkot, Gujarat
Tel : 02812220044 / 34

Khirasara Palace / Hotel Rajkot
Kalawad Road,
Near Metoda G.I.D.C.Khirsara,
Kalawad Road, Khirasra, Rajkot,
Gujarat 360021, India
Cell: +91 99130 77077
Tel: +91 2827 288444
Fax: +91 2827 288445
E-mail: reservationhirasarapalace.in
Web: www.khirasarapalace.in

Hotel Galaxy
Jawahar Road,
Rajkot - 360001,
Gujarat, India .
Tel : 0281 2222905 - 8
Fax : 0281 2227053
Email : info@thegalaxyhotelrajkot.com
Website : www.thegalaxyhotelrajkot.com

Hotel Grand Regency
Dhebar Road,
Rajkot - 360002,
Gujarat, India .
Tel : 0281 2240100/10
Fax : 0281 2238275
Email: infor@hotelthegrandregencyrrajkot.com
Website : www.hotelthegrandregencyrajkot.com

Hotel Kavery
Near GEB
Kanak Road,
Rajkot - 360001,
Gujarat, India
Tel : 0281 2339331
Fax :  0281 2231107
EMail : info@hotelkavey.com
Website : www.hotelkavery.com

The Imperial Palace
Dr Yagnik Road
Rajkot - 360001
Gujarat
Tel:  0281 2480000
Fax :  0281 2481481
Email :   mail@theimperialpalace.biz
Website : www.theimperialpalace.biz

Accommodation Facilities in Bhavnagar

Nilambagh Palace
Nilambagh Circle
Bhavnagar
Gujarat - 364002
Tel : 0278 2424241 / 2429323 / 2515854 / 6453001 to 05 line
Fax : 0278 2428072
E-mail : nilambag@bsnl.in
reservation@nilambagpalace.com
fonilambag@gmail.com

Hotel Blue Hill
Opp Pill Garden,
Bhavnagar
Gujarat - 364 001
Tel : 0278 2426951-52, 3004441/2/3
Fax : 0278 2427313
E-mail : hotelbluehill@yahoo.com
Website : www.hotelbluehill.com

Hotel Sun N Shine
Panvadi Chowk,
S.T. Road,
Bhavnagar
Gujarat - 364001
India

Hotel Blue Diamond
Bagicha Chowk,
B/h. Mahuva Police Station,
Mahuva - 364290,
Bhavnagar, Gujarat
EMail: info@hotelbluediamond.co.in
Tel : 02844 222284 / 222285 / 222286

Gopnath Bungalow.
(A Heritage Sea Shore Hotel)
Post-Gopnath,Via Talaja
Bhavnagar - 364135,
Gujarat, India .
Tel : 0278 2424241 / 287708 / 287709
Fax: 0278 2428072
Mob : 9426222711
Email : gopnathbungalow@gmail.com

Palitana, the Jain Pilgrimage centre

Palitana is a Jain pilgrimage town atop the Shatrunjay hills in Bhavnagar district of the state of Gujarat in India. There are two peaks of hills covered with temples about 900 in number, big and small at Palitana.

Adinath of the Ikshvagu dynasty of Ayodhya used to visit this area many times. Later he came and meditated here on the Shatrunjay hill. He was the first Thirthangara and the main temple at the top of the hill is dedicated to him. Altogether there are more than 3000 temples in these hills and all are exquisitely carved in marbles.

There is a cluster of Jain temples on the Shatrunjay hill. These temples have been built in a period of 900 years by various Jains, that is from 11th century onwards. There are about 3,800 stone steps cut to facilitate climbing to the top of the hill from the ground.

The Jains have strict code for climbing these hills as they believe that the whole hill from the top to the bottom is sacred. They cannot eat anything while climbing the hills. They have to start descending the steps before evening as no one can stay the night in the sacred mountain.

There is a muslim shrine of Angan Pir, at the top of the hill. Childless couple visit the temple to offer miniature cradles to the Pir and seek the Pir's blessings to be blessed with children

How to reach Palitana
Palitana is located at about 50 kilometers from Bhavnagarin the state of Gujarat India.
Bhavnagar airport is the nearest one to go to Palitana and is about 36 kilometers away.

If you are travelling by rail Palitana has a small railway station and is about 5 kilometers from the hills of Palitana. This is connected to Bhavnagar and Songadh.

As for the bus services there are regular buses plying from Bhavnagar and the other neighbouring towns of Ahmedabad, Talaja, Una, and Diu.

About Gujarat

Gujarat, one of the 29 states in India, is located  at the western tip of the Indian Sub continent.  Gandhi Nagar is the capital of the state  and the language spoken by majority is Gujarati. Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhuj, Junagadh, Jamnagar are the important and major cities in the state.

There are 26 districts in the state of Gujarat, namely, Ahmedabad, Amreli, Anand, Banaskantha, Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Dahod, Dang, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Kutch, Kheda, Mahesana, Narmada, Navsari,  Panchmahal, Patan, Porbandar, Rajkot, Sabarkantha, Surat, Surendranagar, Tapi, Vadodara and  Valsad. There are 226 Talukas  in total .

Beaches in Gujarat 

Mandvi-Kutch, Dwarka, Chorwad, Gopnath, Tithal, Porbandar, Dandi, Nargol, Somnath, Ahmedpur, Mandvi, and Dumas.

Places to visit in Gujarat 
There are many tourist attractions and destinations in the state of Gujarat .
Dwarka, Somnath, Pavagadh, Ambaji, Bhadreshwar, Shamlaji and Taranga; Jain temples, at Palitana and Girnar Hill are some of the religious places in the state.
Satpura Hill station
Gir Forest National Park
Wild Ass Sanctuary in Kutch 
Sabarmathi Ashram
Akshardham
Calico Museum of Textiles
Archaeological monuments like Patan, Siddhpur Ghumli, Dabhoi, Vadnagar, Modhera, Lothal and Ahmedabad
are some of the places to be seen in the state of Gujarat. 

How to reach Gujarat in India? 

If you are travelling by air 

Ahmedabad airport is the international airport in the state.

Vadodara, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Bhuj are the domestic airports in Gujarat. You can connect these airports from all parts of India and abroad, as many flights operate in and out of the state.

If you are travelling by rail
There are super fast, mail and express trains connecting the various cities in the state with other cities in India.  Travelling to any place in Gujarat is not difficult as all the places are inter connected by rail and road network.

Buses from  the State transport corporation of Gujarat plies  to all the places in Gujarat and the neighbouring states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh as well. Comfortable air- conditioned coaches owned by private operators are also available for overnight and day trips. 

Sasan Gir National Park / wildlife Sanctuary

Sasan Gir National Park, spread around an area of 1412 square kilometers, is located in the state of Gujarat in India. The Sanctuary is surrounded by 7 perennial rivers and 4 dams which have become the lifeline for the people and the fauna of that region.

The forests and grasslands of Gir are known to be the last stronghold of Asiatic Lions. You can as well find a lot of varieties of flora and fauna in the area. Nawab of the Princely state of Junagarh used to use these forests as his hunting grounds. Because of the royal family's hunting the number of Asiatic lions in the forests were reduced to 15 by the time India got its independence.Now that the care has been taken, the numbers have vastly improved.

Other than the Asiatic lions you can find various other species of flora and fauna. There are 400 species of plants, 38 animal species, 300 species of birds, 37 reptilian species and around 2,000 species of insects found in the area .

Best time to visit Sasan Gir National Park
Except for the monsoon time any other time of the year  is good to visit the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary will  be closed during monsoon time because it is the breeding time of the animals and during summer the movement of the animals will be less due to the heat.  October to February will be the best time to visit the National Park as the animals will be active and moving around.

How to reach Sasan Gir National Park?
Keshod is the nearest domestic airport and can be easily connected to Rajkot and Ahmedabad airports. Ahmedabad is an international airport which is connected to various other airports in India and abroad.

Sasan Gir and Veraval are two railway stations nearby and can easily get connected to other neighbourhood stations in Gujarat.

Buses are available regularly from Junagarh and Veraval. Other private vehicles are also available for the trip to Sasan Gir National Park.