WildlifeThemes:WildlifeNaturePhotography
Gujarat
Gir National Park
The last wild Asiatic lions, in dry teak forest
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- December to March for comfortable safaris; April and May are hot but give the best sightings
West India · Temple
Somnath
First Jyotirlinga, rebuilt six times on the Arabian Sea
- Gujarat
- Temple
- Ancient
Photo: B. SurajPatro1997 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- January — a best month
- February — a best month
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October — a best month
- November — a best month
- December — a best month
Best: Oct–Feb
- State
- Gujarat
- Region
- West India
- Kind of place
- Temple · Ancient
- Ideal stay
- 1 day
- Coordinates
- 20.89° N, 70.40° E
Somnath is the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas and the most rebuilt temple in India. Standing at Prabhas Patan, where the Hiran, Kapila and Saraswati are said to meet the sea, it has been sacked and raised again at least six times, most famously by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1026 and most recently in 1951, when the present Chalukya-style Kailash Mahameru Prasad was completed at the urging of Sardar Patel and consecrated by President Rajendra Prasad. The result feels both very old and startlingly new: pale sandstone, a soaring spire crowned with a gilded kalash, and the open Arabian Sea slamming into rocks a few metres behind the sanctum.
On the sea wall stands the Baan Stambh, an arrow pillar claiming there is no land in a straight line south of here until Antarctica. Come for the evening, when the crowd thickens, conches sound and the seven o'clock aarti fills the hall, and stay for the show that projects the temple's history onto its own walls. Within a few kilometres lie Bhalka Tirth, where a hunter's arrow is said to have struck the resting Krishna, and the Triveni Sangam where he was cremated.
Together they make Somnath less a monument than an argument about memory.
What not to miss in Somnath
- Evening aarti in the main hall with the sea behind it
- Baan Stambh, the arrow pillar on the sea wall
- Sound-and-light show projected on the temple
- Bhalka Tirth, where Krishna was struck by the hunter's arrow
- Triveni Sangam of the Hiran, Kapila and Saraswati
- Ahilyabai Holkar's older Somnath temple beside the new one
Best Oct–Feb
Best time to visit Somnath
October to February; Mahashivratri in February or March is the temple's biggest night.
Give Somnath 1 day and it repays the time; with fewer you are choosing between Evening aarti in the main hall with the sea behind it and Baan Stambh, the arrow pillar on the sea wall. We build the hours around the weather — early starts when it is hot, long afternoons when it is not.
- Ideal stay — 1 day
- Season — Oct–Feb
On the ground
Things to do in Somnath
The days we would actually plan for you, in the order that suits the light.
- Attending all three daily aartis at 7 am, noon and 7 pm
- Walking the sea-facing promenade at sunset
- Ritual bath and tarpan at the Triveni Sangam
- Day trip to Gir for a morning lion safari
At the table
What to eat in Somnath
- Kathiawadi thali with lasaniya bataka and bajra rotlo
- Ganthiya with fried green chillies
- Jalebi and fafda for breakfast
- Chaas with roasted cumin
Getting there
How to reach Somnath
Diu Airport is 85 km and Keshod 75 km; Veraval is the railhead 7 km away; Ahmedabad is about 400 km by road.
Airport pickups, station transfers and the driver for the days here are all part of what we arrange — including the hour you should leave, which is usually earlier than you think.
Travel tips from our trips
- Phones, cameras and bags are not permitted inside; free cloakrooms sit outside the main gate and the queue for them is slowest at aarti time
- Dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered; the marble floor is scorching barefoot in the afternoon
- Book the evening sound-and-light show tickets at the counter the same afternoon, as seats are limited
- Somnath pairs naturally with Gir, 45 km away, and with Diu, 85 km along the coast
- The sea here is rough and swimming off the temple rocks is dangerous
Next door
Near Somnath
Places that join Somnath without a long drive — the way a real week is built.
Wildlife
BeachThemes:NatureHeritageFoodFamily
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
Diu
Portuguese fort, hoka palms and Saurashtra's easiest island days
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- October to March
TempleThemes:SpiritualHeritageCulture
Gujarat
Dwarka
Krishna's sea-facing city and one of the four Char Dham
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- November to February; Janmashtami in August or September is the biggest festival
HeritageThemes:HeritageFamilyPhotographyNature
Gujarat
Statue of Unity
The world's tallest statue, facing the Narmada and its dam
- Ideal stay
- 2 days
- Best time
- November to February; avoid Mondays
1 journey
Tours that visit Somnath
9 days · 8 nightsThemes:CultureWildlifeHeritage
Easy · Best Nov–Mar
Rann of Kutch and the Gir Lions
Nine days from Ahmedabad's pols to the white desert, the lions and the sea
Route: Ahmedabad → Bhuj → Rann of Kutch → Gir National Park +2 more
- Group
- 2–12 (private)
- From
- ₹82,000 pp
Before you ask
Questions we are asked about Somnath
When is the best time to visit Somnath?
October to February; Mahashivratri in February or March is the temple's biggest night. On the calendar that is Oct–Feb. We build Somnath into a journey inside that window wherever we can; when your dates are fixed outside it, we re-plan the hours of the day around the weather rather than talk you out of the trip.
How many days do you need in Somnath?
We plan 1 day in Somnath. That is enough for Evening aarti in the main hall with the sea behind it, Baan Stambh, the arrow pillar on the sea wall and Sound-and-light show projected on the temple, at a pace that still leaves room for a long lunch. Add a day if you are continuing to Gir National Park and Diu.
How do you reach Somnath?
Diu Airport is 85 km and Keshod 75 km; Veraval is the railhead 7 km away; Ahmedabad is about 400 km by road. We arrange the transfer and the driver as part of the journey, so you are met on arrival instead of negotiating a taxi at the gate, and the timings are set around when Somnath is at its best rather than around the clock.
What is Somnath famous for?
Somnath is a temple town in Gujarat, West India, best known for Evening aarti in the main hall with the sea behind it, Baan Stambh, the arrow pillar on the sea wall and Sound-and-light show projected on the temple. Travellers come for spiritual, heritage and culture, and most give it 1 day.
Is Somnath good for families?
Somnath is planned more often for spiritual, heritage and culture than as a family stop, but it works well at a slower pace. 1 day, an early start and one unhurried afternoon is the shape we would suggest, inside the Oct–Feb window. Tell us who is travelling and we will pace it around them.
Photograph of Somnath: B. SurajPatro1997 · CC BY-SA 4.0
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