Budget Trip To Gir National Park

We started our journey early in the morning to Gir national park from Jamnagar via junagadh. Early morning journey makes you cover a good distance before you get slowed down by the traffic.There are plenty of bus services available from Jamnagar to Sasan Gir. As this was our sudden plan we  decided to keep it a budget trip and try out local modes of transport.

Note: It is extremely difficult to get ticket for the safari online as it get booked very quickly. Also there are limited number of  gypsies available. So when sagnik was scrolling through the Girlion.in page he got 2 seat for the gypsy and without even thinking he booked them.

We got our ticket from Shiv Shakti travels at 100 rs each.The bus halted for a light breakfast which was tea and dhokla. At about 10 am we reached Junagadh. It took us 3 hr to reach junagadh from jamnagar. From Junagadh it was another 55km which took 2 hr for our rickety local bus to reach.

Cheap Hotels in Gir - 

Hotels Umang

At 12.30 pm we reached Sasan Gir and checked into Umang Hotel which we booked online. A comfortable hotel in budget.It is extremely difficult to get rooms at Sinh Sadan and you definitely do not want to stay away from the periphery of the National Park . Umang hotel was the best choice for us.

Picture of Hotel Umang :

The Room
Copyrights-@Sagnik Sarkar

 After a quick refreshing bath we headed towards the dining area of the hotel, the baba dining hall.

Copyrights-@Sagnik Sarkar

The veg thali was 120rs.
 We didn't book any safari in the afternoon and so decided to take  eat rest, and stroll around the nearby areas. 

Time slot for Gir:
There are three slots for the game ride
6-9 am
9-12pm
And 3-6pm .The best time to see the lions is early in the morning. Also it increases your chance of encountering different wild animals and birds.

Gir Safari : Cost of the entire gypsy -  Rs 2100. 
You can share with someone. We shared with a family. Maximum number of people 6.

Simple Roti Chicken for dinner
Copyrights-@Sagnik Sarkar.

We had an early dinner, little walk around and went to bed early as our safari starts early in the morning.

Sinh Sadan

The reception Center
Copyrights-@Sagnik Sarkar.

Safari 1.Morning : 
The jeep came to pick us up a little early than the schedule time as the entry points gets chaotic due to permit check in .The morning sun rays made the jungle look beautiful. The forest was dry and looked more like the Savannas. This type of grassland is excellent for the lions to roam freely and hunt. The dry leaves made a crunching sound as our vehicle passed by in search of the lion.

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Changeable Hawk
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Yes my Adrenal Rush !
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Copyrights-@Sagnik Sarkar

. At the entry point we were greeted by a samber deer. A little further we got a glimpse of a spotted deer but no traces of lion.  Infact we saw a changeable hawk  a spotted owlet and a mongoose. But No luck of sighting !! I was very disheartened.  I know sighting a wild animals in the jungle is sheer luck  but still wished to see a glimpse.  While we were returning back as our time was getting over we saw other gypsy's rushing on to one direction. Our driver with excitement  followed the others.We waited for few minutes when from a bush came out  the lioness. What a beautiful creature. It walked around , sat for a while  and then went inside the jungle.  What a great satisfaction  I had ! As our time was over without further roaming around we returned back to the entry point and back to our hotel.

We didn't do the evening safari and thank god we didnt as it rained  crazily that night.  I was pretty sure that the next morning safari would be a flop.

Safari 2: Morning:
 Yeap, I was absolutely correct. With the heavy downpour the animals took shelter. The jungle was empty. We couldn't even spot a single bird . Just enjoyed the jungle and returned back.


In the afternoon we had our return ticket to Jamnagar. So after a heavy breakfast we checked out of the hotel  and took a bus to junagadh.  By 12 we reached  Junagadh. Our bus to Jamnagar was at 2pm,therefore we had some time to explore Junagadh fort. 

By 2 pm we were on the bus to Jamnagar. Brewing with fresh memories we promised to return back to see the Lion King.

Somnath Temple

Somnath at Night

Somnath is about 235 km away from Jamnagar and 79 km from Junagadh. It is the legendary shore temple  and one of the twelve jyotirlingas. According to legends Somnath is as old as creation. Built by Moon God Soma himself. Through the turbulent centuries  Somnath Temple was sacked 7 times and seven times it was rebuilt. Mehmud of Ghazni having heard of it's fabulous  treasures raided it  and carried away camels loaded with jewels and gold. The present temple known as the Maha Meru Prasad was rebuilt on the exact location of the original shrine in accordance with the ancient plans.  A fair is held in the kartik Purnima.

Picture taken from the screen outside the temple

 Notes:

Somnath Temple Darshan Timing: Morning 6 till night 9pm

Aarti Time : 7 am, 12 noon and 7pm. Please do not miss the beautiful aarti. 

Sagar Darshan Hotel

There are state transport available but I would recommend  people to travel by Train. It is very much comfortable to travel by train than in bus. Our train was from Jamnagar  Okha Somnath Express at  10.30 pm. The schedule time to reach  Somnath was  around 5 in the morning.  We decided not to miss the morning aarti.

Upon reaching the Somnath station , which is very small, we took an auto. The auto charges around 50 Rs from Station to Mandir and another 50 for taking us to the Somnath Trustee hotel Sagar Darshan. That 50 rs the autowala charged was a sheer robbery.The hotel was right behind the temple.

Way to the Hotel

Note :You need to book this hotel online 7 days prior to your trip . Its 2000 Rs per night.  They deposit an amount of 500 Rs which is refundable when checking out.We had to pay in cash :( in the midst of note ban crisis.) *** Because we checked in the morning and all card swiping  was available after 9am. (ridiculous terms).

The balcony View. ( all the balcony of this hotel is facing the sea)

The hotel was located right near the sea shore. All the  rooms faced the sea. It was extremely beautiful. The room was spacious and the balcony was too comfortable. One could see the mandir from the balcony itself.

Without wasting time we got ready for the morning aarti.

Watch Somnath  Aarti Online

Do not carry any handbag camera or anything to the mandir. Don't waste time leave everything in the hotel.

Market area

The temple premises was neat and clean. The Arabian sea looked beautiful.  You are not allowed to take camera inside and therefore I took few pictures from outside. There are many seating arrangements made for elderly people to see the aarti in a big screen outside the temple. It gets too crowded and  suffocating at times.

Adi Mandir

After the aarti we visited the adi mandir. It was not so crowded. The entire day was spent roaming around here and there. 

There were market area selling various puja items, toral (door decorating items) etc. 

Our lunch was done in the hotel itself Gujarati Thali. 

Evening Sunset

Without strolling around in the sun we decided to take rest in the afternoon and enjoy evening aarti and sunset. 

Light and sound show was cancelled due to renovation.  Timings for the show 8pm-9pm ( A must watch)

Dont forget to buy Chiki prasad from the temple premises. Also you can offer puja to the Lord.

By 8.30 pm we had our dinner  and headed towards the railway station.   A very successful Somnath Darshan,

For Further information:

Shree Somnath Trust

Website: Somnath.org

Phone: 02876-231231/231200

 You can also check into Lilavati  Atithi Bhavan -A/C.Non A/C rooms .

Tirtha Darshan Tourist  coach are available 3 times a day. (talk to the trust)

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Indian Savannah -Gujarat -Blackbuck Sanctuary, Velavadar

Our very first Gujarat Wildlife tour  started with our visit to Blackbuck sanctuary in  Nov 2016.

Sunrise at Velavadar 

The park was established in the year 1976 in the region of Saurastra.It is 52km from bhavnagar .The National park has been  classified as 4B  Gujarat -Rajwada  biotic province of semi arid  and bio geographical  zone. The sanctuary's prime attraction is Blackbuck .But apart from that you can spot wild cats, wolves, hyenas foxes and nilgai. Also the wetlands attract many birds species like pelicans, flamingos, common crane, ducks and henceforth.

The beautiful Blackbuck

We travelled from Jamnagar to bhavnagar by bus and it took around 5hours.At bhavnagar bus stop our privately booked car was waiting for our further journey. A journey of 52 km from Bhavnagar to Velavadar. Since our bus arrived early in the morning  therefore by 7am we reached the sanctuary gate.

Kaliyar Bhavan

The  demonetization of blackbucks made Kaliyar Bhavan easily available for us to actually enjoy the real dainty blackbucks in the grassland!
we checked into the forest rest house after our morning safari . Our safari guide was Amit. First thing we asked was about hyenas.But he informed that since past 2 years people couldn't spot them, they probably have moved away due to  disturbance.

Grassland

Bachelor Party !

Female Blackbuck

The park has been divided in to 2 section -Marshes and Wetlands.You can spot winter birds and mammals in the wetlands while harrier  in the other parts including mammals. This area in local language is known as Bhal  meaning forehead because of its vastness.The region has thousands of blackbuck living happily without any fear of big predators like tiger /lion or leopard. These antelope runs at a speed of 80km per hour the only mammals on earth who can compete with them is cheetah which is not found in India. So they are safe!

Francolin Crossing the track

We didnt spend much time in the wetlands as there weren't many birds this year. We spotted common crane and shovler and a happy single pelican.Most of the wetlands have dried up.

Harrier

 On the grassland we spotted Harriers. Velavadar is the world's largest communal roosting area of Harrier. They are the only raptor which roost on ground . They are superb hunter  and helps in pest controlling. They hunt for locust, lizard, snakes birds etc. We spotted few  on ground and some on trees. If you dont have a powerful camera (high zoom) it won't be possible to take pictures.
Harrier includes montague, pale ,hen and marsh harrier. By 10.30-11 our safari ended and we returned to our rest house.

Rooms are given only after 9am so if you reach early to velavadar you need to do the morning safari as there is no other option. we were the only tourist there staying in the wolves cottage. All the other 3 rooms were empty.The entire area was enclosed with fence. I was pretty tired and sleepy after the bus journey and felt the morning safari quiet tedious.The rest house was inside the park and hoped that at night I would hear some kind of sound from the wolves and hyenas. There is only one ac room and rest non ac. The room was basic. The water heater worked perfectly. The small balcony gave a magnificent view of the vast grassland.

Gujarati Thali- Served with Chaash and Gur(buttermilk and jaggery)

At 12.30  we were called for lunch. They prepare only Gujarati meal . The price is given at the end of the blog. Food was ok but I felt the price was  high.


Prior to every meal you need to inform the cook about it or else they won't cook. So we informed about our dinner also.After lunch we took rest and skipped evening safari. The reasons are -the sanctuary gate close by 6 pm as its winter the sun sets early. The light gets dim by 5pm and photography becomes difficult. So we planned for the next early morning safari.

Jungle cat basking in the sun

We didnt expect anything to see in the evening as in our morning safari we spotted  harrier, wild boars, nilgai, thousands and thousand of blackbucks crossing roads,jumping around in the grassland, jungle cat and various birds. Only thing we hoped for was to spot wolves .

At night ,sitting in the balcony we spotted a jungle hare near  the front porch. we didnt bring any mosquito coil with us and therefore sitting in the balcony became impossible. At 8pm we went for dinner. We wished to hear some wolves or some kind of noise from the animals but it was pin drop silent except for few dogs barking outside the sanctuary. We went to sleep early for our morning safari at 7am.

One of the wolf from the pack

Day2: The park gate opened late, we saw few blackbuck close to our forest lodge.They might have came near the balcony at night. Our guide amit was on time. A very enthusiastic lad. First thing he informed that  dogs from the nearby village have entered the sanctuary and changed the trail of the blackbuck.They were all scared and went in the middle of the grassland.

Common Krait

This safari we spotted  harriers, eurasian larks, hoopoe, bee eater, common cranes,stonechat , shovelar and lastly the predator wolves near the wetland. It was pack of 5  roaming separately and this made the blackbuck conscious. We saw thousands of blackbuck in one corner of the grassland all together staring at the predator.  With a nasty stare at us the wolves went inside.  We scanned the entire wetland and grassland in search of hyenas but with no such luck we decided to return. While returning we were greeted by an albino antelope and a baby krait snake surrounded by larks.

A beautiful white Antelope.

Though this park is of Blackbuck ,tourist are not permitted to get down fro the vehicle while they are on safari.
The park opens at sunrise till sunset.
The park closes in the Monsoon. The yellow grassland turns green and it becomes home of some dangerous  reptiles like  saw scaled viper, common cobra, common Krait, monitor lizard and hence forth.
Also  from mid august till mid october the magnificent bird Lesser Florican visit the park for courtship.

We left the place next day after morning safari and lunch. At 4pm we had our bus from Bhavnagar. By 9/9.30 we reach Jamnagar

Where to Stay at Blackbuck Sanctuary
 There is a beautiful forest department guesthouse Kaliyar Bhavan were only 4 rooms are available . Due to rush its very tough to get its availability.
Also BlackBuck Lodge -(a luxurious stay) is also located outside the park gate .But its extremely costly.

How to book the forest rest house at Velavedar?
 You cannot book it via internet or phone call
you need to send Demand Draft by the name of RFO velavedar ( DD only from State Bank of India)
You need to send the DD to
Assistant Conservator of Forests
Blackbuck National Park,
Bahumali Bhavan,
Block S-10 Annexe Building
Bhavnagar-364001
Phone 02782426425
Email : fo-n-bav@gujarat.gov.in
Forest Range officer: Phone: 0278-2920222

 Important Info:

At Kaliyar Bhavan Rest House
Vegetarian Gujarati Lunch /Dinner  Cost 140 rs for Indian and Foreigner-10$
Tea /coffee -14 rs Indian and 2$-foreigner - (right outside the gate of the sanctuary there is a tea stall where you can get tea at 5 Rs)
Breakfast 80rs Indian and 4 $ foreigner

Tariff
Individual entry fee to the park : 40 Rs India and 10$ foreigner - Per Day
Entry fee of the vehicle ( up to 6 people) 400 Rs  and 40$ for foreigner
Photography (still) 200Rs per camera ( Indian) Per day!
                                20 $ (foreigner)
Documentary -10,000 Rs  for Indian and 1000$ for foreigner

Guide fees Rs 100  for the first  four hour per vehicle /per group
Additional per hour -40 Rs
Foreigners need to pay 100$  for first four hours and the 40$ for additional .
Payment needs to be paid directly to the  guide.
Our Guide name was Amit Velavadar.He was knowledgeable about birds.



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Birds Of Gujarat -Jamnagar

The best time to spot flamingos is in the evening. 

Knobbed Billed Duck

Winter is here and so are the birds. Jamnagar is known to be birder's paradise .Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary is famous among bird lovers ,but one can even spot them near salt pans, water reservoirs and Lakhota lake.

National Bird Of India -Peacock

Lesser Flamingo
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Lesser Whistling Duck

Red Napped Ibis

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Dwarka -Bet Dwarka Trip From Jamnagar

 24th September2016

Entrance to the Golden Kingdom

Backwater -Arabian Sea

Planned for Dwarka darshan on Sunday 24 th september . Dwarka is 140 km from Jamnagar and it is considered one of the important Dham  in Hindu Pilgrimage ( among the four). If you are travelling from any other cities make Jamnagar your base.There are trains available from Jamnagar and it usually takes around 3 hrs to reach Dwarka. Also there are cars available for you to hire. we decided to drive and visit the place and I think it was the best decision we took!
The road to Dwarka - the land and the vegetation gradually started changing. We could see more of  cactus than trees. One beautiful thing I saw first time is windmill. The entire road was lined with  windmill and it looked amazing. The road was  smooth and the journey was quite comfortable.

On the way to Dwarka

By 10 am we reach Dwarka. Our driver  told us to visit Bet Dwarka first as the temple closes by 12. So we decided to visit the main temple in the evening.

The emerald Blue sea -Bet Dwarka Island
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                                                                   Bet Dwarka:

 I didn’t find this place interesting. The boat ride was extremely scarely as it was a rickety boat carrying more than 50 people in the midst of the ocean and the ticket is 10-20 Rs each.So you can now imagine what kind of boat and journey you will have. There is no other option to reach Bet Dwarka. Next time if I visit Dwarkadeesh I will absolutely skip this part. The journey to Bet Dwarka in the scorching heat was extremely tiring and not worth anything.

The ocean was beautiful but again I couldn’t enjoy much as the heat was extreme and I could feel my skin burning badly. The passengers in the boat from the nearest village were extremely arrogant and if you are living in cities and do not have much experience traveling  wild  you may have hard time. Every temple in Dwarka ask for  donation  for food or water it is up to you  to decide.

The Gigantic Lord Shiva
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                                                                   Nageshwar Temple –
This was our next stop

It is an underground sanctum and suppose to be one of the self existent Jyotirlinga in the country.The main attraction is the 25 metres lord shiva in a sitting position and a perfect spot for tourist to take in innumerable selfies! 

 Built by T series company,   The temple is well maintained. The temple has a photo of Gulshan Kumar too. The place is little far from Dwarkadeesh temple and so you can have tough time getting autos here.

Rukmini Mandir
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                                                                     Rukmini Mandir -

This temple is situated at 8 Kms from Dwarka. This is in the outskirts of the city near the sea shore. As the story say that Rukmini was cursed by sage Durvasa  because of which the temple is situated outside the city and its because of this curse only, that the water in Dwarka city is salty.But for me  seawater is always salty and nothing to do with curse.

                                               Bhadkeshwar temple -
                                              Copyright sudeshnasarkar.blogspot.in

By 2.30 we were done with all the sightseeing. It was extremely hot and I was exhausted. The worst part was - the main temple was closed  and would open at 5 pm and we had no place to go.
Meeting the King of  Dwarka is not that easy you need to wait patiently.

Jagat Temple  Dwarka
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                                                      Dwarkadheesh Temple: 

Finally after waiting for a long time  the gate of Dwarkadheesh temple opened. The 'heat was so bad that walking barefoot was painful and it made me dizzy. But as Lord Krishna said "Pain or pleasure /cold or heat  they are fleeting.They come and go experience them patiently." so with all my energy and love for the Lord me and my husband I entered the temple  chanting  Dwarkadheesh Ki Jai. 

I was engulfed with my own thoughts. Staying in Mathura for years near Lord Krishna' Janmabhoomi and knowing him as natkhat Nandlal with Radha Rani( Stories from the locals) and then meeting him in Dwarka as King( co-incidentally am staying few hours away from Dwarka) made me realized how much Lord Krishna loves me.

At one point by mistake I chanted   Banke bihari Lal ki jai ( habit of Mathura)..n then  I remember no one calls him as krishna or banke bihari...Only Dwarkadeesh.

"My dear gopis, in order to increase your superexcellent love for Me, I have purposely separated Myself from you. I have done this so that you may be in constant meditation on Me.” -His message through Uddhava (Krishna book, Ch.47).

When the screen was removed -to my amazement Lord Dwarkadeesh statue looked exactly like Banke Bihari..

Sorry no photography !

After a good darshan  our Dwarka trip came to an end. By 6 pm we hit back for home.

Evening at Dwarka
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Note : Don’t wear anything short or rather don’t show your bare legs or you won't be allowed inside the temple and this goes for both men and women visiting Dwarkadheesh Temple.

•  Carry umbrella /water - The mixture of sand the sea and the sun can be cruel.
• You can skip Bet Dwarka -There is nothing much to see and the boat ride is dangerous.
• Autos were very few in number. I don't know how people do their sightseeing.The best option is hire a car.

Do let me know your experience while visiting Dwarka.

For any travel related enquiry drop your mail @sarkar.sudeshna18@gmail.com or in the comment box below.



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Swaminarayan Temple-Jamnagar

Swaminarayan Temple is located close to Jamnagar Airport  on Jamnagar-Dwarka highway. Its a must visit place for people who are on there Saurashtra Trip.The place is huge and well maintained.The best time is in the evening to stay away from the bad heat in the morning & afternoon. Weekends are extremely crowded with people.The temple carvings are beautiful but it cannot beat Prem Mandir in Vrindavan.  There are 3 idols in the temple including Lord Swaminarayan.
Parking area is huge but still it can be tough during weekends.

Cleanliness is excellent.

Have queries about any trip ? Write your queries in the comment or mail me. 

Lakhota Lake Jamnagar :

View of the Lake

When bored visit Lakhota Lake ! Yes this is what we do in the weekends. Lakhota Lake or Ranmal Lake in Jamnagar  is located right in the middle of the city. Currently Lakhota lake is under beautification and therefore you cannot visit the fort.The entry fee to this place is 10 rs for adult and 5 for children. Musical fountain show cost 25 for adult and 15 for children. There is a student discount too. It is an ideal place to spend lazy evening near the lake and enjoy cool breeze. There are many sitting areas where one can enjoy a good adda with friends ( bongs!):P. The place is well maintained, neat and clean .There are many small shops inside where one can have (light snacks) panipuri  ice cream , cold drinks and henceforth

I have heard that this place is best during the winter when the migratory bird  visit the lake. Some of them includes Flamingos, Pelican,Terns etc. I have spotted few resident bird and I am so eagerly waiting for the winter to come. Ill soon post  Lakhota Lake in Winter.

•  Easily accessible by auto
• There is a huge parking lot, so parking is not a problem
• Donot chew pan masala or you will be fined

Knobbed Billed Duck_Resident Bird Gujarat