Tourism in India has been always surprising because we find
different kind of cities with dissimilar features. After long research, we
finally got one of the Jain temple city Palitana. The popular thing about the
city is this Indian tourist place is declared as one and only 100 % pure vegetarian
city of the world. Yes! This is true that Palitana the city of Bhavnagar region, Gujarat is listed
as the pure vegetarian city of the globe. The distance of the city from Bhavnagar
is just 50 km and famous as a key pilgrimage center for the Jain community.
However, we were not aware that this city is listed as veg, but we were told to throw the stuff at the border of the city by a
local commuter. That was a big surprise for me because I have never heard such
thing in my whole life. I immediately checked the reviews about the city and
found that it was declared “The World’s First Vegetarian City” on 14th August,
2014. This was all effort of Sudhar Sagar the Jain believer and his party
members. A long hunger battle until death created the history and Gujarat
government declared this touristy spot as a Vegetarian zone of India.
Talking about tourism in the city it is the pilgrim spot and
lots of big and small temples are constructed in the city. The city is linked
to Jain legends and their bravery history. The first Tirthankar Shri Adinath
meditated on Shatrunjaya Hill, Palitana. Later a temple was constructed at such
location and today it becomes major part of tourism in the city.
Palitana was declared as a prime city in 1194, though it was
the major states of Saurashtra spread in 777 km². In ancient period this Indian
tourist place was ruled by Mughal Emperors and was granted to Shantidas Jhaveri
the Jain merchant in 1656. Mughal Ruler Murad Baksh was the son of Shah Jahan
gave the control of city to Shantidas. However, the temples in the city were
constructed by the Anand Ji Kalyan Ji Trust.
Palitana is the only city of the world, having more than 900
temples in the hill. It is the major Tirtha place of Jain people. Nearly 3000
temples are established on Shatrunjaya hills made of white marble.
Attractions in Palitana:
Shatrunjaya Hill: Striking view of the valley and
surrounding areas makes this place as first choice for visitors. The
Shatrunjaya mount is 591 meters in height popular as the most sacred place of
the shrine of Jains. The rock climb of 4 km with stepped path could be
difficult for heavy weight people. However, the Doli and lift chairs are
available for people who face difficulty to reach the top. There is another way
to reach this peak temple and that is an elephant ride. Once you reach the peak
you will find nearly 863 marble temples of Jain gurus constructed nearly 900
years ago.
Jasmine trees: Famous as Gulf of Cambay visited by numerous
people every year. However, the trees and gulf area is closer to the temples so
people who visit this area must not miss the amazingly designed shrines on the
peak of the hill. Most of the temples are built of gold, silver and donated
jewel items.
Modern Temple: The unique structural design of the
Khartaravasi Tuk temple expresses the value of the shrine for people. It is
counted largest peak temples with north ridge face towards Chaumukh temple.
Adinath temple: Another must visit place of the town located
on the hill again. A holy place, having huge values for the devotees of Jain
Community. View of the city is amazing from this temple and you will find a
huge, dense greenery area starts from the boundary of the temple. The temple
was built by a rich merchant of Palitana in 1618.
There are countless temples and naming each temple in the
list is not an easy task. However, we tried to gather the data from different
sources and we believe the mentioned spots of this Indian tourist place will
attract the visitors to reach here.
How to reach Palitana?
By Air: The closest airport is Bhavnagar located at 51 km
distance from Palitana. It is the domestic airport having two daily flights
from Mumbai. However, the next closest big airport is Ahmedabad located at 215 km
distance. Ahmedabad is properly connected to major cities of India so no
worries if you are looking for flights to Ahmedabad.
By Rail: Palitana railway station is having direct trains so
you can get the reservation for this city from almost every corner of the
nation. Songadh, Bhavanagar, Mumbai and many other cities are having direct
train for Palitana.
By Road: Gujarat government has managed the state with
proper road constructions. The administration of the state is highly motivated
and developing the roads throughout the state. If you are looking for Palitana
through road, then you can get the route of Bhavnagar that is just a few kms
away from the destination. Regular buses are accessible from Bhavnagar,
Ahmedabad, Una, Talaja, Diu and several other cities.
