Dwarkadhish Temple, Rukmini Temple, Dwarka, Gujarat

Autorickshaw, parked at the edge of Aji Dam, outside Rajkot, Gujarat

This is a post about the temple city of Dwarka. Not the Dwarka in Uttar Pradesh, but the Dwarka where Lord Krishna escaped to and established the city of Dwarvati to escape from the repeated attacks by his uncle Kansa's father-in-law Jarasandha. On a more modern footing, the town of Dwarka falls within the district of Jamnagar, and is in the state of Gujarat. Jamnagar is famous for the massive refineries and petrochemical plants run by the Tata, Reliance, and Essar groups.

There are two ways to get to Dwarka, and while all routes do lead to God, on the more physical plane, you can either approach it from the coastline that runs along the southern border of Gujarat. This would mean driving past Diu, Somnath, Porbandar, and on to Dwarka. NH 51  runs along this coast and is mostly in bad shape, and driving is slow.

The other option is to take the Ahmedabad-Rajkot state highway, proceed on to Dhrol, and then via Jamnagar, Khambaliya, and on to Dwarka. This is a beautiful highway, and the four-laning work there is nearing completion. This particular stretch below is from the state highway SH25, a short distance from Rajkot, on the way to Jamnagar.

Lighthouse Beach, Kovalam

View Larger MapLighthouse on Lighthouse Beach, Kovalam, Kerala

The first beach I recall in India where the warning signs are in four languages - English, Malayalam, Hindi, and German (I think).

Read more on Wikipedia and at Lighthouse Beach - Kovalam - Reviews of Lighthouse Beach - TripAdvisor

© 2009, Abhinav Agarwal. All rights reserved.