Dwarka to Somnath: Gujarat's Great Coastal Pilgrimage Road Trip

There is a stretch of Gujarat's coast where two of the most sacred sites in the country sit less than a day's drive apart, and the road between them runs almost the whole way within sight or smell of the sea. Starting at Dwarka in the far west, where Krishna is said to have built his kingdom, and ending at Somnath, the first of Shiva's twelve Jyotirlingas, the Dwarka to Somnath road trip is one of the most rewarding journeys a traveller can make in western India.

It is a route that works on two levels at once. For the devout it is a pilgrimage that links a Char Dham site with a Jyotirlinga in a single, flowing itinerary. For everyone else it is simply a beautiful coastal drive, past temple towns, a new blue-flag beach, an island shrine and a string of fishing harbours. This guide walks you through the whole thing, in the order most people drive it, from Dwarka in the west to Somnath in the south.

Starting at Dwarka

Dwarka is where the journey begins, and it earns its place as one of Hinduism's four holy Char Dham towns. At its heart stands the towering Dwarkadhish Temple, its spire flying an enormous flag that is changed several times a day, rising above a huddle of pilgrim lanes that run down to the Gomti river and the sea. Time your visit for the morning or evening aarti, when the temple fills with sound and colour, and give yourself an unhurried hour to wander the old town around it.

Just offshore lies Bet Dwarka, a low sandy island reached by a short boat ride, dotted with temples and believed to be where Krishna actually lived. On the way back toward the mainland route, stop at the Nageshwar Jyotirlinga, one of the twelve sacred Shiva shrines, marked by a giant seated statue of the god visible from the road. Between them, Dwarka and its surroundings comfortably fill a full day before you turn south.

Somnath, the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas, stands where the Saurashtra coast meets the open Arabian Sea.

The coast in between

The drive from Dwarka toward Somnath is where the trip relaxes into something slower and more scenic. A short way south of Dwarka, Shivrajpur has become one of India's few blue-flag beaches, a clean sweep of pale sand and turquoise water that is worth a stop and a swim. Further along the coast lies Porbandar, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, where you can visit Kirti Mandir beside the modest house where he was born, and watch the fishing fleet come and go from the old harbour.

You are never far from the sea on this drive, and never far from a temple either

This middle stretch is the part most pilgrims rush and most travellers treasure. Detour to the Madhavpur beach, associated in legend with Krishna's marriage, or simply pull over where the road hugs the shore and let the pace of the coast take over. There is no need to hurry: Somnath is only a few hours on, and arriving there in the late afternoon, in time for the evening aarti, is exactly how you want to time it.

Ending at Somnath

Somnath is a fitting climax to the drive. The temple stands right on the shore, the waves breaking almost at its base, the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas and a shrine destroyed and rebuilt many times across the centuries. Its present form, rising pale against the sea, is genuinely stirring, and the nightly sound-and-light show narrates its long history against the crash of the surf. Stay for the evening aarti, when conch shells and bells fill the sea air, and if you can, return for the quieter dawn. From Somnath it is only a short hop to Gir and its lions, or a drive back inland, but many travellers find they simply want to sit a while longer by the water where the journey ends.

If you go

• Allow two to three days for the full route so you can give Dwarka and Somnath a night each and take the coast in between slowly rather than rushing.
• A hired car with a driver is the easiest way to do this drive; public transport links the towns but leaves you stranded for Bet Dwarka, Shivrajpur and the smaller stops.
• Time your arrivals at Dwarka and Somnath for the evening aarti, and try to catch at least one dawn at the temples when the crowds are thinnest.
• Carry modest clothing and be ready to leave phones and footwear at temple entrances; cloakrooms are provided at both main shrines.
• Add Gir National Park at the end — it is close to Somnath and turns the pilgrimage into a full Saurashtra loop of temples, coast and lions.

The Dwarka to Somnath road trip distils a great deal of what makes Gujarat special into a single coastal thread: deep faith, long history and an easy, sea-washed beauty. Drive it as a pilgrimage or simply as a scenic escape, give it the days it deserves, and let it carry you from Krishna's legendary city in the west to Shiva's shrine on the southern shore, with the Arabian Sea alongside you nearly the whole way.