Mata Tourism & Travel Guide

My grandmother was not getting any younger, she was now in the wrong side of her 70s and however fit she may have been age was now taking its toll.The last dham was left for her and for me, Dwarka the western Dham.Dwarka is located in the state of Gujarat, India. The legendary city of Dwarka was the dwelling place of Lord Krishna.The temple has wonderful architecture and is well planned to accumulate the huge crowds that dhams have.

The most renowned place to worship the most renowned Indian God - Lord Krishna. Dwarka is a municipality located at the very end of Gujarat by the banks of the hallowed river of Gomti. The place is believed to be located at the very same location as the mythical Dwarka Kingdom, which was ruled by Krishna himself. Millions of pilgrims, or rather lovers of various other forms of the popular god, visit the holy grounds every year, with the number going exponentially higher during the festival of Janmashtami. Although the town is home to many significant temples, but the Dwarkdhish Temple is the main attraction, which is the residence of a huge decked up statue of Krishna. The main shrine of this 2,500-year-old structure is 5-storey-high and is supported by an astounding 72 pillars. Disciples also visit the Rukmini Devi Temple nearby to complete their pilgrimage.Things to do for millennials: Since the town is located at the mouth of Gulf of Kutch, there exist a few beaches around including the Beyt Dwarka Beach in Jamnagar. Birdwatching is a pastime at this place. But the main attraction for millennials is definitely the Rann of Kutch, which is ideal for biking expeditions. The great white land makes for an incredible platform as well as backdrop for bike riders, consequentially entering the must-do lists of most of them.Read more on Dwarka. Book hotels instantly without paying in advance if you're planning a visit.Well, doing the Char Dhams doesn't look so boring anymore, eh? So the next time your grandmother asks you about your lack of praying time in the mornings, offer to accompany her to the ultimate religious destinations. It'll make both of you happy. Now go, find your own gods. And once you're back, share your interesting stories on Tripoto with millions of other agnostic travellers like you are. Cheers! Oops, Jai Mata Di!

Actions Shows Your Priorities. - Gandhi#TripotoShoots

DwarkaThe fourth morning we left for Dwarka Dham, covering the distance of 250 kms in 5 hours. When we reached Dwarka we followed the same routine as Somnath. We took a shower, had a cup of tea and left for the temple. The temple was located at a kilometre and a half distance from our hotel and the walk to the temple was a beautiful one. Sea on one side and bustling markets on the other side greeted us all the way to the temple. The temple is huge, built in a similar way to the Somnath temple, with a huge compound surrounding it. The temple is a Krishna temple and is named as “Dwarkadheesh Temple”, translated to “The Temple Of The King Of Dwarka”. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Krishna was born in Mathura, spent his childhood in Vrindavan, his teenage years in Mathura and his entire adult life in Dwarka. Dwarka was the place where he established his rule and worked endlessly to bring balance to the Earth. Devotees call the Krishna residing in this temple as the “King of Kings”. The statue is beautifully adorned and attracts devotees and non devotees alike. We worshipped the Lord and left soon after.

We arrived in Dwarka around 5 pm. And since we had miscalculated the travel time, we had to cut out Beyt Island from our trip. (Beyt island is another beautiful island with some temples and one has to take ferry to get there. Sad we couldn't do it).

Rukmini Matha Temple

After traveling ~3hours, we reached Dwarkadhish (~8pm). Road connectivity from Jamnagar to Dwarkadhish is very nice. It was single lane but with less traffic and smooth road make your experience good. On the way, we see Reliance Refinery and Salt Processing unit. I booked Dwarka Residency online and experience with it was really bad. Since next day was Holi, so some program were happening in around area.

Due to Holi, there was a lot of crowds. I was expecting some colorful day, like North India, but here I got disappointed. People were calm and just gathered to visit the temple. Anyway, we first went to temple and then roamed around the area.

This place is mostly temples. So visit this place only if you do not mind visiting temples the whole day. Rukmani Mandir, Nageshwar Mahadev (a dwadash Jyotirlinga), Gopi Talav, Beyt Dwarka & Dwarkadheesh Temple.