Overview: Another long day was awaiting when we started our journey from Rajkot towards Champaner Archaeological site. We started around 5:30am and reached Champaner at around 11:30am. The roads are very good all across Gujarat, so we did not feel much stress of driving. Inside the Champaner Fort is the Shehar-ki-masjid, a private mosque built for the royal family of the Gujarat Sultanate in teh 15th-16th century. The mosque is built in Indo-Sarcenic architecture, with the outer pillars resembling the Hindu temple type of architecture. The outer structure is flanked by 2 minarets on both the sides. A few yards from Shehar-ki-Masjid is the Mandvi or the Customs house, used as a tax collection booth. This structure locally known as the bazaar. Also nearby are some stray structures and the 3-celled building, used as a prison in the 15th century.
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Shehar-ki-Masjid, Champaner |
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Champaner Custom House |
After relishing these monuments, we headed to the Pavagadh hill, which looked massive from outside. On the top of the hill is the Kalika Mata temple, the site of one of the Great Shakti Peethas. To reach the peak, one has to drive to the base of the Pavagadh hill ropeway ground location. Alternately, there are jeeps available from the bus stand to reach the Ropeway. The ropeway costs Rs 116 per person both ways, and takes you to the top station of the hill in around 8 minutes. From the Ropeway, we have to again climb around 300 steps to reach the summit of the hill. On the way there are several souvenir shops, and a few restaurants. We can also see a few ancient Jain temples all along the way. There is a big pond half way through the climb, where devotees can take a quick dip. The Kalika temple at the top looked like an ancient structure, reported to be built around 10th century and worshipped since then. The view from the top is breathtaking with cool breeze hitting our face which was pleasant in the mid afternoon sun. After having the 'darshan' we made our way to the parking lot through the same route.
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Pavagadh Fort |
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Jain temple, Pavagadh |
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Pavagadh Hill |
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Kalika Devi temple, Pavagadh |
It was already late afternoon by the time we started from Pavagadh towards Vadodara. We then went to the Lakshmi Vilas Palace in Vadodara, built by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III in 1890. Built over 500 acres of land, this palace is a blend of Indian and European architecture and boasts of being the largest private residence built till date. The entry ticket is priced at around Rs 250 per person incuding an audio guide.
We spent just over 1 hour in this palace before making our way to our hotel in the city.
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Lakshmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara |
Day 6: Rajkot - Champaner - Pavagadh hill - Vadodara (400 kms)
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