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PORBANDAR

The birth place of Mahatma Gandhi and one of the 8 richest princely states in Saurashtra, Porbandar has interesting monuments, sea views and a flamingo bird sanctuary. Good places to stay are the New Oceanic hotel, Toran tourist bungalow, Beach villa Govt guest house, hotel Vaibhav, hotel Flamingo and hotel Sheetal. The Chorwad beach palace of the Nawab of Junagadh is now run as a Toran tourist bungalow.

Kutch

The princely citadel of Bhuj is named for its Bhujia fortress, which overlooks it from a hill nearby, and the city was further protected by a fortified walls and gates that could lock at night. The history of Bhuj begins from the days of the Naga Chieftain, and it is said to have witnessed the Indus Valley civilisation, exile of the Pandawas during the Mahabharata and

the invasion of Alexander the Great. But the golden period of Bhuj came when the Jadeja Rajput rulers shifted their capital from Anjar to Bhuj in the mid-16th century. Even today, Bhuj is a picturesque city dominated by palaces, havelis and mansions of the mighty Jadeja dynasty, who were respected even by the Mughal empire for their Naval strength which could repel attacks from the powerful Portuguese, who conquered almost all the rich ports of Mughal India. The finest of the palaces of the 18th Century Aina Mahal, which is best known for its mirror and jewel mosaics on marble walls surrounding a jet fountained pleasure pool courtyard and collection of portraits, coins, palanquins and other royal memorabilia. The more recent Pragmahal palace has a museum of art deco figures and hunting trophies. The Chattardi(royal cenotaphs) that enshrine the Maharajas of the Kutch are festivals of intricate carvings with specially exquisite funereal stone. The Sharad Bagh palace of Bhuj is a royal mansion with a well landscaped garden and nursery. The Swaminarayan temple is one of the finest sights in Bhuj, decorated with gold and bejeweled images. The Kutch museum is the oldest in Bhuj.

Outside Bhuj too, Kutch has a lot to offer by way of sightseeing. Narayan Sarovar is one of the 5 holiest Hindu temple lakes in India, alongside Mansarovar, Pushkar, Bhuvaneshwar and Pampasarovar, and the shore temple of Koteshwar has interesting old monuments. The scrub forested sanctuary of Narayan Sarovar is one of the best places to see Chinkara(Indian gazelle). Ashapura Madh, enroute Bhuj to N Sarovar-Koteshwar is one of the few shrines to the Mother Goddess of the Jadeja Rajputs. The historic port of Mandvi has a fine old palace which is now a school, the lovely Vinay Vilas palace overlooking the white sanded beach and an interesting harbour, and some distance away is the old harbour of Mundra with intricate stone walls. Badreshwar is one of India's oldest Islamic settlements and has one of the oldest clusters of Jain temples in western India, renovated 9 times from the first restoration in 1248 AD. Dhorawira is one of the oldest and largest Indus sites in India, and is located on Khadir Beyt, surrounded on all sides by the Great Rann of Kutch Desert Wildlife sanctuary. The well planned township of Gandhidham, the Kandla port free trade zone and the lavish cantonment of Bhuj are modern wonders of Kutch.

But the greatest attraction of Kutch is its rich tradition of textiles and handicrafts specially embroideries, Block printed fabrics, leather footwear, wood carvings, silversmithing, pottery and metal ware, all of which can be purchased at the bazaars of Bhuj and Anjar or better still from the villages of Banni.

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