In my earlier post, I wrote about going in search of Aghoris at Girnar base. The next day morning was an eclipse, the 2020 solar eclipse that was seen in India. Since my niece and nephew were with us, we couldn’t take them outside during the solar eclipse as they might end up looking at the sun and damage their eyes. Moreover, there were some doubts about the auspiciousness of doing a pilgrimage during the eclipse phase.

In either case, I decided to head up the mountain. I started my climb up on the common, new route. And then descended by the older route. It was a 10,000 step pilgrimage for me. An astounding one at that.

The family started after the eclipse, but didn’t manage to do much of pilgrimage. They climbed about 600 steps and then returned.

So, I did this pilgrimage solo (my fav way). 🙂

If you are new to this region, here is a brief description of the two routes and places to see experience on this pilgrimage.

There are 2 stairways to the Girnar sacred spots

The newer route

First one is the most popular one with the pilgrim folks. It starts at this location that is seen on G maps. In fact, a lot of the rest points of the newer route can be seen on G maps. And you get mobile network (vodafone and Jio) almost all through this new route.

It is usually fairly populated with a constant stream of pilgrims going up and down.

There are multiple stalls for food, drinks, small trinkets all through the route. You even get full meal thalis in some of these shops. So depending on your pilgrimage style, you can make use of them.

I often become very meditative on pilgrimages and so, eat and drink minimally. If it is a physically taxing journey then I may need to consume nourishment. This mountain climb has over 3000 steps so once I reached halfway, I took one halt where I gobbled down some biscuits, fresh oranges and water.

First Tonk : Neminath Jain Temples

This newer and more common route has over 3000 steps to the first set of temples. These are Jain temples and is referred to as the First Tonk (pronounced as Took with a little nasal touch at the K). I don’t know if it is a Gujarati word or Hindi one, but that’s how we refer to the various sacred spots on mountains. I think it means a “peak”. Even if landscape wise it may not be a peak, due to the sacredness, it is referred to as a Peak.

The main Jain idol in these temples is of Neminath – the 22nd Jain tirthankar in this half yuga cycle. It’s a nice, fairly large temple complex with a lot of smaller temples and prominent idols. If you wish to do the pooja, then you should plan well in advance, as there will be lines and token systems to get a turn.

When I landed up here, the main temple wasn’t open because of the solar eclipse. It would open only after the eclipse around 12pm or so. So I only managed to step in the sanctum sanctorum to see the idol as the inner doors just opened. And then I headed out to continue my pilgrimage.

Second Tonk : Ambaji Devi Temple

Another 1000+ steps later is the Maa Ambaji temple which both the Hindu and Jain groups worship. For Jain’s it is the kuldevi of Neminath.

There is a crossroad after the First tonk. As you go towards the Ambaji temple, you will come to a fork. One route goes upwards to the visible Ambaji temple, and the other goes flat onwards. This is the connection between the new route and the old route.

Once these two routes meet, you can keep going further upwards to the Ambaji temple. And beyond it to the Guru Duttatreya footsteps shrine. Here there is also the place where Neminath took Nirvana and left his body.

The new route that I climbed up by, is the common stairway to this sacred and powerful mountain space. This route has small, evenly made steps at least till the Ambaji temple from what I saw. Some patches may be steep but not overtly so. And sitting perches are easily available.

The new Girnar ropeway drops devotees near the Ambaji temple. I have pondered on the pros and cons of this ropeway in this blog post.

The older route

Then there is the older route. It can be referred to as the “old route” or the route to Sehsavan, a Jain temple.

This route is superb because it tends to be way less crowded and it gives you some stunning vistas of the Gir jungle which sprawls around these mountains.

In fact these mountains are very much a part of the Gir forest which is home to over 500 male lions and their families.

This older route is not considered safe after dark. It is wilder and jungle animals may be abound. Moreover, it gets deserted hence, there are chances of being mugged.

Even during the day, the lower part of this route sees a large number of monkeys flanking the route. There are a few shops that come enroute. Thankfully, they keep the monkeys at bay.

There is no mobile network in some parts of the route.

This route is much steeper in certain sections. So the understanding is that you should ascend via the new, common route. And then descend by this older route (but during day light).

Neminath Diksha & Kevalgyan Spots

This older route has a few sacred spots. For Jain’s it is a temple called the Sehsavan. The spots where Neminath took diksha and later got enlightened are both here. They are not so obviously marked, so get proper instructions if you are heading this way. You can sit at these spots and meditate. Powerful spaces.

Secret tip: Neminath’s Nirvana spot, the place he left his body, is also on this mountain. It is much higher up. Further upwards from the Ambaji temple. But this Nirvana spot can be seen from this route. For people who don’t trek till there, you can at least do darshan from below. Again, check with any of the doli people, who are carrying people up and down the stairs. They will know about it.

So these are the 2 routes I know and experienced on this mountain. Maybe there are more secret ones too.

Who can fathom all the secrets of such powerful spaces of Indian ethos?!

Have you been to the Girnar Pilgrimage? How was your experience?

Useful Travel Information to Plan Your Girnar Trip

How to get there,
Closest Airport: Rajkot airport. Take a private taxi or plan for bus/train to Junagadh
Closest Railway Station: Take a train to Rajkot or directly to Junagadh. Here is a list of trains that go to Junagadh station.
Closest Bus Station: You can take a private or GSRTC bus from Rajkot or any other nearby cities to Jungadh. Tickets cost from 150 INR to 1500 INR

Best mode of transport: Rent a self-drive car from Rajkot

When to visit,
Best day of week: Weekdays will be less crowded than weekends. Also, check for any festivals or events though this is difficult as a lot of different communities mingle at Girnar. So, one can’t anticipate exactly the crowd situation. That is why it may be better to book your stay, transport etc.. a bit in advance.
Best time of day: Early mornings would have lesser crowd

Stay @ Dharamshalas nearer to Girnar, however, they cater to different communities often, so unless you have prebooked getting accommodation may be tough. Other option is taking hotels in Junagadh like Bellevue Sarovar which looks quite good in pics, but I would suggest staying in Girnar taleti if possible for a closer experience.

Eat @ Girnar taleti has a few dhabba style restaurants to eat at. Otherwise, the dharamshalas will have their bhojnalayas. Don’t expect anything fancy. Junagadh has some good restaurants like Honest chain.