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Hanuman 2018

Back to the Indian subcontinent for two months in Spring 2018.

With Sri Lanka, Mumbai, the Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Amritsar and Delhi on the menu, we had many sweet experiences sprinkled with some sour ones.

Read on to learn how we fared.

Full map of all Hanuman 2018 pages

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Thinking of our next destination: Italy and Portugal come to mind, currently dreaming of South Korea and Japan...

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Path: Photos > Saurashtra Peninsula
Tags: Hanuman  2018  India  Gujarat

Saurashtra Peninsula

 

(vero;2018-Oct-11)

We have a blog entry with general impressions of Gujarat and also dedicated a photo gallery to the amazing shipyards of Veraval.

Rural Palitana, easy going with goats and cows roaming the streets. The vegetable market is held in the red building with stalls and carts overflowing on the outside.
Palitana - Collection of dolies at the foot of Shatrunjaya Hill. Quite many people choose to be carried up the stairs. Porters waiting for a “prey” assess would-be customers as they start the climb. If they look a bit weak or a bit too fat, they will follow them for a while in the hope that they will relent and use their services. This man paid 1000 Rs for being carried to the top by two-porters. This lady wanted a bit more comfort and paid 2000 Rs for an open chair carried by four porters. She seemed to prefer being transported by female porters. Shatrunjaya Hill - Looking back on the way. It is not up all the time, there are also quite long flat portions to catch your breath. The temples at the summit of Shatrunjaya Hill, protected by ramparts. Many scaffoldings betray the ongoing building works. The inner yard of a temple on Shatrunjaya Hill. Small shrine within a temple compound. Note the workers having a break and taking a nap in the shade. Shrines and temples galore on Shatrunjaya Hill. Diverse statuettes of the deities revered in the temples. The inner sanctum of a temple with fine carvings and elaborate ceiling. A frieze skirting the outside of a temple. Graceful statue of a mother with child. Porters waiting in the shade while their customers perform puja in the temples. There are water stations along the climb where you can get a glass for a nominal fee. This lady was seated right at the top, near the last step of the stairs. Palitana - Our eating joint in the evening. Dosas are on the menu. Diu - The entrance to the fortified city. A colourful Hindu procession in the streets of Diu. Diu - The facade of St Paul Church, founded in 1600 by Jesuits. Inside St Paul Church in Diu. Diu - Wooden statue of the Virgin with Child in St Thomas Church, now a museum. Diu's museum inside the now disused St Thomas Church could do with a lick of paint. Bas-relief fronting a gate inside Diu's fort. The busy fishing harbour of Vanakbara on Diu island. Religious festival in the village of Vanakbara on Diu island. Junagadh - The Mahabat Maqbara complex. It is the resting place of Sir Muhammad Mahabat Khanji II, the sixth Nawab of Junagadh (reigned 1851-1882), and Wazir Bahauddinbhai Hasainbhai, one of the chief nobles in the court of the eight Nawab Rasul Khan (reigned 1892-1911). Bahauddin Maqbara, a mausoleum built over the tomb of Wazir Bahauddinbhai Hasainbhai. It is said to resemble the Taj Mahal in structural design, with its bubbled domes and four minarets flanking its four sides. The mausoleum of Sir Muhammad Mahabat Khanji II, the sixth Nawab of Junagadh (reigned 1851-1882). The Mahabat Maqbara mausoleums. Junagadh - The Nawab's palace in the city centre falling slowly but surely in dereliction. Mihrab of the Jami Masjid mosque in Junagadh's fort. The mosque is not in use anymore. View on Girnar Hill from Junagadh's fort. The white dots below the summit are some temples. A shrine within the entry gates to Junagadh's fort. The many photos of children next to it suggest that people come here in search of a cure or protection for their children. The landscape around Girnar Hill in the morning light. Shrine dedicated to Shiva along the staircase leading up to the temples of Girnar Hill. Click to read why Shiva is represented sitting on a tiger skin. The small orange statue in the right bottom corner of the picture could be Hanuman, the Hindu Monkey God. Many temples in Girnar Hill were being renovated: two friendly workers dreaming of Paris when they heard that Vero was born there. Frieze of dancers on the outside of a temple. We're not at the top of the hill yet. View back on the first level of temples, the settlement around the start of the climb and Junagadh down in the plain. Looking up, still some way to go… Bad surprise: after reaching the top of the stairs shown on the previous picture, we suddenly realise that we have not reached the final temple yet. The way goes down around 150 altitude metres before climbing up again to the final luring temple on the crop just in front of us. On the way down, view of a temple at an intermediate level and over Junagadh in the plain. The landscape around Girnar Hill: definitely a highlight of the day. A family from Bikaner in Rajasthan. They told us their next stop would be Palitana.

Go back to Indian People 2018 or go on to Shipyards of Veraval or go up to Photos

$ updated from: Photos.htxt Wed 17 Dec 2025 16:13:40 trvl2 — Copyright © 2025 Vero and Thomas Lauer unless otherwise stated | All rights reserved $