Ghumli — Navlakha Temple Ruins

Hidden in a fold of the Barda Hills at the far edge of the Devbhumi Dwarka district, the ruins of Ghumli are one of Saurashtra's great archaeological secrets — a lost medieval capital that most travellers on the Dwarka pilgrim road never reach.

• By tradition Ghumli served as the seat of the Saindhava rulers and, later, of the Jethwa dynasty, and the scatter of temples, stepwells and gateways strewn across the scrubby valley floor speaks of a town that was once wealthy and powerful.
• The centrepiece is the Navlakha temple, a colossal ruined shrine widely believed to have been dedicated to Surya, the sun god, and generally dated by scholars to around the eleventh to twelfth century.
• Its name — from the words for "nine lakh," a figure long attached to grand and costly buildings across Gujarat — hints at the scale that once was.
• Even in ruin the Navlakha is imposing.
• Raised on a high, richly moulded plinth, it is counted among the largest and earliest surviving stone temples of the Saurashtra region.
• Rows of ornate pillars, deeply carved doorways and fragments of a shikhara that has partly collapsed give a vivid sense of the ambition of its builders, while a large decorated torana (an arched ceremonial gateway) stands close by.
• Wander the site and you will find other traces of the old capital nearby — the deep Vikia Vav and Ghumli Vav stepwells and the small Son Kansari shrine among them — all softened now by grass and the quiet of the surrounding hills.
• Managed as a protected heritage monument, Ghumli is a place for slow, contemplative exploration and for photographers who love weathered stone; carry water and stout shoes, as facilities are minimal and the terrain uneven.
• Frame it as heritage rather than active worship — the Navlakha today is an archaeological ruin, best appreciated for its architecture and history.
• Ghumli sits in remote country, so plan your meals around the nearby town of Bhanvad or the larger centres of Porbandar and Jamnagar rather than the site itself, which has little more than the odd seasonal tea and snack stall.
• In Bhanvad you will find simple pure-vegetarian Gujarati eateries and bhojanalayas serving an unlimited Kathiyawadi-style thali — rotla and bajra roti, seasonal shaak, dal, kadhi, khichdi and chaas — the honest, filling fare of inland Saurashtra.
• For more choice, the pure-veg Gujarati thali restaurants and farsan shops of Porbandar (an easy day-trip) offer dhokla, fafda-jalebi, khaman and full thalis.
• Carrying a packed vegetarian picnic and plenty of drinking water is the wise plan for a half-day at the ruins.