Son Kansari Temple Ruins, Bhanvad

Hidden deep in the Barda hills southeast of Bhanvad, the Son Kansari temple ruins are among the quietest and most atmospheric relics of the Dwarka circuit's forested interior.

• They stand at Ghumli, the ancient hill capital that by tradition served the Saindhava and, later, the Jethwa rulers of the Kathiawar coast between roughly the eighth and twelfth centuries.
• Where Ghumli's celebrated Navlakha sun temple and its great stepwells draw most visitors, the Son Kansari group — a scatter of weathered stone shrines gathered around an old kund, or sacred tank — rewards those willing to wander a little further into the trees. Little survives intact.
• What remains are carved plinths, fragments of pillared mandapas, doorframes worked with foliate bands and celestial figures, and the stepped embankment of the reservoir that once served the old settlement.
• Scholars place the earliest work in the Maitraka–Saindhava idiom, the same western-Indian temple grammar that shaped early shrines across Saurashtra, with additions likely across the following centuries.
• Monsoon, forest and time have softened every edge, so the pleasure here is not grandeur but intimacy — moss on old sandstone, the play of light through Barda's canopy, and near-total silence broken only by birdsong.
• The name Son Kansari is bound up in local legend.
• By one telling, when the old capital fell a noblewoman named Son (or Sona) became sati here, and the shrines and tank are said to commemorate her; such stories are cherished folklore rather than documented history, and are best received as tradition.
• The site lies within the Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, so approach it in daylight, carry water, and tread respectfully.
• For food, plan around Bhanvad town or a day-trip to Porbandar, as Ghumli itself has no reliable eateries.
• Bhanvad has simple pure-vegetarian Gujarati and Kathiyawadi thali houses serving rotla, seasonal shaak, dal-bhaat and chaas (buttermilk), while Porbandar offers a wider choice of pure-veg thali restaurants and snack counters.
• Given the remoteness, it is wise to carry your own vegetarian food and water for the visit itself.