Gorakhnath Peak & Temple

Gorakhnath Shikhar is the loftiest of the several peaks that make up the Girnar massif, rising to roughly 1,031 metres above the plains of Saurashtra and counted among the highest points in Gujarat.

• Set a short but steep distance from the town of Junagadh, the summit is crowned by a modest shrine of the Nath sampradaya dedicated to Guru Gorakhnath, the revered yogi-saint whose lineage of ascetics has long been associated with Girnar's sacred slopes.
• For pilgrims and trekkers alike, standing on this windswept crest is one of the great rewards of the Girnar climb.
• Reaching Gorakhnath Peak means committing to the celebrated Girnar stairway, a stone-cut ascent traditionally reckoned at close to ten thousand steps that begins near the Bhavnath area at the mountain's foot.
• The path climbs past a cluster of historic Jain temples on the Girnar plateau and the Ambaji shrine before continuing upward.
• Since 2020 a ropeway has carried visitors to the Ambaji platform, sparing the lower stages, but the final push to Gorakhnath and onward to the Dattatreya summit is walked on foot.
• Early starts are the norm, both to beat the Gujarat heat and to catch sunrise, and the well-worn steps are dotted with simple rest points and water stalls.
• At the top, the small whitewashed shrine shelters a sacred dhuni (a perpetual ascetic's fire) and images honouring Gorakhnath, tended in the austere Nath tradition.
• The peak is prized as much for its panorama as for its sanctity: on clear mornings the view sweeps across the folded green ridges of Girnar, the sprawl of Junagadh below, and the distant Saurashtra countryside.
• Devotees regard the whole mountain as a living tirth, and the climb is treated as an act of devotion.
• The site is free to enter and best attempted at dawn; carry water, sun protection and sturdy footwear.
• For food, Girnar itself offers only basic pure-vegetarian tea-and-snack stalls, so most travellers eat down in Junagadh, which is well supplied with pure-veg kitchens.
• Long-running Gujarati and Kathiyawadi thali houses in the town — such as the decades-old Geeta Lodge near the railway station — serve unlimited vegetarian thalis of rotli, shaak, dal, rice, farsan and sweets, all strictly meat-free and alcohol-free in keeping with the pilgrim setting.
• Near the Bhavnath base you will also find simple pure-veg bhojanalayas dishing out fresh puri-shaak, poha and chai to fuel the ascent.