Panch Pandav Gufa (Hinglaj Mataji Gufa)

Tucked into the sacred cluster of shrines around the Triveni Sangam — where the Hiran, Kapila and the mythical Saraswati are believed to meet before flowing into the Arabian Sea — the Panch Pandav Gufa is one of Somnath's most atmospheric small pilgrimages.

• This cave shrine, reached through a low, steep entrance that has visitors stooping and stepping carefully downward, honours the five Pandava brothers of the Mahabharata alongside Hinglaj Mata, the mother goddess whose principal seat lies far to the west.
• For pilgrims walking the Prabhas circuit, the gufa (cave) is a quiet, cool counterpoint to the grand seafront Jyotirlinga temple a short distance away.
• Inside, the constricted passage opens onto a series of modest rock-set shrines.
• Devotees find idols of Shiva, Ram, Durga and Hanuman placed in niches, with Hinglaj Mata venerated as the presiding deity of the cave.
• Local tradition links the site to the Pandavas' wanderings during their long exile and pilgrimage, when the brothers are said to have paused at Prabhas to worship.
• The cramped, dimly lit interior — where you move slowly, sometimes almost crawling past the narrowest turns — gives the shrine an intimate, meditative quality quite unlike the open temple courtyards nearby.
• It is not a place for the claustrophobic, but many visitors describe the tight descent and emergence as part of its appeal.
• The gufa sits within easy reach of the Triveni Sangam ghat, the Gita Mandir and other riverside tirths, so most travellers fold it into a single unhurried morning or late-afternoon walk through Prabhas Patan's cluster of temples.
• Entry is free and the shrine is compact — fifteen to twenty minutes is usually enough.
• Wear easy footwear you can slip off, mind your head at the low entrance, and carry a little water, as the coastal air is humid.
• Somnath town, its bus stand and the Veraval railhead all lie within a few kilometres by auto-rickshaw.
• For meals, stay within the pilgrim belt around the Somnath temple, which is reliably pure-vegetarian even though the harbour town of Veraval nearby is a busy fishing port.
• The Somnath Trust's own pilgrim bhojanalaya (prasadalaya) serves simple, hygienic sattvic thalis at modest rates, and several pure-veg Gujarati and Kathiyawadi thali houses along the temple approach road offer unlimited rotli, shaak, dal, bhaat, kadhi and farsan.
• For a quick bite, look for pure-veg South Indian and Punjabi outlets and stalls selling chaas (buttermilk), fresh fruit and snacks near the main gate.
• Always confirm a kitchen is pure-vegetarian before ordering, and skip the seafood-oriented eateries down by the Veraval harbour.