Palitana

Palitana a city and a municipality in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, 50 km south-west of Bhavnagar city. It is a major pilgrimage centre for Jains.

Understand
Palitana was founded in 1194 and was ruled by nobles until it joined the newly independent country of India in 1948. No-one is allowed to sleep overnight including the priest, because the temple city was built as an abode for the Gods. The temples have been renovated 16 times over the centuries: the Sixteenth Renovation took place in 1587.

Palitana is the fantastic hilltop Jain temple city, an essential holy pilgrimage destination for this nonviolent community. A city of gleaming marble monuments housing representations of the few human souls that have managed to be liberated from the cycle of life.

By plane
Bhavnagar, the nearest airport, is 51 km from Palitana, but it connects only with Mumbai.

For people coming from other places, a more convenient airport would be Ahmedabad which has an international airport, or Vadodara, which hosts many domestic flights from important cities like Mumbai and Delhi.

By train
Palitana has a small railway station with connections only to Bhavnagar. However, there is more rail traffic to Bhavnagar, so it may be more convenient in many cases to take a train to Bhavnagar and travel from there to Palitana by road.

By bus
There are buses from Bhavnagar to Palitana. Regular buses are also available from Ahmedabad, Talaja, Una, and Diu, and every day from Mumbai. The bus stand is 800 m away from the Palitana railway station.

By taxi
Taxis are available on hire for Palitana from Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad or Vadodara.

Get around
The autorickshaws, Chhakadas and rarely horse-carts are available to move around and in the town.

Do

 * Tirthankar Adishwar Bhagwan (god) is the "Mul-nayak" (main) bhagwan (god) on the top of Palitana and the most holy thing to do in life is to do puja (nine places on body of god). You can take help of any Jain tourist if you do not know the process of Puja. By performing puja you internal soul will get enlightenment.

Buy
You can buy very good quality Indian handicrafts in Palitana. You can buy popular local snacks like Bhel and marmalade made of rose petals: Gulkand.

Eat
Palitana is famous for its Bhel with Pomegranate seeds.

Drink
Indian desi soda (lemon soda), sugarcane juice

Sleep
There are plenty of dharmashalas where one can choose to stay. However, please ensure to abide by the religious code of conduct, while staying there.

Go next

 * Bhavnagar