Visit to the Tallest Summit of Guru Dttareya at Girnar Mountain at Junagadh in Gujarat State of India

The tallest Mountain of the Gujarat State in India is the Girnar Mountain, which is situated near the city of Junagadh in the Saurashtra region of the Gujarat State. There are many famous places of pilgrimage on this Girnar Mountain. The most famous of them all is the Amba Mata temple. Most of the pilgrims visiting Girnar visit Amba Mata temple for sure. However, very few people are able to visit the highest summit of the Girnar Mountain, which is known as Guru Dattatreya summit. I am going to write about this rare spot of the Girnar Mountain that is not visited normally by the tourists as it is extremely difficult to climb up to this summit.

The tourists have to reach Junagadh either by train or bus, which are available from almost all the major cities of the Gujarat State. The Girnar Mountain is only 3 miles away from the city center of Junagadh. The tourists can reach the base of the Girnar Mountain by hired auto rickshaws or taxis. It would be better to start the climb up the Girnar Mountain by the early evening hours around 4 pm so as to reach the Ambaji Mata summit by around 6 pm in the evening after climbing around 5500 steps. The steps are nicely built and are very gradual. However, the sick and aged persons should not attempt to climb as it is very tough and steep and may cause heart attack. There are dharmshalas available at the summit of Jain Derasars, around 1000 steps before the Amba Mata summit. You will need to stay for the night at these dharmshalas, which are able to provide bare minimum facilities to the tourists. The night here will be very cold and you will need to have lot of woolen material to protect yourself, particularly during the peak winter months. You may start your further climb by around 6 am in the next day morning. You will reach Amba Mata summit immediately within 1000 steps. Perform the darshan here and continue your journey further up. You will need to get down around 1500 steps and again climb 500 steep steps to reach the Guru Gorakhnath Summit. Continue further to climb around 2500 steps to reach finally to the Guru Dattatreya summit.

It is the highest summit of the Girnar Mountain, situated at the height of around 5700 feet from the mean sea level. The beauty of all the surrounding area from the top of this summit is really breathtaking. There is an ancient temple of Guru Dattatreya here. There are foot prints of Guru Dattatreya here at the temple. The story goes like Dattatreya, son of Atri Rishi and Sati Ansuya, performed very severe tap here at this place for twenty four years. The Lord Shiva was very happy due to this tap and gave his blessings that the Girnar Mountain would become famous as the land of Rishis and gods. The environment of this temple is simply out of the world and the tourists get hypnotized due to the spiritual energy flowing in this area. There are near by other spots of tourist's interest like Pandavas caves, and the Kamandal Kund, which also must be visited. You will need to climb around 10000 steps in all to reach up to the summit of Guru Dattatreya. This is really a very difficult task and must be attempted by fit and healthy people only. There is also an arrangement for hired dolis in which sick and unfit people can travel up to the top. Such dolis are carried by four people and the rates depend upon the weight of the individual. For an average built person weighing around 130 pounds, the rates are around Rs.2000 ($40) per person from the base to the highest summit of Guru Dattatreya. There is a very heavy rush here on the auspicious day of Guru Purnima as Hindus go for darshan of their Guru on this day.

I would certainly appreciate if any of my readers are encouraged to visit this highest summit of the Girnar Mountain as a fun adventure during their next visit to India. If any of my readers have any further doubts or questions on this, they are free to contact me.