Bhavnagar, in the Indian state of Gujarat, is a port city on the coastal region of the Saurashtra peninsula abutting the picturesque Gulf of Cambay. Once the capital of the princely state of that name, Bhavnagar was founded in 1743 by a Rajput prince, Bhav Sinhji, who established several educational and judicial institutions here. Later rulers commissioned European architects to build palaces and administrative buildings.

The main places of interest in Bhavnagar are the markets in the old city, alive and full of character, with overhanging wooden balconies and sections reserved for specific trades such as the cloth bazaar, the silver bazaar and so on; the Takhteshwar Temple, which lies on top of a hill from where you get excellent views over the city and the Gulf of Cambay; Ganga Devi Mandir and the Gandhi Smriti Museum. The Gaurishankar Lake, with its well laid out park, is a popular picnic spot.

Getting There

Bhavnagar is connected by air to Mumbai and by rail to Ahmedabad. State transport buses and private bus operators run regular services to Bhavnagar from Ahmedabad (51/2 hrs), Vadodara, Junagadh, Surat and Bhuj. The city offers a fair selection of hotels in the bottom and mid range, as well as a palace hotel belonging to the erstwhile maharaja of Bhavnagar.

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