Girnar

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Girnar
Mount Girnar

Mount Girnar

height 1117  m
location Gujarat State , India
Coordinates 21 ° 31 '36 "  N , 70 ° 31' 40"  E Coordinates: 21 ° 31 '36 "  N , 70 ° 31' 40"  E
Girnar (Gujarat)
Girnar
Map of the Girnar Mountains (around 1910)
Jain temple and view of Junagadh

Girnar is a mountain range of volcanic origin with an area of ​​approx . 120 km² and a maximum height of approx. 1117 m in the south of the Indian state of Gujarat . In front of the Shatrunjaya Hills, about 150 km to the east, but only about 580 m high near the city of Palitana , Mount Girnar is the highest point in Gujarat.

Location and ascent

The summit of the mountain is about 10 km (as the crow flies) east of the city of Junagadh, which is only 110 m high, and half of it can be reached by rickshaws from there; the actual ascent over thousands of steps should begin in the early hours of the morning (around 4:00 a.m.); it is only possible on foot or with the help of porters and takes at least 3.5 hours. With stopovers, sightseeing and the way back, you are back in the afternoon.

  • Mount Girnar

  • Dattatreya Temple

  • Trees on the way to the summit

  • 3 peaks of Mount Girnar

Religious meaning

Already in Vedic times the prominent mountain stick was probably sacred to the people. Emperor Ashoka (ruled 268–232 BC) had one of his edicts carved into a granite block in its foothills . Members of the Jain religious community built several temples in honor of Neminatha and other Tirthankaras near the top of the mountain centuries ago . But the mountain is also of great importance for the local and regional Hindu population, as it is visited by thousands of pilgrims during the annual Shivaratri festival ; In addition, a temple is dedicated to the syncretic deity Dattatreya on one of the three mountain peaks. But also on other days outside of the rainy season, several hundred people take on the effort of climbing or its approx. 40 km long ritual circumnavigation ( parikrama ) .

  • Hindu pilgrims

  • Sadhus

  • Jain temple

  • Jain temple (detail)

natural reserve

The slopes of the mountain are forested. Rare birds, including some of the last Indian vultures , live and nest here. Some rhesus monkeys tend to seek proximity to humans. A cable car project planned since 1996 has been rejected by conservationists and Jains alike, but the Ministry of the Environment has since approved the project.

Web links

Commons : Girnar  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ The altitude information varies depending on the source