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 has been built as an abode for the Gods. The temples have been renovated 16 times over the centuries, with the Sixteenth Renovation taking place in 1587.

Get in

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 meters away from the Palitana railway station.

By taxi

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

See

Dwarpal Of Temple (Gate Keepper)

Beautiful Column support in Temple

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, Palitana has over 850 temples atop sacred Mount Satrunjaya (the “hill that conquers enemies”),which makes it highest number of temple city. Many of these temples date to 15-16th centuries while some of them date to even earlier periods. The top is reached by climbing (or by being carried up) 3,572 steps—a stiff 2-hour ascent. Amid the massive warren of white marble shrines and temples, you’ll encounter many devotees dressed in white, some wearing gauze masks to filter innocent microbes from the air that they breathe. Some of the devotees attain ecstatic heights, practicing their faith with devotional singing, clapping, and humming. Others create devotional patterns on the ground using rice and nuts, or are seen gently waving fly-whisks over the idols as a gesture of respect.

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 enlightment.

Buy

You can buy very good quality Indian handicrafts in Palitana.

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.