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 Gopnath
Bungalow was the seashore retreat of the royal family of Bhavnagar.
Built in a European colonial style with cottages and mansions
surrounding a courtyard, the whole complex faces the sea.
The tidal waves here are among the largest in the world. Blessed with
lovely white sand beaches it is a nature lover’s paradise. You can see
marine life in the rocky shoals, extensive coastal bird life including
oystercatcher and plovers, stripes hyena and jackal in the coastal
scrublands.
Gopnath is 89 kms from Bhavnagar and can be slotted between Bhavnagar
and Diu. It can also be used as a base to visit the Jain temples of
Palitana and the sights of Bhavnagar. It is partially operational with
four rooms.
Gopnath is known for its temples and fishing villages. It is here that
the Maharajahs of Bhavnagar appointed Punjabi Muslim falconers to hunt
Peregrine falcon.
The breathtakingly beautiful sea coast with it’s spectacular limestone
cliffs and great views, sea breezes and colourful birdlife, provides an
excellent break from city-life during the summer months.
The Gopnath beach has lovely, firm sand for walking, and shallow shore
waters for wading, but the high tidal difference of the coast, makes the
water murky and not very inviting for a long swim. Gopnath is the base
for some spectacular sightseeing. Talja is a jain temple spiralling on a
350 foot high volcanic hill, Alang is the world's largest ship breaking
zone. Besides this one can enjoy shopping for furniture, food stuff,
crockery, utensils, textiles, home appliances salvaged from the ships.
The 700 year old Gopnath temple is perhaps the only one in India with
flags of 2 colours a white flag denoting a Vishnu temple and a saffron
flag representing a Shiva temple.
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