Narayan Sarovar and Koteshwar, Kutch, Gujarat

After spending about half a day at Lakhpat, my next stops in the day were Narayan Sarovar, Koteshwar. I was told that Narayan Sarovar has a religious significance and otherwise not much of a place. But as it is quite close to Lakhpat (35 km) I decided to check it out. At the other end of Narayan Sarovar is Koteshwar (2.1 km) which has a temple by the sea. This temple is said to be the westernmost point of India.

After Lakhpat I was desperately looking for tea which I found at Narayan Sarovar. In Gujarat at dhabas people drink tea from the saucer rather than the cup. But I would need to spend more time before I made an attempt, I restricted myself to drinking from the cup. It was nice tea, not too sweet.

As told to me there was not much water in Narayan Sarovar. I could see plastic bags floating on the sarovar. The water didn’t look clean. But then faith is another thing! To the devoted it has healing properties and people were taking a dip in the sarovar.

There is a temple at the sarovar but I am told it is the sarovar that is of greater religious significance. The temple complex was full of colors. I was here at noon so I was struggling to click pictures as the sun was harsh. There are a few shops outside that sell random souvenirs and parsad. The place has a dusty look which somehow adds to the atmosphere. It was not too crowded when I visited it. As Narayan Sarovar to Koteshwar is just 2 km I was at Koteshwar within no time.

The legend associates this temple with Ramayan. Apparently it was at this place Ravan kept the Shivling down when he was not supposed to. The idol multiplied and he could not figure out the original one ever again. After a quick visit to the temple, I ran to the sea. At both the temples no one hassled me to perform any pooja.

While I was running towards the sea I saw this tree where women would put a bindi on the trunk. I asked a few ladies for the reason but they had no clue why it was done. I was not wearing a bindi or I too would have pasted it on the tree!

The sun was still quite high, the sunset at least an hour and half away. I wanted to stay but Devpur is 115 km from Koteshwar. I was traveling solo as well. I decided to miss the sunset as I would it catch it at Mandvi. Koteshwar is said to be the westernmost point in India.

The temple is situated on a high plinth overlooking the sea. Koteshwar Temple is the last outpost of human construction at the westernmost limit of India, is the breaking point of the skyline from the flat brown horizon to the east and the wide blue horizon to the west. From this point, the glow of light from Karachi, Pakistan can be seen in a clear night. It is an excellent sunset point.

We had a car breakdown while going, a new Maruti Swift too which was quite surprising. They managed to find an Alto from the village where the breakdown happened. We changed the cars again at the village and I reached Devpur without any further incidents. It was a good first day.