Tourism in Bhavnagar

Bhavnagar  is one of the commercial cities located in Gujarat. It is one of the major cities of Gujarat and popular as a tourist destination as well. In 1724, Bhavsinhji Gohil founded this city. This city has both religious and historic places to have a spiritual and fun experience at the same time. This city is very much alive and full of character as far is tourism is concerned. The tourist spots in Bhavnagar city are discussed below.

Famous Tourist Attractions in Bhavnagar

There are many tourist spots spread across the beautiful city and they are as follows

Nilambag Palace in Bhavnagar

This royal palace has now been converted into a heritage hotel. Such is the beauty of this palace that it depicts the glory and opulence experienced by Bhavnagar during eighteenth century. This palace is built amidst spacious eloquent lawns and gardens. The striking features of this palace includes stepped arches, pillared portico, turning marble staircase, pleasant center courtyard, dining hall furnished with European chandeliers and all this will take you back to that era of royalty and abundance.

Barton Library in Bhavnagar

The Barton Library is a beautiful architecture building which is two storeyed. It is located at a road junction and has the perfect design with a central tower and its two wings extending on both the roads. This library has been constructed in ashlar stone masonry and it has the magnificent Gothic arch windows. The sloping roof  of the building is covered with Mangalore tiles. Now this place also has a Museum. This library is  one of the oldest libraries of Gujarat.

Mangalsinhji Mahal Palace in Bhavnagar

Bhavnagar royal family i.e the family of Maharajkumar Mangalsinhji Takhatsinhji resides here in this palace. This historical palace is located right in the middle of Bhavnagar city and is built on  traditional Kathiawari architectural principles. This palace is now the official residence of heir of Rajkumar Chandrajitsinhji Mangalsinhji of Bhavnagar.

Takhteshwar Temple in Bhavnagar

This temple is located atop a hill in the center of the city. This is a this popular Shiva temple which is built in the year 1893 and has been named after Takhtsinhji. This white marble temple has brilliant architecture and one of the best panoramic view of the entire Bhavnagar city. Read More Here.

Bhav Vilas Palace in Bhavnagar

This grand property was once upon a time the club-house for the royal family of princely state of Bhavnagar. It is now the house of the family of Maharajkumar Shivbhadrasinhji Krishnakumarsinhji Gohil. This palatial property is worth seeing because of its location across the lake and its wildlife collection.

Gandhi Smriti and Barton Museum in Bhavnagar

The Barton has the museum on the ground floor which exhibits the archaeological remains from the surrounding regions. The Gandhi museum is on the first floor and it exhibits the  impressive and vivid  journey of  life of the Mahatma. It has certain items related to Mahatma Gandhi which reminds of him as a student of Bhavnagar University. This museum also has a fine collection of bead work, weapons, wood carvings, farming tools, coins, musical instruments, stamps, sculpture and many folk arts subjects depicting the culture of the Saurashtra region.

Gangajaha in Bhavnagar

Gangajaha also known as Gangaderi is a temple of Godess Ganga. This temple is built on the place of a tank. The outstanding feature of this temple is the chhatri or partition. This temple is made of white marble which was designed by Sir John Griffits. Maharaja Takhtsinghji had built this temple in the memory of Maharani Majirajba in the year 1893 A.D.

Gangajalia Lake in Bhavnagar

This beautiful  lake is located right in the heart of the city. Once it was a dry rubbish dumpyard which has now been reinvigorated by the corporation. They have developed a jogger's park running along the picturesque lake. The best part are the inbuilt speakers along the walk way which makes your walk and trip worthwhile.

Gaurishankar Lake in Bhavnagar

This huge lake spreads across an area of 381 hectares. Bor Talav is the name by which it is known locally named after the esteemed Dewan Shri Gaurishankar Oza. He was the Deewan of Bhavnagar and this place was built under his supervision. There is a bal-vatika along with the Boat house, planetarium,  musical fountains  and many more attractions adjoining the lake. It is a perfect picnic spot. Read in detail, here.

Gopnath Mahadev Temple in Bhavnagar

This temple is located on the shoreline of the Gulf of Khambat. This is a Shiva temple and the place where Narsinh Mehta, the devotional poet had his spiritual experience about 500 years ago. The breathtaking view from the temple will make your connect with spirituality even more strong.

Khodiyar Mata Temple in Bhavnagar

Khodiyar temple is Khodiyar Mata's temple built in the year 1911. It is located on the banks of Khodiyar lake. It is worshiped not only by the locals but also by the royal family. This temple is visited by many followers everyday with some followers walking long distances to have darshan here.

Victoria Park in Bhavnagar

Victoria park is a  reserved forest having variety of bird life. You can also see some animals like Porcupine, Neel Gai (Blue bull), hynea and fox. It makes up for a beautiful wild life experience in Bhavnagar.

Aksharwadi Swaminarayana Temple in Bhavnagar

It is also known as Akshar Temple and is one of the famous temples in Bhavnagar. The architecture of this Swaminarayan mandir is splendid and will leave you spellbound.

This place has many temples and heritages at the same time which makes it a double delight place for tourist. Bhavnagar awaits you as a tourist and it's a must visit place in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.