Travel

Galteshwar Mahadev Temple : A Scenic 3-Hour-Trip Destination Near Dakor

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on
May 28, 2015

Galteshwar, situated on the confluence of the rivers Mahi and Galti hosts a Shiva temple from the Solanki era. About 16 km from the temple town of Dakor, the place is declared as ancient and cultural heritage site by the ASI. Thus, elevating Galteshwar as a picnic cum pilgrimage destination near Anand, Nadiad or Vadodara.

We set out for Galteshwar on one scorching afternoon after finishing one of the many internal exams of DDU. Those 3 hours of the mini trip were full-of-fun. Want to know why? Go ahead. 🙂

Bridge Over Mahi River Galateshwar Mahadev Temple Near Dakor Gujarat 7

The Mahadev Temple

The eight sided temple is an excellent model of red stone carving. Built in the Solanki era (10 to 13th century), the foundation as well as the adroitly carved figures are still intact.

Temple Compound Galateshwar Mahadev Temple Near Dakor Gujarat 2

Zooming in the retina would reveal the carved figures of gods, humans, chariots, horse riders, elephants and various events of human life. The carvings are much more detailed inside of the unique eight-sided hall.

Adroitly Carved Sculptures Galateshwar Mahadev Temple Near Dakor Gujarat 1

Looking at the way pilgrims rub their hands on sculptures and then touch forehead, without even observing the carvings, I had a silly thought that the carvings are decayed more due to the fingers than the time.

The Roof and the Two Stories

One thing anyone could easily notice is the unorthodox shape of the temple roof. Actually, the temple doesn’t have a roof. There are two theories explaining the cause:

  1. This theory says that Lord Shiva constructed the temple all by himself. However, he didn’t want anyone to identify him.Solution? Work in the night and leave the place before the sunrise. Unfortunately, Shiva couldn’t accomplish the mission and left the temple as it is.
  2. As per this story, after looting the rich temples of Somnath, when Mahmud Ghazni saw Galteshwar, he destroyed the roof.

As a science student, the second theory sounds promising to me. What do you think?

Galateshwar Mahadev Temple Near Dakor Gujarat 11

The Two Rivers

Built on the confluence of two rivers, Galteshwar also hosts various religious ceremonies. As the Mahi river flows here, the water is pretty clean, clean enough to consider the stream as a natural water park and have fun taking a bath.

The River Side Galateshwar Mahadev Temple Near Dakor Gujarat 6

The temple building is designed so peculiarly that the Galti river flows underneath and (believed to) constantly sprinkles water on the Shiva-Ling.

Consequently, our ancestors were no less skillful than the Egyptians or the Romans.

Inside The Temple Galateshwar Mahadev Temple Near Dakor Gujarat 3

How to Reach

If you’re like me, totally dependent on the public transportation, take state transport bus to Dakor. They are frequently available from Nadiad and Anand. Get off and find a rickshaw leading to Galteshwar. It’s a 20 minute journey.

Rickshaw From Dakor to Galateshwar Mahadev Temple Near Dakor Gujarat 10

If you own a vehicle then no one could offer you better route than the Google Maps.

Distance Matrix:

From To Distance in km / Approx. Time
Nadiad Galteshwar 52 km / 1 hr
Anand Galteshwar 51 km / 1 hr
Vadodara Galteshwar 86 km / 1.5 hr
Dakor Galteshwar 16 km / 20 min
Ahmedabad Galteshwar 93 km / 1.5 hr

Eat & Stay

The sightseeing wouldn’t take more than 2 hours. Thus, there’s really no reason to stay in Galteshwar. (Well, even if you want to stay, options are none.)

Rest in Dakor. Dakor has it all, the hotels, the guest houses or the economical Dharmshalas.

As there are no restaurants in Galteshwar, full lunch or dinner could only be an imagination. But hey, who wouldn’t like to taste the juicy sugarcane or the spicy boiled corn or Limbu Pani – or the garma-garam Bhajiya?

Lemon Water Juice Galateshwar Mahadev Temple Near Dakor Gujarat 5

Photographer’s Paradise

In the Golden Hours (The hours just after sunrise and just before sunset, when the light is lower, softer, more colorful.) the place offers beautiful landscapes for photography.

Bright Sunset Galateshwar Mahadev Temple Near Dakor Gujarat 9

The stage consists of: ancient temple, serene river, grainy sand, immortal rocks, wide bridge and immaculate water. What else is needed?

Photographer's Paradise Galateshwar Mahadev Temple Near Dakor Gujarat 8


Photo Credits:
Tanmay Rajani, Rushit Dave, Janki Patel, Riddhi Toliya


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8 Comments
  1. Reply

    Shailesh rajput

    May 6, 2018

    Well, nice to c u on website
    Your articles is so nice
    Small n sweetly we got information about destination
    N nice photography also
    I m basically from chikhli

    • Reply

      Darpan Dodiya

      May 10, 2018

      Hello Mr Shailesh,

      Thanks for dropping a note down here.

      Happy to hear that you’re from Chikhli. My hometown is Kukeri, 10 km from Chikhli. 🙂

  2. Reply

    JK

    October 21, 2016

    As a native of Thasra, born and brought in Mumbai now settled in USA, as a younger most summer vacations we spent in Thasra and visited Galteshwar often. There was a dhamshala that was built by one of our relative who used to take me over there. Last I visited may be I think in 1981. Beautiful place. Will try to make it next time when we visit India.

    • Reply

      Darpan Dodiya

      October 22, 2016

      Thanks for stopping by and dropping a comment. 🙂

  3. Reply

    Pravin Shah

    January 27, 2016

    We have visited Galteshvar Mahadev 3-4 times. My native is Mahelol, near Godhra. Galteshvar is 46 km from Godhra.

  4. Reply

    sheetal

    November 11, 2015

    The place is very nice .we are planning to in diwali vacation.

  5. Reply

    Himatbhai Parmar

    October 13, 2015

    Nice detailing

  6. Reply

    parmar kishor

    July 13, 2015

    Nice pic

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Seattle WA, USA

Hello 👋 I'm a Software Engineer based out of Seattle, WA. This is my internet backyard to share things that I do and stuff that I find interesting. I started this blog back in 2014 to share my travels stories. Glad to see you here, have a look around the website, you'll enjoy. Feel free to drop a comment or say hello. Have a beautiful day! :)