The Land of Lord Krishna - Dakor

Introduction

    After exploring Surat and Vadodara, we moved towards our final pilgrimage centre in Gujarat – The land of Lord Krishna, Dakor.

[ A view of Dakor from the bank of the Gomti lake - 

The golden spired temple is the Ranchoddrai Temple ]

 

    An ancient town, Dakor is said to be in existence at the time of Mahabharat when it was a dense jungle known as Hidimba Van. Dank Rishi had an ashram (hermitage) here in the surrounding area then. During penance, he had pleased Lord Shiva who in turn agreed to settle here in the form of Danknath Mahadev Shivling. Thus, Dakor was known as 'Dankor' after Danknath Mahadev. Today, however, Dakor is renowned for the well known temple of Ranchhodraiji (Lord Krishna) and is among one of the holiest places of Hinduism.

    The chief fairs of Dakor are held on Ashwin and Kartik Purnimas (full moon days) when lakhs of devotees throng the temple to seek the blessings of the Lord.

How to reach Dakor

    By road, it is around 90 kms from both Ahmedabad as well as Vadodara. State transport Buses are available from all major cities in Gujarat. The nearest airport is at Ahmedabad.

Where to stay in Dakor

    Although Dakor is visited every year by lakhs of devotees, it's hard to find many good staying options here.

[ Temple trust Guest House ]

    The best I know of, from my own personal experience, is the guest house run by the temple trust. Situated just next to the temple Gaushala (described above), it has both a/c and non a/c rooms. In my last trip to Dakor, I had stayed in their a/c room which was quite clean, spacious and well maintained. The per-day charges are Rs. 400 and Rs. 200 for a/c and non a/c rooms respectively.

Otherwise, one can also consider staying in the adjacent major cities of Ahmedabad or Vadodara.