Veraval - વેરાવળ

Veraval was once a major port for the pilgrimage to Mecca. It is now a busy commercial port and claims to be the biggest fishing harbour in India. Traditional wooden dhows up to 350 tonnes capacity are built here; they carry salt and limestone as far as the Persian Gulf, and return with dates. The main interest, however, is not Veravel itself but at Somnath Patan, 5 km away. The Somanth Temple is one of the 12 most sacred Shiva shrines (jyotirlingas) in the country. The temple has been destroyed seven times, with some of history's more celebrated vandals like Mahmud of Ghazni and Aurangzeb getting in on the act. Each time it has been rebuilt, and the current reconstruction (begun in 1950) is nearing completion.