Gir National Park
Just 45 kilometres from Gir, the ancient Somnath Temple on the Arabian Sea coast is one of the twelve sacred Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva and one of the most spiritually significant temples in all of India. Its oceanfront location is dramatic, its history — of repeated destruction and reconstruction across a thousand years — is extraordinary, and the evening Aarti with the sound of the sea in the background is profoundly moving.
Cameras and phones are not permitted inside the temple sanctum. The evening light-and-sound show at 8 PM tells the temple's full history brilliantly — worth staying for.