Gondal, a fortified town
located on the river of Gondali,
stands testimony to the great visionary ruler Sir
Bhagwatsinhji, who introduced social
reforms, planned the development of Gondal town and
created a model state of
Saurashtra in the late 19th - early 20th
century, which can be seen in the public buildings,
parks, bazaars and palaces built during his
regime.
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More about
Gondal
Climate
Gondal has hot
summers and relatively cool winters.
The monsoon season is from
Jun-Sep.
Language
The main languages are
Gujarati, Hindi and English (in
tourist spots).
An old and beautiful palace of Gondal - the
Navlakha Palace complex - situated on
a river bank, has a grand Darbar
Hall, with a series of huge windows opening onto a
long balcony, supported by intricately carved
brackets , with large chandeliers,
stuffed panthers, wooden
furniture and antique Belgium
mirrors.
Other two royal palaces, The
Riverside Palace and Orchard Palace
have been converted into heritage hotels.
The Riverside Palace, built in colonial style
of architecture, amidst a garden with huge
trees has typical Indian and European rooms.
The
rulers of Gondal were great lovers of
automobiles and one can see several
vintage and classic cars in
the royal garage. Two royal rail
saloons of the Gondal State were renovated, keeping
the original decor and are available for accommodation in the
Orchard Garden Palace.
Sangramsinhji High School,
built on the model of Eton in England, is constructed in
Gothic style with central clock
tower, with beautifully designed spacious
lecture halls, carved wooden
ceilings, Italian marble flooring
and has a laboratory with European
equipments.
Other interesting places to visit
are the Swami Narayan Temple,
Buvaneshwari Temple, Ayurvedic pharmacy, the stud farm of
Kathiawadi horses, Jasdan (a fine
example of architecture combining plaster decoration with
intricate wrought iron work) and Jetpur
(textile town known for yarn dyeing and hand
printed saris).
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