Route overview
The drive runs south on the Gondal–Jetpur highway, the same road used for Somnath and Sasan Gir, and is usually smooth and quick. You can easily leave after breakfast and be back in Rajkot for dinner.
A round trip is the most practical choice: the car can take you to the ropeway base at Bhavnath, wait while you go up Girnar, and then cover Uparkot, Mahabat Maqbara and Sakkarbaug Zoo before heading home.
Distance & travel time
- Approx. distance
- 100–105 km (door to door varies with your pickup and drop points)
- Approx. drive time
- About 2 hours, plus time for breaks and sightseeing
- Usual route
- via Gondal and Jetpur
- Trip types
- One way, round trip, or multi-day with the same car and driver
- Tolls, parking, permits
- Shown clearly in your quote
Distances and timings are approximate and for planning only. Traffic, roadworks, weather and stops can change them.
Suggested stops on the way
- Rajkot StartPickup from home or hotel.
- Gondal ≈ 40 kmNaulakha Palace and the Bhuvaneshwari temple.
- Virpur ≈ 55 kmJalaram Bapa temple, a short detour on the highway.
- Jetpur ≈ 70 kmKnown for its textile printing industry.
- Junagadh ≈ 100–105 kmBhavnath (Girnar ropeway), Uparkot or your hotel.
Things to see in Junagadh
- Girnar and the ropewayThe ropeway climbs to the Ambaji temple peak; the traditional climb is thousands of steps past the Jain temples.
- Uparkot FortAn ancient fort with Buddhist caves and the Adi-Kadi and Navghan stepwells.
- Mahabat MaqbaraAn ornate 19th-century mausoleum with spiral staircases on its minarets.
- Ashoka's Rock EdictsInscriptions from the 3rd century BCE on the road to Girnar.
- Sakkarbaug ZooOne of India's older zoos, with Asiatic lions in its care.
- Bhavnath Mahadev and Damodar KundSacred sites at the foot of Girnar.
For more ideas, timings and nearby places, see our Junagadh travel guide.
Travel tips for this route
- The Girnar ropeway can have long queues on weekends and festivals, and it may pause in strong winds. Go early and keep a buffer.
- During the Bhavnath Mahashivratri fair and the Lili Parikrama in Kartik, traffic near Girnar is heavily controlled; we will plan drop points accordingly.
- Sasan Gir is about 60 km from Junagadh, so a Junagadh + Gir overnight trip is easy to combine.