Marine Life @ Narara Marine Park : Jamnagar

This is one of the rare places in the world where one can look at corals without having to dive down into the water.

 

One just has to walk in the water, when the tide ebbs, in about 1 to 2 feet of water and watch this fascinating underwater world of corals.

162.89 Square Kilometers of Marine National Park and 457.92 Square Kilometers of Marine Sanctury in the Gulf of Kutch at Jamnagar offers exotic sightings for people willing to go on an adventure trip in this area.

One can see,  octopus, jelly fish, star fish, colourful corals, exotic marine flowering plants, puffer fish, sea horse, huge green sea turtles, lobsters, dolphins, etc.

And if one is very lucky then maybe a dugong which resembles seals.

Rani-Ki-Vav : Patan (Gujarat)

Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat

Rani-ki-Vav, on the banks of the Saraswati River, was initially built as a memorial to a king in the 11th century AD. Stepwells are a distinctive form of subterranean water resource and storage systems on the Indian subcontinent, and have been constructed since the 3rd millennium BC. They evolved over time from what was basically a pit in sandy soil towards elaborate multi-storey works of art and architecture. Rani-ki-Vav was built at the height of craftsmens’ ability in stepwell construction and the Maru-Gurjara architectural style, reflecting mastery of this complex technique and great beauty of detail and proportions. Designed as an inverted temple highlighting the sanctity of water, it is divided into seven levels of stairs with sculptural panels of high artistic quality; more than 500 principle sculptures and over a thousand minor ones combine religious, mythological and secular imagery, often referencing literary works. The fourth level is the deepest and leads into a rectangular tank 9.5 m by 9.4 m, at a depth of 23 m. The well is located at the westernmost end of the property and consists of a shaft 10 m in diameter and 30 m deep.