I remember few years ago, we had gone to Junagadh Gir Forest to see the royal Asiatic Lions. On our way back, my uncle took me and my cousins to Tulsi Shyam springs. This place is very famous for the hot springs in the state.
Introduction
For those who don’t know, Tulshi Shyaam is located on the Dhari-Una roadside in the Gir forest surroundings. This place holds good importance related to history. This place is located amongst natural environment and in a small but dense forest. I found it a very peaceful location, amidst the local wildlife there like monkeys, birds, and couple of deer roaming here and there.
Location and History of Tulsi Shyaam
Tulsi Shyaam is just about 65 km away from Junagadh and close to 90 km from Sasan Gir. We learnt that there are 3 hot water springs at the location with the 1st one filled with hot water, the second one filled with more hot water and the third water spring was having hot boiling water. It is said that if people bath in these springs, their body ailments and mainly skin diseases would go away. We saw many people trying this. We however just washed our face and legs to get a feel of the water. We also saw a smoke coming out of the hot water.
The Rukmani Devi Temple nearby Tulsi Shyaam
There is also an old or ancient temple dedicated to Goddess Rukmani devi which is more than 700 years old. When we reached the temple, we found that there were about 100 close edged steps to reach the temple. The Goddess was the wife of Lord Krishna. The idol of the Goddesss is about 2 feet tall and made of black marble. Since, it is located in the natural environment, I could feel profound peace in the temple and sat there for almost 1 hour doing nothing, but just contemplating.
The Local Government Guest House at Tulsi Shyaam
We also visited the temple of Kunti mata, the mother of the 5 heroes of Mahabharat-the Pandavas. It was built by them to honour their mother. I roamed around in this place and photographed close up of spiders and deer. As we were hungry, we stopped at the local Government guest house which offered good Gujarati food. Those who want to stay for more than a day can do here at the guest house. We were told by the guest house watchman, that lions sometime come wandering near the temple and the hot springs in the night time, but do no harm to anyone.
People coming in the state transport buses have the advantage of being dropped off very near to the Rukmani devi temple.
Due to the shortage of time, we could go to see the Buddha caves nearby the temple where there are overall 60 caves. Also, we did not have the energy to walk to reach these caves in the dense forests.
Soon, we started our journey back to Ahmadabad as we had prior commitments for the coming week, but we promised ourselves to come again at this place and stay for few more days to see the Lions at night time.
One can reach this place by:
Road: From Sasangir-90 km, Junagadh-150 km. Private and state transport buses are available.
The best time to visit this place is between November to March End.
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