Everything you need to know about Girnar Ropeway – Asia’s Longest Ropeway

Wondering where is the Asia’s longest Ropeway? It is in Gujarat, India and located on Mount Girnar. Read this article to know everything about Girnar Ropeway!

I saw a huge mountain range when I was nearing Junagadh. The grand rocky mountains stood as the testament of the time gone by who probably witnessed the opulence of the kings and now of the technology with the mobile tower installations.

As I neared the town of Junagadh, I started noticing signages for Girnar Ropeway. That is when it struck me of the newest addition to Gujarat’s tourism circuit – Asia’s Longest Ropeway which was inaugurated in October 2020.

I remembered climbing Mount Girnar when I was in school and we were brought here for a trip. After the visit to the Sakkarbaug zoo in Junagadh, 50 school students started the arduous 9999 steps climb. We were given lunch packs and asked to climb as much as possible and return back to the parked bus. I remembered my aching calf muscles and dehydration when I tried to reach the half peak. At half peak most students gave up and returned to the rest who had turned back way earlier. We were not motivated to climb 5000 more steps.

This flashback sure made me jittery and made me give blessings to the pilgrims who take up this strenuous climb every year. Yes, pilgrims take up this climb to take blessings from the many temples situated at the Peak.

Mount Girnar is a major tourist attraction in Gujarat because of the presence of pilgrimage sites such as Amba Temple, the Dattatreya Temple, and several Jain temples. I was no pilgrim then or even now. But who wouldn’t love a good trek? Like the one, I took up in Triund, Himachal! 

But, I couldn’t give up on the thought of amazing views from the peak of 3762 feet! So I and the other 5 friends in the car decided to lookup an available slot on the Girnar Ropeway and get the best of both worlds. We were lucky enough to find a slot for Sunday while returning back from Gir National Park. We booked it right away and I was excited!

ABOUT GIRNAR

Situated at the far end of the ancient town of Junagadh, climbing Mount Girnar is one of the reputed excursions for Hindu and Jain pilgrims. It is the highest mountain in the state of Gujarat. Girnar is an ancient hill in Junagadh which has 866 Hindu and Jain temples that are spread over various summits. The climb to Girnar Hill summit starts from Girnar Taleti. On reaching the summit, you can see many mountains further but they are usually not scaled. 

Mount Girnar is also known as Girnar Parvat (translated as a hill in local language Gujarati), is believed to be older than the Himalayas. The Jain temples on the mountain are considered as the most ancient temples in India. The mountain is celebrated as the Nirvan Bhumi of the 22nd Tirthankara Lord Neminath. 

Owing to all of this, Girnar is an important pilgrimage centre for people from many faiths who visit every year.

GIRNAR PARIKRAMA

Girnar Parikrama or the Girnar Circumambulation is also very popular amongst pilgrims. The length of Circumambulation is 38km in total and it happens in the month of November. During this parikrama, people walk around Mount Girnar in a circle as it is believed that 33 kinds of deities reside on the holy mountain and doing circulation to this mountain gives the result of worshipping all the deities.

GIRNAR ROPEWAY IN GUJARAT

Way before the ropeway, the men carried pilgrims in a makeshift chair called ‘doli’ to make sure people got their blessings. Now getting those blessings is much easier.

Girnar Ropeway is Asia’s longest ropeway operating on the length of 2.3km. The ropeway covers half of the climb at 5000 steps and ends at Ambaji Temple. The climb which otherwise takes 4 hours to complete can be done within 7 minutes in the ropeway. 

The ropeway operates mono-cable gondola detachable type lifts also known as cable cars. Nine towers have been erected between Bhavnath Taleti and Ambaji Temple. The highest pole is 66-m and is placed on the 1000th step of Girnar. The cable cars can accommodate 7-8 passengers. A total of 25-30 cable cars can move at the same time.

Booking Girnar Ropeway Ticket Online

Visitors can book online tickets for the Girnar Ropeway. The ticket prices for Girnar Ropeway are INR 400 (one-way) and INR 700 (two-way). For children between 5 and 10 years of age, the fare is INR 350. 

Visitors can also buy the tickets on the spot but the area tends to be crowded and you need to wait longer than online bookings. Visitors can buy the return ticket from Ambaji temple to go back to Taleti in case they are tired or are not sure about the slot or just want to enjoy the ropeway one way.

Girnar Ropeway Timings

The timings of Girnar Cable Car ride is 8 am and 5 pm. If you miss the 5 pm slot, you will have to walk back all the way.

Best time to visit Girnar Ropeway

If you want to explore the ropeway, the time and weather doesn’t really matter as there are air-conditioned waiting halls. However, winters (November to February) are the best time to visit Girnar, as the temperatures are pleasant in case you decide to trek some portion.

Availability of Food at Girnar

There are refreshment stalls in the waiting area while leaving (Taleti) as well as at Ambaji Temple point (at the peak). There is even a water refill station. However, if you decide to trek the rest, there are small refreshment shops selling Gujarati and Punjabi cuisines to Coke and juice bottles so you will never be hungry or dehydrated. 

How to Reach Girnar

Girnar is 5 km from Junagadh, and easily accessible from different parts of the country. 

By Air:

The nearest airport is Keshod Airport, which is at a distance of 40 km. Auto rickshaws, cabs and buses can then take you to Junagadh/Girnar. Rajkot Airport is a bigger airport and better flight connectivity and is at a distance of approximately 100 km. The nearest international airport is Ahmedabad Airport, which is at a distance of approximately 330 km and can be reached in about 6 hours. From Ahmedabad, private cabs, trains and buses are frequently available. 

By train:

Junagadh has a train station and has a good frequency from Ahmedabad. It is the nearest train station to Girnar. 

By bus/car:

If you’re travelling by road, travel is convenient and there are a lot of transport options available. For people driving their own vehicles, the roads are well laid out, making the journey comfortable.

Where to stay in Junagadh or near Girnar

Being a pilgrim town, Junagadh has many ashrams and dharamshalas catering to the pilgrims. These are affordable in price and generally available for on the spot booking. They are fully booked during main festivals. The food served here is simple and vegetarian.

There are also hotels available in and around Junagadh. Some suggestions are:

Budget/Mid range: Click Hotel, Hotel Magnum 

Luxury: Fern Leo Resort, Bellevue Sarovar Portico

RIDING THE GIRNAR ROPEWAY | MY EXPERIENCE

We booked the tickets online wherein we were asked for a slot. Visitors have to reach within the slot. This is done to avoid overcrowding and lessen the waiting time. So we reached at 11:45 am for the 12-1 pm slot. The visitors have to reach the Girnar taleti where the tickets are checked. From here there was a body frisking and through bag checking.

Then we were directed into a huge waiting hall which had ropeway history and Girnar ropeway information displayed. Being a Sunday the area was quite crowded with long waiting lines. We had to wait for almost 30 minutes before we got into a cable car.

There is a snacks corner to buy some refreshments as well as clean washrooms around the waiting area. The waiting at Girnar ropeway also has seating arrangements with social distancing instructions in case visitors or elderly want to give a rest to their feet.

Just before boarding our tickets were scanned again and we were asked to board the cable car. The cable car never really stops. It dropped visitors on one side, and we boarded immediately from the other side. And then it took off. And trust me when I say this, but the ride is not for the faint-hearted. The drop is scary but it makes up for the views – just don’t look down!

The 9 minutes Girnar ropeway ride was extremely noise-free, comfortable and absolutely breathtaking. If you have not experienced a ropeway ever before, then this is a great place to do it. the views from the cable car included seeing pilgrims huffing and puffing while climbing the steps and vultures take off from the cliff of mountains.

The ventilated cable cars ensured there was a cool breeze flowing in. We could see the Jain temples on our right and just like that the 9 minutes were over.

We climbed one floor one to take blessings from the Ambaji temple and take in the stunning views around. We contemplated climbing either to the Jain temples or to the Dattatreya Temple but it would have taken up the whole day and we promised ourselves to plan better for next time before coming.

OTHER ATTARCTIONS IN JUNAGADH

• Uparkot Fort
• Mahabat Maqbara
• Damodar Kund
• Sakkarbaug Zoo
• Ashoka Rock Edicts

One can combine Junagadh trip with a visit to Gir National Park and Somnath temple.

Please note most tourist attractions (Uparkot Fort and Mahabat Maqbara) are under restoration and will be open to the public after June 2021.

SUSTAINABLE TIPS TO ENJOY GIRNAR ROPEWAY TRIP

• Do not dispose of trash in the cable cars or throw on the hill or near the temple. Dispose of in designated waste bins in the waiting area.
• Carry your own bottle and refill them in the water stations.

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