Jeera Masala Chaas – This photo was taken at Gabbar Hill, Ambaji in Gujarat.

Though there is a rope-way (Rs. 80 to and fro) to reach the top of Gabbar Hill I selected 950 stairs.

I stopped to have two glasses of Jeera Masala Chaas drink. The cost of each glass is Rs. 5/- only. Delicious it was.

1) Kumbharia Teerath is located in the middle of the Arasur mountains and there are marble mines around it. That’s why the original name of the village was Aarasan Nagar. Thereafter, after the name of Kumbha Rajput of Mewar, it was named Kumbharia after the 17th century. 2) Here the very ancient grand Panch Jinalaya-like samples of art adorned in the midst of mountains 1) Neminatha Bhagwan 2) Shantinath Bhagwan 3) Mahavira Swami Bhagwan 4) Parshvanatha Bhagwan and 5) Sambhavnatha Bhagwan is adorned. The specialty of these temples is that their faces are north facing. 3) The first of the Jinalayas, the temple of Moolnayak Neminath Bhagwan is said to have been built by Vimal Shah in Samvat 1088 and the remaining four Jinalayas are said to have been built in the era of Vastupal-Tejpal. 4) In Samvat 1356, Alauddin Khilji‘s brother Ulugh Khan invaded Gujarat, then the idols of enthroned Prabhuji were uplifted and stored in these Jinalaya whose condition and location are not known yet. During the Muslim invasion, the work of Jinalayo was broken and the city was destroyed. Thereafter these temples were renovated with the expenditure of lakhs of rupees.

Shri Koteshwar Mahadev is a 10-minute journey from Ambaji Temple by a hired auto. We paid Rs. 300 (so expensive) to visit Shri Koteshwar Dham and nearby temples including Gabbar Hill.

We were two and were feeling hungry. We inquired with one of the person present at Ambaji Temple about any good restaurants around. He said – Shri Ambica Bhojanalay run by the temple trust is a nearby bus stand just a few meters away from the temple.

Ok – said I and we walked towards the bhojanalay.  We enter the premises and inquire. We were guided to go upstairs. On the first floor, it is and devotees in the queue. Food served by women. The food quality is really good and lots-n-lots of devotees around having food. After finishing our food, when we walk towards the ground floor we saw a queue outside a window. I inquire with the guard. He said it is a token for food. Oops, nobody told us nor I can read what is written in the Gujarati language. So what to do now?

I was again in queue. I purchased two coupons. The guard said to hand over this coupon to him as he will deposit it upstairs at Bhojanalay. Ok – said I.

Rs. 15 and Rs. 10 coupon rates for adults and children.

Timings: 10 am – 10 pm.

Thank you, temple trust.

Click to learn more about Ambaji Town.

Gabbar Hill is approx. 1 km from Ambaji Temple. One can reach via auto for Rs. 10 per person or one’s own vehicle or walking. To reach the top of Gabbar hill one has to climb approx. 950 steps. There is a rope-way facility also. The ticket costs Rs. 80/- per person to and fro.

I started climbing the steps at 1:30 pm and reached the top of Gabbar Hill at 1:55 pm.

Note: We booked the entire auto from Ambaji temple for Rs. 300 (quite expensive) because we wanted to visit nearby temples such as Koteshwar Dham, Kamakshi Temple, Valmiki Dham, Kumbhariyaji, and Gabbar Hill.