| Sightseeing Highlights
The main attraction here is the famous centuries-old Sun temple. The exterior of the temple is carved with traditional erotic scenes and depictions of various gods, while inside are sculpted scenes from the Mahabharata and other epics. Based on a lotus-base plinth, the façade of this structure is stunning and warrants close attention
Another must-see is the huge Rama Kund or lake, near the temple, which is surrounded by step-terraces with 108 smaller temples and which give an insight into the sculptural techniques of the people from those times. Besides these, there are four larger shrines dedicated to Vishnu, Ganesha, Shiva and Sitala Mata.
A major draw here is the annual dance festival that happens with the temple as its backdrop, in January every year. Thousands of culture lovers come here to attend this event.
Other Activities
Tourists can also enjoy the amusement park, museum, picture gallery and library in the vicinity. You may also explore the Thol wildlife sanctuary nearby, which is a wetlands with different types of flora and fauna.
Mehesana is around 34 km away from Modhera and a popular base for the tourists visiting Modhera. You can shop for the famous silks from the silk weavers of Patan.
The town of Modhera is about 100 km from Ahmedabad and 25 km from Mehsana. It is on the banks of the Pushpavati River and is famous for its millennium-old Sun temple.
This
temple built in 1026 AD by Bhimadeva of the Solanki Rajput clan is
dedicated to Lord Surya, the sun god. It was destroyed by Muhammad
Ghaznavi and rebuilt later. The temple was so designed that the first
rays of the sun fell on the image of Surya, at the time of the
equinoxes. The temple today is partially in ruins, but despite the
passage of time, it is still considered an architectural wonder.
According to historical legends and ancient Indian texts, the areas
near Modhera were known during ancient days as Dharmaranya. |
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