Along the coast to the west of Diu, Somnath is most famous for the long history and holiness of its temple, said to have been originally built out of gold by Somraj, the Moon God, later to be rebuilt by Rawana in silver, by Krishna in wood and then by Bhimdev in stone. None of this fazed Mahmud of Ghazni, an 11th-century Afghan king, drawn to this temple so wealthy that it had 300 musicians, 500 dancing girls and even 300 barbers to shave the heads of visiting pilgrims.

Mahmud took the town, moved on to the temple, looted it, then destroyed it just to show he really meant business. So began a pattern of Muslim destruction and Hindu rebuilding which continued for centuries. The builders gave up for a couple of hundred years until 1950 when the current monstrosity spewed forth from the ruins. The current temple was built to traditional patterns on the original site by the sea. The Somnath Temple has one of the 12 Jyotirlingas or Shiva shrines and is one of the most important pilgrim centres for Hindus. Season: November to March.To the east of the town is the confluence of three rivers where Lord Krishna was mistaken for a deer (easy to do).