The Somnath Temple, a major Hindu pilgrimage centre, is said to have been built out of gold by Soma, the Moon God (and subsequently in silver, wood and stone). In keeping with the legend the stone facade appears golden at sunset. Mahmud of Ghazni plundered it and removed the gates in 1024. Destroyed by successive Muslim invaders, it was rebuilt each time on the same spot. The final reconstruction did not take place until 1950 and is still going on. Unfortunately, it lacks character but it has been built to traditional patterns with a strong 50 m high tower that rises in clusters. Dedicated to Siva, it has one on the 12 sacred jyotirlingas.

The path winds through 3950 steps for a trying 3.5 km up the scrub-covered Shetrunjaya Hills. Much of the track is unshaded and the higher you climb the more the heat haze skimmers across the plains for below. And then, after two hours and a quarter, Palitana spreads white and crenellated above you. Camelot must have been like this, rising above the plains, wrapped in its own mystique. Some of the 863 temples of Palitana were built in the 11th century. Construction activity, however, spanned 900 years. As successive worshippers of the non-violent and trading Jain community designed their own temples, they cleared the crest of the hill, levelled it into terraces, walled and fortified most of them. Visitors naturally wonder how such a mammoth task of covering the entire summit with temples has been achieved. The answer is simple. Generations after generation of Jain devotees have spent money on some construction or the other on the Shatrunjaya. This is aptly described in Ras Mala thus: There is hardly a city in India, through its length and breadth, that has not supplied at one time or other, contributions of wealth to the edifices which crown the hill of Palitana.

The Island of Diu has chaptered History, having been under the possession of and ruled by many Kings and Dynasties; beginning with the Pauranic period and the last being Portuguese from whom it was liberated along with Goa and Daman on 19th December, 1961. The word 'ISLAND'. Pandavas during their fourteen years of exile are believed to have passed a few days at a place known as Mani Nagar (DIU) which was under the Yadavas led by Krishna Vasudeva during Mahabharata period.

According to mythology, Diu was ruled by the great king Jallandhar who was a daitya (Demon) and was killed by Lord Vishnu with his Sudarshan Chakra (disc). The temple of Jallandhar still exists in Diu. Gazetteer of Goa, Daman and Diu says that Diu was known as Jallandhar Ksshetra during Satyug and is famouos for its Jallandhar temple. As daitya (Demon) Jallandhar harassed the Gods, Lord Vishnu left Sudarshan Chakra after killing Jallandhar is known as Chakra tirtha which is situated in Diu.

In AD 1020 Sultan Mahmud Ghazni, his native place to Diu and rocked them. On the return of Mahmud to Ghazni, his native place Chavadas of Diu seem to have increased their power but in AD 1064 the Chalukyas came back again in power and Diu was successively under the sway of Chavda and Vaghela Rajputs, who built a fort here. They were dislodged by Allauddin Khilji, Sultan of Delhi in AD 1297. A Vaja Raja Brahmadas tried to capture it but the attack was repulsed and the Raja had to take shelter in Diu. Muzaffar Khan, the then Governor of Gujarat and it was attacked several times by the Portuguese because of its strategic importance right from 1518 to 1535. When the Moghul emperor Humayun attacked the Shah, the latter entered into a treaty on 05/10/1535 with the Portuguese. Governor Nuno De Cunha constructed a fort in Diu and raised his arsenal. Diu was finally seized by the Governor Joao de Castro on 10th November, 1546. Simbor, a village of Diu about 42kms away, was conquered in 1722.