Places of interest
Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary
Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary is a 100 km² plus bird sanctuary located on the border between Ahmedabad and Surendranagar and attracts over 210 species of birds during the four months of winter, including the endangered wild ass and the blackbuck, its migratory bird population includes Rosy Pelicans, White Storks, Brahminy Ducks, Herons and Flamingos. Mainly inhabited by migratory birds in winter and spring coming from as far as Siberia, it is the one of largest wetland bird sanctuaries in India. The shallow area and ponds on the outer fringes of the lake feed many wading birds.
Wild Ass Sanctuary
The world's only Onager (wild ass) sanctuary. It is located in Little Rann of Kutch in Surendranagar district.
Chotila Hill
Chotila Hill, located approx 60 km from Surendranagar city, is a place for the worship of Chamunda Mataji, a Hindu goddess and Kuladevi (divine protectress) of the Gohil clan of Rajaput. Thousands of pilgrims walk as far as 300 km to this place. The main business in Chotila is the production of pure ghee from the milk of the huge numbers of livestock here.
Tarnetar
Tarnetar is famous for its fair, popularly known as the Trinetreshwar Mahadev Mela (Fair), held near the Trinetreshwar Mahadev temple. Villagers from all over the region, dressed in their colorful traditional costumes and exquisite jewellery, throng Tarnetar during this fair. About 100,000 people belonging to various tribes like Rabari, Kathi, Charans, Bharwads, Bhangis, and Koli come to the fair. The fair also attracts a large number of tourists from India and abroad. More than 500,000 people visit the fair during its three days. The fair is also a match-making event. Tradition holds that if a girl stops to talk to one of the men, it is a sign that she has found the man of her choice. Then the elders of both the girl's and the boy's families meet and decide about their choices. The fair is also known for various dance and village sports competitions. The competitions include the horse cart race, bullock cart race and camel race, along with cultural competitions such as rass (Gujarati dance) competition, doha (poem recitation) competition and umbrella decoration competition.
[edit] Zharia Mahadev
A natural waterfall near Chotila (approximately 30 km) and an enjoyable picnic spot, where water continuously drips from the rocks and there is a temple of Bholenath.
