This strategic hilltop may have been fortified as early as the 8th century. It became the capital of the Chauhan Rajputs around 1300, but in 1484 was taken by the Gujarat Sultan Mahmud Begada, after a 20-month siege; the Rajputs committed jauhar (ritual mass suicide) in the face of defeat. Today, throngs of pilgrims ascend Pavagadh to worship at the important Kalikamata Temple , dedicated to the evil-destroying goddess Kali, who sits atop the summit.
Near the top of the hill are also Pavagadh’s oldest surviving monument, the 10th- to 11th-century Hindu Lakulisha Temple and several Jain temples. The views are fantastic and so are, if you’re lucky, the cooling breezes. During the nine days of Navratri and the Mahakali festival , the usual flow of pilgrims becomes a flood.
To ascend Pavagadh, you can either walk up the pilgrim trail, which will take two to three hours, or you can take a shuttle (₹20) from along the Champaner Citadel south wall. The shuttle deposits you about halfway up the hill, where you can either join the walking path (here lined by souvenir and drink stalls), or hop on the ropeway which glides you up to within a 700m walk of the Kalikamata Temple
