Bet Dwarka

Bet Dwarka, also called Shankhodhar after the conch shells found here, is an inhabited island lying at the Gulf of Kutch's mouth, 2 km off Okha and 25 km north of Dwarka. It is about 8 km long. The island is regarded as part of ancient Dvaraka, Krishna's city in the Mahabharata and Skanda Purana, and underwater and onshore digs have found Late Harappan pottery, a seal and a 580-metre protective wall dated to 1500 BCE.

Its temples date from around the end of the 18th century. The Dwarkadhish and Shri Keshavraiji temples are the main Krishna shrines, joined by the Hanuman Dandi temple, a Vaishnav Mahaprabhu Bethak, a gurdwara and the small Abhaya Mata temple. Once reached only by ferry, the island has since 2024 been linked to Okha by the Sudarshan Setu sea bridge. Sand beaches ring it, and it was the first site in Gujarat to be developed for ecotourism.