Satrunjaya: The Ascent

(Audrey) We began the ascent at 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning. The place: Satrunjaya, Gujarat, a Jain pilgrimage spot since the 14th century. The obstacles: 4,000 stairs and 105 degree weather. The goal: around 900 Jain temples at the top of the hill. We began on flat ground—

Quickly enough we hit the stairs. Luckily for us, these stairs are well-maintained and quite walkable (this is not always the case in India)—

We ascended via foot, carrying nothing but ourselves and some water. Not everybody is so lucky though. You see, the 900 temples at the top of these 4,000 stairs require maintenance, people to take care of them, and all of that requires supplies. Thus, here’s how some of the people walk up the hill—

Others take a more relaxed method. For the right price, guys will carry you up the hill while you sit cross-legged on a little seat—

Really, we took the middle of the road method, then, by walking up. And we did keep our shoes on. Many Jains, for whom this mountain is holy, walking up without shoes is preferable. That’s why you see the two white strips a few pictures above—to mitigate the hot stones on bare feet.

It took us about 1 1/2 hours to reach the top, but once we got up there, soaked in sweat, it was so worth it. I’ll write about the temples in my next post, but for now a picture of merely two of the nine hills—

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Tags: Gujarat, jain, Palitana, pilgrimage, Satrunjaya, Shatrunjaya, stairs, temple