Palitana, Gujarat · 21.4839°, 71.7925°
The holiest mountain of Svetambara Jainism: some 863 marble temples cascade over Shatrunjaya's twin summits, reached by ~3,750 steps. Every Jain aspires to climb it once; no one — not even priests — may sleep on the sacred hill, and Palitana town below was declared the world's first legally vegetarian city.
On this deathless hill Adinatha, the first Tirthankara, delivered his first sermon, and his chief disciple Pundarika attained liberation with crores of sages — whence its name Pundarikgiri; the six-monthly '99 yatra' repeats the climb ninety-nine times in his honour.
Bhavnagar airport ~55 km; dolis available for the climb; strict rules (no food, leather on hill).
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Chaulukya (Solanki)