NH 51
Bet Dwarka–Dhrangadhra Coastal Highway
Also known as Saurashtra coastal highway
791 km
Open
Gujarat
National Highway
Route
NH 51 runs 791 km from Beyt, Gujarat to Dhrangadhra, Gujarat.
Crosses Gujarat.
Through Beyt, Rupen Bandar, Porbandar, Veraval, Kodinar, Mahuva, Alang, Bhavnagar, Botad, Surendranagar and Dhrangadhra.
Why it matters
Saurashtra's coast is a chain of pilgrimage towns, fishing harbours and industrial ports, and this is the road that joins them. For pilgrims travelling the Dwarka–Somnath circuit it is the whole journey.
History
National Highway 51 traces the southern coast of the Saurashtra peninsula, from Bet Dwarka at the far western tip through Porbandar, Somnath and Veraval, past the Alang shipbreaking yards to Bhavnagar, and then inland to Surendranagar and Dhrangadhra. It strings together most of Gujarat's coastal pilgrimage and fishing towns on one road, and it carries the traffic of one of the busiest working coastlines in India.
Good to know
- Links Dwarka and Somnath, two of the most visited temple towns in Gujarat.
- Passes Porbandar, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi.
- Runs beside Alang, the largest shipbreaking yard in the world.
- Serves Veraval and the other fishing harbours of the Saurashtra coast.
- The inland end at Dhrangadhra sits on the edge of the Little Rann of Kutch.
On the road
A long coastal drive with plenty of towns to stop in. Traffic peaks sharply around Dwarka and Somnath on festival days, and around Alang with heavy scrap lorries.
More details
- Lanes
- 2–4 lanes