Facing the wide open Arabian Sea, the temple at Somnath is an imposing structure offering a spectacular sight to the beholders. At a distance of 79 km from Junagadh and 25 km from Chorwad is the temple of Somnath, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. The legend says, Somnath was built by none other than the Moon God himself at the time of creation. The remains of the temple "braved the shocks of time and survived the attacks of destroyers." Facing the wide open Arabian Sea, the temple at Somnath is an imposing structure offering a spectacular sight to the beholders. At a distance of 79 km from Junagadh and 25 km from Chorwad is the temple of Somnath, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. The legend says, Somnath was built by none other than the Moon God himself at the time of creation. The remains of the temple "braved the shocks of time and survived the attacks of destroyers." 
It is as old as creation and its reference is available in Rig Ved also. It is said - the Moon (Soma) with his wife Rohini worshipped the deity of the temple, the Sparsha Ling, to free himself from the curse of his father-in-law, Daksha Prajapati. Lord Shiva pleased with his penance restored his light for half of the month. Hence the deity here is known as Someshwar or Somnath, Lord of the moon and the place as Prabhas. The Somnath is known as the Shrine Eternal as it has withstood the shocks of time and the attacks of the destroyers. It has risen like a phoenix each time it was destroyed or desecrated. The present temple is the seventh temple built on the original site. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the great son of India and its first Deputy Prime Minister took a pledge on November 13, 1947 for its reconstruction which was completed on December 1, 1995 when the President of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma dedicated it in the service of the nation. The present temple is built by Shree Somnath Trust which looks after the entire complex of Shree Somnath and its environs.
Such a temple has not been constructed in India during the last 800 years. The Temple is situated at such a place that there is no land in between from Somnath sea-shore to Antartica, the South Pole. Such an inscription in Sanskrit is found on the ARROW-PILLAR erected on the sea-protection wall at the Somnath Temple.There is a grey-sand beach outside the temple which is part of the temple's lonely seaside charm.
The current temple was built to traditional designs on the original site by the sea. It contains one of The 12 sacred Shiva shrines known as jyoti linga. Photography is prohibited inside the temple, and you must leave your camera at the hut outside.
it is said to have originally been built out of gold by Somraj, the moon god, only to be rebuilt by Rawana in Silver, then by krishna in wood and by Bhimdev in Stone.
Getting There
Air - The nearest airport from Somnath is Keshod 55 km away and linked to Mumbai. There are regular buses and taxis plying between Keshod and Somnath. Rail - The nearest railhead is seven km away at Veraval, which is connected by train to Ahmedabad and some other cities in Gujarat.
Road - State transport corporation buses and private coaches run regular service to other cities in the region. Somnath is connected by a good road network to the other nearby places like Veraval 7 km, Mumbai 889 km, Ahmedabad 400 km, Bhavnagar 266 km, Junagarh 85 km, and Porbandar 122 km.
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