Thol Sanctuary is located 40 kms northwest of Ahmedabad, in Mehsana District. Thol lake, created in 1912, covers 7 sq. kms of mostly open water. There are small marshes at the edges and some scrub forest on the sides of the high embankments.
Birds: Thol is well known for wintering Great White Pelicans, Flamingos, a variety of waterfowl including Mallards and good numbers of Greylag Geese, Sarus Cranes, the odd Spotted Flycatcher and waders which include Eurasian Curlews. Highly recommended if you are traveling through the area.
Tips to enjoy the trip better:
1. Go armed with a good SLR
2. Leave before Sun rise. Watching it is worth getting up at an earthly hour. Besides it's far more pleasant
3. A pair of Binoculars
4. Carry Food & water for noisy tummies. If you feel hungry you will have to go all the way out.
5. Wear three fourths/ shorts - Marshy land and tiny islands can be reached only you need to wade through water
6. Natures call literally! We couldn't find a bathroom. The security guard at the gate said that there was one inside but insisted we steer clear of it as theres nobody to clean it
7. Go through a book on birds if your as unapprised about these feathered friends as we all were. The only ones we could recognise were crows.
The Sun Temple, Modhera (Gujarat) was built in 1026 AD by King Bhimdev of the Solanki dynasty and is dedicated to Lord Surya, the Sun God of Hinduism. It is akin to the Konark Temple of Orissa. One more sun temple is at Martand in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Modhera sun temple is situated on the bank of the river Pushpavati, 25 km from Mehsana and 102 km from Ahmedabad.
According to the Skanda Purana and Brahma Purana, the areas near Modhera were known during ancient days as Dharmaranya (literally meaning the forest of righteousness). According to these Puranas, Lord Rama ,after defeating Ravana, asked sage Vasistha to show him a place of pilgrimage where he could go and purify himself from the sin of Brahma-hatya (the sin of killing a Brahmin, because ravan was a Brahmin by birth). Sage Vasistha showed him Dharmaranya, which was near the modern town of Modhera. In the Dharmaranya, he settled at a village Modherak and performed a yagna there. Thereafter he established a village and named it Sitapur. This village is about 8 km from Becharaji Modherak village and it subsequently came to be known as Modhera.
The Sun Temple was built by Raja Bhimdev I of Solanki Dynasty in AD 1026. This was the time when Somnath and the adjoining area was plundered by Mahmud Ghazni and reeled under the effects of his invasion. The Solankis, however, regained much of their lost power and splendour. Anahilvad Patan, the Solanki capital, was restored to glory. Royalty and traders jointly contributed to build grand temples.
Solankis were considered to be Suryavanshis, or descendants of Sun god. The temple was so designed that the first rays of the sun fell on the image of Surya, the Sun God, at the time equinoxes.
