Girnar Steps Count: How Many Steps to Climb Mount Girnar

The great stone staircase of Mount Girnar is one of the most famous pilgrim climbs in India and if you are planning the ascent the first thing you want to know is the Girnar steps count. The sacred mountain, rising above Junagadh beside the Gir forest, is climbed by a massive flight of stone steps to its holy summits. This guide, from the team behind Somnath Dwarka Tour Package, a unit of Experience My India, sets out exactly how many steps there are on Girnar, what you reach at each stage of the climb, how long and hard it is, the history of the staircase and the ropeway alternative, as part of the wider Junagadh Girnar pilgrimage.

How many steps are there on Mount Girnar?

Mount Girnar is renowned for its massive staircase of exactly 9,999 stone steps, a figure that is very often rounded up to 10,000 in common speech, which is where the popular idea of the ten thousand steps of Girnar comes from. These steps climb from the base at Girnar Taleti all the way to the highest summit, distributed across the mountain's five major peaks, known as tunks, each crowned with its own temples. The number 9,999 is not just a rough estimate but the traditional and widely cited count and the climb it represents is a serious physical undertaking that has tested and rewarded pilgrims for centuries. Reaching the top means ascending nearly ten thousand stone steps up a steep, sacred mountain, which is exactly why the Girnar climb is held in such awe and why so many travellers want to understand the step count before they set out.

Girnar steps at a glance

The Girnar climb, step by step

The 9,999 steps are not one undifferentiated slog but a climb marked by the great temples you reach along the way, which gives the ascent its rhythm and its milestones. Here is what you reach at each stage:

The first major goal, at around 4,000 steps, is the plateau that houses the famous Girnar Jain temples, a remarkable complex of ancient marble shrines. Climbing on to about 6,000 steps brings you to the Ambaji temple, a hugely popular shrine where many pilgrims turn back satisfied. The truly dedicated continue up to the 9,999th step and the summit, where the Dattatreya Temple, with the sacred footprints of Guru Dattatreya, crowns the highest peak of the mountain. Each stage is a destination in its own right, so you can set your own goal, whether the Jain temples, Ambaji or the full summit.

About Mount Girnar

Mount Girnar, known in ancient times as Revatak Parvata or Girinagar, is an ancient sacred mountain range in the Junagadh district of Gujarat, rising dramatically from the surrounding plains to an elevation of 3,672 feet or 1,031 metres, which makes it the highest peak in Gujarat. It sits adjacent to the Gir forest and the Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary, so the climb is through a green, wild and beautiful landscape as well as a sacred one. The mountain is often said to be older than the Himalayas and it has been a centre of continuous spiritual devotion for well over two thousand years, with worship here dating from well before 250 BCE. This immense age and height are part of what makes Girnar so revered, a primordial mountain of the gods towering over the Saurashtra plains, its summits wreathed in temples and legend.

The history of the Girnar staircase

The great stone staircase that makes the climb possible is itself a remarkable piece of heritage. According to tradition, the stairway was commissioned in 1156 AD by a devout Jain householder named Ambad, who had it built to aid the visiting pilgrims making their way up the steep and sacred slopes. For well over eight centuries, then, these steps have carried the faithful up to the temples of Girnar, worn smooth by countless feet. The staircase is a work of devotion in stone, a gift to generations of pilgrims that still serves its purpose today and knowing its age adds to the sense of history underfoot as you climb.

At the base of the mountain lies the holy Damodar Kund, the sacred water tank where the 15th-century poet-saint Narsinh Mehta is said to have bathed and composed his morning hymns, the traditional spiritual starting point before the climb.

The ropeway: an alternative to the steps

For those unable or unwilling to climb the full flight of steps, there is now a modern alternative. The Girnar Ropeway, India's longest passenger ropeway, spans the first several thousand steps of the climb, carrying passengers in a cable car straight up to the Ambaji temple area in just about 7 to 8 minutes, a journey that would otherwise take hours of hard climbing. This has transformed access to the mountain, opening its sacred heights to the elderly, to families with children and to anyone short of time or not up to the full ascent. From the ropeway's top station near Ambaji, the most devout can still continue on foot up the remaining steps to the Dattatreya summit. Many pilgrims now combine the two, taking the ropeway up to save their strength and walking the final stretch or riding up and down and exploring the Ambaji level in between.

The religious significance of Girnar

The reason so many brave the 9,999 steps is the mountain's profound sacredness to two great faiths. For Jains, Girnar is a supreme Nirvana Bhumi, a land of liberation, revered as the sacred site where Lord Neminath, the 22nd Tirthankara, renounced worldly life, practised severe ascetic meditation and attained ultimate enlightenment and moksha, which is why the Jain temple complex partway up is such an important place of pilgrimage. For Hindus, the highest peak is revered as the meditation spot of Lord Dattatreya, the combined incarnation of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, honoured at the summit shrine, while the lower slopes hold the Bhavnath temple, a major centre for Shiva devotees and Naga Sadhus, especially during the great Maha Shivratri festival. To climb Girnar is thus to ascend through layer upon layer of living faith, Jain and Hindu together, which gives the arduous stairway its deep meaning for the millions who make the climb.

How long and how hard is the climb?

Climbing all 9,999 steps to the Dattatreya summit is a demanding undertaking that can take many hours, often a good part of a day for the round trip, depending on your fitness, the number of stops and the crowds. Most fit climbers reach the Ambaji level, at around 6,000 steps, in a few hours, with the final stretch to the Dattatreya peak being the steepest and hardest part. Pilgrims traditionally start before dawn to climb in the cool and avoid the midday heat and many break the climb at the temples along the way. It is a genuine physical challenge, so it helps to be reasonably fit, to pace yourself and to carry water and the ropeway is there for those who want to shorten it. The separate Girnar Parikrama, the great circuit around the base of the mountain, is a different pilgrimage again, on the level rather than up the steps.

Tips for climbing the Girnar steps

A few pointers help you tackle the climb well:

• Start before dawn, as pilgrims traditionally do, to climb in the cool and avoid the midday heat on the exposed stone steps.

• Set a realistic goal, whether the Jain temples at 4,000 steps, Ambaji at 6,000 or the full Dattatreya summit at 9,999.

• Carry water and some snacks, wear comfortable shoes with good grip and pace yourself on the steep sections.

• Take the Girnar Ropeway up to the Ambaji area if you are short of time or not up to the full climb, then walk on if you wish.

• Visit the holy Damodar Kund at the base first, the traditional spiritual start of the Girnar pilgrimage.

• Climb in the cooler months, roughly October to March, when the long ascent is far more comfortable.

• Allow most of a day for the full round trip to the summit and do not underestimate the final, steepest stretch.

Best time to climb Girnar

The best time to climb the Girnar steps is the cooler season, roughly October to March, when the long ascent of nearly ten thousand steps is far more bearable and the views from the heights are at their clearest, as covered in our best time to visit Gujarat guide. The summer months are punishingly hot for such a climb and are best avoided for the full ascent, while the monsoon makes the stone steps slippery, though it also clothes the mountain in green. Within the day, a pre-dawn start is best in any season. The great exception in the calendar is the Maha Shivratri season, when the Bhavnath fair on the lower slopes draws vast crowds of pilgrims and sadhus, an extraordinary but very busy time to be on the mountain, covered in our Bhavnath Mahadev Temple guide.

Plan your Girnar pilgrimage

Experience My India can plan your Girnar pilgrimage, whether you mean to climb all 9,999 steps or take the ropeway to the shrines, with the timing, the base visit to Damodar Kund and comfortable transport all arranged. You can combine Girnar with the Somnath temple and Dwarka, the fort city sights such as Uparkot Fort and the Sakkarbaug Zoo, stay at well-placed Somnath Dwarka hotels and let the Experience My India Somnath Dwarka tour packages or the wider Gujarat tour packages bring the sacred mountain and the whole region together in one journey.

Related guides

To plan the rest of your Junagadh and Saurashtra trip, these related guides help:

Plan your visit

Experience My India can arrange your Girnar pilgrimage and wider Saurashtra journey. Browse more travel guides, message us on WhatsApp or call +91 73006 20809.