Jamnagar is a small 16th century pearl fishing town. Jamnagar was the capital of the former princely state of Nawanagar and was ruled by the Jadeja Rajput clan, who ruled the princely states of Kutch, Jamnagar, Rajkot and Gondal for more than 300 years. Jamnagar was founded by Jam Raval in 1540 AD. Jamnagar was originally a fortified town with several gateways, on the confluence of two rivers - Nagmati and Rangmati. Jamnagar is built around the Ranmal lake, which has a small palace at its centre. The famous cricketer Ranjit Singhji was its ruler from 1907-33 and his successor, Jam Sahib became the President of Saurashtra until it was absorbed into Bombay state in 1956.
When Ranjit Singhji became the ruler, he undertook the developments of new parts of the city on European town planning principles, under the guidance of Sir Edward Lutyens - architect of New Delhi. The city was planned using the urban design elements of axial roads, arcades, markets, entrance gates, clock towers, town squares, parks, gardens and residential plots. Jamnagar is also known as the Chhoti Kashi as the whole town is dotted with several Hindu and Jain temples. Jamnagar is famous for its bandhani (tie-dyed) fabrics, embroidery and silver ware. It is an ideal city for exploring the surrounding coastline that stretches to Dwaraka, where rare birds flock to ankle deep islands and fine beaches are empty all year round. Jamnagar is best known for the India's only Ayurvedic University where you can learn the techniques of ancient medicine and yoga and a temple that has hosted nonstop chanting since 1964.