Nearest town from this place is Nadiad. To reach this here, one has to go by train from Mumbai to Ahemdabad as most trains stop at Vadodara, Ananda, Nadiad and Ahemdabad. This village is on the main road leading to Dakor, a major pilgrimage point in Gujarat. This is an ancient village with a small fort and four lakes at the cardinal points to supply the village with water all year around. It is on the main pilgrimage route from Dakor to Dwarka and has been a major stop off point since the earliest of times.
There is an ancient Mahakali mandir in a step well near the main bus depot. There is also a temple dedicated to the foot-prints-of-Ranchodji of Dakor near the bus depot. It is believed that in the medieval times, when the Lord Vishnu left Dwarka with Bodanaji, the Lord drove the cart first, making it travel from Dwarka to Umreth in the twinkling on an eye. The Lord than stopped off here to let his devotee Bodana drive the cart for the final 4 miles to his home town of Dakor.
There is also a Shiva temple between Umreth and Dakor where the Lord Vishnu (Ranchodji) playfully grabbed a branch of a neem tree. Having been touched by the divine hand, that branch turned sweet. The rest of the tree continues to have bitter leaves, whereas this branch has sweet leaves.
This is a major farming town with a lot of traders dealing in high quality wedding saris.
The town also has a law court and is an administrative center for the smaller villages around. There are some very good schools, Gujarati and English, a hospital, medical centers,
bus stand and a train station on the meter gauge system.
Compiled by Bhagwat Shah Updated on: December 18, 2007
