A beautiful blend of sun, sand and sea, Diu is a God’s gift to those in quest of a blessed turf where the weary weight of this unintelligible world can, for a while, be lightened and the waking soul can hear the music of the spheres, this tiny island of breeze, beauty and serenity situated off the southern tip of Saurashtra (Kathiwad) peninsula of Gujarat, lapped by the Arabian Sea, is a picture of calmness with some superb beaches and a fascinating history.

Like Daman, it was a Portuguese colony till 1961, and now a Union Territory, separated from Goa, in 1987. It was an important trading post and naval base from where the rulers controlled the shipping routes in the northern part of the Arabian Sea between the 14-16th centuries.

With an area of 38.8 sq.km.and a coastline of 17 km, the island of Diu is separated from the coast by a narrow channel on the north. Of the two tiny mainland enclaves, Ghoghla, is the entry point to Diu if you arrive through Una, a town in Saurashtra. The north of the island facing Gujarat is tidal marshes and salt pans while the south coast has some fine limestone cliffs, rocky coves and nice quite sandy beaches. Portuguese removed vast quantities of limestone from its quarries to construct their fort, city walls, monument and buildings. The branching palms, popularly known as Hoka trees, introduced from Africa by the Portuguese and coconut palms swaying and whispering in the gentle intoxicating sea breeze are very much in evidence at Diu.

The historical Portuguese monuments, the golden sand beaches, blue waters and water sports, clean environment and friendly local population make Diu a perfect gateway in all seasons. It has excellent all weather road links with Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Vadodara, It also has daily airlink (except Saturday) with Mumbai. Veraval the nearest railhead (90 km) link is connected to Ahmedabad.