The name Porbandar itself conjures a picture of a massive port, a city connected with the two names - Sudama, the childhood friend of Lord Krishna and Mahatma Gandhi, The Father of the Nation. This impressive city was first called as Sudamapuri with Sanskrit name of PAURVELAKUL. The Port City dates back to AD 1045 and records state that the city was founded on Shravan Poornima Raksha Bandhan. Till to date the Kharvas [Fishermen Community] first offer their prayers to their reigning deity, Paurva Mataji [The Port Goddess) before beginning their fishing in new year from Raksha Bandhan day. The present port of Porbandar which is more than thousand years old is one of the oldest ports in Western India. The actual habited area was called Sudamapuri, while PAURVELAKUL was the port established near by for trading with South Africa, Middle East and other places. The name of Sudamapuri was used along with Porbander by the Indian Railways for the Railway Station of Porbandar till as late as 1960.

Sudamapuri, as most of the Rajasthanis call this City, is very important in the life of the Kshatriyas of Rajasthan who believe that Sudama and Mirabai were of the same clan and so even today most Rajasthanis come to take the blessings of Sudama after their marriage.

The Jethwa Dynasty which ruled over Porbandar was founded by H. H. Baskaldev Jethwa and is one of the oldest dynasties to have ruled over any particular state. The last Rana of Porbandar, H. H. Natwarsinhji was the 162 nd generation of the Jethwa clan.

It is noticeable aspect of Porbandar that the usage of stone in Porbandar is more than that of wood. It is but natural when the area is blessed with abundance of very high quality sand stone and hence, the most of buildings of the bygone era are full of bulding stone carving.

The city of Porbandar, being a very prosperous trading port, naturally had plenty of millionaires to boast of. The most famous personality was Shri Narottam Morarji, who owned the first Steamer in India in the year 1920 on 5th April. Shri Morarji has also been given the designation of The Father of Indian Shipping and therefore every year 5th April is celebrated as The Maritime Day all over India in his honor. Another famous personality was Manek Bai Bhatia, after whom the Manek Chowk near Kirti Mandir is named. Further, How can one forget the affiliation of legendry shri Swamy Vivekananda with Porbandar. Swamy Vivekananda had stayed in Porbandar for a short period of time during his tour of India. The guesthouse where he had stayed has been now converted into Ramkrishna Mission famous for popularizing his ideology and principles. Another distinct personality to of Porbandar was Shri Nanjibhai Kalidas Mehta who had established many tamples, and developed many places in the city. He went to South Africa for earning name and fame. After getting back to Porbandar he donated to various temples generously. Major temples Porbandar like Kirti Mandir, Bharat Mandir, Tara Mandir etc. were constructed by the donations from shri Nanjibhai.This Aryasamaji had started Arya Kanya Gurukul in Porbandar. The founder of Dena Bank, shri Devkaran Nanji, the famous Madhwani family also belong to Porbandar. And How can one forget to name Mahatma Gandhi as well as his wife Kasturba Gandhi when we talk of Porbandar?

KirtiMandir.
The birth place of Mahatma Gandhi. The original house in which Gandhiji was born is considered to be more than 165 yrs old. Gandhiji`s room on the second floor as well as the room on the ground floor where he was born is some of the rooms that are a must to see. The additions done to this Abode of Peace was officially inaugurated on 27th May 1950 by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, The Iron Man of India. This monument is known as Kirti Mandir and the elegance speaks volume about Gandhi Family and its prosperity. The height of this monument is 79 feet and there are 79 Diyas all along the wall depicting the age of The Mahatma at the time of his death. Kirti Mandir has a wonderful Museum as well as a library and a book stall.

VijayVilas.
This is Royal Treasury of the state. Most Princely States of yesteryears, who were financially very sound, had their own Treasury. The State of Porbandar did not lack for funds. The Vijay Vilas was the old Treasury of the State of Porbandar from where the various coins were minted to be used as currency.

Durbar Gadh.
The construction of this magnificent palace was started by Maharana Sartajni in the year of 1785. This palace depicts the typical wood and stone carving style of Gujarat. It was considered to be one of the finest piece of architecture of the time. In the year of 1903, the royal family begun residing in Dariya Mahal - the sea facing city palace, built in style that blends Arabic, Indian, Gothic and Renaissance architectures.

Sheetla Mata Mandir.
This small temple is said to be at least 100 years old. This temple was popular in times when there was no vaccination for Chicken Pox. According to a beleif, Sheetla Mata cures the Chicken Pox so, People used to keep "Badha" of Sheetla Mata for curing children from Chickenpox. This temple was constructed by Raj Mata Majiraj Bai and is famous among people for its mythical importance.

Haroon Mahal.
This was owned by the Memon community of Porbandar and dates back to AD 1886. It is said that the traders used to hold Bazaars at this place after their trips from the Middle East or South Africa bringing along with them wares for sale such as jewellery, exotic textiles, etc. In those days this place was also known as Meena Bazaar.

Bhidiya Mansion.
This marvelous building looks like a single construction but in fact it is a combination of many buildings built over a period of time. Originally Memon Community owned this building. During all the years this mansion has changed hands quite often. Each time some part or other was added to the main building by assuring that originality of the building remains unchanged.

Harish Mansion.
The various communities who had prospered due to the port facilities at Porbandar were the Bhatia, Vaniya, Lohana, Khoja, Memon, Kharva and the Mer communities. The Harish Mansion was the head quarters of the Lohana merchants during their prosperous days.

Saltanji No Choro.
Rana Saltanji was a patron of art and music. He therefore built a place where the poets, musicians, singers could gather and entertain both the Royal family as well as the public. This Choro, also known as Grishma Bhavan, has fountains arranged in a loop and are covered under a huge canopy. This canopy is surrounded by 24 lovely carvings of musicians and singers. The huge ground between Saltanji No Choro and the present Hanuman Gufa Police Chowky was a garden where "Sammelans" [musical programmes) used to held. The last rites of Rana Saltanji were done nearby and The Chattri of Rana Saltanji is close by.

Sudama Mandir.
In reverence to the child hood friend of Lord Krishna, this temple was constructed between 1902 and 1907. It is said that the funds were exhausted while this temple was being constructed. The people of Sudamapuri decided to raise the required funds by hosting various Drama shows. A plaque depicting this is also placed inside the temple. In this temple complex, there is a memorial of Ramdevji Jethwa who was hurt badly in a deceitful attack and is dated as Vikram Samvat 1630 or AD 1571. It is to this Sudama Temple that the Ksahtriyas of Rajasthan come for blessings after their marriage.

Hazoor Court.
Built in AD 1889 during the British rule, Sir Hancock had constructed this building for Administrative purpose. This is used as the Court by the present administration. H. H. Natwar Sinhji had his main office in this building.

Manek Chowk.
Many of the millionaires of Porbandar were also philanthropists. The most famous among them was Manek Bai Bhatia who felt that as this city attracts a lot of travelers and tradesmen in search of prosperity, it is possible that some of them might be going hungry. So she had funded 32 places where people could get food free of cost. She also opened up a few orphanages in the city. It is to remember this lady that the market area was named Manek Chowk sometime between 1909 and 1912 Three gates were the places where the Tax Collectors along with their sentries used to sit. Any trader coming in from the sea or by land had to enter the city from these gates only. This was one end of the old Porbandar city.