Things to do in Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
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Havmor
Ahmedabad is famous for its ice cream and the Havmor ice-cream bar, behind Navrangpura bus stop, has tons of flavours.
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Toran Dining Hall
Gung-ho staff knock up delicious, never-ending Gujarati thalis to a mostly middle-class crowd.
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Dada Hari Wav
Dada Hari Wav, built in 1499 by a woman of Sultan Begara’s harem, has steps to lower platforms, terminating at a small, octagonal well. The depths are cool, even on the hottest day. Neglected and often bone dry, it’s a fascinating and eerie place. The best time to visit and photograph the well is between 10am and 11am (earlier in the summer, later in the winter); at other times the sun doesn’t penetrate to the various levels. Bus 34 and 111 (Rs. 5) to Asarwa stops nearby.
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Agashiye
This is Ahmedabad’s best dining experience. On the rooftop of one of the city’s finest mansions, the lovely tiled terrace is an oasis of calm and space, candle-lit at night and a world away from the congested streets. The all-veg menu, which changes daily, begins with a rose-and-lemon-flavoured welcoming drink and is a cultural journey around the traditional thali – a multitude of ravishingly tasty vegetable dishes – and finishes with hand-churned ice cream.
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Sarkhej Rosa
Located 8km south-west of the city, Sarkhej Rosa is a collection of intriguing Islamic buildings. They cluster around a great tank, constructed by Sultan Mahmud Shah I (1458–1511).
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Nishat
This place gets packed in the evenings with Muslim men devouring hearty veg and, more often, non-veg tandoori dishes.
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Sabarmati Ashram
About 5km from the centre, peacefully set on the river Sabarmati's west bank, this ashram was Gandhi’s headquarters during the long struggle for Indian independence. He founded the ashram in 1915 and it moved to its current site a few years later. It was from here on 12 March 1930 that Gandhi set out on his famous Salt March to the Gulf of Cambay in a symbolic protest. Handicrafts, handmade paper and spinning wheels are still produced on the site. There’s a paper factory over the road that’s worth a look (ask at the ashram for permission). Gandhi’s poignant, spartan living quarters are preserved and there’s a pictorial record of his life. The library contains the lett…
reviewed
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NC Mehta Gallery
In the same building as the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum is the NC Mehta Gallery with an important collection of jewel-like illustrated manuscripts and miniature paintings. Best known is Chaurapanchasika (Fifty Love Lyrics of a Thief), written by Vilhana, an 11th-century Kashmiri poet sentenced to be hanged for loving the king’s daughter. Just before his execution he composed the poems and so impressed the king that there was a lucky turn-around for Vilhana and the king gave his daughter to him in marriage.
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Municipal Corporation
The Municipal Corporation runs fascinating heritage walking tours through the old city. They start from the Swaminarayan Temple in Kalupur at 8am and finish near the Jama Masjid around 10.30am. It’s advisable to book. The tours, through narrow, confusing streets and past dilapidated, carved wooden houses, are an excellent way to get a feel for the city and its pols (gated neighbourhoods). Commentaries are given in English and there’s a brief slide show beforehand.
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Bhadra Fort & Teen Darwaja
Bhadra Fort built by the city’s founder, Ahmed Shah, in 1411, now houses government offices and a Kali temple. Ask for access to the roof, where you can check out the formidable structure, a perfunctory gallows and views of the surrounding streets. Two of the fort bastions partly collapsed in the 2001 earthquake. To the east is the Teen Darwaja (Triple Gateway), once the gateway into the Royal Square, or Maidan Shahi, where royal processions and polo games took place.
reviewed
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Jama Masjid
The Jama Masjid, built by Ahmed Shah in 1423, is to the east of the Teen Darwaja. Demolished Hindu and Jain temples provided the building materials. The 260 columns support 15 domes at different elevations. There were once two 'shaking' minarets, but they lost half their height in the great earthquake of 1819 and collapsed after another tremor in 1957. The 2001 earthquake then took its toll, leaving cracks in the masonry and destroying several jalis (carved marble lattice screens).
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Green House
The Green House is the casual front restaurant at the House of MG. Choose the fan-blasted outdoor courtyard or the AC room with a big-screen TV. The selection of Gujarati dishes is superb. Do try the house special sharbat; and the delicate and delicious panki, a thin crepe cooked between banana leaves; or the divine malpura, a sweet, deep-fried pancake in saffron syrup, topped with rose petals. And don’t leave without trying the hand-churned ice cream.
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Vishalla
On the southern edge of town, opposite Vasana Tol Naka, Vishalla is a magical eating experience evoking a traditional Gujarati village. You eat a veg thali seated on the floor in rustic wooden huts, and the complex includes craft stalls and a fascinating Utensil Museum. Dinner is accompanied by puppet or magic shows and traditional music. Bus 150 or 31 will take you nearby; an autorickshaw costs about Rs. 90 return.
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City Museum
The City Museum, housed in a Le Corbusier building and reminiscent of a high school under demolition, covers Ahmedabad’s history. It has sections that focus on the city’s religious communities, Gandhi and the Independence struggle. On the ground floor you will find the Kite Museum with a selection of patterned tissue-paper kites resembling trapped butterflies.
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Audio Guide Walk
The Municipal Corporation has collaborated with the House of MG to develop an ingenious audio guide walk. Beginning at the famed hotel, this 80-minute MP3-guided walk takes an alternative route through the Old City, ending at the Bholantah Divetia Haveli. This carefully restored, finely carved house is now a museum, shop and cafe rolled into one.
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Rani Sipri's Mosque
The small Rani Sipri's Mosque is also known as the Masjid-e-Nagira (Jewel of a Mosque) because of its graceful construction, with slender minarets - again a blend of styles. It's said to have been commissioned in 1514 by a wife of Sultan Mahmud Begara after he executed their son for some minor misdemeanour - she is also buried here.
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Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum
The Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum, near Gujarat University, houses fine stone, marble and wood carvings from around India, as well as local bronzes, cloth paintings and coins. Among the sculptures is a sandstone carving from Madhya Pradesh dating from the 6th century AD, the oldest-known carved image of the god Rama.
reviewed
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Sidi Saiyad’s Mosque
Sidi Saiyad’s Mosque, close to the river, was once part of the old citadel wall. Constructed in 1573 by Sidi Saiyad, a sometime slave of Ahmed Shah, it is one of Ahmedabad’s most stunning buildings, with exquisite jalis, spiderweb fine, depicting the intricate intertwining branches of the ‘tree of life’.
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Rani Rupmati's Mosque
Rani Rupmati's Mosque, built between 1430 and 1440, was named after the Hindu wife of the sultan. The minarets were damaged in the great earthquake of 1819. The dome is elevated to allow light in around its base. Like so many of Ahmedabad's early mosques, it combines elements of Hindu and Islamic design.
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Law Garden Night Market
This evening market is packed with stalls selling glittering wares from Kutch and Saurashtra. It’s chock-a-block with cholis (sari blouses) and richly decorated chaniyas (long, wide traditional skirts), both traditionally worn at Navratri; embroidered wall hangings; costume jewellery and more.
reviewed
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Raj Babri Mosque
The shaking minarets of the Raj Babri Mosque, in Gomtipur, were destroyed by their ingenuity, as one was partially dismantled by an inquisitive Englishman in an unsuccessful attempt to find out how it worked. It was never completely repaired, then in 2001 both minarets collapsed. Repairs continue.
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TC’s
This trendy little cafe near Gujarat College offers pita and hummus, Chinese noodles and Indian dishes in a bright cafe setting, with bubbling hookahs, big TV screens and bemused waiters. The sweet hookah smoke fills the chilled room and the Red Bull mocktails are about as wild as things get.
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Shreyas Folk Museum
The Shreyas Folk Museum, in the suburb of Ambavadi, displays an impressive range of Gujarati folk arts and crafts, with elaborately decorated everyday items, including textiles, clothing and woodcarving. Take bus 34 or 200 (Rs. 5), or an autorickshaw costs around Rs. 50.
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Tomb of Ahmed Shah
The Tomb of Ahmed Shah, built after his death in 1442, stands outside the Jama Masjid's east gate, and includes his son and grandson's cenotaphs. Women are not allowed in the central chamber. Across the street on a raised platform is his queen's tomb, now a market and in poor shape.
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Moti Mahal
Ahmedabad’s oldest restaurant boasts a long Indian, Chinese, veg and non-veg menu. You can eat simple fare downstairs in an open-fronted restaurant or upstairs in the AC shiny booths. The mezzanine has private booths for tiny couples with zenana screens for private people-watching.
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