Gujarat & Diu
Unknown even to many locals, this abandoned and half-overgrown cemetery at the edge of the old town contains the tombs of the Babi nawabs of Junagadh and…
Must-see attractions in Gujarat & Diu
Gujarat & Diu
Just down the road from the base of Girnar Hill is Damodar Kund, a sacred lake lined by ghats (landings) where people scatter the ashes and bones of…
Kachchh (Kutch)
A long drive northeast from Bhuj is the fascinating and remote archaeological site of Dholavira, on a seasonal island in the Great Rann. Excavations have…
Gujarat & Diu
Not a tourist attraction as such, this bird-rescue centre welcomes interested visitors. Injured local birds are brought here to be patched up before being…
Gujarat & Diu
Rajkot has quickly developed a Patola-weaving industry. This skill comes from Patan, and is a tortuous process that involves dyeing each thread before it…
Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
This relatively little known step-well, built in 1499 by the supervisor of Sultan Mahmud Begada’s harem, descends through five levels to a small well, now…
Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
Built immediately after the founding of Ahmedabad in 1411, Bhadra Fort houses government offices and a Kali temple. Its mighty gate formed the eastern…
Gujarat & Diu
Today a hot, dry wind whistles through the trees and over the broken bones of a city that 4500 years ago was one of the most important of the Indus Valley…
Gujarat & Diu
On the way towards Somnath, Bhalka Tirth is where Krishna was mistaken for a deer (he was sleeping in a deerskin) and fatally wounded by an arrow. The…
Kachchh (Kutch)
This graceful 1867 Italianate palace, set among shade trees full of crows and bats, was the abode of the last maharao of Kachchh, Madansingh, until his…
Gujarat & Diu
The diminutive and very much restored mid-19th-century Lakhota Palace, a fort on an island in Ranmal Lake, houses a semi-open-air museum featuring well…
Kachchh (Kutch)
The largest of the three palaces within the Darbargadh walled complex, 19th-century Prag Mahal is in a forlorn state, damaged by the 2001 earthquake, but…
Gujarat & Diu
The Jama Masjid, the disused mosque inside Uparkot Fort, was converted from a palace in the 15th century by Gujarat sultan Mahmud Begada and has a rare…
Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery
Gujarat & Diu
Within Sayaji Bagh park, this museum houses a diverse collection, much of it gathered by Maharaja Sayajirao III, including statues and carvings from…
Church of St Francis of Assisi
Diu
A surprise awaits at this church, founded in 1593, and previously used as a hospital. The whitewashed exterior is all flaking paint and sea-spray decay,…
Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
This atmospheric mausoleum, outside the east gate of the Jama Masjid, may have been constructed by Ahmed Shah himself before his death in 1442. His…
Gujarat & Diu
This museum, housed within a peach-pink pile of domes and turrets, displays weaponry such as the stick gun and 'tiger nails', and Jamnagar daggers, armour…
Kachchh (Kutch)
This crumbling 1920s palace with its bulbous domes was originally a summer abode for the Kachchh rulers. Its 1st floor is now the main residence of the…
Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
Looking something like a giant bubble caterpillar from outer space (use your imagination!), this unusual architectural style has the brilliant official…
Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
This small mosque near the ST bus stand is also known as the Masjid-e-Nagira (Jewel of a Mosque) because of its graceful construction, with delicately…
Kachchh (Kutch)
Bhujodi, about 7km southeast of Bhuj, is a village of weavers, mostly using pit looms, operated by both feet and hands. You can look into many workshops,…
Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
The glorious, multicoloured, carved-wood Swaminarayan Temple, in the old city, was built in 1822 as the first temple of the Swaminarayan Hindu sect…
Shri Bhuvaneshwari Aushadhashram
Gujarat & Diu
Founded in 1910 by Gondal’s royal physician, this pharmacy manufactures ayurvedic medicines and it’s possible to see all the quirky machinery involved, as…
Indian Institute of Management (IIM)
Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
The campus at the Indian Institute of Management, one of India's most exalted business schools, was designed by renowned American architect Louis Kahn and…
Gujarat & Diu
This memorial to Gandhi, next to the house where he was born, in the town of Porbandar, was built in 1950. Reflecting Gandhi’s age when he died, it’s 79ft…
Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
Southwest of Bhadra Fort and dating from 1414, this is one of the city’s earliest mosques, built for the sultan and nobles within Ahmedabad’s original…
Gujarat & Diu
The centrepiece of the city, Sayaji Bagh is a wonderful landscaped park with trees (some labelled), lawns and flower beds. But for the less green-fingered…
Gujarat & Diu
This temple on the southeastern side of Ranmal Lake has been the scene of continuous chanting of the prayer Shri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram since 31 July…
Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
Part of the LD Institute of Indology, this museum houses a gorgeous collection of ancient and medieval Indian art treasures, including Buddhist, Hindu and…
Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
Dating from around 1430-40, the Rani Rupmati mosque was built by Sultan Mahmud Begada in memory of his wife, Rani Rupmati (the mosque is sometimes called…
Gujarat & Diu
Inside Uparkot Fort and close to the Jama Masjid, these are not actually caves but rather monastic quarters carved out of rock around the 2nd century AD…
Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
Behind Dada Hari Ni Vav step well, the 16th-century Dai Halima Mosque contains the mausoleum of a royal midwife named Halima, with attractive jali (carved…
Diu
Ghoghla Beach, north of Diu town, is the best beach on the island. A long stretch of sand, it has less trash and fewer people than the other nearby…
Gujarat & Diu
This three-storey, 220-year-old house is where Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 (the very spot where he is said to have arrived is marked on the floor by…
Royal Vintage & Classic Car Collection
Gujarat & Diu
This is the royal collection of cars – 32 impressive vehicles, from a 1907 model made by the New Engine Company Acton and a 1935 vintage Mercedes saloon…
Gujarat & Diu
With almost as much flourish as the neighbouring Mahabat Maqbara mausoleum, the 1896 mausoleum of Vazir Sahib Baka-ud-din Bhar sports four storybook…
Gujarat & Diu
Wild, remote, very little visited and with minimal facilities, Barda Wildlife Sanctuary is a hilly, forested area with stone-built villages, good hiking…
Diu
Gangeswar Temple, on the south coast 3km west of town, just past Fudam village, is a small coastal cave where five Shiva linga (phallic symbols) are…
Gujarat & Diu
North of Ganga Jalia Tank, Bhavnagar’s old city is well worth a wander, especially in the early evening – it’s busy with small shops and cluttered with…
Gujarat & Diu
Built in the 17th century by Wazir Meraman Khawa, and one of two remaining city gates from that period, this elegantly decaying landmark has been restored…
