Things to do in Eastern Gujarat
-
Laxmi Vilas Palace
Laxmi Vilas Palace was built in full-throttle 19th-century Indo-Saracenic flourish for Rs6 million. After purchasing your ticket at the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum head north along Nehru Rd to the second gate (after the entrance to the golf course and before the grand main entrance to the palace). At the palace, pick up an audio guide (included in the admission) and have a leisurely sticky beak at the elaborate interiors of the palace. The Naulakhi Well, a fine step well, is 50m north of the palace.
reviewed
-
A
Havmor
Ahmedabad is famous for its ice cream and the Havmor ice-cream bar, behind Navrangpura bus stop, has tons of flavours.
reviewed
-
B
Toran Dining Hall
Gung-ho staff knock up delicious, never-ending Gujarati thalis to a mostly middle-class crowd.
reviewed
-
C
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.
reviewed
-
D
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.
reviewed
-
Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery
Within the shady park - Sayaji Bagh, is the Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery, which houses Asian statues and carvings, some rather mangy zoology exhibits and an Egyptian room. The gallery has lovely Mughal miniatures and a motley crew of European masters.
reviewed
-
Tambekar Wada
This wooden multi-storeyed townhouse is a typical Maratha mansion, once the residence of Bhau Tambekar, Diwan of Baroda (1849–54). Inside are some beautiful but decaying 19th-century murals, many featuring Krishna and European subjects.
reviewed
-
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).
reviewed
-
E
Nishat
This place gets packed in the evenings with Muslim men devouring hearty veg and, more often, non-veg tandoori dishes.
reviewed
-
Mandap
One the best thalis in town, served in a splendidly decorated room with a desert-tent interior.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
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
-
Sun Temple
The beautiful Sun Temple was built by King Bhimdev I in 1026 and 1027 and resembles the better-known Konark Temple in Orissa, which it pre-dates by 200 years. It was similarly designed so that the dawn sun shone on the image of Surya, the sun god, during the equinox. The main hall and shrine are reached through a pillared pavilion. The temple exterior is intricately carved with demons and deities. As at Somnath, this temple was ruined by Mahmud of Ghazni, but it remains impressive. Fifty-two intricately carved pillars depict scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The interior contains a hall with 12 niches representing Surya’s different monthly manifestations. Erot…
reviewed
-
F
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.
reviewed
-
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.
reviewed
-
Champaner
Champaner was established as the Chauhan Rajput capital in about the 8th century. On a strategic trade route, it was besieged by Sultan Mahmud Begara, who succeeded in taking it in 1484 (the Rajputs committed jauhar – ritual mass suicide – in the face of defeat) and built many religious structures as well as the impressive fort wall on Pavagadh. But the city began to decline from 1535 when the Mughals, led by Humayun, scaled the fort walls and captured both the fort and its city.
reviewed
-
G
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
-
H
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).
reviewed
-
I
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.
reviewed
-
Rani-ki-Vav
About 130km north-west of Ahmedabad, Patan was an ancient Hindu capital before being sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1024 – the only sign of its former glory is Rani-ki-Vav, an astoundingly beautiful step well , incongruously grand in this unassuming town. Built in 1050, the step well is the oldest and finest in Gujarat and is remarkably well preserved – it was protected by centuries of silt and restored in the 1980's.
reviewed
-
Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary
This 116-sq-km lake [Nal Sarovar], located some 60km south-west of Ahmedabad, is a flood of ceaseless blue dissolving into the sky, surrounded by iron-flat plains. Between November and February, the sanctuary sees flocks of indigenous and migratory birds with as many as 250 species passing through the park. Ducks, geese, pelicans and flamingos are best seen early in the morning (aim for 5.30am) and in the evening.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
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.
reviewed
-
J
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.
reviewed
-
Nana’s Restaurant
A very polished restaurant with an army of helpful staff, cocktails, icy cold beer and delicious North Indian food. The selection of veg and non-veg curries is impressive – from Afghani to Vindaloo, and there’s Chinese, and of course the local seafood: pomfret, dara, prawns and surmai. A great feature is the family room where families and females can dine in a no-stare zone.
reviewed
-
K
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.
reviewed
-
Akshardham Temple
The only reason for visiting is the spectacular Akshardham Temple, belonging to the wealthy Hindu Swaminarayan group. Built by nearly 1000 artisans, it is an elaborately carved building constructed out of 6000 tonnes of pink sandstone and surrounded by manicured gardens. Note that cameras and mobile phones are not allowed into the compound.
reviewed
