Must-see attractions in 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Built immediately after the founding of Ahmedabad in 1411, Bhadra Fort houses government offices and a Kali temple. Its mighty gate formed the eastern…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Within Sayaji Bagh park, this museum houses a diverse collection, much of it gathered by Maharaja Sayajirao III, including statues and carvings from…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

Looking something like a giant bubble caterpillar from outer space (use your imagination!), this unusual architectural style has the brilliant official…

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…