Check out my related posts including the Ahmedabad food guide, the weekend getaway to Siddhpur, Patan, and Modhera just a few hours from the city, and the Gujarat book, film, and music recommendations.
Check out more photos in my wife's Instagram stories.
I spent roughly 2.5 weeks in Ahmedabad and had a really great time. It doesn't make anyone's lists of the top places to visit in India, but maybe it makes mine? I kept comparing it in my head to the more popular tourist cities in neighboring Rajasthan. Ahmedabad lacks their big ticket sites and scenic beauty, but it has as much to offer overall and I felt in many ways it was more interesting. It has the huge benefit of not being touristy, even though it is too carelessly overdeveloped to be charming.
I found it entirely worthy of my extended stay. You can cover the main stuff in a few days, but if you spend longer to delve deeper I don’t think you’d regret it. Everyone I told how long I was spending there seemed puzzled why I would want to spend more than a few days there, but I actually wish I had at least another week to spend in the city, and it is better than most people make it out to be. A good mix of big city and “small town,” and I’d rather live here than most places in India.
Other than Delhi it is the oldest of India’s big cities (founded in 1411), and one of the few places where you get a large assortment of excellent historic sites not far from modern comforts. The architecture is among India’s best. Unfortunately, if you are just driving or walking through the main roads, it is mostly just ugly, chaotic, and unremarkable. But the old town and some surrounding areas are filled with amazing mosques, temples, havelis, stepwells, etc. Much of the best stuff is down hidden alleyways, some of it is behind closed doors and you either need to know someone or make an appointment to get in. And there’s excellent food. I found it easier to get good local food here than maybe anywhere else in the northern half of the country (to be clear, I’m referring to the quality of what's commercially available, not making a judgment on the cuisines).
If you count Ahmedabad among India’s megacities (there’s close to 9 million people by some counts), it definitely isn’t as happening as the others, but it excels in certain areas, such as having some of the best art galleries and museums in the country. Overall it was modern enough to have whatever I wanted, and it’s maybe more liveable than any other similarly modern city, mainly because it’s not that big. Almost all of my car rides were under 20 minutes. That counted for a lot, and it was easy getting around too. Uber autos were readily available (they’d agree almost immediately and would arrive usually in just a few minutes), regular autos didn’t try to cheat us, and when I went longer distances and took Uber cars they were consistently nicer than the Uber cars I get in Mumbai. There is a metro system but I unfortunately never ended up taking it, it just never made sense for the routes I was going.
Compared to other mid-sized places it is better developed and more modern. Sometimes modern India develops in a way that feels homogeneous with other parts of modern India, but the modern western part of the city has a distinctive feel to it, with a lot of earthy architecture built into the greenery, and you feel an artistic sensibility to the city. It’s not just a generic suburb. It’s fairly inexpensive and has a lot of cafes to work from, so it’s a good WFH destination. It isn’t a priority for me to return, but I would gladly go back and spend more time if I were called there for some reason.
There are negatives, but it’s all par for the course. The weather was very hot when I went in October (apparently the Gujarat Sultan Ahmad Shah decided to settle here because he found the climate to be “congenial”...huh?), and the pollution was pretty bad, though not worse than any similarly sized city. I was surprised at how dusty it was though, which made even the nice, very green neighborhoods on the western side of the city not so pleasant to walk in. There were always cars going by and kicking up dust (and the cars never seemed to stop coming, no matter what time of day it was or what lane I was walking down). I’ve often heard of Ahmedabad and Gujarat in general as a shining example of India’s development, and maybe that shows up somewhere in the numbers, but I don’t know, it didn’t seem that different from anywhere else to me in terms of roads (I often hear that the highways in Gujarat are great, maybe I have to travel more widely instrastate), sidewalks, cleanliness, general orderliness, visible poverty, etc. It wasn’t worse than anywhere else, but I was curious to see what the Gujarat miracle was about and I didn’t really see it in any noticeable way. I would be curious to hear other opinions on the subject. Maybe it was more impressive 10+ years ago and other places have caught up, or maybe I’ve been spoiled by spending too much time in South India in the past few years and compared to neighboring states it seems more impressive? I’m not sure.
My knowledge of the city’s history before coming was basically just “trade/commercial city, textiles, Gandhi, riots”, and other than its name I knew nothing of its Islamic history. That’s one of the the best parts of its history though! It was quite a surprise to learn that, by some counts (how accurate they are, I have no clue), Ahmedabad was among the most populous cities in the world (and at times the most populous in India) from the mid 16th to early 18th centuries. See this video (not fact checking it, but its definitely plausible). It was also the biggest Islamic city after Istanbul, and the history book I read noted how it was a leading center of Islamic scholarship. When it was under Akbar’s rule it was said to be the most “illustrious” city after Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. A traveler’s account from 1615 notes that the cosmopolitan city had “English, Dutch, Portugals, Jews, Armenians, Arabians, Medes and Persians, Turks, and Tartarians.” You may not care about any of the history, but any visitor should appreciate that it’s easily a top five city in India for Islamic architecture and probably the best for pre-Mughal Islamic architecture. Most of it is from Gujarat Sultanate period, and it’s a distinctive blend of Hindu and Islamic styles.
Mughal emperor Jahangir did not like Ahmedabad much and he wrote about his 1617-1618 visits in his autobiography, the Jahangirnama. Some of his descriptions are hilarious. I can’t believe I’ve never read this before. Someone should make JahangirGPT to write bad reviews of everything. He is a world class hater.
I am perplexed at what beauty or goodness the builder of this city saw in this godforsaken land to have built a city here. Why have others after him spent their precious lives in this dust heap? The air is poisonous,- the ground has little water and is sandy. The huge amount of dust has already been described. The water is particularly foul and tastes awful. The river bed next to the city is always dry except during the monsoon.
The wells are mostly brackish and bitter. The reservoirs located on the outskirts of the city are milky with washermen's soap. The quality people who are rich enough have built cisterns in their houses and fill them with enough rainwater during the monsoon, and they drink it through to the next year. Of course, the unwholesomeness of water that is never exposed to the air and has no way to let off vapors is obvious. Outside the city in places with greenery, the plains are nothing but breeding grounds for thorns, and it is obvious how good a breeze that blows over thorns can be. "O thou paragon of all goodness, by what name shall I call thee?"
I have already called Ahmadabad "Gardabad" [Dustburg]. Now I don't know whether to call it Samumistan [land of the pestilential wind], Bimaristan [land of the ill], Zaqumzar [thorn patch], or jahannamabad [hell-ville] since it has qualities of all of them. Were it not for the monsoon, I wouldn't stay in this abode of tribulation for a single day but would get on my flying carpet like Solomon and fly away, delivering my men from this pain and tribulation.
I hate to admit it but some of that is spot on.
Ahmedabad's later prominence is better known, as a textile hub and as a key center of the independence movement. A lot of that was quite interesting to delve more into, though I’m not sure how interesting any of it is to remark on. But it was fun learning about major business families of the city and visiting their museums, residences or places they funded and discovering connections with them and other parts of history.
So, you go to the places associated with the Sarabhai family (the excellent Calico museum in the family compound, and like half the city’s art and educational institutions, not to mention India’s space program and much more), the Hutheesing family (the awesome Hutheesing temple, the amazing Hutheesing haveli, the nice Hutheesing art gallery, and much more, and I must brag that I had the pleasure and privilege of meeting the very friendly and talented Umang Hutheesing, but more on that later), the Lalbhai family (the great Kasturbai Lalbhai museum and the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai museum which I sadly didn’t get a chance to see, and still much more), and the Mangaldas family (the House of MG hotel and its great restaurants, some other nice heritage hotels in the city, and a pre-fab building company that I’m not smart enough to understand with a proof of concept at Bucky’s Diner).
I won’t go into all of their businesses (many of them textiles) and marriages between the families and with other prominent families and all of the successful and well known descendants of the tycoons. However, there are many interesting stories involving them, such as Gandhi’s decision to include untouchables at the ashram. This upset many people and caused donors to pull out, including Mangaldas Girdhardas who was one of his most important early patrons (I can’t find the source that he pulled out but it was in my reading notes so I assume it’s true), only for Ambalal Sarabhai to step in and save the ashram.
I also love the story of the 1918 mill workers strike. The mill owners, offering a 20% raise, were represented by Ambalal Sarabhai, and the workers, demanding a 50% raise, were represented by his sister Anasuya Sarabhai. Mill owners wanted Ambalal to cut off her allowance to stop her but he responded, “I do as I see fit, why should she not be entitled to the same freedom? I have not the slightest right to interfere with her work.” Anasuya, who helped Gandhi set up his ashram, called Gandhi in to mediate. He apparently conducted an extensive study of the industry and came to the conclusion that a 35% raise would be fair. The mill owners were pissed off that he interfered but they agreed to a 35% raise if Gandhi promised never to intervene in their disputes again. Workers were also mad at Gandhi for hobnobbing with the mill owners. Gandhi calmed things down by going on his first ever hunger strike! This strategy was successful and the two parties decided to settle at a 27.5% raise.
These stories are cool. There should be more movies about Gandhi.
There’s also the story of Rabindranath Tagore, who previously came to Ahmedabad and stayed with his brother who was stationed at Shahibaugh Palace as a district judge, a trip which inspired his story The Hungry Ghosts (I tried reading it once but admittedly got bored…), coming and staying with the Sarabhai family and asking the mill owners for help financing Shantiniketan. He wrote in a letter, “Came here taking a beggar’s bowl in my hand.” I couldn’t find out who actually chipped in.
My knowledge of most of the above came from the book Ahmedabad: From Royal City to Megacity which I discuss in the recommended reading section. Not from the book but also great is my discovery that one of the present day Hutheesingh’s (and also part of the Nehru/Gandhi family) works for the US state department and, much more importantly, was a guitarist for Hanson!
Also, here’s the story and some designs of Frank Lloyd Wright’s never realized Calico building. That project ended up becoming the famous Calico Dome, sadly now collapsed, which Gautam and Gira Sarabhai designed themselves. Gira studied at Wright’s Taliesen West in my hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona. I believe that was Ahmedabad’s first association with big name modern architects, and Corbusier came a few years later, followed by Louis Kahn. I’m not sure any other Indian city had so many big name architects come, but my favorite architecture in the city is by local artisans whose names have been lost in time. Shoutout to the imaginary Buckminster Fuller/AI designed buildings though.
Some other notes:
I saw a wider range of animals at a more frequent rate than any other big city in India. There are many very large white monkeys (langurs, I believe). They are terrifying. I saw carts pulled by camels. A few elephants. A lot of peacocks on some private grounds. Tons of squirrels. A family of mongooses. I felt there were fewer mosquitos than in most of India, though there were still a lot. Of course Ahmedabad has a special association with birds (if you don't know why, you'll figure it out when you're there), though I'm not sure I noticed more exotic birds there than elsewhere.
Martin Luther King Jr. was influenced by Gandhi and went on a pilgrimage of sorts to Ahmedabad as part of his month-long India trip in 1959. There’s not a ton about Ahmedabad in here, but it is genuinely touching to read about his trip and his connection with Gandhi. I say non-violent resistance remains underrated.
I’m very curious about the effects of alcohol prohibition on Gujarat. Lower crime, fewer car accidents, less domestic abuse, less of a strain on the healthcare system, etc? On the flip side, there’s obviously a major loss in tax revenue, and perhaps an unnecessary strain on resources to enforce it and more deaths/injuries from illicit alcohol production? Are certain segments of the population more productive because of a relative lack of alcohol, thus making up for lower tax revenues? How popular is the policy, who is trying to overturn it, and who is preventing that from happening? (I read many suggestions that it would be legalized if it weren’t for the entrenched interests of the bootleggers, but eh, that would suggest the alcohol industries can’t match them in bribes/lobbying power, which seems unlikely!) What percentage of the population actually drinks fairly regularly, and are there estimates by how much it has reduced alcohol consumption? I couldn’t find much to read on the topic but would love to know more. I want to believe there has been lots of serious scholarship done on this topic, with a deep analysis of the tradeoffs. I read a good op-ed on the topic (unfortunately disagreeing with my anti-alcohol agenda) and I saw a lot on Google Scholar but it still seems pretty underdiscussed to me. I know if alcohol were banned in one of the biggest and most productive U.S. states there’d be a steady stream of substacks and podcasts and in-depth twitter threads delving into it. I want more! Gujarat presents a good natural experiment on a very important topic. Outside of a few Muslim countries, I believe Gujarat and Bihar have the world’s largest populations living under prohibition. Both states are obviously on different sides of the development scale, so it'd be interesting to take a closer look at both of them and see where they fall on various metrics compared to states/regions that have similar cultures and development levels. If I were rich I would finance such work, but it'd have an anti-alcohol slant, so if you like alcohol you should do your own work.
I was thinking of writing something about the Gujarati diaspora but it’s too far off topic and anyways the topic likely needs no introduction for most readers. For the unawares, there’s a lot of great introductory info on various Wikipedia pages, or just ask anybody in Ahmedabad and they’ll probably tell you all about it! I will say that I heard people talk about how since there are so many Gujaratis in the US it is now harder for them to get a visa than it is for other people in India. I doubt this is true, but hey, look at how long it took for Modi to get a visa! The Gujarati share of the US Indian population is shrinking though as several other Indian languages are growing at a much faster rate than theirs (see the chart here), and they were recently overtaken by the Telugu speaking population (Telugu is the fastest growing language in the US percentage wise, and not just because of white RRR fans wanting to learn the language, though I like to think there’s a lot of those). I’m curious to know why this is. I’m not surprised to see an acceleration of immigration from STEM focused southern states, but the US Gujarati growth is below the growth of native Punjabi, Hindi, Bengali, and Urdu speakers as well. I googled around but couldn’t find anything on the subject. Are more Gujaratis returning to India? I did see more Mexican restaurants in Ahmedabad than anywhere else in India.
Goyal real estate is everywhere here. Once you become aware of it you can’t unsee it. The entire western Ahmedabad is owned by Goyal? I’ve never even heard of Goyal!
Stuff To Do
There are many sides to Ahmedabad, and you could spend a day or two each just exploring Islamic heritage, the Pols (the different village-like neighborhoods of the old city), the temples, the art museums, the modern architecture, and perhaps more that I haven’t thought of (local handicrafts and whatnot). I’ll list my favorite things in some order of subjective importance.
Surprisingly, the government has a great resource on local heritage sites on their website and an app, even if the functionality is a bit spotty (the app would often crash on me). There’s a map of the city (and alternatively here’s the list version) which lets you see which sites are nearby, and you can click on them to get good historical information. This goes far beyond what you’ll find in guidebooks or online, which just cover the more major sites, while here you get information on individual houses, small temples, pols, etc. Overall the Ahmedabad government has done a good job promoting local heritage, probably more than anywhere else I’ve been in India (see more on their walking tour below).
I expect there are many gems of Ahmedabad that I was unaware of or did not have access to. Any recommendations not mentioned here would be much appreciated for any future trips.
The Old City
The Old City is the heart of Ahmedabad. It’s not the easiest place to navigate and explore, partly because it is so crowded, chaotic, polluted, and hot for much of the day, and also partly because a lot of my favorite areas are not tourist attractions and I just found them by walking around the mazelike alleyways.
Also, there are few areas to duck into to relax. My go-to was House of MG, which has an air conditioned all day cafe (you will want to eat here anyway, see more food section later) on the ground floor (upstairs there’s a nice little museum as well, not one of my top picks for things to do in the city but it’s the only air conditioned thing to do in the old city so a good way to spend some time in the afternoon). They have a sister property Mangaldas ni Haveli 2 deeper into the old town which is convenient to stop in as well, though that one doesn’t have AC and has a smaller menu, but the fan is strong and the bathroom is clean, so it’s good for a chai break. (On google maps the haveli doesn’t come up but the cafe Pol Kholi does, there were no hours or recent reviews so I thought it was closed but it was open, meanwhile the Mangaldas ni Haveli 1 does come up on google maps and had prices listed for staying there but it was completely closed when I was there. This all may change by the time you read this, but anyway, something to keep in mind.) Definitely plan to stop at these, you will be in both areas anyway, and I don’t know of anywhere else within a reasonable walking or driving distance with AC or clean bathrooms, there’s not even a CCD in the old city.
A good start to the old city is the government run walking tour: https://heritagewalkahmedabad.com/
Their system isn’t great. The morning tour is daily, and you can probably just show up in the morning and sign up on the spot. I signed up the day before but never received a confirmation and was scared I would show up and there would be no tour, but thankfully there was. The following evening I was in the neighborhood for the night tour and tried calling to sign up but nobody answered, so I waited around hoping I could sign up on the spot but nobody showed up. The morning tour is popular though and seems like a good bet to actually happen daily.
Anyway, I definitely recommend the morning tour, if you only do one thing in Ahmedabad do the tour. It gives you a good sense of the charms of the old city without you having to do any of the work. It goes through the alleyways and Pols to see plenty of great sights you would never find otherwise, with a lot of good information on the history and culture of the neighborhoods. The prices are very reasonable, 350 for foreigners and 250 for Indians, and for 150 rupees extra you can book the “Luxury” tour which includes brunch at the excellent Chandravilas.
I wouldn’t say it is among my favorite of the walking tours I’ve done in India, it didn’t have the same depth of information as the best ones (partly because my favorite tours are as much for locals who already have a good knowledge base as they are for tourists, which need to be more introductory), and this was conducted in English and Hindi at the same time which made it a bit difficult to follow at times as a non-Hindi speaker, but nonetheless I got a lot out of it. Considering there are so few regular heritage walks in India, the fact that this is daily, reasonably priced, and good quality is something I really appreciate, and I would love to see more initiatives like this across the country, where the splendorous old cities are often neglected as tourist destinations in favor of the bigger sites.
If you don’t get around to the walk, here’s the itinerary with good descriptions. I would have liked to do their other tours, there is a Jain temple tour and a night tour (that one has a more basic itinerary, I covered most of the spots on my own anyway), but I never got around to them. House of MG also offers tours, and there is a local heritage group called The Doorbin which has walks (including food walks) that seem good but they only seem to be once every month or two. I didn’t get to do either, but I would definitely like to do more tours of the old city, which is incredibly rich and full of hidden gems.
By the way, there is a book called A Walking Tour Ahmedabad by Matthijs Van Oostrum and Gregory Bracken, containing some self guided heritage walks you can do. I skipped it because the Amazon description didn’t give me anything to go on, and the free sample is of the wrong book! It’s only when I saw the book in a shop late in my trip that I realized it’s great and wished I had bought it. Here is a real sample to give you a sense of if you’d like it or not. If I ever come back I’ll definitely get this. I realize now the more expensive version on Amazon has a proper description and proper sample, oops!
Beyond the tour, I spent one full day (around 12 hours) walking around the old city. There is a lot here, it is up to you how much time you wish to devote, but I’ll try to share what is top priority and what is only for the hardcore.
The main sites here, the obvious ones on most people’s agendas, are mostly Sultanate era. The major attractions are Siddi Sayid’s Mosque, Teen Darwaza, Bhadra Fort, and Jama Masjid, all within a short walking distance of each other. That’s all top priority, and I’d also include Ahmed Shah’s Tomb and the queen’s tomb Rani no Hajiro opposite, as these are in the same area. This area is also the main market area of the city, and it’s crazy packed with people, but that’s also part of the appeal. I think you can go to all of the above places at night, so that’s nice, it’s fun to do a night walk of the area.
There are many more great Sultanate era sites for the hardcore, such as the Rani Sirpi ki Masjid, the Sidi Bashir Masjid with the famous Jhulta Minara (though I didn’t see them shake), which are all great but are a bit out of the way and I wouldn’t say are priorities (there are a few others I wanted to see but didn’t get to, such as the Rani Rupamati ki Masjid). However much you feel like seeing, the Gujarat Sultanate is responsible for some of my favorite architecture in India. Really beautiful, ornate work with a distinctive blend of Hindu and Muslim styles. Two of my favorite places in Ahmedabad are also Sultanate era but outside of the old city: Hazrat Bai Varir stepwell and the adjacent mosque, and Sarkhej Roza, but I’ll get to those later.
Other than these Sultanate monuments, the stars of the old city are the wonderful houses and havelis you’ll see while walking around. These are not well known, but I found a few neighborhoods with a good concentration of great houses.
The best was the area around Mangaldas ni Haveli. The haveli was closed when I was there, but I would love to go in one day, and the exterior is stunning. Nearby is the Deewanji ni Haveli, which is now a heritage hotel and may let you in for a small fee (their sister property in another neighborhood did), and across from it is the smaller Mangaldas ni Haveli 2 which has the cafe Pol Kholi where you should stop at for a tea and pee break (the only clean bathroom around). There are a lot of other nice buildings in this area.
From there, walk to the Jagdip Mehta’s Heritage House, another heritage stay (and the only budget one, and I think more of a homestay than the other ones which are more done up). I asked the owner on Whatsapp if I could tour inside and he said I could after a few weeks, maybe because it was festival season, but I couldn't visit during the time I was there. I’ll try again next time, and it is worth reaching out. Around the corner is the beautiful Pratima ni Haveli, which you can get a glimpse of from the outside. I think they’re eventually going to open it up for stays, though I’m not sure if it will be public, but it’s worth enquiring. Walk over to the Jethabhai ni Haveli, which is the toy museum, though it wasn’t open when we were there and I’m not sure if it ever will be. Either way, beautiful building, as are others in that lane. Walk down to the Kavi Akha Bhagat Chowk and Memorial, even if you don’t know or care who the poet is, there are some cool buildings around there.
There are two noteworthy temples in the neighborhood, one is the beautiful Hatkeshwar Mahadev Mandir Khadia, which is a beautiful building, and the other is the less visually appealing but more interesting Visa Hanuman temple, where people take their passports to scan before the Hanuman idol in hopes of getting their visas approved. I didn’t wait in the long line, but they let me go ahead to take a look at the priest opening the passport and showing it to Hanuman. My wife spoke to a woman in line who was hoping to get a Canada visa to see her son. I wish them all success with their visas.
I would say that was all a highlight of my sightseeing, and I would prioritize that, but if you want more, another area I had good luck in was Dhal ni Pol. You can start at the Rani Sipri ki Masjid a short walk from the pol entrance. In the pol is the French Haveli, a small haveli which was turned into a hotel, and they let us inside, including taking us up on the rooftop, for a small fee (I think 100 per person). Overall I really enjoyed walking around this pol.
There was another pol a bit to the north of the great Swaminarayan temple (where the morning heritage walk starts, make time for it either way) that had some amazing architecture but apparently I didn’t write the name down, but that’s okay because on one hand, it’s just more of the same, and on the other hand, if you still want more of the same at this point you can experience the joys of finding them by exploring on your own.
Another highlight of the old city was seeing the Magen David Synagogue, though I did not get a chance to go inside. You can see photos of the interiors here, there are some cool art deco elements. I believe this is India’s only synagogue that is both north of Mumbai and west of Calcutta (historically there was one in Karachi which survived until 1988, and one in Surat that I don’t think has existed for a very long time, I am not sure if there are any other long lost ones). I don’t know much about this community other than the author Esther David belongs to it (her father also founded the city’s zoo). I’m not sure how many people are left and how frequently they hold services. There is also a Jewish cemetary in Ahmedabad, just north of the old city, though I didn’t go and I can’t confirm the google map location’s accuracy.
Right across from the synagogue was a Parsi temple and community center. I always like seeing those. I read that Parsis and Jews live in some of the same apartment compounds nearby.
I’ll toss in the Lucky Restaurant, near the Siddi Sayid mosque. Famous for its graves in the restaurant and a great MF Hussain painting!
One final highlight of the old city is the amazing Hutheesing Haveli, not open to the public, but I had the privilege of visiting and meeting its owner Umang who is a fashion designer. It is a long story how I got to visit, but anyway, the haveli houses Umang’s Hutheesing’s flagship store, so if you are a big spender in the market for Indian clothing, reach out to them.
Great Sites Near the Old City
There are two excellent sites just north of the old city that I wanted to highlight, both are good to bundle in with the Calico Museum or Kasturbhai Lalbhai museum, which I’ll get to shortly (those are in the Shahibaug area, which is nice and has some cool old buildings to keep an eye out for while driving such the Circuit House and Masonic Hall, unfortunately you can’t see the Shahi Baug palace, now the Sardar Patel Museum, from the road, nor the secret stunning homes in the area).
One is the awesome Hutheesing Jain temple, which is maybe the city’s best temple with really stunning architecture, and the other is Hazrat Bai Harir Vav, and outstanding stepwell that is similarly structured but not as ornate as the much more popular Aadalaj, but in many ways it is just as good, and this has the benefit of being in the city. In addition to fewer tourists it also has fewer restrictions on where you can walk. Walking on the narrow paths is pretty dangerous though, and I suspect at some point this will not be allowed, especially as the stepwell grows in popularity because of Instagram. It was fairly quiet when we went around sunset time, but there was a large group of young people taking glamour shots, unlike Aadalaj which was packed with families. The stepwell also has a beautiful mosque behind it which you should see too.
I didn’t make it to the flower market, just south of the old city. I’m told it’s great very early in the morning. Also south of of the old city is Kankaria Lake, which isn’t worth visiting despite what people will tell you, which was obvious but I went anyway (do look at it on the map, though, and also take a look at the SBI logo, though I've heard alternative explanations). The Dutch tombs there are cool, but the Dutch cemetery in Surat is more impressive. I didn’t get a chance to go, but the art deco Gita Mandir looked cool. I went walking there but accidentally marked a mislabeled Gita Mandir on google maps, then was out of time to go to the real one, oops.
Aadalaj Stepwell
For many this is the top attraction in Ahmedabad, and it is definitely amazing, but also you can just go to the Hazrat Bai Harir Vav which I wrote about above. The stepwells are pretty similar, though Aadalaj does have the superior carvings (my favorite is the one of women churning buttermilk, as a buttermilk fan this was a must see). It’s also further away from the city, more crowded, and doesn’t let you explore as much of the stepwell’s interiors. I think doing both isn’t necessary on a short trip and your time is better spent on more diversified experiences, but it’s up to you which you want to make time for!
A lot of people club Aadalaj with the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar. I’ve been to the Delhi one which is newer and grander so I didn’t make time to go to this one, though I did want to, but also there’s a new one in New Jersey and the weather is better there in addition to it being newer and grander. I guess if you have no plans of ever going to Delhi (not that it’s a priority there, there are lots of other things to see in Delhi) or New Jersey (I don’t know much about New Jersey but it’s probably the best thing to see there) and you have extra time in Ahmedabad then Akshardham should be on your itinerary, maybe. Definitely not a priority. I wanted to drive through Gandhinagar to see the architecture but never got around to it. I don’t think it’s that interesting…
Museums & Art Galleries
Ahmedabad is really strong in the museum department, surprisingly so, and there are a number of nice art galleries.
I generally feel museums shouldn’t be prioritized over the cities themselves, but the Calico museum is so outstanding that it is one of the city’s great attractions. Unfortunately, you have to go via a tour that you make an appointment for, and the process is a total pain. They have an online booking form that you have to book through (and you have to make a separate booking for everyone in your party!), and they recommend booking weeks in advance. I booked a handful of times, usually for around three days out, and never heard back. Finally as my trip was nearing its end, I got desperate and emailed them, and they responded by saying that the tours have limited slots and are in high demand and have been fully booked, however luckily they have an opening Thursday if I could make it (the tours I was on weren’t full, so I doubt that).
They have two main tours of the galleries at designated times, the Haveli galleries in the morning and Chauk galleries in the afternoon, as well as a Garden tour of the grounds, also in the afternoon, so it is impossible to do them all in one day. I never got to do the garden tour, though I would love to, but the two gallery tours are really excellent. Calling it a textile museum doesn’t do it justice, and it is one of India’s best tributes to the country’s artistic heritage. For me, the buildings the galleries are in were as much a highlight, and I loved the property as well. As soon as you step in, you enter a new world, which in a way gives you a taste of old world Ahmedabad just as the old city does (this is especially true if you go to the Chauk gallery, which is set in a haveli from the old city that was taken apart and reconstructed here). I think if I had to pick only one to see, it would be the Chauk galleries, but I’m glad I was able to do both (though it is a lot to take in in a single day), and I would do whatever you have time for/get a booking for. See here for a sense of what the two galleries showcase, but note that they vastly exceeded my expectations. I would have preferred wandering around on my own and taking my time, with displays to tell me what I’m looking at (rather than the information from the guide who I honestly didn’t find to be that engaging, though she was nice), but being on the tour kept me moving at a decent pace. I otherwise would have been there all day.
Just down the street from the Calico museum is the Kasturbhai Lalbhai museum, which is less of a must do but is still a great museum, taking you through different styles and eras of Indian art, in a beautiful property. The main museum is also by appointment only tours, and it’s also hard to book. None of my calls or texts were answered, but eventually I got an email back. Our guide was quite good but I felt rushed us way too much. In another building on the same property is a modern art gallery, and the space and exhibit I saw were both great (I believe that section does not require an appointment). I would definitely recommend doing both if you can!
In the same area is the Sardar Patel Museum but I didn’t make it. I hope to go on the next trip, though I don’t think it looks that good (it seems like one of those boring government run wall of text museums…). Probably not something to prioritize. The building is noteworthy, it was a palace built by Shah Jahan, but from the photos the restoration has that cheap tacky look, and the palace doesn’t look all that remarkable in the first place. This is where Tagore stayed on his first Ahmedabad trip, the museum has a room dedicated to him.
Across the river is the Sabarmati Ashram. It was cool to see and I’m glad I went, and it’s obviously an important place, but whether it’s a must see is up to you. The museum inside has a lot of informational panels but I’d rather read a book, and even walking around the place I never got a strong sense of what ashram life was like. But anyway, I couldn’t miss Gandhi’s ashram, and maybe you can’t either…
I wanted to go to the Lalbhai Dalpatbhai museum, which focuses on ancient and medieval Indian art and sculptures. It seems very good. The Shreyas Folk museum also seemed good. I ran out of time for both. The City Museum, in the Corbusier building, has been closed for renovation for a while, but that also looked good, and it includes the kite museum.
I’ll cover this later in the food section, but I loved the Vichaar cooking utensils museum at the great Vishalla restaurant.
There are a number of nice small art galleries in Ahmedabad that are worth visiting if you’re interested, though art lovers should focus on the two museums mentioned above. I wanted to like the iconic Amdavad ni Gufa more than I did, but it’s kinda cool and I guess it’s a must on the Ahmedabad art trail. It has a nice little gallery next to it, and the nearby Hutheesingh art gallery is very good. The Artshila space is nice but I did not find the current exhibit to be so interesting. I didn’t quite get the point of Bucky Gallery, to be honest. I didn’t make it to 079 Stories but it seemed quite nice, however for most visitors there is no reason to venture that far west in the city. Conflictorium is the one gallery in the old town, themed around conflict, some of it I found to be cool, some of it I was less enthusiastic about, and I liked the upstairs gallery more than the permanent exhibitions downstairs overall. Still, it was nice to see something like this, especially in the old city, which in all honesty could use a bit of good gentrification.
Sarkhej Roza
A large tomb complex with the tombs of an important sufi saint (who was the spiritual advisor for Ahmedabad’s founder Ahmed Shah) as well as the tomb of Sultan Mahmud Begada (considered to be the greatest of the Gujarat sultans) and some successors and queens. Read up on the history if you want, but it’s more about the atmosphere, you feel a world apart when you come here. Great place to go before sunset. When I went it was packed with poor Muslim families lining up to get free food. It’s set on a lake (dry when I went), and across the lake is a mostly ruined palace of Mahmud Begada, and it’s nice to walk on the side of the lake, passing some ruined structures. It's a good 20 minutes from anywhere else you’d want to visit, but it's worth the detour if you have the time.
Other
I think I covered everything I have to recommend. There are things I am not the person to ask, like shopping at Law Garden. There were a few things I missed that I wanted to do, though nothing major. I mentioned some of the museums above, and I also had an afternoon schedule planned but never executed where I would see the Kochraab ashram, Mani Mansion heritage hotel, NID, RK Egg Factory, City Museum, Tilla Shop and cafe, River Front Flower Park, and the foot bridge, hopefully discovering some cool old buildings in the neighborhood. I wanted to see IIM, which has pretty cool architecture (I got a good view of that while driving around, the Gujarat College also looked cool). I wanted to go to the Gujarat United School of Theology to see the jaali in the place of a stained glass window. There’s also the massive Sunday market which I missed. If I missed anything else, let me know!
Movie Theaters
Unlike other parts of India I didn’t see any grand single screen cinemas in Ahmedabad. The only one I came across was the shut Apsara Theater near Kankaria Lake, though I couldn’t find any info on it. There is a drive-through, the Sunset Cinema, which claims to have the largest open air screen in Asia, though I haven’t fact checked that. The old city used to have the cool looking Relief Cinema (and I’m sure many others that I can’t find pictures of).
Ahmedabad does have India’s only existing Imax 70mm projector (and I assume the only 70mm projector in use in the entire country?), which is at the science center. Unfortunately everything they show is in 3D! I would have been down to go for some 2D science movies. The website says they show Space Station 3D, T-Rex 3D, and Walking on the Moon 3D. A user on Reddit said they are trying to track down Imax prints of Interstellar and other science themed films to show, that would be awesome.
I didn’t get to see any movies in Ahmedabad but several theaters looked nice. A lot of 4k laser projectors listed on the booking apps, whether the screens are actually good is another story but it’s a positive sign. Palladium Mall has a laser IMAX.
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