The domed Vijay Vilas Palace at Mandvi in Kutch framed by a carved sandstone arch, Gujarat

Gujarat · 12 Days

Gujarat — In Depth

Gujarat in one sweep — heritage north, desert west, lion forest south.

Day by Day

12 Days, In Full

The whole state at an unhurried pace. Ahmedabad and the Solanki monuments, then the long road west to three nights at the White Rann and the craft villages of Kutch. Another long drive to Gir for dawn safaris and a day at Somnath and Junagadh. The trip closes in Ahmedabad with stepwells and an evening food walk.

Ahmedabad

Arrive in Ahmedabad

Your driver meets you at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport. Ahmedabad became India's first UNESCO World Heritage City in 2017. Its old quarter is a maze of pols, or walled lanes of carved wooden havelis. Check in and rest. In the late afternoon, walk beside the Sabarmati river as the light softens. Dinner is a first taste of Gujarati cooking, sweet-savoury and mostly vegetarian.

Ahmedabad

Old Ahmedabad and Sabarmati Ashram

A full day in the walled city with a local guide. You visit the Jama Masjid and the Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, famous for its stone-lattice windows carved as trees. The pols come next, with their painted balconies and bird-feeding towers. After lunch, visit Sabarmati Ashram, Mahatma Gandhi's home on the river from 1917. It is plain, quiet and moving. Timings vary, so we confirm them on the day.

Carved stone galleries and pillars inside Rani ki Vav stepwell in Patan, Gujarat

Ahmedabad

Modhera Sun Temple and Rani ki Vav

A day trip north into the old Solanki heartland. The Sun Temple at Modhera dates from the early 11th century. Its carved pillars and stepped tank are set to catch the sunrise. Then on to Patan, where Rani ki Vav is a UNESCO World Heritage stepwell. Its walls carry hundreds of carved sculptures, cut in the 11th century. The drive takes about two and a half hours each way. You are back in Ahmedabad by evening.

A vast white salt flat under a clear blue sky on the road to Dholavira in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat

Ahmedabad → Dhordo

Ahmedabad to the Rann of Kutch

A long road day west into Kutch, about seven to eight hours with stops. The land opens out and turns to salt flats and scrub. Where flights to Bhuj are running, they cut the journey short, and we drive on from there. You reach Dhordo by late afternoon. It is the village at the edge of the Great Rann, the white salt desert. The tent city here is open for the Rann Utsav, roughly from November to March.

A road running straight across the Rann of Kutch as the sun sets on the horizon, on the Khavda to Dholavira highway, Gujarat

Dhordo

The White Rann at Sunset

The Great Rann of Kutch is a salt desert that floods each monsoon and dries to a flat white crust. It looks like snow under the sun. You are taken out in the late afternoon. A camel-cart ride, if you like, and then time to walk on the salt. The sun sets over an empty horizon. In the evening, the tent city hosts music and folk dance. Rann access and entry rules are set locally, so we confirm them on the day.

Sandstone chhatri cenotaph with a flight of steps near Hamirsar Lake, Bhuj, Kutch, Gujarat

Dhordo

Kutch Craft Villages and Bhuj

A day of Kutch's living crafts. You drive to Bhuj and meet weavers and block-printers. Bhujodi is known for handloom shawls, and nearby villages for embroidery and ajrakh printing. In Bhuj, the Prag Mahal is a grand Italian Gothic palace begun in 1865, and Hamirsar Lake sits in the middle of town. The 2001 earthquake damaged much of the old city, and some sites are still being repaired. You are back at Dhordo for sunset.

Green grassland and low hills with wind turbines under a cloudy sky near Kalavad in Saurashtra, Gujarat

Dhordo → Sasan Gir

Kutch to Gir

This is a full driving day, about eight hours, from the desert to the lion forest. The road crosses Saurashtra, and we break for lunch at Rajkot. It is long, and it is the price of seeing both. You arrive at the lodge by evening. The forest edge is quiet, with birdsong at dusk. Rest, and prepare for an early safari.

Close-up portrait of a male Asiatic lion with its mouth open in Gir National Park, Gujarat

Sasan Gir

Gir Lion Safari

Gir is the last home of the Asiatic lion. You go in at dawn in an open jeep with a forest guide, on a safari of about three hours. Sightings are common but never guaranteed. Leopards, deer and many birds share the forest. Permits and slots are set by the forest department, so we book them well ahead. The park is closed from about mid-June to mid-October. The rest of the day is for the lodge, or for a second safari.

Black-and-white view of the ornate Mahabat Maqbara mausoleum and its spiral minaret in Junagadh, Gujarat

Sasan Gir

Somnath and Junagadh

A day of coast and history beyond the forest. Somnath Temple stands on the sea at Prabhas Patan, the first of the twelve jyotirlinga shrines. The present temple was rebuilt in the 20th century. Then to Junagadh, an old Nawabi town. The Mahabat Maqbara, finished in 1892, is the showpiece, with onion domes and spiral minarets. You return to the lodge at dusk.

Green fields and village rooftops under a blue sky with clouds near Sutrapada in the Gir Somnath countryside, Saurashtra, Gujarat

Sasan Gir → Ahmedabad

Gir to Ahmedabad

The road back across Saurashtra to Ahmedabad takes about six to seven hours with a lunch stop. You arrive in the evening and settle into the hotel.

Ahmedabad

Stepwells, Jain Marble and Street Food

Gujarat's stepwells are places to cool off as well as to draw water. Adalaj Vav drops five storeys of carved sandstone. Dada Harir Stepwell, built in 1499, is smaller and quieter. In the afternoon, the white-marble Hutheesing Jain Temple, begun in 1848, shows some of the finest carving in the city. After dark, an evening food walk through the old city. The stalls sell farsan, dhokla, sweets and fresh sugarcane juice.

Ahmedabad

Depart from Ahmedabad

A last morning in the city, perhaps a final stop for Gujarati sweets. Your driver takes you to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport for your flight.

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luxury · 11 Nights