A long loop through Gujarat. It starts in Ahmedabad's old city, goes north to the step wells and the Sun Temple, crosses the Little Rann to Kutch and the white salt desert, then drops down the coast to Dwarka and Somnath and ends with the lions of Gir. The distances are long, so give each part two or three nights. Each one feels like a different trip: the old city, the desert, the sea temples and the forest.
Day by day
Notes are the traveller's own, not checked by Seenary.
Day 1 · Ahmedabad: the old city
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Sabarmati Ashram · Culture
Gandhi's home by the river, now a quiet museum.
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Sidi Saiyyed Mosque · Culture
Known for its carved stone window of a spreading tree.
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Manek Chowk · Food
A market by day that turns into a street food square at night.
Day 2 · Ahmedabad: the pols and Adalaj
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Old city pols · Culture
The old walled neighbourhoods with carved wooden houses. Best on a guided heritage walk in the morning.
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Adalaj Stepwell · Culture
A five-storey step well carved in sandstone, just outside the city.
Day 3 · Modhera and Patan
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Modhera Sun Temple · Culture
An eleventh-century temple to the sun god, with a great stepped tank in front of it.
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Rani ki Vav · Culture
The queen's step well in Patan, a World Heritage Site covered in carvings.
Day 4 · The Little Rann of Kutch
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Wild Ass Sanctuary · Nature
Flat salt land and the Indian wild ass, found nowhere else. Go out at dawn or dusk.
Day 5 · Bhuj
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Aina Mahal · Culture
The palace of mirrors in Bhuj's old town.
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Prag Mahal · Culture
The Italian Gothic palace beside it, with its clock tower.
Day 6 · The White Rann
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Kutch craft villages · Culture
Villages on the way north known for embroidery, weaving and other Kutch crafts.
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Kala Dungar · Nature
The highest point in Kutch, with a view over the Rann.
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White Rann, Dhordo · Nature
The white salt desert. Stay for sunset and the night.
Day 7 · To Dwarka
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Dwarkadhish Temple · Culture
The great temple of Krishna, one of the four Char Dham. Evening aarti is the time to be there.
Day 8 · Around Dwarka
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Beyt Dwarka · Culture
The island temple reached from Okha.
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Nageshwar Jyotirlinga · Culture
One of the twelve Jyotirlingas, between Dwarka and Okha.
Day 9 · Along the coast to Somnath
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Porbandar · Culture
Gandhi's birthplace, Kirti Mandir, on the coast road south.
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Somnath Temple · Culture
The first of the twelve Jyotirlingas, on the shore of the Arabian Sea.
Day 10 · Somnath to Gir
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Triveni Sangam, Somnath · Culture
Where three rivers meet the sea, near the temple.
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Sasan Gir · Nature
The village at the edge of Gir National Park, the last home of the Asiatic lion.
Day 11 · Gir National Park
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Gir jungle safari · Nature
An early morning drive in the park, with a permit booked ahead.
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Devalia Safari Park · Nature
The fenced part of Gir, where lion sightings are more likely.
Day 12 · Junagadh and home
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Uparkot Fort, Junagadh · Culture
An old fort with step wells and Buddhist caves, on the way back.