Ahmedabad Travel Guide: Heritage, Food, Stepwells & Vibrant Gujarat - Capital Cities of Indian States [Gujarat]

If you ask about the place with best architecture Travellingcamera loved clicking in Ahmedabad - It's Jama Masjid in Old Ahmedabad. It's such a beautiful and peaceful place surrounded by lot of hustle-bustle of old town of Ahmedabad in Gujrat. We spent some time around the Jama Masjid and then headed to Tomb of Ahmed Shah and Rani no Hajiro. This Blogpost talks about Jama Masjid, what's sp speical about it, main places to explore around Ahmedbad Mosque, interesting things to do, how to reach this part of the city along with lot of tips to make the visit more memorable. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Law Ground Night Market - A colourful sight in Ahmedabad city of Gujrat

Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat, is the first Indian city to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage City. Famous for its stepwells, havelis, mosques, temples, Sabarmati Ashram, and bustling markets, it is also the cultural and commercial hub of Gujarat.

While in Ahmedabad city of Gujrat, we planned a day trip tp Patan for seeing UNESCO World Heritage site Rani ni Vav which is also used on Indian 100 rupee note. On the way, we also thought of taking a detour through Adlaj ni Vav, which is a beautiful stepwell and a popular tourist place in Gujrat. This blogpost shares more about Adlaj ni Van, what makes it special, tips to make this trip special and a lot more, which some surprising facts.

This guide walks you through the best places to visit in Ahmedabad, art & craft, food, shopping, nightlife, excursions, and local life — with Travellingcamera stories linked in for deeper exploration.

Top Places to Visit in Ahmedabad

Gandhi Ji comes to everyone's thoughts when we talk about Ahmedabad city in Gujrat and Sabarmati Ashram is that place which takes you back to the era when this special personality used to live here. Gandhi Ji is known across the world for his leadership & how significantly he influenced independence movement of India, in peaceful manner. More you read/think about his effort more impressive things will hit you. Anyways, this blogpost is about Sabarmati Ashram, what makes it a must visit place when in Ahmedabad city, how to reach Sabarmati Ashram from other parts of Ahmedabad city. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Law Ground Night Market - A colourful sight in Ahmedabad city of Gujrat

1. Sabarmati Ashram

Home to Mahatma Gandhi during India’s freedom movement, Sabarmati Ashram is a serene retreat with exhibits on Gandhi’s life, philosophy, and struggle for independence.

👉 Travellingcamera’s coverage of Gandhi’s Ashram in Delhi provides context to connect Gandhi’s legacy.

If you ask about the place with best architecture Travellingcamera loved clicking in Ahmedabad - It's Jama Masjid in Old Ahmedabad. It's such a beautiful and peaceful place surrounded by lot of hustle-bustle of old town of Ahmedabad in Gujrat. We spent some time around the Jama Masjid and then headed to Tomb of Ahmed Shah and Rani no Hajiro. This Blogpost talks about Jama Masjid, what's sp speical about it, main places to explore around Ahmedbad Mosque, interesting things to do, how to reach this part of the city along with lot of tips to make the visit more memorable. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Law Ground Night Market - A colourful sight in Ahmedabad city of Gujrat

2. Jama Masjid (Old City)

Built in 1424 by Sultan Ahmed Shah, the city’s founder, this mosque is one of India’s most beautiful medieval Islamic structures. Its intricate stone latticework and spacious courtyard make it a peaceful retreat in the bustling old city.

👉 Travellingcamera’s story on Delhi’s Jama Masjid offers a comparative lens on architectural styles.

The other local food that we tasted were the Golgappas in Vadodara. They were good too. In non-veg, we had Chicken curry in Ahmedabad with tandoori roti. It was absolutely delicious. However, two food items Gujaratis absolutely seem to adore were sandwiches and Pizzas. You find hawkers selling these at every corner. There are small kiosk-like shops that specialize in these. You cannot be too far away from a sandwich or Pizza shop anywhere you go. We didn't try these though. We didn't try Gujarati Thali. This is a bit of a regret for this trip. If you plan a trip to Gujarat, try a Gujarati thali from a good restaurant at least once. You can even try the kathiawadi variant.

3. Adalaj Stepwell

One of Gujarat’s most iconic stepwells, Adalaj is a five-story marvel built in 1498. Its ornate carvings, pillars, and cool interiors tell stories of engineering brilliance and cultural symbolism.

👉 Travellingcamera’s post on Rani ki Vav (Patan) connects beautifully with Gujarat’s stepwell culture.

When you go search main places to visit & see in Ahemdabad, you would also see Sidi Sayyed Mosque in the lists. And then you plan you day according to the locations of these places. As you reach around the location, it's not as easy to locate Sidi Sayyed Mosque. This is located aroun very busy roads and it's small size makes a little hidden in all the hustle-bustle. The first glance at Sidi Sayyed Mosque was a little disappointing but because we had read a little more about Sidi Sayyed Mosque, it's architecture and famous art-work in terms of Jali-work you see in above photograph, we could appreciate the place, it's surroundings and people walking by. This Blog-post shares more Sidi Sayyed Mosque & some tips around what else to explore around this part of Ahmedabad City in Gujrat.

4. Sidi Saiyyed Mosque

Known for its famous “Tree of Life” stone latticework, this mosque is Ahmedabad’s architectural emblem. Its delicate jaali work is featured in many designs representing Gujarat.

Overall, while we cannot say that the trip was a complete success, we can definitely say that we managed to make the most of our time in Gujarat. We explored on foot, tried local stuff, experienced local transport, and were also able to witness one of the largest gatherings for Garba. From our point of view, the trip, with its highs and lows, was a success. As about Gir, we will surely plan some other time.

5. Kankaria Lake

A favorite leisure spot for locals, Kankaria Lake offers boating, zoo, toy train rides, and evening food stalls. The annual Kankaria Carnival in December is a major attraction.

During our Gujrat trip, we did day trip from Ahmedabad to Vadodara via Lothal. We reached early and there were some challenges with our hotel booking done through booking.com , so we came to Sayaji Park to sort out things. We had plenty of time after doing another hotel booking. On our very first day in Vadodara, we spent significant time around Sayaji Park and we loved the place because of various reasons which are well explained in this blogpost.

6. Manek Chowk

A fascinating place that transforms its character by the hour — morning jewelry market, afternoon textile hub, and by night, one of India’s best-known street food destinations.

👉 Travellingcamera’s street food explorations in Delhi provide context for Manek Chowk’s culinary chaos.

It was drizzling when we were at Dada Harir Vav in Ahmedabad and my phone did fantastic job at clicking this beautiful effect. Please have a look at above photograph with rain drops around Dada Harir Vav. Thanks to the lighting condition which made shutter speed go slow to capture the scene well and also capture these rain-drops beautifully.

7. Calico Museum of Textiles

One of the finest textile museums in the world, it showcases India’s rich fabric heritage — from ancient weaves to Mughal garments and modern textiles.

👉 Travellingcamera’s handicraft & textile trails.

3) Itinerary: While Ahmedabad worked in terms of local travel as well as day-long excursions, Vadodara was a bit of disappointment at least in terms of local travel. May be it was because of our weird hotel experience that we were not really able to enjoy the city. But in general, I feel you can skip visiting the city if you can plan a trip to Statue of Unity without entering Vadodara. I believe this was one aspect where we could have done better. Our Day 3 was so busy (tip to Lothal on the way from Ahmedabad to Vadodara) that by the time we reached Vadodara and sorted out our hotel mess, we were too put off to do any sightseeing. Also it was a Monday and apparently the city palace, which is one important places to see in the city, was closed.

8. Heritage Walk of Old Ahmedabad

Organized daily, this walk takes you through narrow pols (traditional housing clusters), wooden havelis, ornate temples, and mosques — a living museum of heritage.

👉 Travellingcamera’s heritage walk stories.

Garba is a form of dance which originated in the state of Gujarat in India. The name is derived from the Sanskrit term Garbha. Many traditional garbas are performed around centrally lit lamp or a picture or statue of the Goddess Durga. The circular and spiral figures of garba have similarities to other spiritual dances, such as those of Sufi culture. Traditionally, it is performed during the nine-day Hindu festival Navarātrī.

Shopping in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad is a paradise for textile lovers and handicraft collectors.

  • Law Garden Market: Best for mirror-work, bandhani, and embroidered garments.

Above photograph shows sample of a Chaniya-Choli. All markets in main cities of Gujrat sell Chaniya choli in big way during Navratri season. Locals prefer to dress up appropriately when they visit these Garba grounds every night of Navratri. And that's not limited to these beautiful & colorful dresses but also there is a craze about silvery jewellery. Main places to experience Garba in Vadodara city of Gujrat : 1. Laxmi Vilas Palace 2. Sayaji Baug 3. Baroda Museum and Picture Gallery 4. Kirti Mandir 5. Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum

  • Rani no Hajiro Market: Traditional jewelry and fabrics.

  • CG Road & Alpha One Mall: For modern shopping.

👉 Travellingcamera’s experiences with handicraft shopping.

During the trip, we had our meal at various dhabas around the highways of Gujrat but sensed that most of the dhabas just serve food which is neither gujrati nor north india. We were unlucky to find good food places while on the move between the cities of Gujrat. I am sure there must be good places around highways, which we missed. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Travelling Camera in Gujarat || Exploring the Remains of Harappan Culture in Lothal With that, we have a lot to explore in Gujrat and hence more opportunities to try Gujrati food soon. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Rani no Hajiro - An interesting place to explore in Old Ahmedabad, Gujrat Related Blogpost from Gujrat - One day Trip around Ahmedabad - Adalaj ni Vav, Modhera Sun Temple, Patan's Rani ni Vav & Gandhinagar Related blogpost from Gujrat - Panoramic Views of Modhera Sun Temple, Gujrat (India)

Food in Ahmedabad

Gujarati cuisine is a delightful balance of sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors.

During one of my recent chats with a fellow traveler, we were chatting about Gujrat and there was a mention about Manek Chowk in Ahmedabad and it's popular night market for street food lovers. This made me compile this blogpost to share some exceptional facts about this unique night market in India. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Law Ground Night Market - A colourful sight in Ahmedabad city of Gujrat

  • Manek Chowk: Famous for pav bhaji, dosa, and kulfi.

  • Gujarati Thali: A must-try with dal, kadhi, rotli, shaak, farsan, and sweets.

Let's talk about breakfast options which are commonly available across Ahmedabad City. In this post, we will avoid mentioning places as we haven't explored that well to claim that we can recommend one place over other. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Travelling Camera in Gujarat || Interesting tour of Hutheesing Jain Temple Some of the popular breakfast things which you find commonly in Ahmedabad are - Fafda-Kadhi, Jalebi, Aaloo Poori, Lilva Kachori, Gota, and I am sure I must be missing few other things we could see on the streets, but couldn't identify. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Modhera Sun Temple - A Brilliant Place to see in Gujrat, India During breakfast, we opted for one plate of Fafda which is served with Gujrati kadhi, one plate of Aaloo Poori and some Jalebi which was served with Rabri. Everything tasted different except Jalebi. Fafda is a crunchy & deep fried, which is consumed with Gujrati Kadhi. I couldn't appreciate Gujrati Kadhi with Fafda (probably because of sweet taste which doesn't align with default expectations), so I ate Fafda without Kadhi and had tea with it. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Sidi Sayyed Mosque - A small structure located at an ignorable location in Ahmedabad Aalo Poori also tasted very different with some sweetness in potato gravy as well. The chillies served with breakfast were quite interesting. I had one poori only with the green chilly.

  • Khaman Dhokla, Fafda-Jalebi, Handvo, Undhiyu: Street and seasonal delicacies.

  • Sweets: Mohanthal, Basundi, and Shrikhand.

👉 Travellingcamera’s Gujarati food exploration.

A Harmony of Color, Glitter, Music, and Fast-Paced Dance Moves || Traditional Garba in Navratras, Gujarat

Culture & Festivals in Ahmedabad

  • Navratri: The city comes alive with Garba and Dandiya nights.

  • Uttarayan (Makar Sankranti): Kite-flying festival with rooftops full of enthusiasts.

  • Ahmedabad International Arts Festival: Celebrating music, art, and theatre.

  • Heritage & Architecture: Islamic, Hindu, and Jain styles coexist, reflecting centuries of cultural fusion.

👉 Travellingcamera’s festival captures across India.

Navaratri is a Hindu festival which is celebrated for nine continuous nights and is celebrated every year in the month of October. It is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Indian cultural. Lot of activities happen during these 10 days - some folks fast & visit temples each day. If not everyday, certain days are considered special for keeping fast and worship. 8th Navratra is considered very special when families invite girls from neighbourhood to visit their home to have prasadam & special food. Girls (Kanyas) are worshiped as part of this process. But there is another side of Navratras and how they are celebrated - music & dance. And that's what we will be talking about in this blog-post.

Nightlife in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad’s nightlife is more about cultural evenings, food, and family outings than clubs.

  • Manek Chowk food stalls till late night.

  • Riverfront: A vibrant hangout by Sabarmati.

  • Cultural performances at Tagore Hall and Bharatnatyam events.

4) Hotel booking: We used Booking.com to book the hotels in Ahmedabad and then in Vadodara. When we reached Ahmedabad, we only had one night booking at Hotel Treebo Trend Ambassador. The hotel was okay and we did not want to spend too much time changing hotels so we booked the same hotel for the second night as well. Once we had finalized the plans to visit Lothal and Statue of Unity too, we booked the hotel in Vadodara. This wasn't such a great experience though. Even though we had received a confirmation from the hotel, when we reached there, the man at the reception informed us that their listing on Booking.com was through OYO and they have now broken the tie with OYO. The man suggested that he would not be able to entertain our booking from booking.com but we could cancel that booking and book directly from the reception there.

Local Life in Ahmedabad

  • Morning: Locals at tea stalls with maska bun or fafda-jalebi.

  • Daytime: Bustling pols, workshops, and markets.

  • Evening: Street food, lakefront strolls, and shopping.
    Ahmedabad balances its heritage core with modern high-rises and a booming IT/education hub.

👉 Travellingcamera’s city street life frames.

Navratras are coming and one of the key thing our viewers search on Travellingcamera are - "where to go for celebrating Navratris in India", "special places for Navratris in North India" or related stuff. Keeping this in mind, we thought of compiling what we did a few years back. Even though we can hardly call ourselves knowledgeable enough to suggest about the best itineraries in Gujarat, we feel that we did a fairly good job when it came to planning one at a short notice of two days. So we can still talk about how we finalised the itinerary, what were the considerations, what worked well, and what did not.

Excursions Around Ahmedabad

Gujarat markets look most beautiful during this time of the year and some special markets are setup only during Navratri week. Most of these markets are selling colourful Lahanga-Choli, Silver jewellery and lot of stuff which helps Gujaratis get well dressed for the Garba evenings. The colours of Garba dresses are bright and shiny, along with beautiful designs of colourful threads & small pieces of glass. Over the years, these designs have also evolved but more in traditional ways.
Every year, some of the Garba committees of Guajarat plans something unique which gets world's attention through some world record. The celebrations are becoming grander with every passing year. It's like Durga pujo of West Bengal where festivities are all around and every year there is an intent to celebrate in better way than last year, whether that is about pandal decoration, size/design of Durga idol or decorations of streets in unique ways.

While walking around older part of the city, we came across this beautiful place which is very close to Jama Masjid - Raja no Hajiro or Ahmed Shah's Tomb. This blogpost shares more about this hidden gem in Old Ahmedabad which can be a good stop for anybody walking through these streets to explore heritage, food and city's shopping habits.

Best Time to Visit Ahmedabad

  • October–March: Pleasant winter months, perfect for sightseeing.

  • April–June: Hot, but cultural festivals like Navratri happen.

  • July–September: Monsoon adds greenery but limits travel.

It's almost a square space from inside and there are lot of graves of family members of Ahmed Shah, it's chefs and even pigeons. The structures above ground level with colourful pieces of cloth are graves. Height, length and space signifies who these members were. Above photograph shows some of the pillar inside Rani no Hajiro along with view of the old stock exchange of Ahmedabad which is not operational now. Related blogpost from Gujrat - Panoramic Views of Modhera Sun Temple, Gujrat (India)

How to Reach Ahmedabad

  • By Air: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport connects to all major Indian and global cities.

  • By Rail: Ahmedabad Junction is well-connected across India.

  • By Road: Excellent highways connect it to Mumbai (530 km), Udaipur (260 km), and Vadodara (110 km).

Travellingcamera loved the architecture of the Jama Masjid and that was the reason to go to these heritage places in old part of the city & capture through Travellingcamera. The Jam Masjid in Ahmedabad is built with yellow sandstone. This mosque has a large rectangular courtyard which is approximately 75 meters long and 66 meters wide. Visitors enter the court by three entrances, one at the center of each side. The courtyard is lined with a colonnade on three sides, the prayer hall occupies the fourth side. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Travelling Camera in Gujarat || Exploring the Remains of Harappan Culture in Lothal

Stay Options in Ahmedabad

  • Luxury: House of MG (heritage hotel), Hyatt Regency, Taj Skyline.

  • Mid-range: Lemon Tree Premier, Fortune Landmark.

  • Budget: Guesthouses and boutique stays in pols and near the railway station.

👉 Travellingcamera’s hotel experiences across Gujarat.

Above photograph shows view of river front from Sabarmati Ashram. Mahatma Gandhi stayed in Sabarmati and Wardha for a total of twelve years along with his wife Kasturba Gandhi and followers including Vinoba Bhave. The Bhagavad Gita was recited here daily, as part of the Ashram schedule. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Modhera Sun Temple - A Brilliant Place to see in Gujrat, India

Why Visit Ahmedabad?

Ahmedabad is where heritage meets modernity — from walking through centuries-old pols and stepwells to enjoying a Gujarati thali at Manek Chowk, from visiting Sabarmati Ashram to exploring modern art at Calico Museum. With its lakes, temples, food, and excursions, Ahmedabad is not just a city to visit, but to experience.

👉 Explore more about Gujarat on Travellingcamera: Gujarat Stories.

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