Visit to Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar – April, 2016

Ahmedabad is situated in  western India and is one of the largest commercial cities of Gujarat. The Sabarmati River runs through its center and on the western bank is the Gandhi Ashram called Sabarmati ashram, which displays the spiritual leader’s living quarters and his used artifacts. A peaceful and serene environment that one can easily visit from the city.

The city is also known for higher education institutes such as IIT, IIM and NID.  While the IIT campus is situated near Gandhinagar, IIM is placed within the city itself. We were very happy to have visited both places and gotten an experience of roaming around the campus with the students.

The city is very vibrant and has many evening eating outlets for snacks- the food is available in abundance and the options for vegetarians are plenty. The city has a BRTS Bus service — a dedicated public transport system, well-established and used by the locals very optimally. We drove to Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad in our car. While the road journey was good, there are not many outlets for eating on the way. Gandhinagar is clean and well maintained and has many tourist spots.

There is also the Narayan Swamy temple , also called Akshardham — a massive Hindu temple with ornate carvings and sculpted pillars. The place is not too crowded and has a  peaceful environment. There is a laser show in the evenings at the garden, this is a visual treat and a must watch. Another place we visited was Adalaj Stepwell or Rudabai Stepwell — a step well located in the village of Adalaj, close to Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. History says, It was built in 1498 by Rana Veer Singh of the Vaghela dynasty of Dandai Desh.

There are many other places of interest which we may cover in our next trip to Gujarat but unfortunately, could not cover in this trip. City has high humidity and can get very dry. One has to keep water bottles safely to escape the heat and thirst.