Visiting Gujarat

Visiting Gujarat for tourism is a great thing to do. If you want to enjoy food and culture of India, Gujarat is one of the finest destinations. I visited with my family to Gujarat in December 2019. It was a 8-day trip starting from Ahmedabad. Here are few things that we did and I would recommend people who plan to visit Gujarat.

Here is the route that we took:
Ahmedabad -> Rann of Kutch -> Dwarka -> Porbandar -> Somnath -> Ahmedabad

After completing this circuit, we stayed back in Ahmedabad for 2 days to complete Statue of Unity on one day and, Sun Temple, Modhera and Rani Ki Vav on another day.

Rann of Kutch

We started off from Ahmedabad to Rann of Kutch. This place is 8-9 hrs drive from Ahmedabad. Roads were decent, but, for repair work all along the way. This repair work got us stuck in a massive traffic jam for couple of hours as we approached Bhuj.

Tips for Bhuj:
1. Start from Ahmedabad as early as possible - Say, 6am. That way you will reach Rann of Kutch by 3pm and will be ready for sunset.

2. Arrange your accommodation close to White Rann. Don't book tents far away from White Rann. Google Maps will help you locate White Rann. There are tents available in White Rann as there is a place called Tent City. Might be pricey, but, worth it.

3. See sunset and also sunrise the next morning. Be there for sunrise by 6.30am. Since we were there in December, sun rise started late. Actual sun came up by 7.10am only.

4. Visit Swaminarayan Temple in Bhuj. It's a marvelous temple to visit.

Carvings in Swaminarayan Temple, Bhuj

Swaminarayan Temple, Bhuj

5. Other places to visit in and around Bhuj are Prag Mahal and Bhujodi.

Prag Mahal, Bhuj

Next, we traveled from Bhuj to Dwarka. This is a very long road journey that will take 12 hrs. One thing we realised is the speed limit of commercial vehicles on highways. Our yellow-board Toyota Innova had speed limit of 80 kmph. Our driver didn't go beyond stipulated limit. Hence, we felt it very boring to go at 80 kmph though the vehicle had better running speed and with empty stretch on the road.

Dwarka

We stayed in a hotel that was 10 minutes walk from Dwarkadheeshwar Temple. Example, Manek Oceanview and Lord's Inn are close to the beach and also temple.

Dwarka Temple from a far distance

Tips:

1. Cell phone, camera and any type of electronic device including smartwatch are not allowed inside the temple. Purse, bags, and other things have to be put in lockers outside the temple. So, keep these things in the hotel or car before standing in the line for security check to enter the temple. Recommendation is to carry cash in hand and nothing else.

2. Best time to visit the temple is during aarti - Morning 7am and evening 7:30pm. But, be prepared to experience heavy crowd. Even at 5:30am, I saw long lines of people waiting to enter the temple.

3. Visit Baet Dwarka and Nageshwar Jyotirling. Baet Dwarka is an island. You will have to take a 15-minute boat ride. Boat ride is something you might feel uncomfortable as they put about 200 people in a boat that can fit about 80 people. A boat for yourself will cost you Rs. 5,000.

Somnath

Somnath Temple is a must visit if you tour Gujarat. This temple has a long history of being renovated many times. It was last 'rebuilt' in 1951 by Sardar Vallabhai Patel with crowdfunding. The laser light and sound show at 7:45pm is fantastic that one shouldn't miss.

Somnath Temple, Somnath

Tips:
1. Here too, camera and any form of electronic devices are not allowed. There are lockers available for keeping your bags. There are separate lockers available for keeping your mobile phones and cameras. Note: Both are 2 different lockers.

2. Be there for evening sunset and buy tickets for Laser show inside the temple complex. There is a huge seating gallery to view the laser show. Before sitting here, buy ticket for the show. Else, you might be sent out of the gallery.

3. Stay in accommodation closer to temple. There are many places to stay far away (10-15 kms).
If you prefer good places to stay, far away hotels are good options.

We didn't see anything else in Somnath as we ran out of time.

Statue of Unity

Statue of Unity is the biggest statue in the world with a height of 182 mtr. Located near Sardar Sarovar, it is about 200 Kms from Ahmedabad that will take you close to 4 hrs. National Expressway from Ahmedabad to Vadodara is very good. After Vadodara, traffic slows down.

We reached the statue area by 11:30am. By then, around 10,000 tourists were already in the area. Our car was parked 5 Kms away from the statue. Shuttle buses were available free of cost from parking to Statue area.

Statue of Unity

Tips:

1. Most important tip is to buy tickets online. Buy here.  Also, check out more tips here. 

2. Buy Express ticket if you want to avoid standing in line for entering the place AND to take the elevator. We purchased Express tickets and saved couple of hours. Note: Express tickets are not applicable for getting in to shuttle bus. This line though was long, we had to stand and take the shuttle.

3. Food is not allowed inside. Food court is there near the statue. There is also food court near parking area. But, seating area is very limited. Be prepared to be part of heavy crowd.

4. You can take the shuttle to Sardar Sarovar Dam and Valley of Flowers OR, return back to your parking area to head back home. Stand in the correct lane for the shuttle.

5. Statue of Unity is CLOSED on Mondays. 

Sun Temple, Modhera

Sun Temple at Modhera is a beautiful temple that is worth visiting. Its a 2-hour drive from Ahmedabad to Modhera. The carvings are very intricate and detailed. There is no pooja happening in this temple and is being maintained by Archeological Survey of India (ASI).

Rani Ki Vav

This place became prominent after the new Rs. 100 denomination came in to circulation in 2019. The step well here is said to be the "Queen of Step wells" in India. The step well was a 7-storey well when it was constructed few centuries ago. This was buried under the river Saraswati for centuries. Only in 1940s, it was discovered and excavated.

Rani Ki Vav is 45 minutes away from Sun Temple, Modhera. Both of these can be covered as a day-trip from Ahmedabad.

Ahmedabad

We didn't see much in Ahmedabad except riverfront park. We took a speed boat ride near the park. We did bit of local shopping at National Handloom.

Places we couldn't visit

We couldn't visit Gir forest as we didn't get tickets for the safari. Tickets were sold out for the entire month of December back in November. Tip: Book your ticket to safari online couple of months before your travel date.

Akshardhaam is one more place we couldn't visit due to our tight travel schedule.

General Tips:

Hotels have 10am Check-out and 12-noon Check-in. Plan your travel (including flight arrival and departure) to match these timings accordingly.

Most tourist places in Ahmedabad are CLOSED on MONDAY. Place accordingly.

Food is not a problem for most parts. There are lots of vegetarian food chains and restaurants across the state including highways. Non vegetarian options are limited. Alcohol is not available freely. Permit is required to purchase alcohol. Visitors get this permit.

For restaurants on Highway, Honest chain of restaurants is good. You will find this chain on most highways.

Language is not a problem as many understand Hindi/English. Knowing Gujarati is not mandatory.