Ahmedabad Heritage Walk is an itinerary in Central Zone in Ahmedabad.
Understand
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The old walled city of Ahmedabad is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The heritage walks are the best way to explore, understand and experience the old city and its culture. The path is bit complex and goes through narrow street network. There is a chance that one may get lost along the path but a local help would be good enough. One can explore on their own or join a guided tours in morning and shorter route in night which is organised by local civic body. A guide can explain better and may answer your questions but they primarily speak in Gujarati, Hindi and English (and occasionally in few more foreign languages). The route of the heritage walk covers around 25 points of interests. The walk starts from temple and ends at mosque so the route is also called "Mandir to Masjid" route. Old wooden houses, local haveli house architecture, neighbourhood planning, local crowded markets and different religious places are some of the highlights of the walk. After completing guided tour, one can go on to explore few more places along the way. If you planning to go own your own, there are special type of flooring, lamp posts and signboards explaining the location along the most route.
Guided tours
[edit]- AMC Heritage Department and Akshar Group, 9, City Centre,2nd Floor, Swastik Cross Road,C.G. Road, Navrangpura, ☏ +91 98250 91049, +91 98251 25920, toll-free: 1800 233 9008.
- Morning Heritage Walk: Starts at Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple and ends at Jama Masjid, 2 km and 2.5 hr , 20 places, reach by 7:30-7:45AM, Indian citizen Rs.200, Foreign Citizen Rs.300. Rs.150 extra for luxury tours. A short explainatory slideshow is shown in a small room on the large main gate of the Kalupaur Swaminarayan temple which reached by a small stairway. Ask for the stairway else you may not find it. Tickets on location or buy online.
- Night Heritage Walk: Starts at Siddi Saiyad Mosque and ends at Chandla Ol, 2 km and 2.5 hr, 16 places, reach by 8:30-8:45PM, Indian citizen Rs.250, Foreign Citizen Rs.350. Tickets on location or buy online.
Prepare
[edit]A map and a camera could be useful. If you know a local person aware of the route, it can be excellent help. Several religious places are covered on the route so relevant religious rules must be followed as explain by locals or guides. A special strict dress code must be observed; note that upper wear must cover shoulders, chest, navel and upper arms while the lower wear must be below knee-length. One has to remove shoes while entering religious places. One should not have anything in mouth while in religious places. Any eatable items should left outside before entering such places. Photography inside Hindu and Jain temples are generally prohibited. Ask for permission. Heritage walks are preferable in early mornings around 7AM as the streets are less crowded as markets are yet to open and you can have glimpse of people's life in morning. In noon, the internal residential streets are generally deserted except in market areas. In summer noon, though most route is shaded by close proximity of buildings, the temperatures are generally too high so use sunscreen lotion, goggles and headcover or cap. In evening, markets, especially street markets are crowded and on its peak. On Sunday, street markets are open but other city markets are closed. The night walk is only feasible from Sidi Saiyyed Mosque to Chandla Ol, not beyond. The walk can be done in two parts too: From Kalupur Swaminarayan temple to Jami Masjid in morning and Sidi Saiyyed Mosque to Manek Chowk in night. The part of the route is only accessible by foot. One may have to park their vehicles at the starting point and walk back to it. One can walk from Kalupur Swaminarayan temple to Manek Chowk on foot, than get back to Kalupur Swaminarayan temple via Ratan Pol, get back the vehicle and come back to Jami Masjid via Relief Road to complete rest of the route on vehicle.
Get in
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By bus
[edit]- From 1 Kalupur Railway Station.
, or 2 Kalupur Ghee Bazar BRTS Bus Stop., or 3 Kalupur AMTS Bus Terminus., walk to 1 Relief Road cross roads., and catch a rickshaw to reach Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple via the Relief Road. - If you travelling by local AMTS City Bus, reach 4 Lal Darwaja AMTS Bus Terminal., walk to Vijli Ghar, then catch a rickshaw to reach Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple. You can start from Sidi Saiyyed Mosque and go in reverse direction to Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple from here. Many AMTS Buses go to Lal Darwaza Terminal.
By metro
[edit]- From 5 Gheekanta Metro Station. or 6 Kalupur Railway Station Metro Station. , catch a rickshaw to reach Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple via the Relief Road.
By private vehicle
[edit]Parking facilities are always a difficulty in old city. If you going by your private vehicle, park at the Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple. Alternatively park at 2 Rupali Pay and Park. near Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, walk to Vijli Ghar, take a rickshaw to Kalupur Swaminarayan temple. Kalupur Railway Station too has a Pay and Park facility.
See
[edit]- 1 Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple.
- 2 Kavi Dalpatram Chowk, Lambeshwar Ni Pol.
- 3 Jagvallabh Jain Temple, Nisha Pol.
- 4 Calico Dome.
- 5 Kala Ramji Mandir, Haja Patel ni Pol.
- 6 Shantinath Jain Temple, Haja Patel ni Pol.
- 7 Kuvavalo Khancho.
- 8 Sambhavnathni Khadki.
- 9 Chaumukhjini Pol.
- 10 Doshivada ni Pol.
- 11 Astapadji Mandir.
- 12 Harkunvar Shethani ni haveli.
- 13 Gandhi Road Book Market.
- 14 Fernandez Bridge.
- 15 Chandla Ol.
- 16 Muharat Pol.
- 17 Ahmedabad Stoke Exchange Old Building.
- 18 Maneknath Baba Mandir.
- 19 Manek Chowk.
- 20 Rani no Haziro.
- 21 Badshah no Haziro.
- 22 Jama Masjid.
- 23 Teen Darwaza Market.
- 24 Teen Darwaza (Tran Darwaza).
- 25 Bhadra Street Market.
- 26 Statue of Chinubhai Baronet.
- 27 Bhadrakali Mandir.
- 28 Azam Khan Sarai.
- 29 Bhadra Fort.
- 30 GTS Standard Benchmark.
- 31 Vijali Ghar (Electricity House).
- 32 Sidi Saiyyed Mosque.
Stay safe
[edit]For solo female tourist, the walk is not safe. They should do heritage walk in a group or as a guided tour.
There are only few toilet facilities along the route.