Travel in Gujarat

Travel in Gujarat may be a pleasant experience, but it helps to know the details in advance. On December 15th we had some travel experience that could have been a near-disaster with more than 10 lakhs of rupees at stake and thousands of valuable hours spent on the research for finding and fixing up hotels and transportation (as usual, I was overconfident and had not done the right research).

Saputara

Saputara is a small hill station in South Gujarat, near the border of Maharashtra. We planned to use it as a base for visiting nearby Ajanta and Ellora Caves (which are actually closer at Aurangabad) on day trips of 2-3 hours each. The caves themselves were already done, but we wanted to visit them again because they are so beautiful.

Saputara is one of the most popular hill stations in South Gujarat and is a good base for visiting other nearby attractions as well, including Dandi (the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi), Waghai (where there is a 400-year-old temple), Badrad (which has an ancient Shiva temple) and so on. It receives high footfalls during winters because it is so near to Mumbai's Shirdi Airport.

The train ride was pleasant, even when reaching late at night from Ahmedabad. The food was no great shakes in the train or the station, but it seems that railway food has improved over time compared to what I had experienced decades ago. But then again, higher expectations will naturally lead to this perception!

As soon as we got off the train, we realized that it was going to be a long night. All the hotels were full and in fact they do not have any proper hotel facilities at all; even ‘hotels’ are just guest houses or lodges located in residential areas. So we almost lost our sleep for nothing as there was none so far available!

We heard about some local bus service but then this is always a tricky business in India because sometimes buses are not scheduled so you have to wait till hours later on an already sleepless day. Then there is also the trouble of being carried up/down from your transport if you have physical problems (like me), or language troubles regarding communication with auto drivers, etc.

Dholavira

Dholavira is an ancient Harappan capital located at a distance of 190 km from Ahmedabad. The place has been potrayed as an archaeological wonder by the Gujarat State Tourism Development Corporation (GSTDC) and it was on our list for some time, but we had postponed visiting because there are only few days left in our schedule. So instead of Dholavira we decided to visit the nearby Lothal site which is also known as one of India's key sites of the Indus Valley Civilization. We booked tickets in Indian Railways' tourist quota with sleeper class accommodation; this was not a bad decision since Lothal can be visited in half a day if you skip lunch and have no other activities.

I found out later that Dholavira is actually situated in the same district as Lothal but at a longer distance than we had passed. A lot of people on the net have reported confusion about these two sites and I suppose it's my turn to add to their complaints!

We reached Ahmedabad before 9AM, so we decided to book our day tour for Lothal through local travel agents who were ready with lists of rates at their offices near the railway station. We had about 5 options listed there and the one nearest in price was only slightly higher by Rs 50 per person, otherwise they ranged from Rs 250-300 per person.

Gir National Park

Gir is a national park and wildlife sanctuary located about 500 km from Ahmedabad. There are no proper hotels here because it's actually spread over a vast area, but only rest houses for travellers in the middle of nowhere! However you have to book these rest houses before boarding public transport. The bus ride was long and tiresome with many halts at various places en route including one for food/lunch; we reached our destination around 4PM after travelling through various villages as well, so that added to our excitement. In fact on this day I again had to spend almost half a day sitting while my wife walked all around taking photographs. It wasn't much fun though since the environment of Gir is mostly (but not entirely) flat and has no great scenic views, so walking is more like just a routine exercise. As regards food, on this particular day we were served with delicious chicken and fish which made up for the miseries of sitting in the van! Later I also found that you can stay at any of these guest houses if there are vacancies but it's best to confirm availability before setting out.

Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad city is an important place in terms of its history, having been founded by the great Sultan Ahmed Shah about 500 years ago. Unfortunately we did not get enough time to explore this place properly; our stay lasted barely twenty-four hours because all we wanted to do was visit the Akshardham Temple complex located on the outskirts of town. It's one of India's major tourist attractions and takes a lot of time for even a cursory look at its many exhibits and activities; I found it particularly interesting for being devoid of beggars and other such people who tend to spoil your holiday if you happen to come across them.

Roahdeep cab provides an Ahmedabad to Pune Cab Services, and etc.