Travel India - Visit Gujarat

This lens is part of the Virtual Jenga: A coop Quest and I was challenged to make a lens on Visit India.

India - The Incredible India is rich in Culture and Heritage. The most difficult part of this challenge was for me to select a region which I would highlight and since India is having lot of Diversity and Culture spread across the whole country, It would be difficult to narrate it in one lens. So I decided to make total of 6 lenses on same topic covering full culture of India. This is the beginning of it and obviously I start it from the state in which I live. "Gujarat" - Gandhi's Gujarat , where Gandhi (Father of Nation) lived most of his life and run the Freedom Movement of India.

Gujarat is having all sorts of variations available for a tourism loving person. Be it Dessert (i.e. Rann in Gujarati- Hindi Language) , Beaches, Mountains, Forests (Gir Forest - The one and only place of Asiatic Lions), or rich cultural Temples and tourist places. This lens is an attempt to explore them to make your future visit to India - Gujarat a happy one :).

Ahmedabad, the largest city of Gujarat. The Business Hub and center of Gujarat. This is the place where you will land if you are traveling to Gujarat. According to the Forbs magazine, it is the 3rd Fastest Growing City in the world. It is having an International Airport with direct connectivity to Newyork, London and many other Foreign Cities and connected to all major cities in India.

Ahmedabad is mainly known for Sabarmati Ashram- Gandhi Ashram. At Ghandhi Ashram, You can get a sense of Gandhi's life, the history of the movement and those who worked alongside him, at the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, a small museum that includes excellent pictorial and written documentation, a library of Gandhian literature and paintings, and an immense archive of letters written by Gandhiji, every single one on the back of used paper. The grounds include the Hridaykunj, Gandhiji's sparse living quarters, Vinoba-Mira Kutir, where Vinoba and Mira each stayed on separate visits, a prarthana bhumi, a guest house and a building used as a training center for cottage industries, all preserved as part of the museum. The grounds are open from sunrise to sunset, but the best time to visit these grounds is early morning, as the sun rises over the river, and people are in a meditative spirit.

You can visit various sites like Hutheesing Jain Temple ,Mahudi Jain Temple,Akshardham Temple,Pols of Old City,The Adalaj Stepwell,Indroda Nature Park,Kankaria Lake etc, apart from Gandhi Ashram.

The Akshardham Temple (picture) at Gandhinagar is worth look during your visit to Gujarat.

Kutch- The dessert area in Gujarat having lot of Culture and places to visit.

Its the Mid night in the Dessert of Kutch. The white Sand (Salt) and the Full Moon gives the ultimate view of day. I have specially captured this picture published in today's newspaper to show what you will feel in the White Dessert of Kutch.

Rann Utsav(Dessert Festival) is being organized by Gujarat Tourism as part of its tourism promotion during month of Dec-January and its when you feel you are on the moon instead of earth. The full bright moon light falling on the white sand (Salt) surface gives an awesome look.

Girnar Mountain, which is even older than the Everest is having one and only place for the Asiatic Lions to stay at present. The Lion's population is increasing here due to extreme care taken by the people of Gir and Gujarat Government. (At present they are 400+).

It is having around 1412 Sqr Km area and located in the Saurashra(western) region of Gujarat.

Best Time to Visit : Nov- Mid June

How to Go: Come to Ahmedabad through Flight,Train. Then from Ahmedabad to Junagadh in Train/Bus/Taxi (336 km) and from there you can go to Sasan Gir.

You need to take permission from the Forest officer before entering the Gir Century.

The first out of 12 Jyotirlings Shrines of Loard Shiva. The power of Belief and Faith of Hindu. It's been broken 6 times by the invaders and rebuilt 6 times. It is believed that this temple is rebuilt in the forms of Gold, Wooden and Stone after its various destructions.

The place where the Indus Valley Civilization developed. Dholavira and Lothal are the most prominent Archeological Sites in India.

Planning to come to Gujarat? Just check and learn this things before you travel.

• Learn to Say, "Kem Chho" . i.e. How are you? The way to greet any Gujarati.
• Learn to Reply, "Maja Maa" i.e. I am fine. These basic words will make sure that the local community gets frank with you.

• Gujarat is Alcohol Free State. Alcohol is not allowed in Gujarat, unless special permission is taken. So just make sure with your Hotel Authorities that they have the permission for the Alcohol provided to you and if you can drink in that premise. And obviously never drink in any public place.

• Get ready to Try out variety of Food. Gujarati's love to have all sorts of food and you can get each variety there. If your stomach don't support you for this then be careful too.

Thanks to comment by squidoo user(Ener-G), I have put this Map.

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