Heritage Walk Tour of Ahmedabad Old City

Overview

Dating to the year 1411 Ahmedabad opens up a window to some of India’s most historic and culturally rich centres. Shaped by both Hindu and Islamic traditions be it the architecture, the crafts, its religious monuments, its cuisine or its festivals, the city offers a delightful hands-on experience of its multi-layered riches on this walk.

A unique aspect of the old city’s special feature is the self-contained neighbourhoods or pols, where the residences are connected by lanes which open up on the main square (chowk); the tracery of narrow winding lanes leads to the bazaars, temples, sometimes a secret passage or two, or even just a dead end. Some of the pols can be quite expansive. It’s not unusual to find a community well in the main square, which can also feature chabutras where the pigeons home in for the birdfeed scattered thereby citizens. Another important feature of its traditional architectural narrative is its carved wooden houses. A walk through the Old Quarter of Ahmedabad summons up a storm of vignettes of its history, its community culture, traditions and customs that can date back to many, many centuries.

Why you will love it

What you will experience

As you move from one highpoint to next on this wonderful walk in the atmospheric Old Quarter of Ahmedabad your guide will keep briefing you about the history of the city and its community-based residential areas (pols) and old markets of the city. Your journey leads you through a book market, vegetable, and fruits market, past the old stock exchange and the markets patronized by kings and queens in the past eras. Along the way, we will discover several important temples, mosques, and other places of worship. This is also an excellent opportunity to explore the vintage heritage houses, their architectural marvels such as intricately carved wooden brackets that support the balconies and statues which depict the glories of the past.