Ahmedabad is Gujarat's largest city and India's first UNESCO World Heritage City (2017), a Sabarmati River metropolis where the walled Old City's carved-wood pols, Sultanate-era mosques, and Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram sit alongside a fast-growing metro, riverfront promenades, and one of India's best vegetarian food cultures.
Ahmedabad was founded in 1411 by Sultan Ahmed Shah I on the east bank of the Sabarmati beside the older settlements of Ashaval and Karnavati, and became the capital of the Gujarat Sultanate. Its Indo-Islamic mosques, tombs and stepwells sit alongside Jain temples and the wooden houses of the pols. The Mughals, Marathas and British each governed it in turn, and from the 1860s it grew into western India's mill city. Mahatma Gandhi made it his base from 1915 and led the Dandi salt march from Sabarmati Ashram in 1930. In July 2017 UNESCO inscribed the Historic City of Ahmedabad as India's first World Heritage City.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Ahmedabad.
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1
Karnavati founded
The Solanki king Karandev I founds Karnavati on the Sabarmati
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2
Ahmedabad founded
Sultan Ahmed Shah I lays the foundation of Ahmedabad and begins the Bhadra Fort
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3
Teen Darwaza
The triple-arched gate is built as the ceremonial entrance to the royal palace
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4
Jama Masjid
The congregational mosque is completed
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5
Death of Ahmed Shah I
The founder-sultan is buried at Badshah no Hajiro
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6
Sarkhej Roza
The tomb and mosque complex is built for the Sufi saint Ahmed Khattu Ganj Baksh
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7
Kankaria Lake
Sultan Qutb-ud-din Ahmed Shah II builds the sixteen-sided lake
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8
Reign of Mahmud Begada
The longest-reigning Gujarat sultan extends the city and builds numerous monuments
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9
Stepwells
Adalaj Stepwell and Dada Hari ni Vav are completed
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10
Rani Sipri's Mosque
A small mosque is commissioned by Rani Sipri
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11
Mughal conquest
Akbar completes the conquest of Gujarat; Sidi Saiyyed Mosque is built
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12
Maratha takeover
The Peshwa and the Gaekwad capture Ahmedabad from Mughal governors
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13
British annexation
The East India Company takes control of Ahmedabad
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14
Swaminarayan Mandir
The first Swaminarayan temple is completed at Kalupur
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15
Hutheesing Jain Temple
The temple is completed by Sheth Hutheesing Kesarisinh
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16
First textile mill
Ranchhodlal Chhotalal opens the city's first cotton mill
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17
Ellisbridge
The first bridge across the Sabarmati at the city centre opens
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18
Gandhi in Ahmedabad
Gandhi settles at Kochrab in 1915 and moves to Sabarmati Ashram in 1917
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19
Mill workers' satyagraha
Gandhi leads the textile workers' strike; the Textile Labour Association follows in 1920
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20
Dandi March
Gandhi departs from Sabarmati Ashram on the salt march to Dandi
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21
Gujarat state created
Ahmedabad becomes capital of the new state until 1970
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22
IIM Ahmedabad
The Indian Institute of Management opens, with a campus designed by Louis Kahn
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23
UNESCO inscription
The Historic City of Ahmedabad becomes India's first World Heritage City
Historical eras
The chapters of Ahmedabad's past.
Historical sites
Places where Ahmedabad's past comes alive.
Bhadra Fort and Teen Darwaza
The citadel founded in 1411 at the start of the new city, with the Azam Khan Sarai, the Royal Square and the c. 1415 Teen Darwaza gateway.
Where: Bhadra, Old City
Admission: Free
Jama Masjid (Ahmedabad)
The 1424 congregational mosque of Ahmed Shah I, built with columns reused from earlier Hindu and Jain temples; about 260 pillars support its prayer hall.
Where: Manek Chowk, Old City
Admission: Free
Sidi Saiyyed Mosque
Built in 1573, the final year of the Gujarat Sultanate; its jaali panels are the emblem of Ahmedabad.
Where: Lal Darwaja, Old City
Admission: Free (donations accepted)
Sarkhej Roza
A tomb, mosque and palace ensemble around a tank, begun for Sheikh Ahmed Khattu Ganj Baksh and completed under Mahmud Begada.
Where: Makarba, south-west Ahmedabad
Admission: Free
Adalaj Stepwell (Adalaj ni Vav)
The five-storey stepwell commissioned by Rudabai, queen of Rana Veer Singh Vaghela, and completed in 1499.
Where: Adalaj, Gandhinagar district (about 18km north of Ahmedabad)
Admission: INR 25 for Indian nationals, INR 250 for foreign nationals (~$0.26 and ~$2.60)
Dada Hari ni Vav (Bai Harir Stepwell)
A five-storey stepwell commissioned by Bai Harir Sultani, a lady of Mahmud Begada's household, in 1499.
Where: Asarwa, north-east Ahmedabad
Admission: Free
Rani no Hajiro
A tomb complex of Sultanate royal women reached through Manek Chowk.
Where: Manek Chowk, Old City
Admission: Free entry to the complex
Hutheesing Jain Temple
The 1848 white-marble Dharmanatha temple built by the merchant Sheth Hutheesing Kesarisinh.
Where: Shahibaug, near Delhi Darwaza
Admission: Free
Swaminarayan Mandir, Kalupur
The first Swaminarayan temple, dedicated in 1822, with an elaborately carved teak facade.
Where: Kalupur, Old City
Admission: Free
Sabarmati Ashram (Gandhi Ashram)
Gandhi's ashram from 1917 to 1930 and the departure point of the Dandi march in March 1930.
Where: Sabarmati, north Ahmedabad
Admission: Free
Ahmed Shah's Tomb (Badshah no Hajiro)
The royal tomb of Ahmed Shah I (d. 1442), the city's founder, opposite Jama Masjid, alongside the tombs of his son and grandson.
Where: Manek Chowk, Old City
Admission: Free
Jhulta Minara (Sidi Bashir Mosque)
The surviving arch and two minarets of the Sidi Bashir Mosque, said to sway when gently shaken; the rest of the mosque fell in 1957.
Where: Sarangpur, Old City
Admission: Free
Museums
Curated collections that tell Ahmedabad's story.
Calico Museum of Textiles
India's leading textile museum, founded in 1949 by the Sarabhai family in a haveli at Shahibaug. Its collections of Mughal court textiles, Patan patola, brocades, Pichhwai hangings and tribal costume are shown through guided gallery tours, and the adjoining haveli galleries of carved woodwork are part of the visit. Photography is not permitted inside.
Hours: Guided visits only, in morning sessions by advance online registration; the museum publishes its closing days and slots at registration
Admission: Free with advance registration
Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya (Sabarmati Ashram Museum)
The museum inside Sabarmati Ashram houses Gandhi's letters, photographs, personal objects and a reference library.
Hours: Daily 8:30AM-6:30PM
Admission: Free
L. D. Museum of Indology
A museum of Jain manuscripts, sculpture, bronzes and miniature paintings on the L. D. Institute of Indology campus near Gujarat University.
Hours: Typically daytime hours, closed one weekday; verify before visiting
Admission: Small entry fee; verify at the counter
Sanskar Kendra Kite Museum (Patang Museum)
The kite museum inside Le Corbusier's Sanskar Kendra covers Uttarayan and the craft of kite-making.
Hours: Typically daytime hours; verify before visiting
Admission: Small entry fee; verify at the counter
Vechaar Utensils Museum (Vishalla)
A museum of traditional Indian utensils inside the Vishalla ethnic-village complex on the city's south-west edge.
Hours: Typically daytime hours; verify before visiting
Admission: Small entry fee; verify at the counter
Historical tours
Guided experiences that bring history to life.
AMC Morning Heritage Walk
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's guided walk of the walled city from the Swaminarayan Mandir at Kalupur to Jama Masjid, passing pols, bird-feeder towers and havelis. It starts at about 7:30-7:45AM and takes about 2.5 hours, priced roughly INR 200 for Indian and INR 300 for foreign visitors (~$2.08 and ~$3.13).
Calico Museum guided visit
The only way to see the textile and haveli galleries. Registered groups follow a museum guide through the galleries in about two hours, at no charge.
Sabarmati Ashram and Dandi March circuit
A half-day covering Hriday Kunj, the ashram museum and the riverfront, often paired with Kochrab Ashram.
Sultanate monuments circuit
A half-day by car covering Sarkhej Roza, Adalaj Stepwell and Dada Hari ni Vav, following the Gujarat Sultanate's patronage between 1445 and 1514.
Textile and craft trail
A route through the Calico Museum and the cloth markets of the Old City, focusing on Ahmedabad's fabric heritage.
Pols and food evening walk
An evening walk through Manek Chowk's night market and the pols, ending with Gujarati street food.