Find here what you can check out during your Ahmedabad visit. Starting from the story of Ahmedabad to the places to visit, nightlife and shopping, everything you should know about Ahmedabad is here.
Quick Links
- Story of Ahmedabad
- How to Reach Ahmedabad
- A Few Interesting Facts about Ahmedabad
- Ahmedabad Weather in October
- Places to Visit
- Things to do
Story of Ahmedabad
600 years ago Sultan Ahmed Shah 1 became the ruler of The Gujarat Sultanate. He ruled over it as a king from 1411 to 1442 till he died.
One day he was roaming around the river Sabarmati. He saw something interesting. He saw a hare chasing a dog. Ahmed Shah was intrigued by this and asked his advisor about how it is happening. The sage pointed out unique characteristics in the land which nurtured such rare qualities. It turned a timid rare to chase a ferocious dog.
Ahmed Shah was very impressed by knowing this. He found his place which he was looking for to build his new capital. Ahmed Shah named this new place as “Ahmedabad”. He named it Ahmedabad in honor of four Ahmeds – One himself, his religious teacher named Ahmed, and two others.
Since then Ahmedabad was Capital of Gujarat. Ahmed Shah wanted to make it a great city and hence, he styled the city as his unique style and architectures. We can see some of these architectures can be found today as well.
Since then, the city has seen many colors economically and politically. The city economy has seen many rise and falls. Ahmedabad has seen Mughals, Marathas, Rajput and British rulers in its history since his foundation in 1411.
Ahmedabad served as the capital in 1970s last time before Gandhinagar was established as the capital of new Gujarat state.
Today, Ahmedabad possesses ancient and modern culture both. It is a fusion of the historical sites, educational institutions, modern buildings, shopping malls, nightlife hangouts, and of course WordPress and Web Development community. 🙂 It is the one of the fastest emerging cities of India.
Being Gujarat state’s largest and India’s sixth fastest growing city, Ahmedabad is the biggest source of WordPress community in the state. Let’s talk about other happening things in Ahmedabad. I am sure you gonna like them. ☺
How to Reach Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad is well connected to major cities in India as well as the world. The city accesses an easy travel to domestic cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, etc… and international cities like Kuwait, London, Dubai, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, etc… Let’s see how to reach Ahmedabad by air, rail, and road.
By Air:
Ahmedabad’s airport is known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. It is both domestic as well as an international airport. It is located at Hansol which is 9 kilometers away from city’s center and 22 kilometers away from the WordCamp venue.
The airport well connects with Indian cities and international cities. The Domestic airlines run their flights on this airport are like Indigo, Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, Air Costa, etc… International airlines are also there such as Etihad Airways, Flydubai, Air Arabia, Singapore Airlines, etc…
By Rail:
Ahmedabad’s railway station is also and mostly known as Kalupur Railway station. It is located at Kalupur which is around 5 kilometers away from the city’s center and 15 kilometers away from the WordCamp venue.
Being one of the six operating stations of Western Indian Railways, it helps connecting other inner cities of Gujarat easily. It connects to many other cities of India as well which includes Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai, Nagpur, Goa, Patna, etc.
Services of buses, cabs and rickshaws are available to reach to any part of the city from station. The station also has BRTS stop inside the station premises itself. BRTS service is widely spread AC bus service across the city ran by Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited, a subsidiary of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and others. It enables travelers to reach to any inner area of the city easily. You can use it too.
Precaution: There are two major stations into Ahmedabad: Kalupur and Maninagar. Make sure you address correct railway station while booking a rail ticket or while picking up an auto or cab for the station.
By Bus:
Ahmedabad’s bus terminus is known as “Geeta Mandir”. The bus service is provided by Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC).
Geeta Mandir Bus terminus is located at Geeta Mandir area which is 13 kilometers away from the WordCamp venue – L.J. Campus. It provides services within Gujarat as well as neighboring Northern Western States.
Precaution: There are two Bus depots at Geeta Mandir – New and Old. Make sure to address new one while going to or from the bus depot.
A Few Interesting Facts about Ahmedabad
- Ahmedabad is also known as “Amdavad” and local people call themselves as “Amdavadi”.
- Ahmedabad was once called “Karnavati” in 11th century.
- Forbes listed Ahmedabad as the world’s 3rd fastest growing city in the world in 2010.
- The first all vegetarian Pizza-Hut was opened in Ahmedabad. KFC and Mc’donalds have a separate staff uniform for serving the vegetarian delicacies.
- Ahmedabad was second to build the IIM
- Ahmedabad has the world’s oldest mall culture ‘Gujari Bazaar’ set up by the founder of Ahmedabad, Sultan Ahmed Shah.
- Ahmedabad has India’s first revolving restaurant “Patang” which is a treat to watch whenever you pass from Ashram Road.
- There are only 2 kite museums all over the world. One of them is at Osaka, Japan and the second one is in Ahmedabad.
- Sunset Drive-In Cinemas in Ahmedabad is one of the largest outdoor screen movie theater in Asia. It has space to play to 6600 audience members at a single time.
- Ahmedabad was also called as the Manchester of India due to the development of cotton and textile industry.
Ahmedabad Weather in October
Ahmedabad experiences three seasons in a year like most of the other cities of India – Summer, Monsoon and Winter. The climate of the city is very hot and semi-arid most of the times apart from the monsoon. Hence, we have chosen October for the WordCamp. It is the best time to roam around the city and most comfortably throughout the day.
September will be a bit cloudy month as it is the end of the monsoon season. Clouds are decreased in this month. The city has overall dry climate apart from the few days in monsoon.
Places to Visit
The theme of Ahmedabad city is “Heritage”. So you will find many historical constructions in the eastern part of the city which is mostly older city. You will also find temples, lakes and other places. We have listed here some of such interesting places which you won’t like to miss during your WordCamp Ahmedabad visit.
Sidi Saiyed’s mosque
Mostly known as “Sidi Saiyyed ni Jaali” was built in 1573. It was built in the last year of Gujarat Sultanate ruled by Sultan Ahmed Shad 3. It is famous for the latticework windows on the sides of it. If you are in Ahmedabad, we recommend visiting this place atleast once.
Kankaria Lake
Kankaria lake is the second largest lake in Gujarat. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is maintaining the lake. You can do some of the activities there like ultra modern high speed rides, kidscity, adventure sports like tree-walk, Mini Golf, Desert safari, Ski-boats, etc…
Akshardham Temple
Akshardham temple is a Hindu temple built resembling the life of Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The temple took over 13 years for development. The center of the temple is built by using 6000 metric tons pink sandstone of Rajasthan.
Gandhi Ashram
Gandhi Ashram original name is Satyagrah Ashram and was the center of India’s freedom movement. It was built by Mahatma Gandhi in 1917. It is nearby Sabarmati river. There is a Gandhi memorial center which has an interesting display of the Gandhiji’s life and works.
Thol Lake
Thol lake is a bird Century. The lake is artificially developed near Thol village. It is not in Ahmedabad but nearby only. The place is very beautiful to visit in the early morning around 5-6 AM. It is home to 150 spices of birds of which about 60% are water birds.
Vaishnodevi Temple
Temple of Goddess Vaishno Devi. It is a miniature of Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir and very popular in Ahmedabad. It is located on S.G. Highway.
Calico Museum
Calico museum is a textile museum and was established in the year 1949. It has 17th century’s textile collection. It is located in Shahibaug area. The museum is world’s best museum on textiles.
Adalaj Step-well (Adalaj Vav)
Vav means step-well. The unique features are it stores the water for drinking purpose as well as it serves a cooling environment inside during summers. Beautifully drafted steps alongside of the walls of the well is one of the finest architectures of Gujarat.
Sabarmati Riverfront
A riverfront developed alongside the banks of river Sabarmati. You can enjoy various water rides over here. It also has parks and gardens. The project serves environmental improvisation with public’s connectivity to the river.
Shaking Minarets (Jhulta Minara)
There are two minarets in this historic architecture. When one minar(minaret) is shaken the other one vibrates automatically. The mechanical reason behind the vibration is still a mystery. It is located at Sarangpur.
Bhadra Fort
Bhadra Fort was built by Sultan Ahmed Shah I in the year 1411. It was renovated by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporations and Archaeological Survey of India as a cultural center in 2014.
ISKCON Temple
The temple is located near satellite road which is a famous area in Ahmedabad. Temple’s lightings in evening is really marvellous. The evening aarti is also a memory to see. Evening aarti timings are 6.30PM to 7.30PM.
Things to do
Shopping
Law Garden Market:
Law Garden is popular for the handcrafted items. It is a famous market in Ahmedabad. You will find Chaniya Cholis, antique jewelleries, Handcrafted items, etc…
Lal Darwaja Market:
Lal Darwaja is one of the most famous markets in Ahmedabad and is very busy street too. You can bargain a lot over here. You can buy Men/Women clothes, footwear, accessories, etc… with other things such as glassware, homely items, etc…
Sindhi Market:
You will find sarees, dress materials, traditional items & bedsheets into the Sindhi Market. It is located near Kalupur.
Dhalgarwad:
It is the open shopping market in Ahmedabad. You can do low priced shopping from here. It is famous for traditional dresses, sarees, and jewelry. You can find here cotton prints, south cotton, Jaipuri prints, Kalamkari & lot more.
Ahmedabad One Mall:
The shopping is located at Vastrapur. While this is not Ahmedabad’s traditional market, you will find a few brands over here. There is a multiplex as well on the top floor of it.
Nightlife
Manek Chowk:
This is very interesting place to visit in Ahmedabad. Manek Chowk is a prominent vegetable market during the wee hours of the day and as the day progresses, it turns into a Jewelry Market. However, the area truly comes alive and transforms itself into a Street Food Market in the night hours. You will find some unique dishes like pineapple sandwich or chocolate sandwich to taste over here with Indian traditional dishes like Pav-Bhaji, Dhosa, etc…
IIM road:
The road at night is full of chai walas and Maggie valas. You will find lots of people chilling out here and enjoying their teas and maggies.
S.G Highway:
You will find many cafes and crowd on the S.G highway at nights especially during weekends. These cafes serve a good food and some of them have live music too. One of the cafes named “Apna Adda” is specifically known for the tea and coffee. There are a couple of ice-cream parlors available too.
We have tried to cover many things over here for your WordCamp Ahmedabad trip. Do not hesitate to contact us for any further help needed. We are sure you will enjoy the camp as well as city. 🙂
2 best places for night food lovers
1. Truckers park (iskon , opp- karnavati club)
2. Manek Chowk which is mentioned
Videos link to see :
1. https://youtube.com/watch?v=S5-os5jp1Bk