Day 01 : Ahmedabad
You are welcomed at the airport either by the representative of our local agency or by your French-speaking guide. He assures the transfer to the hotel we’ve reserved you for 2 nights.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 02 : Ahmedabad
This first day is dedicated to the discovery of Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s capital.
After breakfast, your day begins with the visit of the Sabarmati Ashram, founded by Mahatma Gandhi, Gujarati by birth, who settled there on his return from South Africa. This retreat, dating from 1917, now houses a small museum devoted to its founder. One can see his famous spinning wheel, extracts from his correspondence and articles exposing his ideas, as well as the hut in which he lived.
You take a stroll through the old town to admire the Indo-Muslim architectural style, particularly illustrated by the delicate arabesques marble of Sidi Sayyad mosque’s cloisters and the domes of the great Jama Masjid mosque. The labyrinth of alleys leads you to beautiful wooden havelis, some of which have been wonderfully restored.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 03 : Ahmedabad / Poshina (3 hours / 180 km)
After breakfast, you visit the Calico Museum, collections of textiles, costumes, folklore and religious embroidery which are an amazing tribute for the textile art in India. The rooms are remarkable highlighted in an old haveli surrounded by greenery. About 3 hoursdrive will take you to Poshina, where you will stay in a hotel full of charm. Not far from Poshina you will discover the Garasia tribe’s villages with colorful clothes and vast family houses, as well as Rabari villagers from Rajasthan. Women's arms are adorned with bangs up to their elbows.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 04 : Poshina (Shamlaji Festival)
In the morning, you go on excursion to Shamlaji’s great Vishnouite temple. In November, it is animated on the occasion of great religious festivals by flock pilgrims but also dancers and musicians of the whole region. The festival lasts about three weeks, and on full moon days, the festival is in full swing and many devotees flock on foot, by bus or in ox carts. Animation is at its height on the edge of the sacred Meshwo River where the pilgrims bathe and devote themselves. This great religious festival is also the occasion of a joyful fair and a great craft fair.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 05 : Poshina / Dasada (4 hours / 220 km)
After breakfast, you take the road to join Dasada. In Rann du Kutch, you stop at Modhera where you visit the temple dedicated to Surya, the sun god. Then, you continue to Patan to discover the beautiful Rani kiVav well to degree, endowed with exquisite sculptures. In Dasada, a jeep ride allows you to cross unusual landscapes and meet its rabari (nomadic) and banjara (sedentary) populations as well as its varied fauna - gudkhur, famous wild donkeys Region, antelopes, gazelles, hyenas or jackals, gray herons or cranes. It is in the late afternoon that you settle down at the hotel.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 06 : Dasada / Bhuj (4h30 / 280 km)
After a solid breakfast, you take the road to Bhuj, Kutch’s capital. There, you discover Aina Mahal Palace where you’ll be able to see the palace of Mirrors and a rich collection of palanquins, textiles, porcelains and fans. You then visit the open-air section of the Prag Mahal and the Kutch Museum before ending your day with a stroll through the city's bazaar.
You settle at the hotel on the late afternoon.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 07 : Bhuj
Today, after a heavy breakfast, you go on excursion in Banni villages, a conservatory of Gujarat traditional arts. The Banni huts, built in mudflats around a central pillar and thatched, are surrounded by a vast community courtyard. The women are hospitable and will readily reveal comforters and richly embroidered clothes. The craftsmanship differs from village to village, each community perpetuating its own traditions: the technique of "tie and dye", the sumptuous embroidery or spinning of wool, printing with wax, or the arts campaniles.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 08 : Bhuj / Muli (4 hours / 240 km)
This morning, after your breakfast, you take the road towards Muli. Your road is interspersed with stops in various villages where you discover the singular habitat and the popular traditions. When you arrive, you settle into Muli small palace which welcomes you for the night before leaving for a getaway in the surrounding villages.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 09 : Muli / Rajkot / Bhavnagar (4 hours / 200 km)
After breakfast you leave for Rajkot where you visit the house and the school where Gandhi spent part of his childhood before settling at the hotel.You then continue to Bhavnagar, which is of great interest to be located not far from the magnificent Jain site of Palitana, which you will visit tomorrow morning.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 10 : Bhavnagar / Palitana / Vadodara (4 hours / 200 km)
All Jain hopes to climb once in his life one of the five sacred mounts of Palitana. The climb ... and the descent ... of the 3500 steps to reach the religious city of Palitana, built between the 11th and the 16th century, occupies a large part of your day (possibility of sedan chair, to be paid locally). You continue on your way to Vadodara (formerly Baroda), a major city in Gujarat, known for its excellent academic institutions where you stay at the hotel.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 11 : Vadodara / Champaner / Chotta Udaipur (2 hours / 110 km)
After breakfast and before leaving for Champaner, you will visit the museum which contains a beautiful ethnographic room on Gujarat tribes, as well as a rich collection of textiles and sculptures from Japan, Tibet and Nepal. Former capital, Champaner is a conservation area of World Heritage protected by UNESCO. You will discover the immense fortress on the bottom of the Pavagadh hill as well as temples and splendid mosques. You continue on your way to Chotta Udaipur where you are received in Maharaja Sajjan Singh’s palace.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 12 : Chotta Udaipur
Today stands the important weekly market for the surrounding villagers. It is after breakfast that you go on excursion to the villages of tribes Rathwa, the most primitive of Gujarat, which perpetuate ancestral beliefs and traditions. They preserve in particular a religious pictorial art of their own, known as "Pithoras" whose origins dating back to the rock art. The main theme is seven horses symbolizing the seven hills surrounding their villages.
Overnight at the hotel.
Day 13 : Chotta Udaipur / Ahmedabad (4h / 210 km + return flight)
Before taking your plane for the return flight, one last visit is planned: the step well of Adalaj, and Sarkhej’s pavilions and mausoleums of the 15th century.
You are then transfered to Ahmedabad airport for your return flight.