Gujarat Textile Tour

Welcome to Ahmadabad! This culturally rich city is a major centre for traditional and contemporary textiles, with many thriving handicrafts such as Mata-ni-pachedi (narrative cloth painting) and block-printing. You will be met at the airport and transported to Mangaldas Girdhardas, a heritage hotel owned by a former textile industrialist family. The rest of the evening is free for you to relax and explore the local surroundings.

Overnight: Hotel, Ahmadabad

Visit the Calico Museum of Textiles, one of India’s leading specialised museums. The collection includes a range of textiles including Indian origin fabric swatches found at archaeological sites in Egypt, silk sarees from across India, fabric made from colonially imported materials, Punjabi embroidery, Kashmiri shawls, Rajasthani royal robes, the richly embroidered Mughal tent of Shah Jahan and religious narrative cloth paintings.

We will also visit some of the other museums in Ahmedabad, known for their strong folk-art collections.

Overnight: Hotel, Ahmadabad

Drive to Gondal, a princely town of considerable importance and affluence. Visit the 1748 AD Naulakha Palace, which houses the ruling family’s private collection of beadwork, textiles, brassware, hand-painted toys and silver crafts. We will also explore many historic buildings of Gondal and visit a weaving centre.

In the evening we will visit Khadi Plaza, one of Gujarat’s major handloom weaving centres. Our accommodation in Gondal is lavishly decorated with textiles from the former Maharanis’ collections.

Overnight: Hotel, Gondal

Today we will take a day trip to Jetpur and Junagadh. In Jetpur we will take part in screen and block printing workshops and visit a yarn-dyeing centre.

We will then visit the historical city of Junagadh to see the gem-encrusted carpets, wardrobes and tapestry at the Nawab Museum. We will spend the afternoon exploring the ancient Buddhist relics, medieval fort, mausoleum complexes and palaces in this fascinating city. In the evening we will return to Gondal.

Overnight: Hotel, Gondal

This morning we will drive to Bhuj. Along the way we will stop at Rajkot to visit the Watson Museum, which has good examples of Gujarat’s craftsmanship skills; as well as Rashtriya Shala, which is working to revive the art of hand-weaving.

When we arrive in Bhuj we will check into our hotel. The rest of the evening is at your leisure.

Overnight: Hotel, Bhuj

Today we will visit the villages around Bhuj, known for their distinctive style of embroidery as well as other handicrafts such as weaving, block-printing and rogan-painting.

Overnight: Hotel, Bhuj

Today we will head to Mandvi, known as the tie-dye centre of Gujarat. We will check into the royal resort where we will be staying in luxury tented comfort by a private beach in the palace estate.

In the afternoon we will visit the dhow-building yard to see ocean-worthy vessels being hand-built.

Overnight: Hotel, Mandvi

Today we will Visit some of the traditional villages surrounding Mandvi, known for their picturesque houses called Bhungas. Whilst visiting the villages we will learn about their unique form of Rabari embroidery.

Overnight: Hotel, Mandvi

Today we will drive to Salya, stopping off at Wadhwan along the way. This historic walled town is a centre for bandhani tie-dye, weaving and metal crafts. After exploring the town we will continue on to our accommodation at Salya.

Overnight: Hotel, Salya

Today we will head to the village of Dasada, where we will be staying at Rann Riders. This ethically designed eco-resort is set amongst wetlands and agricultural fields and has been created using local materials and handicrafts to resemble a village.

During the day we will have the opportunity to watch the local Rabari women at work on their distinct embroideries.

In the evening we will enjoy an open topped jeep safari in the Little Rann of Kutch, a wildlife sanctuary home to the endangered Indian Wild Ass.

Overnight: Eco-Resort, Dasada

We will wake early for a morning safari in the Little Rann of Kutch. Following this we will take a day trip to Patan to watch the Salvis at work on the Patola, one of the richest silk textiles in the world, woven using the rare double-ikat technique. In Patan we will also visit the 11^th century monuments at Modhera’s Sun Temple complex.

In the evening we will return to Rann Riders.

Overnight: Eco-Resort, Dasada

After breakfast we will return to Ahmedabad, where the tour concludes. We will transfer you to the airport for your return flight home.

We look forward to seeing you on another Ekno experience soon. If you would like to add an extension to your trip you might like to visit the desert state of Rajasthan or the city of Agra, home to the Taj Mahal. Our Golden Triangle tour is a short itinerary that takes in these two highlights, as well as many others.