|
Advertise Here
Gujarat
Tourists Destination of Gujarat - Gujarat has several other treasures to discover - the 11th
century Sun Temple at Modhera, ancient step-wells (or 'Vav') at
Patan and Adalaj, religious monuments and ancient fort at
Pavagadh, Mahatma Gandhi's house at Porbandar, the Nal Sarovar
Bird Sanctuary near Ahmedabad and many more.
And at the end of all
the excitement of touring Gujarat if you like to relax on the beach with
a tall glass of chilled beer, then the island of Diu, at the southern
tip of Saurashtra, with its lingering colonial ambience and four pretty
beaches, or the exciting beach resort at Ahmedpur Mandvi, with its water
sports facilities, may be just the places for you.
Travel In Royal Style of Gujarat - To experience the lifestyle of the erstwhile rajas while
you see some of what Gujarat has to offer, you can choose between a week's tour
aboard a luxury train, The Royal Orient, which starts from Delhi and
takes in some parts of Rajasthan as well, or a 2-week Heritage Tour
organised by the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd. During the heritage tour
you spend each night in a heritage hotel (palace converted into a hotel),
living in royal splendour, as you traverse the State seeing the sights by
day.
Gujarati Food - Despite the rigid Jain vegetarianism
practised in the State, Gujaratis can conjure up a surprisingly
large variety of dishes with unique flavours. And,
unlike any other place in India, they add sugar even to vegetables
and dais (curried lentils) achieving a delicate balance of
flavours - sweet, sour, salt
and spicy! Undhyoo (a speciality of potatoes, sweet
potatoes, brinjals and broad beans roasted in an earthenware
pot), paunk (combination of
various roasted cereals), khamam dhokla (a salty, sweet-and-sour
cake made from chickpea flour), kadi (a curry of yoghurt and
chopped vegetables), shrikhand (a dessert made from yogurt
spiced with saffron,
nuts,
cardamom and dry fruit) and doodh pak (a dessert of thick sweetened
milk with dry fruit and nuts) are some of the well-known Gujarati
delicacy foods.
Handicraft And Textiles - The specialties of Gujarat
are the extremely fine Patola silks from Patan, 'zari' (gold thread
embroidery) on silks, block prints, tie-dye ('bandhini') work, intricate
embroidery, mirror work and beadwork.
Fairs And Festivals Of Gujarat - Navratri is an ancient and colourful
religious festival held in September/October every year to honour the Divine
Shakti (personified as the Mother Goddess). An interesting feature of the
festival is the joyous revelry and all night dancing of the vigorous 'Garba'
and 'Dandiya ras' in the most exquisite traditional costumes.
Kachchh Mahotsav, a six day tour of Kachchh is organised by the Tourism Corporation
of Gujarat, usually in end-February or early March.
Trineteshwar
Mahadev Mela is a huge fair held at Tarnetar in August/ September
whose main feature is matchmaking for the tribal youth ! It is believed
that it was
here that Arjuna, the great archer prince from the epic 'Mahabharata',
won the hand of Draupadi after performing the incredible feat of shooting
an arrow
through the eye of a fish suspended on a pole which was being
rotated at high speed, all while looking at its reflection in a pool! Over
50,000 people visit
the fair in their traditional, colourful costumes.
Dangs Darbar is the colourful, annual fair held in March in the tribal, hilly, south eastern
district of the State known as The Dangs.
Bhadra Purnima Fair at Ambaji, the Grand Mela at Vautha, Shamlaji
Melo, Chitra-Vichitra Fair at Gunbhakhari, and the Dance Festival
at the Sun Temple, Modhera are some of
the other major cultural events where you can experience Gujarat
at its traditional best.
|
