Ahmedabad Old City Heritage Walk – Mandir se Masjid tak

Planning to do Ahmedabad Heritage Walk in Gujarat? Here is my complete guide to walk the heritage city of Ahmedabad.

Ahmedabad!!! One of the old cities of Gujarat… a city that has passed several hands, several dynasties and several regimes! Each has left an indelible impression in terms of architecture of the houses, the city planning, and the drainage systems. Old city of Ahmedabad was declared as UNESCO World heritage site in 2017.

After the Old City of Ahmedabad earned this recognition Heritage walks through the narrow lanes of this old City have become popular. Locally Ahmedabad Heritage city walk is popular by the name Mandir se Masjid tak, meaning from Temple to Mosque. The walk starts from the famous Swami Narayan Temple and ends at Jami Mosque Ahmedabad.

Ahmedabad Heritage Walk Map

What is the Ahmedabad Heritage Walk timings?

Very important to know this if you have added this walking tour to the itinerary of Ahmedabad visit. The heritage walk can take anywhere between 2 to 3 hours. Choose from the list of five Heritage walks in Ahmedabad:

• Morning Heritage Walk of Ahmedabad Old city – The walk starts at 7.30 AM from Kalupur Swaminarayan temple and ends at Jumma Masjid by 10 AM. It covers altogether 20 destinations in 2 km.
• Night Heritage Walk of Ahmedabad – Covers 16 destinations in 2 km. It starts at 8.45 PM from Sidi Saiyyed Mosque and ends at around 10 PM at Manek Chowk.
• Jain Heritage Walk – Starts at Muhurat Pol Manekchowk, takes you through 10 destinations, all the Jain Temples, in 2 hours 30 minutes.
• Morning and Night Walks by House of MG
  The Breakfast Heritage Walk by House of MG – 7.30 AM daily through city highlights, distance of 1.5 km in 2 hours, ends with an Indian breakfast at House of MG
  Night Heritage Walk by House of MG – 10 PM every night, ends at the King’s mausoleum to witness a 600-year-old ritual and stroll into bustling food market with great choices of some local delicacies.

Well, the 2 km walk through Ahmedabad heritage city is planned for two hours but the cultural heritage stops along the route will force you to stop and visually devour the sights. The Heritage walk time can easily stretch to three hours with all stops for insta worthy pictures, souvenir shopping and taking tasty bites at the roadside eateries.

Ahmedabad Heritage Walk UNESCO site

Important Facts to be noted for the Heritage City

• You need to dress modestly as the Heritage Walk Ahmedabad Route covers places of worship of Hindus, Jains, and Muslims during the Ahmedabad heritage walks
• Though this may be a UNESCO site, people reside in the houses here. Do respect their privacy
• Before you click pictures of people, please do take permission.

Tips for Making the Most out of your Walking Tour

• Pack a light load with some snacks and a bottle of water if you don’t wish to take roadside food.
• Wear comfortable shoes that you know won’t give you blisters.
• Wear layers, as the temperature may rise and fall from morning to afternoon

Now, let’s begin with the virtual Ahmedabad heritage walk!

Beautiful arches of Swami Narayan temple Ahmedabad

What to see along the streets of old city of Ahmedabad Heritage walk

I was a little worried as we set off on the walk – won’t we be intruding into the privacy of the residents? The lanes are narrow and the doors of houses open right into the lanes. But it seemed as if they were now used to seeing the curious tourists. They go about their businesses, some nodding and greeting the familiar guides who take the tourists on tour. People are friendly, at one point we stopped at a tea shop, and the tea seller refused to take money as he was happy that we came to see his old city.

The usual list of 20 places  in the Ahmedabad Heritage walk map that every guide will show you during the walking tour are:

Swaminarayan Temple, Kalupur – Ahmedabad Old City tour starts from this temple (Mandir se). The temple is very beautiful and requires a dedicated post to it.

Kavi Dalpatram Chowk – The second halt in the Ahmedabad World Heritage walk map. Most tourists pose with the statue of Kavi (poet) Dalpatram here. What you see on the wall is his house, sadly which no longer exists. Kavi Dalpatram, through his works, promoted Gujarati as a language, for which he is revered very highly even today.

Statue of Kavi Dalpatram Ahmedabad old city

Lambeshwar Ni Pol – With this Pol starts the exciting part of the Heritage walk through Ahmedabad old city.

What is a pol – Pol is a word derived from Sanskrit ‘Pratoli’.

Pols in Ahmedabad are old housing colonies or clusters of houses like the kind of apartment complexes we have today. Only difference being each pol can be categorized to belong to same caste or religion or even profession.

They have their own community well, a chabutra (bird feeder) and a place of worship. The center of each pol, a vacant space, is playground for kids, a meeting point for men folk in the evenings after work and for women too.

After this pol we came across five or six more pols, all with the same features.

Lambeshwar ni Derasar Ahmedabad Heritage walk in Lambeshwar Ni Pol

Calico Dome – Ahmedabad was once known for its famous textile mills. The heritage Calico mill was set up here in the 1960s. It was closed both the times I visited.

Haja Patel Ni Pol – Kala Ramji Mandir, which translates to Black Ramji Temple. The idol of sitting Bhagwaan Ram is made of black stone, hence the name. Don’t miss the exquisitely carved pillars of the temple. (The black stone is Kasauti stone which is used to check the purity of gold.)

Secret Passage, Shantinath Ni Pol and Shantinathji Mandir – Here the guide led us to a door. I thought we would be entering a heritage home, instead it was a secret passage leading to the next pol. What an idea and what a brilliant execution – I thought.

Shantinath Ni Pol has several heritage homes mostly built of wood which was a blessing. The wooden construction protected them from extensive damage during the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. The Shantinathji Mandir, a Jain Temple nearby, has beautiful wooden work.

Secret Passages in Pols in Ahmedabad Old city

Kuvavala Khancha, that translates to passage next to a well. A small place, I would have ignored it and walked had not our guide pointed out the four different architectural styles of the little houses. Try identifying them on your own when you are there.

Our guide pointed out a couple of them – British influence, the one with red bricks and colonial arches, Persian influence that can be identified from its intricately carved brackets. The other two were easy, one of the homes had a fusion of Gujarati and the British style of architecture, identifiable from images of a Gujarati lady and a British soldier above its door. A vibrantly painted house with the face of its Maratha owner on the door frame was a good hint that it belonged to a Maratha family.

This square is a true representation of the united spirit of people of Ahmedabad.

Kuvavala Khancha Marathi resident

Parrot Holes – Looks like parrots got special attention as there were holes and matka (pots) fitted on walls to nest. Wonderful way to bring in nature around their residence just like I try to do in my balcony of a 10 storied apartment complex.

Doshivada Ni Pol – This particular area has retained the European influence well. There are some really beautiful mansions with stained glass windows, colourful doors and carved teak wood brackets. Perfect for insta pics. These homes belong to the jeweler and goldsmith community (Zaveri). As of now many are locked and abandoned.

Doshivada Ni Pol

Ashtapadji Deraser – a gorgeous Jain temple made of marble. The carvings seemed similar to Ranakpur Jain Temple. The temple was made in the 1850s by a rich Jain merchant – Sheth Maganlal Karamchand.

Zaveri Vad – Residential place for zaveri (jeweller) community. This enclosure has the original gate with a security cabin, chowk, birdfeeder, temple and houses. It is named after Seth Shantidas Zaveri who was mistreated by Mughal King Aurangzeb.

Sambhavnath Ni Khadki – It was closed when I went for the guided tour of Ahmedabad Heritage City. The gate to the Derasar (Jain Temple) looked good, it is one of the oldest Derasars in Ahmedabad old city.

Sambhavnathji Temple

Chaumukhji Ni Pol – the Ajithnath Dersar believed to be one among the oldest Jain temples in the country is located in Chaumukhjini Pol. Inside there are metal idols which are around 500 to 700 years old.

Harkunvar Shethani Ni Haveli – You will stop here and stare with awe and wonder at this Haveli! The haveli belonged to Harkunwar Shethani, the third wife of Seth Hutheesing. This 180-year-old Harkunwar Shethani ni Haveli has 60 rooms, biggest in its era; most of these rooms open onto the pillared balconies supported by the longest carved wooden bracket in the Old City.

Wooden bracket of Harkunvar Shethani Ni Haveli Ahmedabad

Dodiya Haveli – is a 200 year old haveli bought and restored by a Nairobi based businessman Chandrkant Dodhia. He put in a lot of effort to bring back the lost glory and splendour of this crumbling historic structure. It is a hotel today.

What is an Ol – If you thought The Work from Home concept is a new one, after the effects of the pandemic, it is not true. During the heritage walk of Ahmedabad old city we came across ‘Ol’, a bigger version of Pol. It has a residential section on the top of the commercial section. On the ground floor, you will see shops and offices while the upper floors are residences of the owners.

Fernandez Bridge (Gandhi Road) – This is the first major Ol. The Fernandes Bridge was extended during British rule to extend the Gandhi Road. It has been in existence since 1884 AD. It is more famous for Chopda Bazaar, one of the oldest book markets in Ahmedabad that sells used and new books. It was hard to believe when the guide said that this was the Maitrai River route which had gone dry.

Fernandez Bridge Ahmedabad Heritage Walk

Chandla Ol is where you will find numerous shops selling pooja items and their owners on the upper floor of these shops.

Ahmedabad Stock Exchange – The 2nd oldest stock exchange of India, the building with British architectural style has an image of King George right on the top. Not in use any more, it has been categorized as an important heritage site of Ahmedabad.

Ahmedabad old stock exchange

Manek Chowk – One chowk, three markets! It is a vegetable market in the morning, jewelry market by late noon and evenings and a food street at night. Choice is yours when you would like to revisit it.

A temple here is dedicated to a Hindu saint, Manek Baba, who helped Ahmed Shah I to build the Bhadra Fort and fortify Ahmedabad. The small temple was built at the spot where he took Samadhi. Even today, on Vijaydashmi, there is a flag hoisted on this temple.

Badshah no Haziro – We are now inching towards the end of our heritage walk through Ahmedabad Old city. Badshah no Haziro is the sepulchre of the founder of Ahmedabad – Ahmed Shah I. Inside the intricate lattice-windowed building are three tombs belonging to him, his son and grandson too.

Rani no Haziro – Close to the Badshah’s tomb, there is one for his queens, the Rani no Haziro. Another example of Indo Islamic architecture from that era.

Jami Masjid – also known as Jumah Mosque or Jami’ Masjid, was built in 1424. The most interesting architectural feature about this mosque is that the prayer hall is supported by 260 columns. These columns divide the prayer hall into fifteen bays which are crowned by fifteen domes. There will be a dedicated travel blog post on Jami Masjid of Ahmedabad soon in my blog.

Jami Masjid Ahmedabad Heritage walk

How to get to Ahmedabad the Heritage City

By road: Regular public bus services and private operators are available. You can take a taxi or auto rickshaw to reach your destination. Note some bus stops – Lal Darwaja AMTS Bus Terminus (2.1 km), Gitamandir near Kalupur Railway Station (2.4 km) and Paldi ST Bus Stand (3.8 km).

By rail: Main railway station is located in Kalupur area, 1.3 km away via Gandhi Road. This station is well connected to all the major cities of India and is covered under the prominent national railway circuit.

By air: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at Ahmedabad is 8.8 km and all transport facilities are easily available.

Pin this for later

Faqs about Old City Ahmedabad Heritage Walk:

Why is Ahmedabad famous for the Heritage Walk?

In 1411, Ahmedabad was founded on the ancient site of Ashaval and Karnavati. A number of exquisite monuments, Hindu and Jain temples can be found in the city of Ahmedabad. Among the unique architectural traditions of the country are its carved wooden houses.

How many heritage monuments are there in Ahmedabad?

There are 28 monuments in Ahmadabad listed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), one monument listed by the State Department of Archaeology (SDA), and 2,696 important buildings protected by the Heritage Department at Ahmadabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).

What is famous food of Ahmedabad?

In Ahmedabad, there isn’t just one food item that is famous. Khakhra, Fafda, Dhokla, Thepla, Dalvada, Dabeli, Sev, and Farsan are some of the most popular Gujarati food items in Ahmedabad.

What are the important spots to see in the list of heritage walks in Ahmedabad?

• Swaminarayan Temple, Kalupur.
• Kavi Dalpatram Chowk.
• Lambeshwar Ni Pol.
• Calico Dome.
• Kala Ramji Mandir.
• Shantinathji Mandir, Haja Patel Ni Pol.
• Kuvavala Khancha, Doshivada Ni Pol.
• Secret Passage, Shantinath Ni Pol.

What is the heritage walk ahmedabad timings?

The Heritage Walk Ahmedabad is open 24 hours a day.

Which is the best site for booking and getting information about Ahmedabad Heritage Walk?

Local tourist companies and guides operate the heritage tours under the supervision of the Ahmedabad municipal corporation. If you want to read more about recommended experiences in and around Ahmedabad, then TripAdvisor should be the right place for booking.

Ahmedabad Heritage Walk Booking for:

• Morning Heritage Walk
• Private Half Day Ahmedabad City Tour
• Ahmedabad Private City Tour Including
• Full DAY AHMEDABAD SIGHTSEEING TOUR