Culture, Crafts & Desert
Ahmedabad, in western India, is the largest city in the state of Gujarat. The Sabarmati River runs through its center. On the western bank is the Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati, which displays the spiritual leader’s living quarters and artifacts. Across the river, the Calico Museum of Textiles, once a cloth merchant’s mansion, has a significant collection of antique and modern fabrics
Bhuj is a city in the state of Gujarat, western India. It’s known for its centuries-old buildings, many of which were damaged in a 2001 earthquake. Close to Harmirsar Lake, the 18th-century Aina Mahal palace is elaborately decorated with chandeliers, mirrors and semi-precious stones. Nearby, the Italian Gothic–style Prag Mahal palace has a bell tower that overlooks the city, and a courtyard containing a Hindu temple.
The Rann of Kutch, located in Gujarat, is one of the world’s largest salt deserts, spanning an area of roughly 7,500 sq km. It transitions from a vast, watery marshland during the monsoon to an endless, otherworldly shimmering white salt bed for the remainder of the year.
