Ahmedabad Old City

Ahmedabad was founded in 1411 and its walled city was inscribed by UNESCO in 2017 as the first world heritage city in India, largely for its urban form: the pol, a gated residential cluster shared by a community, entered through a single gate, with carved timber houses, an internal square, a bird feeder pole and, in many, concealed passages linking one pol to the next for escape. Around them stand the Jama Masjid of 1424, the Sidi Saiyyed mosque with its stone lattice tree window, the Bhadra fort and Manek Chowk, a jewellery market by day that becomes a street food market at night.

What you actually see

• The pols - gated neighbourhoods of carved timber houses.
• Sidi Saiyyed - the mosque with the celebrated stone tree lattice.
• The Jama Masjid - the 1424 mosque with its pillared hall.
• Manek Chowk - jewellery by day, street food after dark.

When to go

November to February; Ahmedabad summers exceed forty-five degrees. The morning heritage walk starts at dawn and is the best way into the pols. Uttarayan, the kite festival, falls in January.

Honest expectations

Pols are residential and largely private; a guided walk is the practical way to see inside them. Many timber houses are decaying or demolished. The city is dry, with alcohol prohibited across Gujarat.

Nearby

Adalaj stepwell lies north; Sabarmati ashram is on the river.