The Calico Museum of Textiles
A serious textile collection in Ahmedabad shown only on booked guided tours: court fabrics, temple hangings and regional weaves.
Updated 19 October 2026
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The Calico Museum, run by a family foundation in a set of carved wooden havelis and garden buildings at Shahibag, holds one of the most serious textile collections anywhere in India. It covers court and trade textiles, embroidered and painted temple hangings, tent panels and canopies, Kashmiri shawls, block-printed and resist-dyed cottons, and the religious art connected to those fabrics. Access is deliberately restricted: numbers are capped, visits happen on fixed guided tours in a fixed sequence, photography is not allowed and bags are left behind. The upside is that you see textiles at close range with someone explaining technique. The downside is that you cannot simply turn up.
History
The museum was founded in 1949 by the siblings Gautam and Gira Sarabhai, when Ahmedabad had a flourishing textile industry, and it was first housed at the Calico Mills. As the collection grew it moved in 1983 to the Sarabhai House in Shahibaug (Wikipedia, Calico Museum of Textiles).
What you'll find
- Court textiles - tent panels, canopies and embroidered hangings shown at unusually close range.
- Painted and printed cottons - kalamkari and block-printed trade cloth, with technique explained on the spot.
- Temple hangings - large narrative cloths made for shrines, hung in dim rooms to protect the dyes.
- The haveli buildings - carved wooden facades and courtyards reassembled around a quiet garden.
When to go
November to February is the only comfortable window in Ahmedabad; from March the city gets very hot. Tours run on set days at set times and places go quickly, so book weeks ahead rather than days. Arrive early, since latecomers are not admitted once a group has started. Allow half a day including the cross-city journey.
What to expect
Booking is the hard part: the system is old-fashioned, slots are limited and refusals are common in high season. No photography, no bags, no wandering off, and the tour moves at the guide's pace whether or not you want longer with a piece. Lighting is deliberately low. If textiles do not interest you, skip it entirely.
Nearby
The old city's carved wooden pols and the stepwell at Adalaj are both short rides away.
Key facts
Source: Wikidata, item Q5019871, read on 18 October 2026.
What to pack for The Calico Museum of Textiles
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- Comfortable walking shoes - Sightseeing means kilometres of pavement and cobbles daily. Find on Amazon
- Modest clothing - Shoulders and knees covered - the single most common requirement. Find on Amazon
- A slim anti-theft daypack - Zips that close properly; keep it in front in crowds and on transit. Find on Amazon
- A scarf or shawl - To cover the head or shoulders on entry; women especially at mosques. Find on Amazon
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