Arrival at Arrivals at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Airport pickup any time night or day. 

The Old City of Ahmedabad was entered on the World Heritage list in 2017

We will start our day in a family workshop that specialises in Mata ki Pichardi, painting. Hand painted with vegetable dyes cloth panels celebrating the Goddess. Beautiful work.

Then we will take a spin through the Old City in tuk-tuks, Visit an intricate a Hindu Temple, Step Well, old Mosque, beautiful hand carved teak traditional house, have a thali lunch. Then wander some of the narrow laneways before returning to our heritage hotel, an oasis in this bustling city.

Sparkle Central this evening at the Law Garden Night Market

Welcome dinner in a popular Restaurant nearby.

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We’re going oShreyas Museum of Folk Art and Crafts- contains exquisite pieces of colourful embroidery, beadwork, woodcarving, metalwork, and leather work.

Inspiration with lunch at Gandhi Ashram and an afternoon visiting the wonderful work of Gramshree in the nearby slums.  A Women’s Centre, a children’s learning centre and an inspiring women’s recycling project that is enhancing street sweepers income and social status. This is an inspiring place to visit, and an uplifting experience.

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Heading to the handloom hub of Sayla, arriving around lunch time we will visit a family of weavers that practice Tangaliya, a time-consuming form where the warp is wrapped in cotton to create a subtle texture.

We are staying in the family Palace of the local Princely State.

Hopefully we can also visit the Old Palace of this Princely State

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Travelling across country to Bhuj today.

In the afternoon a stroll through the market to get a feeling for Bhuj. We will visit the Aina Mahal, the old palace, damaged by the 2002 earthquake and yet still full of charm.

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We will visit the world famous Ajrakh printers of Ajrakhpur, have their complicated and lengthy processes explained to us, look at their fantastic new water recycling plant and enjoy the hubbub of the busy workshops. 

Lunch is a fabulous local thali [mixed plate meal] and fortified by that we are moving on to visit Khamir an artisan support organization.

We can visit a local antique textile guy in the evening if you would like, they source amazing work and are always friendly and informative, they are not a pressured sell type family.

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Out and about today, the White Desert salt flats- a memorable landscape- it will be brilliant white salt as far as the eye can see.

Returning via some local tribal villages and Kala Raksha.

Heading into Bhuj there is a charming stepwell and the old memorials of past Maharajas to wander around if we have time.

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Qasab- a training group that has worked with rural development for many years and built up an impressive team of embroidery women will be our hosts today. First a presentation on how they work and why, some fabulous examples of tribal embroidery will be handed around for up close inspection [ hard to put down once you get your hands on them] and then sit with some of their women and see if we can learn what it takes to join their team through an embroidery workshop.

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Travel onto Mandvi today. This is a poke around type of day at this small seaside town. 

There are huge wooden handmade boats to see, and maybe the guy who makes boats in glass bottles will be open. We will have a beach experience, Indian style- food sellers, camel rides and a whole lot of activity.

Tie and dye is famous in Gujarat. It sounds easy to pinch the fabric and wrap it with thread; once you try you realise the time and patience that goes into the work. This area was famous for work that was as fine as sand grains scattered across the cloth, we will visit an amazing workshop.

Lunch is a cooking class with a local family.

Visit Vijaya Vilas Palace [ when you have a palace next door, you have to pop over]

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This morning we will visit a Batik workshop, very fine work and always a beautiful storeroom of cloth to raid.

Then we move onto a local village and take a stitching workshop in Rabari embroidery. We are also invited for lunch; it will be an interesting afternoon.

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Time to move on,  back across the flats of The Little Rann of Kutch to a peaceful eco-resort. We will take an afternoon jeep safari to the Wild Ass Reserve.

Dance with the local women around the campfire tonight.

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If you like to get up for sunrise we can head out and look for flamingo on the salt flats via jeep safaris.

Heading across country, it will slowly turn greener and more productive, we will visit another impressive stepwell at Modhera Sun Temple.

On our way to the Salvi family masters of double ikat weaving. Both the warp and weft are coloured with natural dyes to make intricate woven saris

Onto our home away from home a very comfortable 15th Century Fort.

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A day in the Zenana [women’s quarters of this old fort]  

Much to do here– lots of relaxing, stitching, journals in the courtyard, jeeps to visit local villages. 

Wander through the market to see the arrow makers [and yes, they are still used out there in the hills], potters and an ancient Hindu temple defaced by the last Mughal Aurangzeb hundreds of years ago. 

Afternoon, Jeep safari to visit terracotta horses in a shrine by the river and tribal villages. 

Feel like a king or queen and do nothing just relax…. Drinks of the terrace in the evening a must

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A slow morning at our fort, always hard to leave, then back to Ahmedabad. Time for a little last-minute shopping.

Let's celebrate our adventures with a farewell dinner. together.

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Departures from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India 

We will drop you to meet your flights.

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