Top 10 best places to see in Gujarat with kids
These are the absolute must top 10 best places to see in Gujarat especially if you are traveling with kids. Some of this will not hold depending on the season you visit Gujarat in and so I have also tried to cover the best time to visit Gujarat.
Best time to visit Gujarat
Best time to visit Gujarat is from November – February. Ideally, if it is possible you should visit it in Janurary around Uttarayan or Sankranti (14th Jan) as its known in India. Gujarat hosts one of the biggest kite festivals in India during Sankranti and also celebrates its famous Rannutsav between Nov to Feb. The weather is just perfect in the rest of the state and you can pick the mode of transport you like – a drive or a train both work equally well
10 Best places to see in Gujarat with Kids
1. Rani ki vav: UNESCO World Heritage site
When thinking of top 10 best places to see in Gujarat, this should be a must-see in your itinerary. Although this may not be one of the most visited places in Gujarat, it should make to that list soon with Rani ki vav being printed on a currency note in India.
Constructed in 2nd century AD, Rani ki vav was recognized as a UNESCO WHS on 22nd June, 2014 and also named India’s cleanest Iconic place in 2016. In those times, a vav or a stepwell was a place to not just store water but also socialize and for travelers and pilgrims to rest in the cooler bottom storeys of the structure. The carving and depiction of numerous Hindu Gods and Goddesses and geometrical patterns on the walls and pillars is worth seeing. Check this post out to know more about our experience
and what to see at Rani ki vav.
2. Akshardham Temple and its water show
Speaking from personal experience, if you have been to the Akshardham temple in Delhi, you can just plan to go there for the water show. It is something unique as it is a depiction of the story of Nachiketa through a combination of water fountains, projection on a water screen, human actors and laser beams. I had not seen the water show in Delhi Akshardham probably as I’d visited it when it had just opened to public. All the other exhibitions are same as the one in Delhi. Additionally, kids will definitely enjoy the rides.
Akshardham temple may be one of the most visited places in Gujarat, especially being in Ahmedabad.
3. Lothal: Harappan site for Indus Valley Civilization
A must do for the history buff in you. Its closed on Friday and unfortunately we had to miss it as this was the only day we had in our super packed itinerary and had missed checking it before we finalized our dates and hotels. You can actually do both Lothal and Blackbuck national park in one day if you can plan to leave Ahmedabad around 8am.
4. Blackbuck National Park
It is a hidden gem as not many people know about it but if you are driving from Ahmedabad to Gir/Bhavnagar, I highly recommend going there. This is a great un-crowded place to see herds of blackbuck, Nilgai and a lot of migratory birds that visit the wetland in this sanctuary. Some of the ones we spotted include Bushchat, small green bee-eater, common crane that migrate from Mongolia, short toed snake eagle, Montagu’s harrier. This national park was not part of our original plan and got included in our itinerary when we figured that Lothal is closed on Friday and we were already enroute to Bhavnagar and had our hotels booked for all the days onward.
5. Somnath: Temple visit, Sound & Light Show
Considered as the foremost jyotirling amongst the 12 (dwadash) jyotirlings – Revered Shiva Temples. Somnath temple has been constructed 17 times , broken a few times due to natural forces and the other times by Mughal invaders and rulers like Mahmoud of Ghazni and Aurangzeb. There is also a sound and light show at night which is worth watching. It usually starts at 8pm and the temple has high rush just before the sound and light show. On weekends there are 2 shows, at 8pm and 8:45pm. I recommend visiting the temple during the first sound & light show as its quite empty during that time and then attend the second show. We were staying in Taj Gateway Resort in Sassan Gir, from where its around 1hr drive but the road is quite sorted and safe so night driving is not an issue.
Know more about the 12 Jyotirling in India here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyotirlinga).
For the spiritually inclined, Somnath temple should be on your list with it being one of the most visited place in Gujarat.
6. Asiatic Lion spotting in Sassan Gir National Park
This is probably a no-brainer. As when one thinks of top 10 things to see in Gujarat, this one definitely comes to mind. Sassan Gir National park is responsible for steadily increasing the number of endangered Asiatic lions (only found in Gir and neighboring areas in Gujarat) since 2010. You have 2 options for lion spotting, Devalia GIZ safari and the Gir National park jungle trail. Check out this post to know more about which one to choose.
7. Dwarka
Complete your religious sojourn and visit the Dwarkadheesh temple (considered as one of Char Dham along with Kedarnath-Badrinath, Rameshwaram, Jagannath Puri), Bet Dwarka which is as close as one can get to the lost city of Dwarka that has submerged under the sea and Nageshwara Temple (another one in 12 jyotirling). In Bet Dwarka, while you can take a scuba diving trip you will not be able to see any remains of the erstwhile Dwarka (capital city of Krishna) as its way deeper under the sea (10kms or so).
8. Sabarmati Ashram
Going back to the history if India, this is one place which has a special importance in the freedom struggle of India. Apart from a peep into history of father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi and various important milestones associated with the Indian freedom movement, one also gets to see the greatness in his simplicity. My daughter also got a first hand experience of working a charkha (spinning wheel).
9. Rann of Kutch with a viewpoint at Kala Dungar
If I had to choose 2 things out of these top 10 things to see in Gujarat, this would be one of them, with the other one being Rani ki vav. Of course, its a very personal preference. Rann of Kutch is a very unique geographical and geological formation and hence it makes to my must-see list. It was a surreal experience. Take a look at this post to know more about how best to go about visiting the Rann of Kutch.
If you have an extra day in Bhuj (the sort of entry town towards Rann of Kutch), you can also plan to visit Dholavira, another harappan site (Indus Valley Civilization site).
10. Kite Watching during Uttarayan if you’re here during Sankranti
This remains on my travel bucket list. Stay tuned to know more, whenever I get a chance to visit Amdavad Kite Festival during Sankranti or Uttarayan as its called in Gujarat.
