So, I decided to do a 4 day trip to Baroda, I had heard a lot about this city and was very keen on exploring the city myself !
I took a flight from Bengaluru to Ahmedabad and landed at around 8AM (there are direct flights to Baroda from Bengaluru). I chose to land in Ahmedabad , so that I could do a quick tour of Ahmedabad city as well.
I first visited the Sabarmati Ashram, located on the banks of the river Sabarmati. It’s a calm and peaceful ashram which is said to be one of the places where Mahatma Gandhi used to live in. It is also believed that he led the Salt Satyagraha from this Ashram.
This Ashram has the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, a museum, Gandhiji’s cottage, Hridaya Kunj, a library, painting gallery, and much more. If you are someone who loves history, this place is absolutely worth the visit! The Ashram opens at 9 am and the right time to visit this Ashram would be early morning, so that you would not have to witness a huge crowd.
The next place I dropped in onto was the Auto world Vintage Car museum, which again was something that was very exciting for me as I love antiques and vintage stuff! This museum showcases a huge number of antique cars, motorcycles, Buggies and a whole lot of vintage motor vehicles. The entire tour of this museum may take about 2 to 3 hours. If you are a fan of vintage automobiles, this place would definitely not disappoint you.
Visit to Amul Diary Museum was the next place on my plan, but unfortunately I was not aware that the museum timings are between 2 pm and 4 pm, and I had to miss it. So, next I headed straight to Baroda and after a short rest, the foodie in me craved to set out to explore the eateries of Baroda city. I ended up chomping Gujarati Thali at Hotel Express Towers, in Vadodara city. The Thali was so yumm that I gobbled my heart out and went for an icecream at Havmor store. So that’s how my first day ended on a sweet note.
So Day 2, I had planned to explore some places away from the city. I took a cab from Vadodara and the first place which I went to was, Hathni Mata waterfalls. This falls is approximately 100 metre high waterfall surrounded by serene forest and also embraces a small temple inside the cave. This place is at a distance of 80 km from Vadodara and the nearest bus stop is pavagadh-champaner.
Post that, I visited Champaner-Pavagadh Archeological Park which is about 10 km from Hathni Mata waterfalls. This park is a Unesco World Heritage Site and has monuments that are a mix of Islamic and Hindu styles dating back to 15 century and 16th centuries . It has a beautiful fort, a palace, temples and mosques. The mosque, Jami Masjid is an exceptional piece of art that has beautifully carved stone designs. It also has beautiful domes and ceilings and is a very well maintained monument which makes it worth the visit. Closer to this is the Kali Temple at the summit of Pavagadh hill which is about 762 m above sea level, which is said to be one of the oldest temples of the place. A huge number of Hindu pilgrims visit this temple.
Since I am a huge fan of wild animals, I visited the Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary, that is about 33 km from champaner. I was there sometime around 3 pm and trust me, I did not get to spot even a single minute animal, :P. On asking the locals, they said that one could spot the wild animals either early mornings or late evenings. After this I left back to the City and chilled at the Cafe Stock Exchange (Alkapuri, Vadodara).
On the third day I was terribly excited to explore the much talked about, World's Tallest Statue 'The Statue of Unity'. I left Baroda City early morning around 7.15 am to cover about 90 km and reached by 9.30 am (This place opens at 9 am and the earlier you go the better chance you get of exploring the place freely without much crowd). The first gaze at the silhouetted statue from a long distance was truly mesmerizing, it sort of brought the patriotic feelings inside me to another level. I had booked the express ticket online that costs about Rs. 1000 . The normal entry ticket would cost Rs.60 and you could book this ticket too, online. If in case you are going on a weekend, I would suggest you buy the express ticket so that you would not have to wait for hours in a long long queue. You could book the tickets on their site https://soutickets.in/ . The statue of Unity stands tall on the banks of River Narmada, with a beautiful landscape surrounding it. There is a museum at the basement that showcases the history of pre-Independent India and stories of Sardar Vallabhai Patel. The ticket also gives the access to visit the viewing gallery at the top of the statue, valley of flowers, Museum and Sardar Sarovar Dam. Well, I must say this place is very interesting and tops the list of places in Gujarat that are worth a visit.
On the last day I decided to explore the other parts of the city. Since I had saved some funds for shopping, I visited the Mangal Bazar, on Khatri Pole Road. It is one of the biggest marketplaces in India and has a huge collection of antiques, show pieces, kurtis, lehengas, sarees, saree blouses, bags, wallets, belts, T- shirts for men and a lot of other stuff. It also has some amazing food joints where you can savour some delicious Gujarati delicacies. The best time to visit this market would be sometime around 3, otherwise it could get really crowded. Do not forget to bargain as the shopkeepers keep the prices high because they do know most of us Indians love bargaining ;). Another attraction is the Ratri Bazaar, that is on the Mangal Pandey Road. This is mostly a place which has about 40 eateries where you get to smack on so many amazing delicacies. If you are a foodie, then this place would definitely make you go high! I ended my trip with this and took an early morning flight the next day back to Bengaluru.
Vadodara is truly a beautiful city with beautiful people and amazing eateries. The roads are amazing and the city still has a blend of modern and classical styles. I loved this trip and I am looking forward to visit the Kutch district next.
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