Amritsar - Ahmedabad – Patan – Modhera – Dasada – Muli - Bhuj - Mumbai
Colourful Textiles of Amritsar & Gujarat – India
Amritsar is renowned for its vibrant Phulkari textiles, particularly Phulkari dupattas, known for their intricate floral embroidery and vibrant colors. The city markets, especially Katra Jaimal Singh, Hall Bazaar, Kapda Bazaar, and Guru Bazaar, are hubs for finding these beautiful embroidered pieces. Phulkari is a traditional embroidery art form from Punjab, characterized by its intricate threadwork and colorful designs. Founded in 1577 by the fourth Sikh guru, Guru Ram Das, Amritsar is home to the spectacular Golden Temple, Sikhisms holiest shrine and one of India’s most serene and humbling sights. The hyperactive streets surrounding the temple have been calmed to some extent by recent urban landscaping, including graceful pedestrianised walkways, but duck into any side alley and you’ll soon discover Amritsar’s fantastically frenetic old-city bazaars, sheltering a sensory overload of sights, sounds and smells. Gujarat is India’s westernmost state with a long coastline open to the Arabian Sea. From time immemorial it has been a centre of trade and commerce, with an influx of migrants and invaders from different lands who brought with them their distinctive crafts, textiles and tradition. The prosperous princely states and mercantile families of Gujarat patronised artisans who made for them rich fabrics for clothing and furnishings. Kutch forms the northwest border of India with Pakistan to the north, the vast saline and marshy desert of the Great Rann of Kutch covering most of its northern and eastern area, the Gulf of Kutch to its southwest, and vast semi-arid grasslands dotted with pastoral villages. This is one of the most rural and pastoral areas of western India, with the number of livestock heads exceeding the human population. South of the Gulf of Kutch and west of the Gulf of Khambat (Cambay), Saurashtra is the largest region of Gujarat comprising the entire Kathiawad Peninsula. Saurashtra was once divided into more than 200 princely states and fiefdoms, and their forts, palaces and mansions hold interesting repositories of textiles and crafts. The vast plains of mainland Gujarat are flanked by the Aravalli hills to the north, the Satpura and Vindhya hills to the east, the Sahyadri’s to the southeast and the Gulf of Khambat to the west. This part of Gujarat, often referred to as Mainland Gujarat, is largely urbanized. The city of Ahmedabad in the heart of the plains has a long textile history which can be explored in its superb museums. During this tour we will explore a wide range of textiles from Phulkari traditional emrbrodry from Punjab, coarse cotton and wool rugs woven in Kutch at villages near the Pakistan border to elaborate double ikat sarees woven for rich business families, from colourful embroideries of the village women of Kutch to sophisticated tapestries of the royal palaces. We will also get to see rare weaves like the Patola and the Tangolio, crafts like Rogan that are now practised by only a few families, and heirloom pieces of embroidery made for womens trousseau.
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Tour Plan
Fly from London Heathrow to Delhi on the direct on British Airways flight BA257 departing 18:50
After you have cleared immigration and collected your baggage please check into the docmestic departures on same terminal building for your flight to Ahmedabad (departs 12:30 arrival 13:40). Meeting assistance on arrival and transfer to your hotel by a private chauffeur-driven air-conditioned Coach. Check-in at Ranjit's Svaasa Hotel for 04 nights (Suites). Afternoon at leisure. Evening Visit to Sadda Pind- Take a short drive (approx 30 min) from Amritsar city to Sadda Pind, a living Punjabi village museum offering a rich cultural immersion. Enjoy a variety of traditional experiences, including puppet shows, a brief Gatka martial arts demonstration, and explore shops showcasing Phulkari embroidery and other local crafts. B, D
Morning sightseeing of Amritsar, including Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh Durgiana temple. Afternoon excursion to Wagha-the Indo-Pakistan border to witness the electrifying ‘Changing of the Guard Ceremony.’ After dinner Golden temple to witness Sukh Aasan Ceremony. This is when the Holy Book — Guru Granth — is put to rest for the night with prayers and a Prayer incanted to invoke Jot - the living light of the Guru to manifest in the Granth. B, D
This morning, head to the village near Attari Border for Phulkari workshop. This an immersive experience in the making of textiles products in Punjab. Observe a demonstration on how saris, bed covers, home furnishings and Jutti (embroidered footwear) are produced with opportunities to a hands on experience. The workshop will be conducted by Paramjeet Kaur Kapoor, a national award-winning designer for Phulkari and an empanelled designer with the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. Phulkari Embroidery- Phulkari, meaning "flower work" in Punjabi and Hindi, is a traditional embroidery style from the Punjab region, historically practiced by women. Known for its vibrant geometric and floral motifs, it was an essential part of a woman’s life—especially linked to weddings and family heritage. Girls learned the craft young, starting with scarves and progressing to larger shawls passed down through generations. The embroidery uses bright silk threads on coarse handwoven cotton cloth called khaddar, often dyed red with natural plant-based dyes. Common thread colors include yellow, orange, and pink, while darker shades are less frequent. Later, return to Amritsar for an evening cookery demonstration and dinner with a local family. B, L, D
Afternoon explore local Phulkari Markets After breakfast visit The Partition Museum- Housed in the beautifully restored 19th-century Town Hall, this unique museum—the only one in the world dedicated solely to Partition—offers a poignant and often haunting portrayal of the tragic events leading up to, during, and following Partition. Newspaper cuttings, photographs (some of which may be disturbing), and video interviews tell the tumultuous story from the perspective of survivors of the largest migration in human history. With exhibits on events like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the Komagata Maru incident, the museum gives voice to those often left out of history. This is not just a museum—it’s a living archive of memory, resilience, and loss. This afternoon, we will dive into the colorful world of Phulkari in Amritsar’s bustling markets. Our visit begins at Kapda Bazaar near the Town Hall—true to its name, it’s a hotspot for traditional Phulkari textiles. From there, we head to Katra Jaimal Singh Market, renowned as one of the best market in the city for Phulkari shopping. We'll also explore other vibrant local markets including Hall Bazaar, Guru Bazaar near the Golden Temple, and Lawrence Road Market. B, D
Early Morning Yoga session at hotel ground about 45 minutes. Late morning transfer to the airport to board your flight to Ahmedabad (depart 13:00 / arrive 15:50). Meeting assistance on arrival and transfer to your hotel. Check-in at WH Mani Mansion Hotel for 03 nights (Standard Rooms). Free afternoon or you may wish to go for a light walk in the market with Nirav. Few popular book stores are Art Book Centre, Crossword Book store, Mahajan & Latitude which you may wish to visit. B, D
After breakfast proceed for a heritage walk in the old city. Visit Ahmedabad Textile Mill Association if time permits. Hire Tuk Tuk's to drop off point for heritage walk and rest tour by Coach. Later visit to Calico Museum of Textiles (with prior permission) – here we will see Indian Textiles influenced by the Mughal and Provincial Courts 17th-19th Century Textile Trade of India with the outside world – 15th-19th Century Indian Co Regional Embroideries of India 19th Century Costumes in the Calico Collection – 18th to mid-20th Century (Sindh, Kutch, Kathiawad, Tamilnadu, Orissa, Mithila (Bihar), Bengal, Punjab, Chamba (Himachal Pradesh), Indian Tie-Dyed Fabrics, Techniques of Weaving and Dyeing Wooden Blocks for Printing on cloth. Evening free time for shopping in local markets and bookstores. B, D
Morning visit to Ghandi Ashram- In peaceful, shady grounds on the Sabarmati River’s west bank, this ashram was Gandhi’s headquarters from 1917 to 1930 during the long struggle for Indian independence. It’s said he chose this site because it lay between a jail and a cemetery, and any satyagrahi (nonviolent resister) was bound to end up in one or the other. Gandhi’s poignant, spartan living quarters are preserved, and there’s a museum that presents a moving and informative record of his life and teachings. Also visit a Adalaj Stepwell also known as as Rudabai Vav falls under ASI. Afternoon visit to Indivaan Textile Studio, early evening will visit a local family for a cooking demonstration followed by dinner. B, D
Morning after early breakfast drive to Patan to see the double ikat Patola silk weaving, Mashru weaving and the Rani-ki-Vav Stepwell (approximately 3 hrs driving time) Afternoon drive to Modhera about an hour drive away from Patan and visit Modhera Sun Temple. Later continue driving to Dasada, check in at Rann Riders for 1 nights. (Kachchh, India’s wild west, is a geographic phenomenon. The flat, tortoise-shaped land, edged by the Gulf of Kachchh’s and Great and Little Ranns, is a seasonal island. During the dry season, the Ranns are vast expanses of dried mud and blinding-white salt. Come the monsoon, they’re flooded first by seawater, then by fresh river water. The salt in the soil makes the low-lying marsh area almost completely barren. Only on scattered ‘islands’ above the salt level is there coarse grass, which provides fodder for the region’s wildlife. The villages dotted across Kachchh’s arid landscape are home to a jigsaw of tribal groups and subcastes that produce some of India’s finest handicrafts, above all, textiles that glitter with exquisite embroidery and mirror work. In spite of the mammoth earthquake in 2001 that completely destroyed several villages, the residents of this harsh land have determinedly rebuilt their lives and are welcoming to visitors). B, D
Morning desert safari across the Little Rann of Kutch, a salt marsh, looking for wild ass and water birds in a shared Jeeps.Afternoon drive to Muli (approximately 2 hrs driving time). Check in at Ambika Nivas Palace for 1 night. Evening explore Tangaliya Weaving and Khadi in nearby villages. Tangaliya is a kind of rare weave that involves adding knots using additional weft threads during the process of weaving. Handloom and Khadi clusters- Khadi refers to fabrics made from handspun thread and woven on a handloom. Mahatma Gandhi promoted khadi as a way of creating livelihood specially for home based rural women workers. B, D
After breakfast, drive to Bhuj (approximately 6 hrs driving time), check in at Kutch Safari Resort for 05 nights (Deluxe AC Cottages). Rest of the day at leisure. Bhuj has a long history of kings and empires that connects you to a range of civilizations and important events in South Asian history through prehistoric archaeological finds, remnants of the Indus Valley Civilization (Harappans), places associated with the Mahabharata and Alexander the Great's march into India and tombs, palaces and other buildings from the rule of the Naga chiefs, the Jadeja Rajputs, the Gujarat Sultans and the British Raj. Over the 4000-year inhabitation of Kutch it developed trading and migratory relationships with ancient civilizations as far abroad as Zanzibar, the Middle East and Greece, fostering a unique ethnic mix of peoples and traditions in the region. B, D
After breakfast, drive to Bhirandiyara for embroidery workshop and lunch with Marwada families. This is the place of Marwada Meghwal families who lives at a small but colourful round houses. Ladies are always in colourful costumes and practising hand embroidery and quilting work. This is a workshop of traditional Banni embroidery with mirrors. Raw materials will be provided by family. Note- As it’s small and tiny stitches embroidery, need to have eye glasses those who use glasses. Afternoon visit Nirona village for Rogan art, Bell making and lacquer artisans home demonstration. Return back to your Bhuj for overnight stay. B, L, D
Morning visit to Earthquake Museum - Smritivan Earthquake Museum, Gujarat, spanning 11,500 sq. meters, is an architectural marvel composed of seven distinct blocks, each further divided into interactive and educational sub-galleries. Every space offers a unique experience, blending science, storytelling, and innovation to create an almost futuristic exploration of seismic history and resilience. Afternoon visit LLDC (Living and Learning Design Centre), Ajrakh and Bhujodi for the day. Ajarakh is the unique style of wood block printing done with natural and vegetable dyes. This art is centuries old traditional art practised by Khatri community of Kutch and Sindh area of Pakistan. We will be visiting workshop of master artisan Dr. Ismail Khatri and his sons Sufiyan and Zunaid. Dr. Ismail honoured with honorary doctor of Art from UK university. Here we will learn about techniques of dyes and block printing magic. Later visit local markets and textile warehouses. B, D
Morning visit to Bhujodi village known for traditional Kutchi weaving. We will visit to Vishram Valji Vankar family, the largest artisan family of weavers in Bhujodi. Afternoon visit Khamir (Kachchh Heritage Arts Music information and Resources centre) to get an insight into the fascinating rural crafts of Kutch including a demonstration. In the evening, visit the Wazir family to see their outstanding collection of textiles. B, D
Morning workshop of Tye and dye at Bhuj. The tye and dye is also known as Baandhni and bandhej. This is also a unique art done by ladies and men as well. Afternoon walk at Bhuj market and visit of Palaces and Museums of Bhuj. B, D
Departure transfer to Bhuj airport (approximately 1 hrs driving time) to board your flight to Mumbai. Depart Ahmedabad at 08:55 Arrival 10:15. Meeting, assistance on arrival and transfer to your hotel. Check-in at Hotel Gordon House for 3 nights. Afternoon sightseeing of Mumbai includes major sites of Mumbai City including the Prince of Wales Museum, Dhobi Talao and Crawford Market. Also see the busy Mumbai VT Railway Station (now renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Meeting, assistance on arrival and transfer to your hotel. Check-in at Hotel Gordon for 2 nights. B
Morning embark on diversified Elephanta Caves tour, signifying the glorious abode of Lord Shiva. Consisting of seven caves on the Arabian Sea, it stands as an epitome of Hindu cave culture and is a testimony to a civilization that has long disappeared. Begin the tour with a drive to the Gateway of India, from where you board your boat from the harbour and take an hour-long jovial ferry ride to the fascinating Elephanta Caves. Witness the magical beauty of Mumbai from the sea & enjoy the panoramic views as you approach Elephanta Island famous for The Elephanta Caves, UNESCO World Heritage site. Not only is the island host to a bounty of nature in the form of lush plantations of palm, mango and tamarind trees, it is also home to ancient cave temples that have been carved out of rock. Relive history, find traces of a long-lost civilization and rediscover the charm and grandeurs of the past. After a splendid cave exploration experience, get back to the ferry and sail back to the Gateway of India. Rest of the day at leisure. B
Morning visit Spice Market about 2 to 3 hours, The Lalbaug area is the heart of the textile mill industry which flourished in Mumbai from the mid-1800’s to the late 1900’s. This walk provides a cultural introduction to the area and its people. We will explore the religious, economic, political and social fabric of this multi-cultural area which is home to Marathi-speaking Hindus as well as small communities of Parsis and Muslims. Apart from a colourful spice market, there is a bustling vegetable market here, a farsan (fried snack) market called Chivda Galli, and a busy fish market. Wedding and religious paraphranelia, shops selling daily needs items, kitchen utensils and provisions, all make for an interesting introduction to local cuisine and culture. Spend the afternoon for any last-minute shopping visiting Fabindia Experience Center, Kala Ghoda and Anokhi at Chopatty Beach. B
Morning transfer to the Mumbai airport to board British Airways flight BA198 to London. Depart Mumbai 13:15, arrive London Heathrow 18:00. Uk Regional Aiport connections are possible please request for a quote. Looking to extend your holiday? Contact our consultants today for your options. B
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