Bhuj Travel Guide

 Canadienne Says:  India has a long history of textiles ~ calico, chintz and muslins all originated in this country. In rural communities, in Gujarat and Rajasthan especially, a very high emphasis is still placed on hand embroidering and weaving. Each of the villages that we visited near Bhuj... 

 Canadienne Says:  Rabari women dress in black wool, with large pieces of silver jewellery. The men, children excepted, wear only white, with some colour in their shawls. Rabari boys and men are usually seen wearing earrings ~ they're called toliya ~ that are cone-shaped and look quite heavy. 

 Canadienne Says:  The village had a lot of of puppies and baby goats running around; at night, they are all herded into a hole in the ground, to protect them from leopard threat.The inside of the round-homes (bhoongas) that we visited were spotless, which would be incredible work in the... 

 Canadienne Says:  The Royal Cenotaphs are just outside the old city of Bhuj ~ we were told they were 20th century recreations of the 18th century originals. They were largely destroyed in the earthquake. 

 Canadienne Says:  Located in the Darbargadh Palace complex (across from the Aina Mahal), the Prag Mahal was added a hundred-odd years after its neighbouring building. The views from the clocktower (pictured) were fantastic. The building itself showed more British than Indian architecure... 

 Canadienne Says:  The Swaminarayan Temple's doors were actually closed to visitors the first and second time we dropped by (we had hoped to have better luck with a second try). The temple exterior itself though was very colourful and the street surrounding it quite busy.I've read since that... 

 Canadienne Says:  Hamrisar Lake forms the Western centre of Bhuj and it makes for a good point of orientation. It was an incredibly peaceful place to sit for a while. Bhuj in general seemed to have a slower pace (admittedly, I was just coming from Mumbai), and this observation held up over... 

 Canadienne Says:  Bhuj was a walled city with a fantastic maze of markets that seemed frozen in time. It was very easy to get lost in the winding streets ~ occasionally we'd would make a wrong turn and end up back out on a quieter road, but we would quickly wheel around and re-enter the... 

 Canadienne Says:  This is a view over the Aina Mahal (taken from the Prag Mahal's clocktower). The Aina Mahal had a fantastic exhibit by a local photographer when I was there. The man had spent five years living with rural tribes in the Khachchh ~ the displayed photos were largely of a... 

 Canadienne Says:  One of the main features in the Aina Mahal was the Hall of Mirrors ~ this was a long room with walls of white marble. The marble was almost entirely covered with mirrors separated by gilded ornaments. The effect of the lighting (an ornate chandelier) was not quite as... 

 Canadienne Says:  The Bhuj markets hold all sorts of interesting items ~ you'll see a lot of embroidery (it's a tribal specialty in the neighbouring Rann of Khachchh), handicrafts and jewellery. There is also a section (and additional stalls peppered throughout the lanes) of spices and... 

 Canadienne Says:  The Rann of Khachchh is located in the Northwest corner of Gujarat, along the border with Pakistan. The area south of the Rann ~ all around Bhuj ~ is called the Khachchh district and it is home to a number of tribal communities. My fondest memory is of hiring a guide in... 

 Canadienne Says:  Gujarat is one of the lesser-visited states in India; villages near the Rann of Khachchh are even more off the beaten path. The roads outside of the cities are fairly empty and it's more likely that you'll come across camels than cars and trucks. It's a wonderful place to... 

 Canadienne Says:  The tribal areas around Bhuj can apparently be a mixed bag ~ there are a number of villages that are common stops on the "normal" tourist route. We hit one on our second day and the difference was immediately apparent ~ kids shouting at us for pens, candies, rupees. . .any...