Exploring the gems of Gujarat – Adalaj, Modhera and Patan -

During my second Gujarat visit, I finally got to catch up on the things I’ve missed. When I told people first about Gujarat, often the reactions are something like “Gujarat? What do you want THERE?” The clearly have no idea what they’re missing out on! Do check out my blog on day 1 of my trip!

The morning of day 2 started with a shock: it wasn’t possible to book any Uber or OLA Outstation cabs on such a short notice! The earliest was 4 or 5 pm. I had done it from Delhi to Agra in the past with only 1 hr in advance and simply assumed it would be like this again. Luckily, Russell had randomly spoken about it to our first cab driver the day before and taken his number. He was still free and able to take us on such short notice. Phew!

The first stop was Adalaj, which was around 30 km away from the hotel. It had changed quite a bit since the last time I had been there. Now there’s a ticket booth, the usual 300 INR for foreigners. It’s definitely worth a visit and we loved the detailed stone carvings. The access was rather restricted though and we absolutely preferred Dada Harir Vav. Since it was basically the same, we didn’t take too much time there.

The next stop was the Sun Temple in Modhera which was around one hour away. The landscape became lush green, fields everywhere with a few farmhouses here and there and the occasional big plant of some big companies. It kept raining heavily in between and I got worried that it will spoil it. But we were lucky once again and the sky cleared up shortly before we arrived. Again, the entry fee was 300 INR.

This place was absolutely stunning and I hereby declare it to the most amazing place I’ve visited in Gujarat! If you ever go that side, do visit it! 1000 years old it’s from the same time period with the same architectural style as Khajuraho, hence the temple itself was pretty similar to those. What made it so special was the tank in front of it with its many steps. There were even turtles in the water ?

We decided rather spontaneously to visit Rani ki vav next, another stepwell in Patan, since we still had time and it was only around 45 min away. Neither of us had googled it or was prepared for the sight in any way. The only reason to go was that I had remembered that it had been on my list 3 years back, so we went. They charged 600 INR entry which outraged me first – until I saw it.

It was simply incredible: the mere size of it amazed us before even seeing it properly. The other two stepwells were really nothing against it! 7 levels of stairs leading to a 30 m deep well. Where the other two stepwells mostly have ornately carved designs, this one has sculptures all over. No wonder it’s considered the finest and one of the largest examples of stepwell architecture in Gujarat. It is built in the same time period as the Sun temple in Modhera, once again 1000 years old. It was also one of the first places where sculptures were remodelled and looked almost like new. Mostly, these ancient places in India aren’t preserved very well and it’s sad to see these monuments go down the drain. But here, they made a great effort.