Rajkot

Rajkot is a city in the state of Gujarat in Western India. Rajkot rather appeals to spiritual tastes. As in Ahmedabad, many ashrams, that offers the teachings of yoga and meditative retreat, are located in the city and its surroundings, amidst forested hills and beautiful lakes. These traditions are not apparent to foreign visitors, especially to those in a hurry.

Understand
Rajkot is most famous as the place where Mahatma Gandhi pursued his early education. The city is also famous for traditional sweets and dandiya/garba raas dances. Founded in 1620 by a member of Jadeja clan, whose descendants ruled the city until 1947, Rajkot gained economic importance in the early 19th century, under British protectorate. Farmers' and traders' councils were encouraged to grow under British Rule. Later the city plunged into the industrial Age with the first years dominated by casting industries. Even today Rajkot is a wealthy city that ranks the 22nd-fastest-growing city in the world. It's also one of the cleanest cities of India.

Rajkot lies in the middle of Kathiawar peninsula, halfway between Ahmedabad and Porbandar. It's well worth one or two days stop although it's not a monumental city.

Gujarati is the main language. Hindi is next most popular. A good number of people will have a working knowledge of English too.

Get in
Being one of the major cities of Gujarat, Rajkot is well connected to other cities by air and land transport. For tourists, it's usual to either board a flight from Mumbai (for international arrivals) to Rajkot. For others who are already in India, it's advisable to reach Ahmadabad (either by train or by flight), and then take a quick bus ride to Rajkot.

By bus
Rajkot is quite well connected to the entire region of Saurashtra and rest of Gujarat by buses. If you will be flying out of Ahmedabad, there are some buses that leave from Rajkot and drop you to the Ahmedabad airport. They drop you just outside the airport, so be ready to walk about 10 minutes to get to the entrance, but its paved and many people are walking that way. A lot of private bus companies have a very well established network around the state with comfortable bus options (e.g. Patel Tours and travels, Eagle travels, Neeta travels.)

Get around
As Rajkot lies in the middle of the Saurashtra region, it is very easy to visit many famous places from here, whose relatives distances from Rajkot are small.

Commuting inside the city can be done via BRTS which covers the roads around the city, but the most favorite is using Auto-richshaws (best to negotiate the rate of travel before sitting inside).

See




Buy
Want to shop? If at all you are a typical shopper who wants to buy clothes, jewellery, watches etc., then you can visit the malls of Rajkot. But if you want to buy the regional specialties, then you may go for the local bazaars





Eat
Being the cultural and commerce capital of the Saurashtra district, one can expect to find many unique and delicious foods in Rajkot.
 * For breakfast, generally Ganthiya is a very good option. Ganthiyas here are of many types like Fafda (wide thin strips of Gathiya, generally savored with Jalebi, and Sambhara, a juicy salad mix of grated beets, mangoes and spices), Vanela (bite sized pieces of Gathiya), Bhavnagari (Spicy Gathiya) etc. Ganthiya is made from Besan along with some spices and water which is made into a batter then fried in oil. Khaman and Dhokla are also very famous breakfast options. Bhakri (a hard Indian Bread) is also generally taken in breakfast, although it is generally made only in homes and not available with street hawkers.
 * Poha, Jalebi, Sweet Samosa, Sweet Kachori etc. You could get them at Kotecha Chowk. At some places you may also get some south Indian varieties like idli, vada etc. (kotecha chowk).
 * For something spicy, one can go for Dabeli (bread with spicy potato filling, stuffed with spicy peanuts and served with sauces), Spicy Ghughra (spicy potato filled dumpling), Pav Bhaji, Panipuri, Ragda pattice, Dahi puri and many more fast-food items. These food items are generally sold evening onwards (with hawkers opening usually opening 5:30PM onwards).
 * Rajkot is also famous for its Kathiawadi Thali, with many good restaurants offering it.
 * For the Sweet-toothed, Chikki, Peda are some of the sweets that Rajkot is famous for. There is a special shop famous for Peda named Jai Siya Ram Pendawala at Yagnik Road. The famous shop for Chikki is Jalaram Chikki at Limda Chowk.
 * There is one stop destination for your sweets and namkeens. Different items of Rashikbhai Chevdawala is also famous for breakfast. Items like Farali Chevdo, Pauva Chevdo, Jariwali Wafer, etc. are delicious. For sweets, there is a good variety in peda and barfis.

Go next

 * The city of Jamnagar is 90 km from Rajkot.
 * Mount Girnar and the Gir forest (abode of the Asiatic lions) are about 100–150 km from Rajkot.
 * Somnath temple is around 200 km from Rajkot.
 * Diu is some 200 km from Rajkot with beautiful beaches and pleasant weather.
 * Virpur is around 60 km.
 * Dwarka is about 220 km from Rajkot.
 * The Kutch District is some 200 km from Rajkot.
 * Upleta
 * Porbandar: Port region and birthplace of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi)