Surat

Surat (સુરત) is a city in Gujarat, India. It is a bustling, successful commercial city with extremely limited western influence. This makes it an example of both the boom in Gujarat's development and a continuation of the state's historical role as a center for the mass production of high quality textiles.

Understand


Surat (Hindi: सूरत, Gujarati: સુરત) is a port city and administrative headquarters of the Surat District. As of 2011, Surat and its metropolitan area had a population of approximately 4.5 million. It is the second largest city in Gujarat and 9th largest in India. Surat is a major gemstone centre, and over 92% of the world's diamonds are cut here. The city is on the banks of the Tapti River, and was a major port during the British colonial era. However, due to damming projects, the Tapti River become unnavigable and a new port was constructed down stream at the suburb of Hazira.

Surat is largely off the trail for foreign tourists. As a result, travelling there can provide some interest for the experienced traveller of India.

Rickshaw drivers and hotel staff speak almost no English, making ordering food and organizing travel more difficult than nearby Mumbai or Rajasthan. Still, the Surtis are friendly and curious: the occasional English speaker will likely ask why you have come there - and be shocked if your answer is anything but business. If you have even a little Hindi or Gujarati your travel will be more interesting and far, far simpler.

The STD code of Surat is 0261-.

Climate: The climate is tropical and the city receives the full impact of the monsoon. Winter Temperature: Max 31°C, Min 12°C Summer Temperature: Max 42°C, Min 24°C Rainfall: mid-June to mid-September 931.9 mm Lowest Recorded Temperature: 6.5°C Highest Recorded Temperature: 48°C

By plane


The nearest other international airports, almost equidistant with Surat City, are those of Mumbai (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport ) and Ahmedabad (Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) International Airport ).

By train
Railway is most preferred mode of transport to reach Surat considering the frequency of trains from Mumbai. The city is connected to the national railway system through the Western Railways connecting it to Mumbai and beyond to the south as well as New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and other cities to the north. The Surat Railway station is in the eastern-central part of the city and is near major hotels and businesses. There is also a connection to the Central Railways through the Udhana Junction and the Tapti line.

The variety of passenger trains range from local trains that stop at all stations on the way, to super fast express trains like the August Kranti Rajdhani Express, Satabdi Express, Mumbai Ahmedabad AC double-decker. In addition there are plenty of goods trains that move the goods produced by the city to the rest of the country and beyond, and bring supplies to the city. Indian railways offer online booking service for all the trains having reservations.

4 hr each from Mumbai and Ahmedabad and 2 hr from Vadodara by train.

By car
The Golden Quadrilateral highway system passes by Surat city. You can get into Surat from National Highway 8 from 3 major connector highway. National Highway 8 corridor is one of the most industrially developed area in the country and Surat is one of the most industrially active cities that connect to it. National Highway 6 starts from Hazira and connects the city to Dhule, Nagpur, Raipur, Sambalpur, Kharagpur and Kolkata.

By bus
The Central Bus Station is on opposite side of Railway Station and has regular buses to different towns of Gujarat, operated by the GSRTC. Out-State bus stops at this depot. Very near to this, private bus operators have their offices.

The city has a local city bus system to travel in the city. Surat is connected with major cities of Gujarat as well as Mumbai and other Indian cities. Raj travels Volvo a/c buses run throughout the day to various cities of India. Daily more than 700 buses depart for various parts of Saurastra (the eastern part of Gujarat).

By boat
There is a port at Hazira, but passenger boats/ships are not frequently operated. Heavy ships are usually used by the Hazira-based industries like Reliance, Essar and L & T, Kribhco.

Get around
While the city has a local city bus system, the public transport needs of the city are met by privately operated auto rickshaws.

A lot of road engineering projects have been completed, particularly the elevated roads, or flyovers in the diamond and textile districts of the city. This has significantly cut down on the commuting time for many commuters travelling to the diamond and textile districts.

The bus rapid transit network has expanded rapidly. It has air conditioning. Check apps for schedule.

See

 * The entire city on the roads (esp. the Dumas Road) on Sunday Evenings. Amazing to see people spreading bed sheets by the roadside to enjoy the evening with Lari Food (hawker food) adding spice.
 * The entire city on the roads (esp. the Dumas Road) on Sunday Evenings. Amazing to see people spreading bed sheets by the roadside to enjoy the evening with Lari Food (hawker food) adding spice.
 * The entire city on the roads (esp. the Dumas Road) on Sunday Evenings. Amazing to see people spreading bed sheets by the roadside to enjoy the evening with Lari Food (hawker food) adding spice.
 * The entire city on the roads (esp. the Dumas Road) on Sunday Evenings. Amazing to see people spreading bed sheets by the roadside to enjoy the evening with Lari Food (hawker food) adding spice.
 * The entire city on the roads (esp. the Dumas Road) on Sunday Evenings. Amazing to see people spreading bed sheets by the roadside to enjoy the evening with Lari Food (hawker food) adding spice.

Do

 * Watch a Bollywood or Hollywood film at several Multiplexes such as:
 * Cinépolis at Imperial Mall
 * Cityplus
 * INOX at VR Mall
 * PVR at Rahulraj Mall
 * Rajhans Cinema
 * Valentine Multiplex
 * Valentine Multiplex

Devotional places

 * Ambika Niketan Temple - Ambika Niketan Temple is one of the popular pilgrim spots in Surat. Ambika Niketan Temple, situated on the banks of the River Tapti, was built in 1969. The temple is dedicated to Mother Goddess, who is in the form of Goddess Ashtabhuja Ambika. The most auspicious occasion at this temple is the Navrathri celebrations, which are conducted with great fervour. There are also shrines dedicated to Ram-Sita, Laxminarayan and Lord Shiva at Ambika Niketan Temple.

Learn


There are several libraries in the city:


 * Gandhi smruti library, Nanpura, Timaliyawad. Open: 8AM-8PM and 8AM-2PM on Monday and public holiday.
 * Ganpatram A. Travadi free library, Ambaji Road, pagathiya sheri. Open: 09:00-11:30 and 16:00-14:30.
 * Kavi narmad central library, opposite Umra Police Station, Athwa lines. Open: 08:00-20:00.
 * Nagindas kazi free library, Ghee Kanta Rd, Haripura. Open: 9-11:30AM and 4-6:30PM.
 * Public library, Chhaparia sheri, Mahidharpura. Open: 9-11:30AM and 2-6:30PM.

Buy
While there are limited sights of obvious tourist interest, the main attraction of Surat is shopping. The district ‘textile market’ is aimed at wholesale dealers. The endless rows of wholesalers peddling beautiful sarees may or may not sell to retail customers, but you will find excellent deals here on fabrics you would otherwise likely pay far more for. If you are not interested in sarees, there are clusters of upmarket Indian brand clothing stores. The many clothing shops of Gohd Dod road provide an array of beautiful designer Shalwar Kameez, Sarees and Indo-Western dresses. These are likely designed in Mumbai and produced in Surat, and so Surat is the cheapest place to by such items. High quality designer clothes cost nearly half as much as they would in Delhi and Mumbai.

For male shoppers, you can find good deals on high quality formal and casual wear here. Australians may be amused by the Indian brand ‘Aussie’ found on Gohd Dod road. It is nothing like what one would imagine a chain store of that name in Australia to be.


 * Books. Most of the schooling, engineering and commerce students' book needs are met with in book shops in the Athwa Lines locality. Examples include Lucky Book House and Maulik.
 * Clothing. G3+ Store is a fashionable boutique catering for both men and women. The store has high quality eastern and western clothing at reasonable prices. They may be overruns of European designer brands from the local textile industry.
 * Diamonds. There are a number of jewellers in the city.
 * Shopping Plazas. There are lots, with the latest attractions being the Iscon Mall and the Big Bazaar both located on the Dumas Road.
 * Textiles. The city is home to several textile markets.
 * There are a number of standard salons in Parle Point & Ghod-Dod Road area.
 * There are a number of standard salons in Parle Point & Ghod-Dod Road area.

Eat
Some special and unique dishes of Surat include Locho, Surti Undhiyu, Rasawala Khaman, Cold coco and Surti Ghari. Many of the popular types of food of the state of Gujarat originated in this region. Surti cuisine is not as sweet as the stereotypical Gujarati food, but rather on the spicier side.

Come winter and Suratis will emerge at River Tapi's banks to eat Ponk. Ponk is a unique roasted millet.

Surat is also known for its celebrations of Chandi Padvo usually which usually comes around October. This is the biggest full moon day of the Hindu calendar year. On this day, Surtis buy almost 100 tons of Ghari and other Surati delicacies, then head to Dumas where they have dinner/late night snack under full moon.

There is a popular adage in India which translated means if Kasi is a stairway to heaven, Surat is the place for food. The variety of cuisines is quite large, varying from the local Gujarati Thalis to South Indian food. There are a lot of nice eateries like Indian curry, Klassic, Deewan-e-Khaas which will give you the flavour of a traditional Indian food and for South Indians, Mysore Cafe, Vishnu's, and the Mallu Restaurant provide a good eat-out. The roadside stalls (laari in local parlance) provide tasty and inexpensive food.



Budget
You can fill your stomach on almost any budget in Surat.

You can take food in the laaris (roadside hawkers) if less on budget. There are laaris for Dhosa, Sandwich, Pizza, Wada-Pav, Pav-Bhaji, Pani-Puri, etc. throughout the city. You can easily find one at any corners of the city.

Though non veg varieties are less but the Anda/Beda (egg) laaris spread all across the city are very famous. Some popular names are bhai-bhai (Nanpura), raju (Adajan), amthabhai (Piplod), Ganesh (Moti talkies), a few in Zampa Bazaar and Rander area are also good.

Talking about non-veg food. for laari stuff Zampa Bazaar, rander, chowk are really good. You can try the Nan-chaaps at Zampa Bazaar, seekh paratha at chowk, and Irani paratha/egg roti (stuffed with keema) at rander (especially during the month of Ramazan).

Ann by the way if you haven't tried early morning baara (12) handis (pots) breakfast at Zampa Bazaar then many locals would say that you don't know what a really heavy breakfast is. Hygienic is not the word you can use, but it's really wonderful, and you can follow it up with sweet malpua.

Also the normal tandoori chicken at all of these places is good. And in Ramazan one can try the machchi (fish) masala chicken at Rander, the silver chicken (actually it's green masala chicken but wrapped in silver foil). Also the khausa (a kind of noodle and soup) is good.

On Sunday morning one can find youngsters and families alike crowding the Dumas area for various kinds of bhajiyas. Try tomato, rataalu, mirch for some variety.

Also famous is the kulfi and hand made ice creams of Surat. some very different kind of flavours like mirch (chili), coriander, ginger, etc. can be found at Janta ice-cream outlets. Also famous is the Kishore ice cream.

If you want to try good hand made kulfi/ice-cream go to Badshah, Tajmahal, King, hajoori at Zampa Bazaar.

Also there are scores of laaris outside the SV-NIT (SVR) college for non veg stuff.

Good non-veg restaurants are few like Sugar n Spice (ring road), Center Court (Athwa lines), Kandil, and Savera. Barbecue Nation at Parle Point serves the barbecue on the table.

Dosa and sai dosa are the most popular types of dosa and south Indian dishes.

With lot of malls coming up on the airport road major food chains of India have started flocking the city. Mainland China, McDonald, KFC, and TGB.

Mid-range
Surat has very good food and restaurant chains. It includes all major brands. Besides Chinese Room (Nanpura) and Sugar n Spice (Ring Road) offer good food at a decent cost.

For Gujarati food: visit Sasuma, Swastik, Kansar, Sabrus, Sab Food and Express.

Rajasthani food with food places: 1) Chowkithani 2) Bhatwari, these two are best modern traditional restaurants in Surat provides Jaypuri and Gujarati food along with Punjabi food. people may visit with families and children as well as with friends to celebrate party.

Splurge
Many multiplexes such as Valentine, City Plus and Raj Empire have various places to eat.

Drink
Alcohol is banned in Gujarat. Only foreign tourists and people with drinking licences can purchase liquor. However, the people of Surat are fun-loving and tend to find alcohol in the city. There are some places in Surat such as Golvad, Dumas and Olpad where people can find alcohol more easily under the table from the bootlegger. It's easy for foreign tourists to obtain a liquor permit, but it is not advisable to look for liquor under table as the risk of getting adulterated liquor and suffering from severe health problems is high.

Budget
For a decent hotel you need to spend at least ₹ 2000.

Mid-range



 * Hotel Merit offers excellent, clean, reliable and reasonably priced accommodation (₹1880 per 24 hours stay) – and it at least looks like the newest of the hotels clustered helpfully near the railway station. Its quiet English-speaking day manager is helpful and friendly and will assist with a rickshaw if you struggle with the drivers outside. While there is no restaurant, its staff serve fresh and hot (if a little oily) Punjabi-style curries as room service all day. Breakfast is included, with two options each morning, along with tea or coffee. Couples may be asked if they are married, though restrictions on the non-married only apply to Indian nationals.

Stay safe
Surat is one of the safest city in India, and even travelling at night is not a matter for concern, as the city night life is such that people don't interfere much with other. Everybody is busy with their own friends and family; leave them alone, and you'll be fine.

Go next

 * Dumas & Hajira. Dumas 16 km from Surat and Hajira 28 km from Surat are well known health resorts on the creek of Arabian Sea. Hajira has two wells with water rich in iron and sulphur. The pleasant Hazira beach is fringed by feathery casurina trees.
 * Vansada National Park. Located in Valsad district, the park is a home to leopards, tigers, panthers and wild boars. The best time to visit is between October to March.
 * Water Park: Chhab Chhaba Chhub(near Hazira) is very good water park to visit with friends, families, and couple, where lot of water sports rides are available.

Beaches from Surat
Due to very high tides, it is not recommended to take bath at beaches of Surat. There are a number of beaches near Surat for you to enjoy sun and sand.


 * Dumas: Dummas is a popular resort with locals. 16 km away
 * Hajira: Hajira is 28 km from the city, but due to Industries setup, most of it is now converted to jetties.
 * Suvali: Suvali. 27 km from Surat is a peaceful and clean beach. It is dangerous on high tide.
 * Navsari: Navsari is 29 km south of Surat, has been a headquarters for the Parsi community since the earliest days of their settlement in India.
 * Tithal : Beach near Valsad 80 km south of Suart is one of safer beach if you want to have a bath.
 * Udvada: Udhvada, 10 km north of Vapi, the station for Daman, has the oldest Parsi sacred fire in India. It is said that the fire was brought from Persia to Diu, on the opposite coast of the Gulf of Cambay, in 700 AD.
 * Umbharat: Umbharat is 42 km out.
 * Sanjan: Sanjan, in the extreme south of the state, is the small port where the Parsis first landed. A pillar marks the spot.