You are in Ahmedabad, and you want to explore the largest metropolis of Gujarat—also the first in India to be declared a Unesco ‘World Heritage City’—at your own pace. How about hopping into an autorickshaw that takes you to the hidden secrets of the ‘walled city’ as well as its highlights, all the while navigating the narrow bylanes? En route, you not only get to see the great architectural tradition reflected in many exquisite monuments, temples and modern buildings, but also experience handmade and textile art, as well as silver and jewellery galleries of family heirlooms as a bonus. Sounds enlightening, isn’t it? Indeed.
Experiential travel is evolving from mere sightseeing to include rare, meaningful activities as tourists seek deeper connections with destinations and immerse themselves in local cultures and communities. “Most of these experiences have a story to tell, and offer ownership and participation of communities involved in it. For instance, a typical tourist circuit like the ‘Golden Triangle’ can be beautifully done if you bring communities into it. You can also turn a climate resilience-focused project of the community into a twilight dining experience,” says Gopinath Parayil, founder of The Blue Yonder, a tour company in Kerala that offers experiential travel to customers.
“In the absence of appropriate checks and policies, the quality, number and value of offbeat places are hugely compromised. But such collaborations can help with a good line-up of offerings for boutique and slow tourism,” feels Shoba Rudra, partner and founder of RARE India, a conscious luxury travel brand.
Incidentally, this trend has been gaining momentum in India over the years. As per the American Express Travel 2023 Global Trends report, 94% of Indian respondents expressed a desire to travel to a lesser-known destination and 95% to a destination off the beaten path. The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have fuelled this interest, as individuals embarked not only on domestic travel but also on self-discovery and meaningful trips.
Here, we check out a few places that are transforming the way modern explorers are looking at experiential travel in India…
Beyond the backwaters
Talk of Kerala and one of the first things that comes to our mind is the backwaters, a network of brackish lagoons and canals and one of the most prominent tourist attractions in the southern state, along with the kettuvallams (houseboats) that ply in them.
However, there’s so much to see and explore in Kerala beyond the backwaters. For instance, you can take the five-hour Vembanad tour near Muhamma, a census town in Cherthala Taluk in Alappuzha, known for practising the unique bare-hand fishing technique, or clam collection and processing, and interact with citizen scientists, climatologists, farmers and storytellers in the region. It involves visits to below-sea-level paddy farming, fish markets and home-based fish/ clam processing. Included in the tour is a packed homemade traditional breakfast with an option to conclude the trip with local produce (both vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals).
Even within backwater tourism, you can take the cruises and lake experiences that happen in the Vembanad region. This unique lake trail at the Vembanad Lake, the longest in the state, is renowned for its extensive network of rivers, canals, and lagoons. The backwater tour is beyond the leisurely house boat trip, designed in consultation with the local scientific community working on climate change, agriculture and livelihood.
“This ecosystem is a popular tourist destination, offering boat rides through interconnected waterways and unique stays in traditional houseboats. As the region’s wetlands support diverse flora and fauna, contributing to its ecological significance, the area plays a vital role in paddy cultivation, particularly in the Kuttanad region. Conservation efforts, such as the Vembanad Wetland Conservation Programme, aim to sustainably manage and preserve this delicate ecosystem, aligning with its Ramsar site status that emphasises global recognition and commitment to conservation,” says Gopinath Parayil of The Blue Yonder, the company that organises such tours.
Art meets royalty
The process of painting is both therapeutic and relaxing, and this is one big reason to visit Sawantwadi in Maharashtra, where artisans hand-paint the GI-tagged ganjifa cards. The miniature art forms, based on folk and religious stories, are created using natural colours and organic pigments and on which are painted motifs, letters, figures from the Ramayana, images of flora, fauna and numerical details.
You can get on the Sawantwadi trail to visit the 18th-century Sawantwadi Palace that was once ruled by the Sawant Bhonsale dynasty. The estate is spread over six and a half acres with several buildings in red laterite stone contrasting vividly against the green coconut, jamun and mango trees.
While the royal family continues to reside in one section of the palace, a museum showcases artefacts in the other, and artisan ateliers have been set up in another wing. The palace is themed around ganjifa, which is based on the 10 incarnations of lord Vishnu. The art form can be experienced in rooms, door knobs, mirrors in the bathroom, study tables, and even coasters at the palace.
“When you live with the art so closely, you tend to fall in love with it. You leave the place with a little piece of ganjifa with you, which when placed in your home becomes a conversation starter. This art form has increased the ganjifa sales as visitors feel attached to the emotions behind it,” says Shraddha Bhonsle of Sawantwadi Palace Boutique Art Hotel, who owns the palace and is a chef by profession.
Along with art, the palace has recreated the royal Maratha and Konkan recipes, and introduced the farm-to-table concept for a wholesome experience.
Revisiting history
The walled city of Ahmedabad is an architectural marvel in itself. The Sultanate style, considered a high point of architectural heritage, along with the Jain, Swaminarayan and Hindu temples of the city, makes it a veritable safari of monumental architecture attracting tourists from across the world.
There are several curated tours to experience this city. The House of MG (short for The House of Mangaldas Girdhardas), a stately 20th-century mansion that has been converted into an urban heritage hotel, for instance, organises a ‘rickshaw tour’ to explore the walled city’s bylanes. From havelis and mosques to museums and gates, you can see some hidden marvels of the area.
Another highlight of the tour is the opportunity to witness the making of bahi-khatas (mojari and murar), traditional accounting books used by traders in Gujarat and recognisable by their distinct dark-red cloth covers. In order to keep in tune with the times, these books have now diversified to include shiny, colourful satin covers for the modern-day tourist.
For handmade and traditional textile art, you can head to the century-old family mansion of textile industrialist Mangaldas Girdhardas. It houses textiles, silver and jewellery galleries of Mangaldas family heirlooms in Ahmedabad. Visitors can make prior appointments to visit the gallery situated in one part of the mansion, while another part has been converted into a boutique hotel by the great grandson of Mangaldas Girdhardas, Abhay Mangaldas.
The place also houses rare treasures of Gujarat’s textiles covering multiple techniques, materials and practices in the state. The three textile galleries— vintage textiles, garments and home décor accessories—from the personal collection of Abhay’s paternal grandmother and his mother, who had a deep love for handmade textiles, have a selection of rare saris and shawls of antiquity woven and crafted in the early 20th century, and the Kani pashmina shawls from Kashmir.
For history buffs, there is another architectural marvel, Bohrawad in Kapadvanj near Ahmedabad and the Bohra settlements of Siddhpur in north Gujarat, complete with havelis in elements of European, Islamic, and Indian design with delicate detailing in doorways, staircases, floors, and ceilings. Go and watch the construction that dates back to the Dawoodi Bohras—a Shia Muslim community who migrated from Yemen in the 18th century.
Call of the mountain nomads
Ladakh is one of the most visited places in the country. Tucked between the Himalayas and the Karakoram mountain range, the picturesque region is a paradise for adventure seekers. However, beyond the camping and motoring expeditions, you can also go on a trail to get a glimpse of the local shepherds amid the stunning landscapes.
You can engage and explore the area with local shepherds, see sheep farming and how nomadic communities live in the steep region. The Ayu village in Leh offers accommodation options like Ladakh Sarai, and Pangong Sarai Resort, which hold breathtaking views of the valley. They offer narrow hiking trails with mountain biking or nature walks that can last from a few hours to multiple days. The overnight/ multi-day mountain biking trips are supported by back-up trucks, cars, camping crew and camping gear without compromising on comfort.
Crafting the rural dream
From experiencing dhokra metal casting, ikat handicraft and mask-making or simply tasting temple food, Odisha is a sought-after experience when it comes to village tourism. You can take a walk with the dhokra artisans residing in the Dhokra village in Dhenkanal, who have preserved this age-old art form, and see how the metal statue is crafted using cow dung and red clay, which are then baked in the sun, morphing them into an intricate tapestry of detail.
Most villages in Bhubaneswar preserve the dyeing techniques of ikat by infusing the traditional craft into a range of tote bags, cushion covers, jackets, tops, scarves, and table runners in different weaves. “From a small team of artisans creating patterns to now reaching the international vocabulary of clothing design, ikat is one sought-after artistic experience. Ikat dyeing is one-of-its-kind experience in Odisha and people visit the state for this craft,” says Indrani Chakraborty, co-founder of Svanir Wilderness Ecostay & Svanir Experiences in Bhubaneswar Odisha, who offer a number of village experiences.
In Odisha, especially if you are visiting Jagannath Temple in Puri, the mahaprasad is more than just a holy food. This mahaprasad is freely partaken by people of all castes and creeds without any discrimination. The items offered include cooked rice, dal, vegetable curry, sweet dishes and cakes, among others. There is a special darshan organised with a temple priest, who guides and facilitates the temple visit amid the throngs of pilgrims while sharing captivating stories of Lord Jagannath.
“The tour culminates with a sampling of the mahaprasad. For non-Hindu clients, who are not permitted inside Jagannath Temple, we arrange prasad at the Shree Ananta Basudev Temple in Bhubaneswar,” adds Chakraborty who feels there’s a growing interest among travellers to explore destinations known for art and craft clusters and show keen interest in authentic essence of the state.