From Wikitravel

Surat is a city in Gujarat, India.

[edit] Understand

Surat is a port city and administrative headquarters of the Surat District. As of 2009, Surat and its metropolitan area had a population of approximately 5.9 million. It is the second largest city in Gujarat and 9th largest in India. Surat is a major gem stone center, and over 92% of the world's diamonds are cut here. The city is located 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.

The city is located at 21.17° N 72.83° E.[1] and is very low lying.

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

[edit] Get in

[edit] By plane

Surat Airport [1](IATA code: STV and ICAO code: VASU) was opened on the 6th May 2007. Indian airlines has one flight daily to and from Delhi. Spicejet Operates daily from Surat to Mumbai and Delhi.

[edit] By train

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 very conveniently located 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. 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.

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

[edit] By car

The Golden Quadrilateral highway system will pass through Surat at its expected completion. At present the city is connected to the National Highway 8 through a 16 km 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.

[edit] By bus

The city has a local city bus system.

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 departs for various parts of Saurastra (Eastern part of Gujarat), and vise-versa.

[edit] 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, L & T, Kribhco, etc.

[edit] 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.

The city has recently seen the completion of a large number of road engineering projects, 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.

[edit] 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 River Tapti, was built in the year 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 is conducted with great fervour. There are also shrines dedicated to Ram-Sita, Laxminarayan and Lord Shiva at Ambika Niketan Temple.

[edit][add listing] See

• Surat castle(Old Fort).

[2] This historical castle which was planned and built between 1540 and 1546 by Khudawand Khan, is one of the chief ancient monuments of Surat. Built on the bank of river Tapi.

The highest degree of safety from defense point of view is conspicuously incorporated in the construction of its entrance gate also. This magnificent gateway is so designed as to provide a massive structure having strong door shutters furnished with protruding spikes at the exterior facade, and a decorative architectural treatment at the interior Facade.

• The Dutch, English and Armenian Cemeteries in Karatgam Road.

• Mugal Sarai[3]

The Building which is used at present as an office complex by Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) is one of the ancient monuments of Surat city and was built originally as a 'Sarai' or Musafarkhana (travellers' inn). It was built during the period of Mugal Emperor Shah Jahan in the year 1644 A.D. This building with its considerable architectural qualities as disposed by the skilful composition of its various parts combined with combination of arches, cornices, decorated parapets, sculptured patterns on the exterior facade etc. each being disposed in an artistic and effective manner upon a strong foundation with coherent strength is still intact and is in a very good state of preservation.

• Chintanamani Jain Temple[4]

The Jain temple was constructed during the regime of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1699 A.D. It is located at Muglisara, near mausolem of Mirjan Sami. It has not only religious importance but also establishes one of the Best example of wooden craftsmanship and drawing with vegetable dye of Gujarat. Though the temple is marked by its outward simplicity, the inner parts of temple is a treasury of art.

• Dutch Garden :- The ancient Dutch gardens, the Dutch cemetery and Makaipul, the ancient original port from where the ships sailed to other parts of the world are other attractions.

• Sardar Patel Museum. This museum was established at the beginning of the 20th century and has a collection of over 10,000 specimens of arts and crafts.

• Rangupavan. An open air theatre with 18 meters by 10.5 meters stage and a capacity of around 4000 spectators. This is one of the biggest theatre in the country.

• 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 adding spice.
• 'City Science Centre:- Located at city light road near parle point. Having Planetorium,Science models,Art Gallery & Museum ( shifted from chowk "Sardar Patel Museum" )
• Nature park (nature park), Sarthana jakatnaka. Nature Park Sarathana is situated at the North-East corner of Surat City, which is approachable by Surat Kamrej Road. The site is covered with an area of 81 acres with river Tapi on the north side and Surat Kamrej road is on its south side. Land is fully vegetated with trees of Eucalyptus, Casurina and Mango etc. The site is an ideal place for the development of a zoo with the new concept of natural habitat design.  edit
• lake garden, Piplod. people can spend some private time there with their loved one..Lake View Restaurant is also good one  edit
• Diamond market. Surat is largely recognized for its textile and diamond businesses. It is also known as the diamond capital of the world. 92% of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in Surat.Lots of diamond factory at varachha road.Diamond trading , broker offices are situated at mini bazaar varachha and mahidharpura.  edit

[edit] Learn

There are several libraries in the city:

• Kavi narmad central library, opposite Umra Police Station, Athwa lines. Open: 8AM-8PM
• Gandhi smruti library, Nanpura, Timaliyawad. Open: 8AM-8PM and 8AM-2PM On Monday and Public Holiday
• Nagindas kazi free library, Ghee kanta, Haripura. Open: 9AM-11.30AM and 4PM-6:30PM
• Ganpatram A. Travadi free library, Ambaji Road, pagathiya sheri. Open: 9AM-11:30AM and 4PM-6.30PM.
• Public library, Chhaparia sheri, Mahidharpura. Open: 9AM-11:30AM and 4PM-6:30PM.

[edit] Salon & Spa

There are number of standard salons in Parle Point & Ghod-Dod Road area. Reflexions Salon & Spa[5] at Parle Point is the only Salon in Gujarat to use the Luxury Ranges of L'Oreal, like Kerastase & Keraskin.

[edit][add listing] Buy

• Shopping Plazas. There are lots of such Shopping Plazas mushrooming in the city. The latest attractions being the Iscon Mall and the Big Bazaar both located on the Dumas Road which always find a huge crowd within.
• Diamonds. There are a number of private jewelry stores in the city.
• Beauty & Fashions. There are many beauty [6] and fashion shops in the city located at Ghoddod road, Iscoan Mall and many more places.
• Textiles. The city is home to several textile markets.
• Clothing. G3 Store is a fashioanble boutique catering for both men and women. The store has high quality eastern and western clothing at reasonable prices. Keep your eyes open and you may stumble across designer brands with European labels - These may be overruns from the local textile industry.
• Books. Most of the schooling, engineering and commerce students' book needs are met with in book stores in the Athwa Lines locality. Lucky Book House and Maulik to name a couple of them.

[edit][add listing] 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. Contrary to popular belief, Surti cuisine is not as sweet as the stereotypical Gujarati food, but rather quite on the spicier side.

Come winter and Suratis will emerge at river Tapi's banks to eat Ponk. Ponk is a Roasted Millet variety that is available only in this part of the world.

Surat is also well 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 road side stalls (laari in local parlance) provide some really tasty and inexpensive food. You can find people parking luxury cars and eating in these laaris.

[edit] Budget

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

You can take food in the laaris 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 the non veg variety is less but the Inda/Beda (egg) laris 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 bout nonveg food. for laari stuff zampa bazaar, rander, chowk are eally good. U 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). n by the way if u havent tried early morning baara(12) handis (pots) breakfast at zampa bazaar then u dont know what a really heavy breakfast is. though hygienic is not the word you can use. but its really wonderful and follow it up with sweet malpua.hmmmm

Also the normal tandoori chicken at all of these places is good. And in ramazan one can try the machchi (fish) masal chicken at rander, the silver chicken(actually its green masala chicken but wrapped in silver foil). Also the Khausa(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 flovours like mirch(chilly),coriander,ginger,etc can be founf at Janta icecream outlets. Also famous is the kishore ice cream.

If u wanna try goood hand made kulfi/icecream go to Badshah,Tajmahal,king,hajoori at zampa bazaar.

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

Good nonveg restaurants are few like Sugar n Spice(ring road), Center Court(athwa lines), Kandil, Savera, etc. VS dosa and sai dosa are most popular for dosa and south indian dishes.

[edit] Mid-range

Surat has very good food and restaurant chains. It includes all major brands. Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Subway etc. Besides Chinese Room (Nanpura) and Sugar n Spice (Ring Road) offer good food at a decent cost. FOR GUJARATI FOOD: one may visit SASUMA, SWASTIK, KANSAR, SABRUS, Sab Food Express AND MANY MORE. 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.

[edit] Splurge

• Mainland China, Yellow Chilly (Iscon Mall), Little Italy (Platinum Plaza, Athwa Lines), Taste of India (Ring Road) are likely to fall under this category.

• Kandeel Revolving Restaurant [7]as it is famously known, is located right in the heart of the Textile Market area and gives a spectacular view of the city any part of the day. They have a fixed buffet system and cater to both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

• Sugar n' Spice at Bhattar near Raj Empire and at Parle Point.

• Piplod, a happening place, has joints like Happineess, Crazy Bite offers a wide range of cuisine including Italian and Mexican.

• Besides many Multiplexes like Valentine, City Plus, Raj Empire have various different food joints.

[edit][add listing] Drink

Alcohol is banned in Gujarat State. Only foreign tourists and people with drinking licence can purchase liquors. Despite being banned, people of surat are fun loving and tend to find alcohol in city. There are some places in surat such as golvad, dumas, and, olpad where people can find alcohol more easily under table from the bootlegger.

[edit][add listing] Sleep

[edit] Budget

For a place blow a decent type you need to spend at least Rs. 300 onwards.

[edit] Mid-range

• Best Western Yuvraj provides 3 star facilities and accommodations for your stay! [8] Address: Gulambaba Mill Compound, Opp Railway Station, Surat, India 395003. Phone: +91-261-2413001.

• Hotel Park Inn, near station/ring road. It can be noisy due to the close proximity to the main road but the rooms are of a reasonable standard.

• Tex Palazzo Hotel, [9] at Surat is a Business leading Hotel in Surat. Situated in the heart of Surat's textile market area. Great ambience, well appointed rooms and the revolving restaurant "Kandeel".

[edit] Splurge

The Grand Bhagwati - [10] TGB Surat isthe first pure vegetarian 5 star deluxe hotels in the world. TGB Surat has well-furnished 162 deluxe rooms and 8 extravagant suites that impeccably fit the traveler’s scheme of things. It boasts of India’s largest convention centre with more than 1 lakh square feet of pillar-less convention space, ballrooms, banquets, conference rooms, manicured lawns, 3 multi cuisine restaurants, 24 hours coffee shop and boutique shops for shopping extravaganza.

All the guest rooms are fully air conditioned and replete with contemporary elements, internet access, attached bath, telephone and LCD television. It offers a stunning array of facilities that include a specialty restaurant serving the most authentic Mediterranean food which would be gourmet’s delight, mini bar stocking exotic cocktails and 24-hour room service.

Hotel Taj Gateway Inn Near Ambika Niketan Temple, Parle point. The rooms are not as good as the foyer but in an acceptable condition. The gardens and river view compensates for this. It seems to be known as the best hotel in Surat.

[edit] Stay safe

Surat is the safest city in Gujarat, and even traveling at night not a matter for concern as the city night life is such that people dont interfere much with other. Everybody are busy with their own friends and family. Dont just bother them.

[edit] Cope

[edit] Get out

• 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.

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.

Leke view Garden: This is located in city's post area and very good place to hang out.

NIght out: Surat is basically famous for its food and people. Surati people are as same as hippy in the terms of enjoyment. They like to hang out at nights with friends, families near the streets occupied by food stall and some gardens. people may often go on the bridge at the night to taste the calm water of river Tapti

• 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.

• Beaches. There are a number of beaches near Surat. Only 16 km away, Dumas is a popular resort with locals. Hajira is 28 km from the city and Umbharat is 42 km out, while *Navsari. Twenty-nine km south of Surat, has been a headquarters for the Parsi community since the earliest days of their settlement in India. Udvada, only 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. Sanjan, in the extreme south of the state, is the small port where the Parsis first landed. A pillar marks the spot.

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