Recently Instagram released it’s insights for the year 2017 and among other things, we learnt the most used filter (Clarendon), the most used hashtag (#love), the most Instagrammed city in the world (New York) and the most liked picture (Beyonce‘s pregnancy announcement). There were also some India specific deets. Interestingly, the most instagrammed location in India wasn’t the Taj Mahal in Agra or even The Gateway of India, but in fact – Marine Drive. In terms of cities in India, obviously the metros topped the list, but there was one sneaky entrant that was most unexpected – Surat, Gujarat.
So, it got us thinking… of course there must be quite a lot to do in Surat. After all, it is part of this diverse country, but for the uninitiated what are the best things to see? (and Instagram, duh!)
1. Dandi March
If you’re a history buff, you already know about Mahatma Gandhi’s march to Dandi beach during the Satyagraha movement (if not, read up!) It is approximately a 40 minute drive from Surat to Dandi beach, but totally worth it, to experience a piece of history.
2. Textile Bazaars
Surat is known as the Silk City of Indi and is famous for its cotton mills and Surat Zari Craft and the textile bazaars in Surat have more options of fabric than you can count.
3. Gujarati Snacks
If you travel to Gujarat and don’t come back a couple of kilos heavier, you’re doing it wrong. Surat specifically is a street food haven, serving up Gujarati delights like Locho and Fafda to ponk vadas and rasawalla khaman dhokla. Our advice is to eat everything.
4. Dutch Gardens & Dutch Cemetry
The Dutch Gardens are perfectly manicured gardens and also happen to be the resting place for many Dutch explorers, most notable of whom is Baron Adrian Van Reed who is believed to be the founder of the first e first Dutch port in Surat.
5. Dumas Beach
Another coastline gem to visit when you are in Surat is definitely Dumas beach!
Kya Surat hai, amirite?