Ahmedabad : Gujarat's principal city is Ahmedabad (also known as Amdavad) and is one of the major industrial cities in India. Although it retains little evidence of the Raj, it has been called the `Manchester of the East' due to its many textile industries and its smokestacks.

Baroda : Baroda was the capital of the princely Gaekwad state prior to Independence. Today Baroda is a pleasant, medium-sized city with some interesting museums and art galleries and a fine park. The city's Fine Arts College attracts students from around the country and abroad.

Surat : Surat stands on the hanks of the River Tapti and was once one of western India's major ports and trading towns. Parsis first settled in Surat in the 12th century; they had earlier been centred l00km south in Sanjan, where they had fled from Persia five centuries before. In 1573 Surat fell to Akbar after a prolonged siege. It then became an important Moghul trading port and also the point of departure for Mecca-bound Muslim pilgrims. Surat soon became a wealthy city.

Gandhinagar : Although Ahmedabad was entitled to be the capital of Gujarat state when the old state of Bombay was split into Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960, a new capital was planned 32km north-east on the West Bank of the Sabarmati River. Named Gandhinagar after Mahatma Gandhi, who was born in Gujarat, it is India's second planned city after Chandigarh and, like that city, is laid out in numbered sectors and preplanned areas. Construction of the city commenced in 1965 and the secretariat was moved there in 1970.

Rajkot : This bustling town was once the capital of the princely state of Saurashtra and is also a former British government headquarters. Mahatma Gandhi spent the early years of his life here. The Gandhi family home, the Kaba Gandhi no Delo, now houses a permanent exhibition of Gandhi items. The prestigious Rajkumar College dates back to the second half of last century and is regarded as one of the best private schools in the country. It was one of five schools set up by the British for the education of the sons of nobility (rajkumar means prince).