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The Travel Edit · West India
West India, lately.
Desert horizons, historic cities, coastal roads and slower days. Discover the many ways to experience western India.
In these guides, West India means Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, along the Arabian Sea: the salt desert of Kutch and the stepwells of Ahmedabad, Mumbai and the rock-cut caves of Ajanta and Ellora, the monsoon hills of the Western Ghats and the churches and beaches of Goa. Rajasthan, which many trips combine with Gujarat, has its own guide in our North India collection.
From the salt flats
to the Konkan coast.
Featured destinations
Explore the destinations
Three states along the Arabian Sea, and Rajasthan just to the north. Start with a state, then follow its guide into the places worth your time.
Salt desert to monsoon green.
Goa
Beaches north and south, the UNESCO-listed churches of Old Goa and the painted lanes of Panaji’s Fontainhas.
Maharashtra
Mumbai, the Ajanta and Ellora Caves, Western Ghats hill stations and Maratha forts, and the Konkan coast.
Gujarat
Ahmedabad’s old city and stepwells, the White Rann of Kutch, Gir’s Asiatic lions, Somnath and Dwarka.
Rajasthan
Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Mount Abu. Our Rajasthan guide sits in the North India collection.
LegendGujaratMaharashtraGoaRajasthan: guide in North IndiaGrey: neighbouring states and countries, not part of this collection
Explore by state
Goa
North or South Goa, the churches of Old Goa and Panaji, Fontainhas and the spice-farm hinterland. Goa guide.
Maharashtra
Mumbai, the Ajanta and Ellora Caves, the Western Ghats from Lonavala to Mahabaleshwar, Pune, Nashik and the Konkan. Maharashtra guide.
Gujarat
Ahmedabad, Adalaj and Modhera, Kutch and the White Rann, Gir, Somnath, Dwarka and Champaner-Pavagadh. Gujarat guide.
Rajasthan
Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Pushkar and Mount Abu, close to the Gujarat border. Rajasthan guide (North India).
How to plan a West India trip: states, gateways, seasons and pacing
Find your kind of trip
Travel by mood
Six ways into the region, each linking to the guide that fits.
Featured story · Maharashtra
Ajanta and Ellora: how to visit Maharashtra’s great rock-cut caves
Ajanta’s painted Buddhist caves and Ellora’s Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments, including the Kailasa temple, with how to get there, how long to allow and the weekly closures to plan around.
Plan a little better
Plan your journey
Practical starting points for a short break or a longer journey.
Plan around the monsoon and the festivals.
When to visit
November to February suits almost everywhere; the monsoon transforms the Ghats and floods the Rann. Seasons and festivals at a glance.
Permits and access
The White Rann permit, Gir safari bookings and the Rann Utsav season, with sources and dates checked.
Plan your trip
What each state offers, the main gateways, how many days you need and how to get around.
Build your itinerary
Four suggested routes, from a week of Mumbai and Goa to Gujarat’s heritage and the White Rann.
The Lifelately Travel Guides
Plan less. Experience more.
Thoughtfully made digital guides to India, region by region. Our first two, Kashmir and Jammu, are out now, with itineraries from one to ten days.
Lifelately Travel Guide
Kashmir
Lakes, mountains, meadows
Available now
Lifelately Travel Guide
Jammu, lately.
Temples, rivers, hill towns
Available now
Lifelately Travel Guide
More of India
Region by region
In the works
The Lifelately Edit
Ways into West India
Editor’s picks drawn from our own guides and stories.
Latest stories
Stories from the road
Original Lifelately guides, researched and written for planning a real trip.
Maharashtra
Into the Western Ghats: Maharashtra’s hill stations, forts and monsoon roads
Lonavala and Khandala, Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani, monsoon drives and the newly inscribed Maratha forts.
Gujarat
Ahmedabad and its stepwells: a heritage city, Adalaj and the Sun Temple at Modhera
The pols of India’s first World Heritage City, Adalaj, Modhera and the Queen’s Stepwell at Patan.
Goa
North or South Goa? How to choose your stretch of coast
What each coast is like, where to base yourself, the best season and beach safety.
Continue exploring
More of India
Other regional collections in the Lifelately Explore India directory.
North India
Kashmir and Ladakh to Rajasthan.
South India
Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and more.
East India
West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand.
Central India
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Northeast India
The eight states of the Northeast.
Islands
Andaman and Nicobar, and Lakshadweep.
Image credits · Via Unsplash, under the Unsplash License: Arundhati Pathak (carved elephants, Ellora), Rishi Jhajharia (a colonial-era building, Old Goa). Via the WordPress Photo Directory, CC0: Hiral Solanki (camels on the Rann of Kutch), Hardeep Asrani (Cavelossim Beach, South Goa), Bigul Malayi (Adalaj Stepwell, near Ahmedabad; Gateway of India, Mumbai; carved ceiling, Modhera Sun Temple), Shreyas Ikhar (Gateway of India at night), Krupa Nanda (Malshej Ghat, Western Ghats), Jose Varghese (Hutheesing Jain Temple, Ahmedabad), Prathamesh Bhagat (a beach café in Goa). Via Pexels, under the Pexels License: Abhinav Sharma (Amer Fort, Jaipur). Stock images, not the author’s own. Map drawn by Lifelately from DataMeet India state boundaries (CC BY 4.0), with neighbouring countries from Natural Earth (public domain).
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