DA-IICT is situated in the city of Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat. The city lies to the north of Ahmedabad, nearly 22 Km from the Ahmedabad Railway Station, and just 16 Km away from the airport. The city of Gandhinagar cannot boast of excellent connectivity to other cities but the neighboring city of Ahmedabad is well connected to all the major cities directly via railway routes and airways. Local Transportation is frequently available to reach the college.

Government buses, shuttling between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, run on a regular basis, and one of their various stops is just a stone’s throw from the Ahmedabad railway station. Also, Gujaratis are very amiable people, and will direct you to the proper bus if asked. The stop at Gandhinagar where you need to disembark is Gh-0 or Ch-0, both of which are less than 1 Km from the DA-IICT campus. From here, autos could be easily hired to the campus. Directions will also be placed at these points to guide you. Taxi services consist of mostly Ambassador Cabs and taxis could be hired for a one-way trip to DA-IICT.

Gandhinagar is the capital city of Gujarat established as a modernized twin city for Ahmedabad. It was visualised as a planned city along the lines of New Delhi (by Edwin Lutyens), Chandigarh (by Le Corbusier) and Bhubaneshwar (by Otto H. Koenigsberger) . Located on the banks of the River Sabarmati, the city is the administrative centre of Gandhinagar and Gujarat as well. It does not seem to be a prudent concerted effort of creating Gandhinagar a Knowledge Hub by establishing several educational institutions of national and international repute, but it happened in sinusiodal phase during last one century or less.

Several institutes of international and national repute are located in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, inter alia, Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), the National Institute of Design (NID), Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), LD Institute of Indology, Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) and Space Applications Centre (SAC) of Indian Space Research Organization, Gujarat Vidhyapeeth, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), The National Institute of Co-operative Management, Gujarat National Law University, Indian Institute for Advanced Research (IIAR), The Institute of Petroleum Management. The Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) is a notable institution established to impart management training and experience to young students and professionals.

Besides this uniqueness of being developed as a Knowledge Corridor, Gandhinagar (including Ahmedabad, which is actually the commercial capital of Gujarat) has so many other attarctions too. It has been rapidly developing as a city of mega malls and multiplexes. On both sides of SG (Sarkhej-Gandhinagar) Highway one finds innumerous superstores and malls, to name a few are Iscon Mega Mall, Big Bazaar, Star India Bazaar, Acropolis, Gallops, Croma, Himalaya Mall, Reliance Mega Mart, 10 Acre.

Ahmedabadis are food lovers, they hang out during weekends in search of good food, great ambience and entertainment. One may find all types of Gujarati and non-Gujarati food within the city. For Gujarat food one can visit Sasuji (CG Road), Pakwan, Atithi (SG Highway), Govardhan Thal (SG Highway), Vishala and Rajwaru (both near Vadodara Expressway). Old city of Ahmedabad is full of places that serve mugalai cuisine. Apart from that one may like to visit Mirch Masala (CG Road and SG Highway), Hyderabadi Biryani (off SG Highway), Upper Crust (near Vijay Chaar Rasta), Curries (near AMA), Chawlas (near Vastrapur Lake). Almost all brands of fast food joints are mushroomed in Ahmedabad.

Health care support is relatively better in Ahmedabad. Multi-spaeciality hospitals such as the Appollo Hospital, SAL Hospital, Sterling Hospital, Civil Hospital provide indoor and outdoor patient services round the clock. Apart from these there are many super-specialty hospitals and nursing homes available here.

Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad enjoy uninterrupted water and power supply throughout the year.

The airport and the railway station, both located in Ahmedabad, are within easy reach from the DA-IICT campus in Gandhinagar (a 20 minutes drive to the airport, and about a 50 minutes drive to the main railway station, popularly known as Kalupur Railway Station). The airport has international connectivity, with direct flights to most of the places in Europe and the USA.

Apart from the monsoon season, the climate of Gandhinagar is normally dry. Winter season never falls here, it is mostly hot weather throughout the year except monsoon. The maximum temperature stays in the range of 36°C (97°F) and 42°C (108°F), and the minimum in the range of 19°C (66°F) and 27°C (81°F). From November to February, the average maximum temperature is around 29°C (85°F), the average minimum is 14°C (57°F), and the climate is extremely dry. Sometimes it rains heavily in Gandhinagar due to the southwest monsoon during mid-June to mid-September.

Places to visit in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad are Siddi Sayyed Jali, Jumma Masjid, Gujarat Science City, Akshardham (Gandhinagar), Law Garden Market, Vaishnodevi Temple, Kankaria Lake, Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project, Sarkhej Roja, Adalaj Wav, Rani Sipri Mosque, Iskon Temple, Sola Temple, CG Road, Gandhi Ashram (Sabarmati), Calico Museum of Textiles (Shahibaugh).

The most convenient entry point into Gujarat is through the metropolis of Ahmedabad. The city contains some very fine museums, the Calico Museum of Textiles being considered among the world’s finest. Ahmedabad’s walled city is a living testimony to its heritage of crafts as women walk by in dazzling embroidered garments and flashing ethnic silver jewellery. Traditional Ahmedabad combines mosques of inspired workmanship, wooden Jain temples, unique stone stepwells and houses with ornately carved wooden balconies and window screens.

Modern Ahmedabad, just across the River Sabarmati spanned by four bridges, is a showpiece of contemporary architecture with designs by Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn and the best known Indian architects. Ahmedabad is a convenient base for a number of excursions, Modhera being the best known. 106 km away, this is one of the very few sun temples in the country.

Gujarat’s loveliest beach – and the state is well endowed with them – is Ahmedpur Mandvi whose chief attraction is the ethnic beach resort. Cottages modelled on rural Gujarati architecture look out onto a secluded beach, one of the state’s chief centres for water sports.

Click here for a detailed list of major tourist attractions in Gujarat.

Source: http://gujarattourism.net