The best way to learn about a city is through friends who know the place, but here in Ahmedabad, you can get to know the city and its intricacies even as a stranger. You have at least two options for taking a guided Heritage Walk around the old city of Ahmedabad.

One conducted by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, with guides who volunteer their precious time for this preservation effort. The tour begins at 8am at the Swaminarayan Mandir in Kalupur with a slideshow. It takes you through various pols, havelis, Hindu and Jain temples, various sites including the famous Manek Chowk, and ends at the soulful Jama Masjid at the center of the city at 10:30am.

Fees		Contact Details		Timings
For Indians	Rs.30/-	Phone	+91 79 25391811	Starting Point	Swaminarayan Temple at 8:00am
For Foreigners	Rs.50/-	Mobile	+91 98240 32866	Ending Point	Jama Masjid at 10:30am

These small neighborhoods are both the backbone and heartbeat of the old city of Ahmedabad. In recent years, families have started moving out to live in more modern houses further from the city center, but many of them still feel a strong attachment to the close-knit communities of the pols that shaped their lives while growing up. Many of them have their own temple at the center of the neighborhood, one or more small shrines for whatever faiths are present.

Many pols are part of a cottage industry, so you will find people sitting on the steps hand-sewing books or crimping silver chains together for traditional jewellery and various other crafts that allow people to add to their livelihood without leaving their homes, thus creating a vibrant community. There are bird feeders in each pol known as chabutro, tall poles that the people of Ahmedabad put up for birds to replace the trees cut down when they built the city, and crevices they built into the walls for birds to use as houses, showing a heartwarming concern for non-human life. The walled city was built before motor vehicles, meant for pedestrians and bicycles, so its small windy streets are best explored on foot.

Ahmedabad has some 350 pols (cluster of homes) that house some of the most magnificent havelis in the city. Today, most of the haveli owners, being unable to bear the heavy maintenance costs, have either sold their properties or have let them fall into ruin while they have settled in other places. "We are helping restore some of these havelis and also inviting people and companies to take part in this process," says Debashish Nayak, advisor of Ahmedabad's Municipal Corporation's Heritage cell.

Two building engineers from Valladolid, Spain along with the AMC are helping to restore six havelis in the city. The House of Mangaldas is also a fine example of history being preserved in a modern avatar. Entrepreneur Abhay Mangaldas, 47, converted his family's crumbling haveli (built in 1924) into a heritage hotel which now has two excellent restaurants.