Less travelled than ever-popular Delhi and Bombay, Ahmedabad is a thriving north-western Indian city of more than five million people that dominates business and culture in the state of Gujarat close to Pakistan. The fifth-largest city in the country, Ahmedabad is also currently riding the Indian wave of rapid economic progress that has transformed this once squat, dusty outpost into a city of ever-growing high-rise developments and retail outlets. The city also boasts its fair share of sites. Independence hero Mahatma Gandhi opened two ashrams, or Indian hermitages, here; one of which became the base from where he led a significant salt march, a pivotal moment in the fight for an autonomous India.