Less travelled then ever-popular Delhi and Mumbai, Ahmedabad is a thriving northwestern 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 interesting 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.

A number of other sites in the city are equally worth a visit, including the mysterious swaying minarets at the Sidi Bashir mosque, one of many intriguing temples in Ahmedabad. Like any large Indian city worth its salt, Ahmedabad is also home to a number of Hindu temples, forts and public gardens, meaning there is plenty here to keep tourists occupied.

Geographically, Ahmedabad is a city under siege. Located away from the western Arabian sea coastline, the city is slowly being surrounded by nearby salt marsh lands and desert spurred by deforestation. Ahmedabad is also at risk of receiving tropical storms, and like many Indian cities it suffers occasional cycles of drought and flooding.

Although the monsoon season brings abundant water to the city, alcohol is one liquid that is seldom seen here given that Gujarat is the only state in India in which liquor is banned. Fortunately, foreign passport holders are not included in the prohibition, providing they can get their hands on an alcoholic drink.

Many of the local residents are strict vegetarians, but if you look hard enough you are likely to find chicken or mutton curry. The top hotels serve both international and Indian meat dishes, but you should find local establishment’s vegetarian delights a treat to sample.

Accommodation here can be as deluxe or budget as you like, with some outstanding luxury choices as well as many reasonably priced mid-range hotels. A few international chains are present such as Le Meridien and Radisson, but there are also many domestic hotels that offer excellent facilities such as swimming pools and a central location.

Geographically the city may be out on a limb, but Ahmedabad is becoming increasingly well connected to the rest of India and the world. Flights from as far away as New York touch down at the international airport here while train and bus services extend to all major destinations in the country.

Ahmedabad was called Ashaval during the 11th century, the period in which the city is thought to have first been established. However, the area where Ahmedabad stands today, on the banks of the Sabarmati river, soon fell to the Solanki ruler Anhilwara, the leader of a group of Hindus that occupied areas of central and western India at the time. The name of the city was changed to Karnavati and the Solankis ruled for the next two centuries. The next invaders came from the modern-day capital Delhi, which at that time was a sultanate.

With the weakening of Delhi at the end of the 14th century following an attack, a Gujarati administrator took the opportunity to establish an independent sultanate. Sultan Ahmed Shah decided to build his capital in Karnavati, renaming the city Ahmedabad after his own name in 1411.

By the end of the 1400s, the son of the then deceased sultan had established Ahmedabad as a potent, walled fortress interspersed with 12 gates. This was not enough to keep out the next invaders to take a fancy to the city, however. In 1573, the Mughal emperor Akbar took over and established Ahmedabad as a thriving economic outpost from where textiles were exported across the world.

But despite increasing economic success, disaster was not far away as Ahmedabad again changed hands following an invasion by the Marathas from further south on the western coast of India. The 17th century brought nothing but misery to the city as famine and war caused huge depopulation.

Not until the occupation by the British was Ahmedabad restored to its former glory, with the East India Company arriving here in 1818. Slowly, the British consolidated their rule here, and indeed all over India, building military fortifications, and establishing a local administration before building a railroad to Mumbai, or Bombay as it was then known. The textile industry once again flourished and so too did support for independence.

In 1915, Mahatma Gandhi established Kochrab Ashram in Ahmedabad, followed by Satyagraha Ashram two years later. Both were havens for independence activists, and before long the city turned into a cauldron of political activity and protest. In 1930, Gandhi began his now infamous Dandi Salt March from here, a peaceful protest against the British that proved a catalyst for a decade of unrest as Ahmedabad’s textile industry rapidly declined. By the time independence finally arrived in 1947, Ahmedabad had become completely chaotic.

Independence saw calm slowly restored and in 1960, Ahmedabad was once again the administrative capital of Gujarat, but only until 1970 when neighbouring Gandhinagar assumed this status. The economy at this time continued to grow, but the late 1970s and 1980s were punctuated by regular protests fuelled by food prices and tensions between the different castes.

At the beginning of 2001, a powerful earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale caused massive destruction in the city, killing more than 700 people, a death toll that was usurped by Muslim-Hindu tensions a year later, which left 1,000 dead and many Muslims homeless. The past five years have seen major development and growth in the city and a drop in tensions as economic interests have seemingly replaced friction between various religions.

Ahmedabad sees three distinct seasons. October to February is the most pleasant time to visit the city when temperatures usually hover between 15°C and 30°C. The coolest months are December and January when the nights are sometimes cold. Humidity and rainfall at this time of year remains low.

By March, Ahmedabad begins to heat up as temperatures slowly climb throughout April and May, the latter month being particularly dry and hot with temperatures regularly pushing towards the 40°C mark. At this time of year, weather in the city can be particularly unpleasant and the landscape very dusty – often the Sabarmati river reduces to little more than a trickle by the end of May and beginning of June.

Come the middle of June, the northwestern monsoon hits Ahmedabad turning the dry, brown landscape green and lush. With the rains come regular floods, however, as the Sabarmati often bursts its banks inundating the low-lying, flat centre of the city.

The rainy season sees very humid conditions in Ahmedabad and regular, heavy rain that usually lasts for about three months until the middle of September. This month is commonly hot, but by the end of October the temperature and humidity decreases significantly with the onset of winter.