Located on the south bank of the Tapi River, around 14 km from the ocean, Surat has dependably pulled in brokers and traders from a far distance. Its finely carved mosques, Parsi agyaris, European tombs and provincial houses all vouch for the varied blend of ethnic groups that keep on living in the city. Surat is the first significant city on the way to Gujarat from Mumbai and makes a decent base to explore the southern region of Gujarat.
Surat was once renowned for its silk weaving and brocade. The city still flourishes as a textile centre, principally for its polyester fibre. As the Textile enterprises declined in Ahmedabad and Mumbai in the 1970s, Surat plainly wound up being one of Gujarat's quickest developing urban communities and gave rise to a multiple small and medium scale ventures.
An interesting fact about Surat is that it is also called the diamond city of the world and caters to the cutting and polishing of 95% of the world's diamonds. Not just that they also contribute to 90% of the national exports of Diamond from India.
The Surat railway stations was built to match the international standards of rail transportation and have also in its efforts, won the award for the cleanest railway station in the year 2016. Surat, as a city, is extremely fast-paced and hence tends to grow at a very fast space contributing a mind-blowing high of 11.5% GDP growth to the country.
Though Surat seems like a purely industrial area, there is lot more to the city than just this. With delicious Gujarati delicacies to astonishing architectural beauties, Surat stands with it's head held high and has also won itself the best city award in the year 2013.
With the increasing infrastructure and facilities, a lot of hotels have come up to accommodate the tourists who pour into the city – these are either Surat explorers, Stop-over guests, Business travellers or leisure travellers. By building multiple hotels in Surat, the accommodation is kept under control and the tourism is boosted even further. What's more, a number of hotels near Surat railway station makes travel and stays easier for these tourists.
So if one is looking for an ideal destination that includes history, rich culture, industrialization and amazing food, then it's time they came to Surat. This city only gets better as the days progress.
Martin Wynn
