The West coast State of Gujarat has always been a major center for the Jains and some of it's most interesting sights are Jain Temples.  The Jains are an influential and energetic group and as a result Gujarat is India's wealthier states. Apart from it's Jain Temples, Gujarat's major attractions include the last Asian Lions (in the Gir Forests) and the fascinating Indo-Saracenic architecture of Ahmedabad.

Geographically Gujarat can be divided into three areas:

The Eastern Region includes the major cities of Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodra(Baroda). The Gulf of Cambay divides the mainland strip from the flat, often barren plain of the Kathiawar peninsula, also known as Saurashtra.

History :

If one would go beyond history in the realm of a legend, then Gujarat's temple of Somnath was actually there to witness the creation of the Universe. Along the South coast are the sites where many of the great event's in Krishna's life took place. Gujarat featured in the exploits of the mighty bhuddhist emperor Ashoka and one of it's rock edicts can be seen near Junagadh.

Later Gujarat suffered Muslim Incursions from Mahmud of Ghazni and subsequent Mughal rulers and it also served as a battlefield between the Mughals and the marathas. The first British commercial outpost was established at Surat. Saurashtra survived from the British India in the form of 200 Princely States. These 200 states were amalgamated (merged) into the state of Mumbai in 1956. But even Mumbai was split into Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960.

Mahatma Ghandhi, the Father of the Nation is closely associated with Gujarat, this being his birthplace. And even Ahmedabad one of the main cities of Gujarat was the place where Ghandhi returned and lived to struggle for India's independence from British. Saurashtra is divided from the Kutch by the Gulf of Kutch, which is virtually an island cut off from the rest of Gujarat to the East and Pakistan to the North by the low lying ranns of Kutch.