Mandvi - The Old Coastal City of Kutch

Mandvi was founded as a port town by the Khengarji, the king of Kutch, in 1574. The first temple to be built was the Sundarwar temple, followed by the Jama Masjid in 1603, the Lakshminarayan Temple in 1607, the Kajivali Mosque in 1608 and the Rameshwar Temple in 1627.

For all of this to have been built in the first 50 years of the towns existence is a clear indicator of its importance to the kingdom. Indeed, at its peak, Mandvi's wealth easily surpassed that of the capital at Bhuj, and it was only after ships grew too large for its harbor and began to prefer Mumbai that Mandvi started fading from the scene.

For 400 years, the shipbuilding industry has been the center of life in Mandvi. It was once the principal port of Kutch and of Gujarat.

At its peak, exports were said to outnumber imports fourfold, and their revenue reflected that. Ships came and went from East Africa, the Persian Gulf, the Malabar Coast (now called Kerala, in south India), and South-East Asia. During Rao Godiji's reign in the 1760's, he built and maintained a fleet of 400 ships, one that sailed as far as England and returned. The city used to have 8 m. fortified walls around it, but only small portions remain.

In 1929 the Vijay Vilas palace was built by Rao Vijayrajji, and is maintained in excellent condition today. The British Political Agent based in Bhuj had summer quarters at Mandvi, and the British cemetery attests to the extended presence of the British in the area.

As ships grew larger and Mumbai became an ever-more-powerful center of commerce, fewer and fewer vessels would moor at Mandvi, preferring Mumbai or Surat. Today, with a harbor far too small for modern supersized shipping operations, it is no longer a major shipping port, but shipbuilding is still done by hand on the banks of the Rukmavati River.

• Rukmavati River: The famous river in Mandvi, which flows between Mandvi City and Salaya.

• The Rabari, also called the Rewari or Desai, are an indigenous tribal caste of nomadic cattle and camel herders and shepherds that live throughout northwest India, primarily in the states of Gujarat, Punjab and Rajasthan. 

• Traditionally the Rabari followed a highly nomadic way of life, living in tents or under the open skies and raising cattle, camels and goats.  As India has changed, so has general tolerance to nomadic groups, who relied in the past on ancestral grazing rights and ancient right-of-ways.  Today only a very small percentage of Rabari are truly nomadic, with the majority to be found settled on the outskirts of cities, towns and villages in semi-nomadic lifestyles, following the seasonal rains for periods of time, then returning to their villages.

• The Narmada Canal is a contour canal in northwestern India that brings water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam north through 460 kilometres (290 mi) of the state of Gujarat and then 74 kilometres (46 mi) into Rajasthan state. It is the main canal of an irrigation system that has 42 branches, and runs a length of 750 kilometres (470 mi) (including field canals), resulting in a Culturable Command Area (CCA)^[2] of 2,129,000 hectares (5,260,000 acres).

• Vijay Vilas Palace: The center of attractions at Mandvi is the Vijay Vilas Palace, a Royal abode set in the middle of well-laid gardens with water channels and marble fountains. The architect and craftsmen from Jaipur designed and constructed the palace in 1920 AD. The palace has all the elements of Rajput architecture and draws largely on the plan of palaces of Orchha and Datia.

• The Vijay Vilas Palace has its own private beach which offers air-conditioned tented accommodation. Being private with conditional access it is a must visit for all beach lovers who want to enjoy their solitude and admire its Eco-friendly pristine beauty.For these reasons, this palace has been used as the set in many Hindi films and has now become a popular tourist destination.

• The central high dome on the pillars, the Bengal domes on the sides, the windows with coloured glass, carved stone 'jalis', domed bastions at the corners, extended porch and other exquisitely stone-carved elements, make the palace worth visiting.

• The Wind Farms Beach and Wind-mills, which line the horizon of Mandvi, offer a spectacular view from the Mandvi sea-beach. The Wind mills projects running in this beach was Asia's 1st Wind-Mills Projects in 1983.

• The beach is an uninterrupted and stunning stretch of curving beautiful white sand fringed by blue waters, with tall windmills on one side and an enchanting view of the sea in front
• The beach also offers various water-sports activities like water scooters, skiing, surfing, para sailing and speedboat trips. It also has other activities such as Horse and Camel riding.

• Beautiful "Yellow" colored Mustard Fields welcome you while on the way to Mandvi.

• A Local "Farmhouse" view which you will see most often while travelling to Mandvi.