Far from the beaten track of classical India, the state of Gujarat in the west of India is full of grandiose sites, majestic monuments and tribal villages that have perpetuated ancestral traditions for millennia. In the vast desert expanses of Kutch, women of the Jat, Ahir, Rabari or Meghwal ethnic groups weave and embroider the most beautiful textiles in the country, while in Bhuj, men dye and print old wooden patterns from the Indus civilization. Important Jain pilgrimage sites cover the peaks of the Gujarat mountains, such as Palitana, where a complex of more than 800 temples is erected. Remains of the most beautiful Indian stepwells, these famous richly decorated bauli remain intact as in Patan, while many havelis, these old carved wooden houses and Muslim monuments with refined arabesques litter the old city of Ahmedabad, capital of the province. Gujarat is also Gandhi's homeland, which launched its non-violent protest movement there and carried out the famous salt march.