IN CITYBeach
Dumas Beach
Surat's famous black-sand beach: sunsets, sea breeze and a legendary street-food strip.
Evening · Nov-Feb
THE COMPLETE SURAT GUIDE
Everything about Surat, in one place.
The Diamond City. The Textile City. Suryapur on the Tapi.
DiamondsTextiles & sareesSurat foodCleanlinessTapi riverfrontTrading history
City story
The story of Surat
Surat sits on the banks of the Tapi river in south Gujarat, a short hop from the Arabian Sea. Once called Suryapur, the city of the sun, it grew into one of the most important ports of the Mughal Empire, the place from which Hajj pilgrims once set sail for Mecca.
It was here, in 1613, that the British East India Company opened its very first trading post in India. Dutch, Portuguese, French and Armenian merchants all left their mark. You can still find their cemeteries and havelis in the old city.
Today Surat polishes around 90% of the world's diamonds and weaves a huge share of India's man-made fabric and sarees. It's repeatedly ranked among the cleanest and fastest-growing cities on earth, and in 2023 it opened the Surat Diamond Bourse, the largest office building in the world.
FAST FACTS
Old nameSuryapur (City of the Sun)
RiverTapi (Tapti)
StateGujarat · South Gujarat
Known asDiamond City · Silk City
Diamonds polished here~90% of the world's
LanguageGujarati, Hindi (Surat dialect)
Nearest beachDumas (~16 km)
AirportSurat Int'l (STV), Magdalla
First in IndiaBritish East India Co. post, 1613
World recordSurat Diamond Bourse (2023)
