The Bell Guest House is an Indo-European building that once hosted European visitors to the Sayla princely state. Set in lush green gardens with shady trees and lawns, this heritage house has now been renovated and opened as a heritage homestay offering the personalized hospitality of the erstwhile Yuvraj and Yuvrani of Sayla.

This heritage property is an ideal place to kick back and relax, and experience rural Gujarat in the village of Sayla with its historic buildings, old houses, temples, ashrams, lake, weavers and handicrafts. Those with a bent for community activities and causes can even volunteer for work at the social development and welfare centres in the village.

Located at the entrance to the Saurashtra region, called the Kathiawad Peninsula, Sayla is a good place for a stopover for lunch or a few nights stay for those travelling from Rajasthan or Ahmedabad to major destinations like the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park, Junagadh, Porbandar, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Dwarka, Somnath, etc. The owners of Bell Guest House arrange for guests to visit several birdwatching sites, wildlife reserves, handicraft and weaving centres, holy places and historic monuments in one-and-a-half hours radius of the property.

This Guesthouse is geared up for long-staying business visitors to the Surendranagar district in which it falls. This district is a major economic centre for industries like salt, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, solar and wind energy generation, food and beverages, agro-product processing, etc. It is also a key agricultural zone for cotton, fruits, groundnuts, chillies, fresh water fisheries and livestock.

Navlakha Temple

At Sejakpur or Sejathpur, about 18km from Sayla, the Navlakha Temple has high quality carvings on its sandstone walls. The temple has a square plan but its chamfered walls makes the shrine look circular. This is one of the exquisite temples built by the Chalukyan Solanki dynasty that ruled over Gujarat in the 11th and 12th century.

Step Wells

There are two important stepwells near Sayla, Matri Ma Ne Vav and Dhandalpar Vav, which are good examples of the water harvesting wells created in drought-prone areas of Gujarat.

Muli

Muli, 12km from Sayla, was a princely state ruled by Parmar Rajputs. It has the old palace called Darbargadh and a new palaces called the Rajmahal. Other historical buildings include Mandawravji Temple of the royal, the Swaminarayan Temple whose building was ordered by Lord Swaminarayan
himself, Sadawadi, Shaligram haveli temple and royal cenotaphs. The Swaminarayan
temple is worth a visit to see its woodcarvings.

LOCATION

BELL GUEST HOUSE
NH 8 SAYLA CIRCLE,
Dist. SURENDRANAGAR,
GUJARAT 363430, INDIA