Fourth Corner of India – The Great Rann of Kutch

Rann of Kutch

Rann of Kutch: I wasn’t born to just pay the bills and die. I had always wanted to explore the world, well, if not the world, at least my country… India. The quest to explore my motherland planted a seed in my heart and with every passing year, a new leaf sprouted up indicating a new place to be explored.

Rann of Kutch – The craving

It started with my 2016 trip to Kerala. It was then when I explored the southernmost state of India. In 2017, it was a quick visit to the North-Eastern state of Meghalaya where I experienced the wettest region on earth near Cherrapunjee. In 2017 itself, it was a ten days trip to Srinagar and Ladakh in the northmost state of Jammu & Kashmir. The mighty Karakoram with mightier Himalayas were a treat to the eyes. It makes one feel so insignificant, so minuscule, so tiny. Spending hours in oxygen-deprived Khardungla pass was a nightmare, which I luckily survived. India had offered a plethora of cultures and weather whilst on these trips. The backwaters of Kerala, the rains and greenery of North East, the bone-chilling cold of North. Now, it was my turn to explore the White Desert of Rann of Kutch, the fourth and last corner of India.

Rann of Kutch – The wedding plan

An opportunity came our way when we had to attend the wedding of a friend in Ahmedabad on Thursday, 14th February. A thought sprang up in my subconscious, why not explore the Rann of Kutch over the next three days and return to Gurgaon on Sunday, 17th Feb. 19. The plan was to attend the wedding on Thursday and explore Mandvi Beach / Bhuj on Friday with a night halt at Bhuj (since tents and resorts at Kutch were expensive).

On Saturday morning, leave for Dhordo, on the brink of White Desert – Rann of Kutch. Saturday night halt at Dhordo. Leave for Ahmedabad early on Sunday morning and board the evening flight to Delhi. I checked up the self-drive car rentals and got to know that Zoomcar offered the cheapest rates. Since we were four (Me – Gaurav, my wife Ravinder, my kid Ansh and my friend Pramanshu), we settled for an i20, which seemed adequate for us.

More friends join

Upon casually speaking to my friend Dr. Arya about our upcoming trip, he expressed his desire to join us with his wife, to which we agreed happily. So, now it was six of us and our i20 seemed inadequate to accommodate all of us. We upgraded our Zoomcar to a Tata Hexa, which seemed like Hulk, bigger and sturdier than my XUV. With our ride booked, it was time to book hotels. In Bhuj, we decided to book Nishansh Homestay which had decent reviews. We paid Rs 3224 for two rooms. At Rann of Kutch Dhordo, we booked Rann Homestay Resort for Rs 12390 for two tents including all meals. Next, we had to weave our itinerary around our bookings and make the maximum out of it.

Rann of Kutch – The drive from Ahmedabad

We left Ahmedabad at around 08.00 hrs on Friday morning after having a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel. It was around a 400 km drive to Mandvi. The sun was already up and it was getting hotter with each passing minute. The only solace was that all tolls on the state highway were free for cars. The quality of the road was excellent, better than the National highway roads. We had planned to cover Bhuj first as we wanted to reach Mandvi beach by the sunset. The highway was smooth and driving Hexa was an amazing experience. Everything in this Hulk is top-notch, the quality of interiors, the suspension, storage space inside the car, Air Conditioning. The best thing I liked were 8 JBL speakers, one could actually feel every beat, every sound… amazing quality.

Gujarati Thali Lunch

Despite all these amazing qualities, I personally wouldn’t buy Hexa. The deal-breaker is the car’s sluggish pick-up when compared against sprinted XUV. The overtaking on the highway wasn’t smooth owing to this lack of adrenaline. The engine isn’t that peppy owing to its 2.5 MT curb weight. Sorry Hexa, despite all the goodies, the soul of the car was lack luster. We reached a Gandhidham restaurant named Hotel Shri Ram for a quick round of Gujarati Thali. The food was amazing and it was just Rs 100/- per person for an unlimited hog. My kid tasted authentic and simple Gujarati food and exquisite Dabeli for the first time. Needless to say, we relished this experience.

It was almost 15.00 hrs when we reached Aaina Mahal navigating through narrow lanes of Bhuj. The so called Mahal was in a dilapidated state and left to fend for itself. A very sorry state of affairs.

Mandvi Beach – Mesmerizing Sunset

We enjoyed a quick cup of tea and started for Mandvi beach. The road to the beach was double laned and had steady traffic. By the time we parked our Hexa near the beach, it was almost 16.45 hrs. A cool breeze was blowing and the weather had turned salubrious. I and Ansh quickly changed into shorts and raced towards the water. There were a plethora of options at the beach…camel ride, giant wheel ride, sand scooter ride, and Jetski. We opted for a sand scooter ride which my kid enjoyed a lot. We enjoyed a quick munching of snacks and clicked amazing pics with a sunset backdrop. The canvas of the sky looks fabulous when crimson rays penetrate deep into the sky, bleeding red across the horizon. In one word…indescribable.

Bhuj

Soon it was sunset and we started back for Bhuj. We decided to have dinner at Hotel Prince before heading to our hotel – Nishansh Homestay. At Hotel Prince, North Indian food was available which we were dearly missing. We ate to our heart’s content. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. Finally, we reached our homestay by 20.30 hrs. The huts were round in shape and were well decorated in Gujarati Cultural paintings and artifacts. Rooms were impeccably clean and linens were spotless. The tea served was okayish though. We called it a day by 22.00 hrs after briefly planning the next day.

Drive to Rann of Kutch

On Saturday morning, we left homestay by 08.00 hrs for Dhordo and decided to have breakfast on the way somewhere. The road from Bhuj to Dhordo was of average quality. It was Hexa’s suspension that handled potholed roads with dexterity. Soon, we could see the horizon on both sides of the road with empty vast desert. The topography had changed within a span of one hour.

Gujarati breakfast on the highway

Soon, we were overwhelmed by mortal emotions of hunger and soon decided to stop for breakfast. Alas, there were no dhabas in sight serving hot parathas and delicious tea. At around 10.00 hrs we reached a place called Bhirandiara which was buzzing with tourists and locals. There were small shops serving local delicacies and tea. We too followed the suit and ordered fafda, jalebi, pakoras, mawa, and tea. The food served was piping hot and delicious, though, on the hygiene front, finicky people like me may have some issues.

Still, with tummy full, we moved ahead to our next destination – our Dhordo resort Rann Homestay. This resort was in the middle of nowhere about 5 km before Great Rann of Kutch. Dust was blowing across the resort as we entered it around 11.30 hrs. Soon after the allocation of tents, we left the resort by 12.00 noon to visit get the Rann of Kutch permits, and if possible, explore the area.

Rann Utsav Link: 

Rann of Kutch – The permits

The permit to Rann of Kutch was easy to get as we all had our ID cards ready. The BSF jawan checked our permit and allowed us to take our car to the parking zone. The sun was right above our head when we parked the car and walked towards Rann of Kutch’s main gate. We negotiated the rates for a camel cart at Rs 1000, which took us to the white desert. Since we all were wearing bright clothes, which against the white backdrop of the salt desert were looking fantabulous, the backdrop for pics was perfect. We clicked some amazing pictures and collected fond memories of the place. My kid found a small pothole of water, which when I tasted was salty. Dr. Arya scrapped the ground surface and collected some fresh rock salt, which again we tasted and found salty.

Kalo Dungar

After an hour’s ride on the camel card and around 300 pics later, we decided to ride back to the main gate to the parking. We drove back to the resort to have lunch. Time showed 13.30 hrs. The food prepared at the resort was simple yet tasty. Dal, roti, aloo subzi, rice, achaar, papad and chaas. Simply bliss. After overeating lunch, we had two options – either to stay back and rest or to explore Kalo Dungar and BSF war memorial, which were around one hour drive away. Needless to say, we chose the latter.

We decided to see the BSF war memorial first. After driving for around one hour, we reached the India bridge which connects the border area of Kutch with the mainland. The BSF jawans posted there asked us to deposit our cameras and cell phones before proceeding further. We obliged.  The BSF war memorial was constructed recently which is a tribute to our Armed Forces.

The temperature was already around 35°C in the middle of February. Imagine the heatwave during the extreme months of May and June. Our forces brave extreme weather round the clock and guard our motherland, to guard our freedom. India’s pride is its Armed Forces. The lines below were tweeted by the Indian Army post-Balakot strike in Pakistan, which sums up the mood of the nation.

क्षमाशील हो रिपु-समक्ष
तुम हुये विनत जितना ही
दुष्ट कौरवों ने तुमको
कायर समझा उतना ही
सच पूछो, तो शर में ही
बसती है दीप्ति विनय की
सन्धि-वचन संपूज्य उसी का
जिसमें शक्ति विजय की।

– Ramdhari Singh Dinkar

Back to Rann of Kutch

We could have continued discussing our Armed forces endlessly but the sinking sun reminded us that we needed to head to Kalo Dungar. Quickly we reached the BSF check post and collected our items. It was then when a jawan offered us chilled water in a bottle. I was speechless at his hospitality and generosity. No wonder, Indian Armed Forces are the most professional organization known. With a heavy heart and emotions, we left.  By the time we reached Kalo Dungar, it was almost 16.30 hrs.

The road to Kalo Dungar from the main highway is a delight for those who yearn to drive on challenging terrains. The ups and downs, the turns and twists, the hairpin bends and broken road threw all sorts of challenges that made the drive memorable. Quickly we reached the summit and found there was nothing majestic about the place. Of course, it offered a panoramic view of the wilderness but nothing compared to White Rann.

Rann of Kutch Sunset views

Slight change of plans, we decided to watch the sunset from White Rann, which was one hour drive from Kalo Dungar. The clock showed 17.00 hrs. Hurriedly we climbed onto Hexa and off we started for White Rann. The descent was quicker as I rolled the 2.5 MT Hulk down the road. Hexa grunted as it didn’t like me being pushy, but time was less and every minute counted. We drove around 100 kmph mark consistently on the barren broken road keeping an eye on the setting sun.

We saw various dust cyclones on the way, some chasing us, some running away, but nevertheless, a spectacular experience. By the time we parked our car at the parking of White Rann, it was crowded. The sun started turning crimson red from earlier yellow-orange color. We clicked some amazing pics whilst the sun going down. The blowing cool breeze felt nice since it brought the temperature down. Around 18.45 hrs, we bid adieu to White Rann for being such a generous host, showing us all colors and temperatures. On the way back to our resort, we took a break at Rann of Kutch festival and did some window shopping. It was around 20.00 hrs when we reached the resort for dinner.

The Chilly night and the early morning drive

It had got windy and chilly at night. Sleep eluded me and finally, at around 04.30 hrs, I left the bed. The easiest way to get ready quickly was to ditch the bath, which I gladly did. By 05.30 hrs, we were inside our Hulk Hexa and ready to drive back to Ahmedabad. The moonlit highway was a treat to watch. Soundless Hexa was cruising along the highway wherein Dev Anand’s songs kept us awake. I was pretty impressed with the JBL speakers Hexa flaunted gleefully. As we approached Bhuj, the sun came up. A day before we saw an amazing sunset along the western coast of India and today we were greeted by a mesmerizing sunrise. Indeed, Nature has no parallels.

Tasteless Breakfast on highway

We had a tasteless breakfast at one of the ubiquitous dhabas of Indian highways. The journey continued and we reached Ahmedabad by 13.00 hrs. Our destination was a Gujarati dining restaurant named Sasuji. Being lunchtime it was packed with people. Still, the service was superb and we were out within 30 mins. Now, since we had time, I thought of dropping Dr. Arya to the railway station before heading to the airport.

Back home

Never I realized that I had already punched in the airport on google maps. I followed the Google lady blindly and soon took the wrong path. It was only when Pramanshu realized that we were heading towards the airport instead of the railway station, we took a kejri turn (U-turn). Finally, we dropped Dr. Arya at the railway station by 15.00 hrs. The trip which had begun three days ago had practically ended. We returned the zoom car at the airport and cleared the security check by 16.30 hrs. Then it was an endless wait to board the aircraft. I perhaps dozed off at the waiting lounge. The flight was uneventful and we reached Delhi by 19.30 hrs.

Great Rann of Kutch coupled with Mandvi beach is a perfect place to spend the weekend amidst nature. Now, I can proudly boast that I have seen all four corners of India. What is left?  Well, Hindustan ka dil remains unexplored… Madhya Pradesh, where Dr. Arya resides. So, when and where is the next trip planned?