By PeakandTrough, Robin Gupta, robinambala@gmail.com
Being an avid traveler to so many places around India, this was surely on my bucket list for a very long time. (Don’t ask me to share the list though !!)
Itinerary:
Day 1: Take a overnight train and reach Bhuj. Stay overnight at Rann of Kutch
Day 2: Visit sunrise at whote desert, Visit Kalo Dungar and over night stay back at Bhuj.
Day 3: Visit and Over night stay at Mandvi
Day 4: Visit local sightseeing at Kutch and travel back to your destination.
Day 1: Visit to the White Desert
So I took an overnight train (Kutch Express) in evening from Mumbai to reach Bhuj next morning. We already had booked a bike from Bhuj for the next 4 days. We had breakfast at Anando Hotel (Highly recommended by local people though it is a bit over priced). As it was the auspicious day of Diwali, so we went to Laxminarayan Temple to seek blessings.
We started our journey from Bhuj towards Rann of Kutch which is around 70 Kms. away. We had to take a halt in between to get the permit (It is a simple 20 minutes process, and can be easily done at the spot, so no need to worry about that).
We reached our tents (Rann Kandi Resort) at noon. (Do book the tents before, as they get filled up pretty early). The lunch and dinner were included in the package. At around 4 pm, we started towards the white desert which was around 4 kms from here. We witnessed one of the most beautiful sunset ever on the long plains filled with salt. After that we enjoyed our time at Rannotsav and headed back to our tents, enjoyed cultural folk songs, had dinner and slept under the clear sky full of stars.
Tents at Rann Kandi Resort
Beautiful Sunset at White Desert
Day 2: Visit to Kalo Dungar
We started our day after having breakfast towards Kalo Dungar. There is a famous temple (Dattatrey) on the hill which has a unique tradition. At 12 pm, they serve the temple prasad to jackals, and out of nowhere a big herd of them appear to take it. (We thought it as a joke, but were astonished to witness it live).
We reached back to Bhuj in evening and checked in to Tree Top Hotel. After some rest, we went to Hiralaxmi park which has a replica of Famous Parliament of India and known to be the only temple for “Bharat Mata”. It also had light and sound show which was absolutely amazing. At dinner we had Gujrati Thali, enjoyed some late night bike ride in Bhuj city and ended the day.
Kala Dungar
Day 3: Visit to Mandvi
We started our journey to Mandvi, around 60 kms from bhuj which is the westernmost beach of India. We checked into some guest house as all the hotels were booked because of weekend. The beach has a lot of good water sports options along with abundance of food joints around. Evening strolls were amazing at the place with only the sound of waves coming to your ears.
Camel Ride at the Mandvi Beach
Water Sports at the Beach
Day 4: Local Bhuj Sightseeing
We began our day with authenic gujrati Breakfast (Dhokla, Khandvi, Fafda and Jalebi) and started our journey to Bhuj. After reaching, we explored the Parag Mahal, Aaina Mahal, Ancient ruins of Harappan civilization and local markets.
Enjoying Bike ride on the smooth roads
We had our overnight train in the evening (Kutch express Again) back to Mumbai with a lot of memories and experiences to be cherished forever.
Tips:
1. Don’t forget to carry your sunscreen, Sunglasses and other important stuff as it has direct sunlight during day time.
2. Keep that in mind that it is a dry state and you would not be able to find any alcohol during your trip
3. Please book the train tickets, Resort at Rann of Kutch in advance as they get sold out very early.
