Whenever I used to hear someone talking about Kutch, the thing which used to dominate my mind was the never-ending white desert, Rann of Kutch but after visiting Kutch I came to know there is much more to explore than just the white desert. We planned this trip to Kutch with our friends and decided to stay at Bhuj and then to drive down to explore places. We reached Bhuj in afternoon and after taking some rest at the guest house, in the evening we went to Mandavi beach. The distance from Bhuj to Mandavi is approximately 61 km. It took us 1 hour to reach the Mandavi beach. It is a beautiful place to enjoy a camel ride, to enjoy or just to sink in the lovely breeze.
 |
| Mandavi Beach |
 |
| Wind Mills along the Mandavi Beach |
The windmills along the beach add-ons to the charisma of the Mandavi Beach. Taking a camel ride along the Mandavi Beach is one of the top things to do in Mandavi Beach. I personally enjoyed the camel ride. Though when our camel rider made the camel run, the ride becomes little scary for me but altogether it was an unforgettable experience. At Mandavi beach every camel has his unique name, the name of the camel we rode was Shahrukh.
 |
| Shahrukh resting after the ride |
After spending quality time at the Mandavi Beach we head towards the guest house at Bhuj. The adventure was about to begin for us. By the time we were returning back, it was dark and suddenly the head lights of our car goes off. It was so scary, driving in dark on the highway and no headlights. We parked our car on the side and checked but was unable to find out the fault. We called our friends who were driving the other car to wait for us, drive slowly and lead us through our way to Bhuj. We just blindly followed our friend's car and majestically headlights turned on as we were about to reach the city.
After spending the first night at Bhuj, on next day after having breakfast, we started our journey to the next spot i.e; Kalo Dungar/Black Hill and Rann of Kutch. A permit is required to visit the Rann of Kutch due to its proximity to the Pakistan's border. The permit can be obtained on the way to Rann at Bhirandiyara village checkpoint. Any government approved identity proof is enough to get the permit.
Kalo Dungar is the highest point in Kutch. It is located at 97 km from Bhuj and 25 km from Khavda which is the nearest town. The best way to reach here is by your own vehicle. The buses generally don't go beyond Khavda. The other option is to book a cab from Bhuj. One exciting thing in the way to Kalo Dungar is the magnetic field spot where one can stop their vehicle and experience the vehicle moving against the gravitational force. It is the best place to get the best panoramic view of the Great Rann of Kutch. The wetlands submerged with rainwater gives a resemblance to a sea. The pristine view from Kalo Dungar is indeed a treat to the eyes.
  
Breathtaking views from Kalo Dungar
There is a famous 400-year-old Dattatreya temple also. There is a story behind the existence of the temple, people say when lord Dattatreya walked on the earth, he stopped at the Kalo Dungar and there he found a group of starving Jackals. He offered them his body and as they ate his body parts regenerated. So, priest of the temple feed the Jackals every day.
There is one Dharamshala as an accommodation option for those who want to spend a night with some basic needs. Whatever the case, it is better to take snacks with you as you plan to visit Kalo Dungar as there is nothing you will get near to the place. By the time we started from Kalo Dungar for our next stop i.e; Great Rann of Kutch, we were so hungry. There are some resorts with huts near Kalo Dungar but during off season they are so dead. We were there in the month of August. We went inside one of the resort in search of food and luckily they were ready to prepare something for us but when the lunch arrived I was feeling like not having that as it was so oily and housefly were roaming here and there. After us, many tourists were approaching the resort for food but seriously guys take something to eat with you before leaving for Kalo Dungar. Our next destination was The great Rann of Kutch for which we were super excited especially after witnessing the amazing view of Rann of Kutch from Kalo Dungar. The journey in itself is so beautiful with mesmerizing views throughout the wetlands on our way to Rann of Kutch. I am sharing with you guys some of the pics which I clicked on the way:     Distance from Kalo Dungar to Rann of Kutch is about 38.5 km I literally feel too short as I was fully enjoying the views throughout. Finally, we reached the most talked about the place the great Rann of Kutch. 
Walking in between the Rann of Kutch literally felt like walking through the desert
View was just stunning, it really was a white desert
The Rann of Kutch seems like a never-ending white desert and somewhere meeting to the sky and clouds above the white desert appears to be happy there and playing among themselves.
  |
Resort with Huts close to Rann of Kutch
There are Kutch style mud huts very near to the Rann of Kutch where you can stay and especially during the Rann Utsav to get the flavor of Kutch culture.
In evening we head back to Bhuj with a promise to visit Rann of Kutch in near future during Rann festival to get a different flavor of festive Kutch.
|
Comments
Post a Comment