Kutch – A Road Trip to remember. #Lockdown

Our villa “Gruham Homestay” was booked in advance via booking.com. It was a well maintained villa which easily accommodated all of us. Our host was there to receive us when we arrived. He told us about the places we can visit during our stay of 2 days and also about the nearby restaurants. Thankfully Swiggy was active in Bhuj, so we ordered food while everybody freshened up.

We left for Mandvi soon after having our food. Mandvi is 60 kms from Bhuj,1 hour drive. We reached Mandvi Beach before the sunset. It was very clean .There were camel rides, glidings and ATV rides for people who wanted to do some activity. There was also a cultural program going on which was organized by the Gujarat tourism department, along with some shops selling traditional stuff. There were many food shops near the beach to satiate one’s hunger.

We couldn’t visit Vijaya Vilas Palace in Mandvi as it closes by 6 in the evening and we reached after it, so in case you want to visit the Vijaya Vilas Palace start by 3-4 in the afternoon from Bhuj so that you have enough time to explore the palace and also visit the beach before sunset. To be honest sunset at Mandvi Beach was mesmerizing. We returned to our villa by 10 PM. There are few restaurants at Mandvi-Bhuj road before leaving the Mandvi city for having dinner.

Bhujia Hill and Bhujia Fort were close to our villa so we decided to go there first. We left our villa at 10 in the morning (which was a bit late). As we reached the base of the Bhujia Hill we found out that there was no motor-able road for cars till the top of the fort. We met a foreigner who was returning from the fort. He told us that it took him around 1.5-2hrs to completely explore the place by walking but the view from the top of the fort was worth the walk. But eventually we didn’t go there because we were a bit short of time. Then we left for the Prag Mahal which was in the main city. We parked our cars in the paid parking of the Mahal and then went on to explore the Mahal. There was a nominal entry fee. Clicking pictures in the Mahal was allowed but videography wasn’t. The Mahal consists of various chambers containing historic things and legacies of the Bhuj city and its historic rulers. There are many picturesque locations in the Mahal for Instagram lovers. We spent more than an hour there. Near to the Prag Mahal is the Aina Mahal. We didn’t go there but instead went to the Bhuj Market for shopping. The market is near to Prag Mahal so one can leave their vehicles parked in the parking of Prag Mahal and explore the Bhuj Market. The “Baandhani” is the local dress material of Kutch, for women, so you can buy something of it for whosoever you want to. There are many things for women in the Bhuj market but for men all you can get is a Traditional Kurta or a “Jutti”(ethnic shoe). We wrapped up our shopping by 4 PM and then left for Great White Desert , near Dhordo. You need a permit to visit Great White Desert. The permit can be booked online, link is given below, or you can get a permit on the spot also. The charge is Rs100 per person and Rs50 per car. We had already booked the permit online. Dhordo is around 80Kms from Bhuj, 2 hour drive. We initially decided to visit Kalo Dongar first and then go to the White Desert. We stopped at the petrol pump 20Kms before Kalo Dongar and decided to reroute to White Desert because we didn’t want to miss the sight of the White Desert in daylight. We reached the parking of the White Desert before sunset but spent our time near the parking itself in clicking pictures because of which we missed to see the White Desert in the daylight (Yeah, silly mistake). From parking you can either walk or have a Camel Cart ride to and fro the Desert Viewpoint Tower. We took the Camel Cart ride but it was dark and it wasn’t a full moon night, so there was hardly any reflection of the white sand. We could only see the mild sparkle of the white sand. We went on the top of the tower to view the vast desert for few mins and then went on to take a stroll in the white desert. The sky looked beautiful with stars shining brightly. While we were walking the guard whistled at us calling us back towards the view point thus restraining us to explore the desert more. With a slight disappointment we left for Bhuj. We had our dinner at a restaurant near “Sher-E-Punjab Dhaba” in Bhuj. Some of us had the local “Kathiyawadi” cuisine.

We had to leave for Mumbai today but since we couldn’t see the White Desert in the daylight the previous day we decided to go back to the White Desert again. We left by around 8 AM( again a bit late) for it and reached there by 10AM. Fortunately we got the permission to take our cars till the view point, thanks to the generous guard at the gate. The permit office opens at 11AM so book an online permit if you want to visit the Rann before 11 AM. The White Desert was serene. It had its own pristine beauty. Most of us took a short 10mins camel ride while a few of us took the horse ride in the White Desert. The ride in the White Desert was one of the best experiences we all ever had. We couldn’t stay there for long since we were bounded by time and had to leave for Mumbai. After clicking the final group photo we bid good bye to the Great White Desert with a hope of coming back again someday in future to spend more time there. While returning we stopped at a sweet shop in order to buy “Kutchi Peda”, a local sweet. We reached Mumbai the next day in the morning. It was my first road trip and I am glad we chose Kutch as the destination.

A FEW THINGS TO NOTE-

There are many places in Kutch. Some of the major ones are –

Mandvi

The Great White Desert

Prag Mahal

Aina Mahal

Bhuj Market

Bhujia Fort

Mata no Madh

Lakhpat Fort

Narayan Sarovar

Kalo Dungar

We had only 2 days, so we couldn’t cover all of them. We(My friends and I) wanted to spend time together along with covering as many places as possible but if you, as a traveler, want to explore the Kutch completely then try to plan a ‘stay’ of at-least 3-4 days. Traveling in Kutch was easy for us as we had our own cars but if you are relying on public transport and private cabs then I guess you will be bounded by a schedule and you have to plan that in advance.

Try to schedule your visit to Rann of Kutch(The Great White Desert) at a full moon night and it will be the best if you go there during Rann Utsav which is held every year by Gujarat Tourism department, generally from December to Feb. Also get a beforehand idea about the Rann Utsav so that you can utilize your visit to the fullest.

Regarding the road trip from Mumbai to Bhuj, it is safe and easy if you have sufficient drivers (minimum 2 per car). The highway had many restaurants to serve our appetite. Also the road trip might be cheaper and better than other modes of transport. We managed to complete the trip within a budget of Rs5000 per head.

The villa where we stayed had a full equipped kitchen so we managed to satisfy our late night cravings by cooking on our own. It also had a balcony on the first floor where we had our late night chats.

A humble request as a traveler-

If you are visiting any place don’t ruin it in any form. Dispose the garbage properly, don’t damage any local property and respect the people around you because it’s not just about traveling , it’s about imbibing positive things from the surrounding and people of various places in the world. Try the local food, interact with people and try to learn about the local culture because it’s fun.

And finally I am glad that we could go on this trip before the corona outbreak. Documenting it down while staying in quarantine ????. I hope this outbreak of virus ends soon so we and you all can have many more trips in the future.

Villa Link –

https://www.booking.com/hotel/in/gruham-home-stay-at-bhuj.en-gb.html?aid=356980;label=gog235jc-1DCAsobEIYZ3J1aGFtLWhvbWUtc3RheS1hdC1iaHVqSDNYA2hsiAEBmAEJuAEXyAEP2AED6AEBiAIBqAIDuAKCgN7zBcACAQ;sid=9d7b71623dd53f2fc81adca8659da7b7;dist=0&group_adults=2&group_children=0&keep_landing=1&no_rooms=1&sb_price_type=total&type=total&

Permit Link –

https://www.rannpermit.com/