Great Rann of Kutch: A Journey to the World’s Largest Salt Desert

The Great Rann of Kutch is a massive salt marsh that covers an area of about 7,505 square kilometres in the Thar Desert in Gujarat. It is one of the largest salt deserts in the world and the only one that is submerged in water during the monsoon season. The salt crust that forms on the surface of the marsh creates a stunning landscape that changes colours with the sun and the moon. The Great Rann of Kutch is also home to a rich and diverse wildlife, including the endangered Indian wild ass, flamingos, pelicans, and many other migratory birds.

But the Great Rann of Kutch is also a treasure trove of culture and tradition, where you can witness the colourful and vibrant life of the people of Kutch. The region is famous for its exquisite handicrafts, such as embroidery, pottery, leatherwork, and metalwork, that reflect the artistic skills and creativity of the local artisans. The region also hosts the annual Rann Utsav festival, a grand celebration of the culture and crafts of Kutch, where you can enjoy cultural performances, camel rides, star gazing, and much more.

In this article, we will guide you through everything you need to know about visiting this amazing salt desert, including its geography, culture, festivals, attractions, and travel tips. So, let’s get started!

Geography

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The Great Rann of Kutch was formed by the drying up of an ancient sea that once covered this area. The salt marshes are composed of clay, sand, and salt deposits that are influenced by the tides of the Arabian Sea. The marshes are mostly dry for most of the year, except during the monsoon season (June to September), when they are flooded by rainwater and river water.

The Great Rann of Kutch is divided into two parts: the Little Rann of Kutch and the Greater Rann of Kutch.

The Little Rann of Kutch is located in the south-eastern part of the region and covers an area of about 4,950 square kilometres. It is mainly inhabited by salt farmers who extract salt from the marshes using traditional methods. The Little Rann of Kutch is also famous for being the last refuge of the Indian wild ass (khur), a rare and endangered species that can run up to 80 kilometers per hour.

The Greater Rann of Kutch is located in the north-western part of the region and covers an area of about 2,555 square kilometres. It is mostly uninhabited and inaccessible due to its harsh terrain and climate. However, it offers some spectacular views and experiences for adventurous travellers who want to explore its beauty and mystery.

The Greater Rann of Kutch is also known for being one of the best places in India to witness the full moon night (Kutchi: kala dhandha), when the salt marshes glow with a silver light that creates an ethereal atmosphere.

Culture

The culture of Kutch is as diverse and colourful as its landscape. The region has been influenced by various civilizations and cultures over time, such as the Indus Valley Civilization, Mauryan Empire, Mughal Empire, British Raj, and Pakistan. The region has also witnessed several wars and conflicts, such as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and 1971, which have shaped its history and identity.

The people of Kutch are known for their artistic skills and creativity, which are evident in their exquisite handicrafts. The region is famous for its embroidery, which is done by women using colourful threads, mirrors, beads, and shells. The embroidery styles vary from community to community, such as Rabari (geometric patterns), Ahir (floral motifs), Meghwal (patchwork), etc. The region is also known for its pottery, which is done by men using clay and fire. The region is also known for its leatherwork, which is done by men using animal skins and metal tools.

Festivals

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The festivals of Kutch are a reflection of its culture and tradition, where you can witness the joy and enthusiasm of the people of Kutch. The festivals are also a great opportunity to experience the beauty and charm of the Great Rann of Kutch in different seasons and occasions. Some of the festivals that you should not miss while visiting Kutch are:

Rann Utsav: The Rann Utsav is the most famous festival of Kutch, which is held every year from November to February in the Greater Rann of Kutch. The festival is a grand celebration of the culture and crafts of Kutch, where you can enjoy cultural performances, camel rides, star gazing, and much more.

Kite Festival: The Kite Festival is held every year on January 14th to mark the occasion of Makar Sankranti (the transition of the sun into Capricorn). The festival is a celebration of the harvest season and the arrival of spring. The festival is also a celebration of the art and skill of kite flying, where thousands of people fly colorful kites in the sky. The festival also features kite competitions, kite exhibitions, kite workshops, etc.

Holi: Holi is a festival of colours that is celebrated every year in March to mark the victory of good over evil and the arrival of spring. The festival is a celebration of love and friendship, where people smear each other with coloured powder and water. The festival also features bonfires, music, dance, and food. The festival is especially popular among the Sindhi community of Kutch, who celebrate it with great fervor and enthusiasm.

Navratri: Navratri is a festival of nine nights that is celebrated every year in September or October to honor the goddess Durga and her nine forms. The festival is a celebration of dance and worship, where people perform various forms of folk dances, such as garba, dandiya, raas, etc. The festival also features colorful costumes, jewelry, and decorations. The festival is especially popular among the Rabari community of Kutch, who celebrate it with great devotion and joy.

Also read: Why Rann of Kutch should be on your bucket list?

Attractions

The attractions of Kutch are a reflection of its natural and historical beauty, where you can explore some of the best places to visit in and around the Great Rann of Kutch. Some of the attractions that you should not miss while visiting Kutch are Kalo Dungar (Black Hill) is the highest point in Kutch, Dholavira an ancient city that belongs to the Indus Valley Civilization, Narayan Sarovar (Lake Narayan) is a sacred lake that is considered to be one of the five holy lakes in Hinduism, Vijay Vilas Palace a royal palace that was built by Maharao Shri Khengarji III, Kutch Museum is the oldest museum in Gujarat and Kutch Bustard Sanctuary a wildlife sanctuary that was established in 1992.

Travel Tips

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The travel tips for Kutch are a reflection of its climate and terrain, where you need to plan your trip carefully and wisely. Some of the travel tips that you should follow while visiting Kutch are:

Best time to visit Kutch

The best time to visit Kutch is from October to March, when the weather is pleasant and dry. The winter season (November to February) is also the time when the Rann Utsav festival takes place. The summer season (April to June) is very hot and dry, with temperatures reaching up to 50 degrees Celsius. The monsoon season (July to September) is very wet and humid, with heavy rainfall and flooding.

How to reach Kutch

By air: The nearest airport to Kutch is Bhuj Airport, which is connected to major cities in India by domestic flights.

By train: The nearest railway station to Kutch is Bhuj Railway Station, which is connected to major cities in India by trains.

By bus and car: The nearest bus station to Kutch is Bhuj Bus Station, which is connected to major cities in Gujarat and neighbouring states by buses. You can also reach Kutch by car or bike from nearby cities or towns.

Where to stay

The accommodation options in Kutch vary from luxury hotels and resorts to budget guesthouses and homestays. You can also stay in tents or bhungas during the Rann Utsav festival or at some eco-friendly camps or cottages near the Great Rann of Kutch. You can book your accommodation online or through travel agents or tour operators.

The Great Rann of Kutch is a destination that will enchant you with its beauty and charm. It is a place where you can experience the wonders of nature and the richness of culture. It is a place where you can create memories that will last a lifetime.

If you are looking for a unique and unforgettable travel experience, then you should definitely visit the Great Rann of Kutch.

Also read: The Great Rann of Kutch on a Moonlit Night

Great Rann Of Kutch Reviews

What is in a name?

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The Great Rann of Kutch is a seasonal salt marsh located in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India and the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is about 7,505.22 square kilometres (2,897.78 sq mi) in size and is reputed to be one of the largest salt desert in the world. My trip to Kutch was instantly planned and is best one till date.This trip was special for two reasons. One, I had a thing for white desert even before I saw Mr Amitabh Bachhan promoting this in GUJRAT tourism. Second, this was the first time I dropped the idea of solo trip and planned this trip with someone. And I was going there with a friend whom I never met before. Travelers are connected through their souls and so were we. DAY 1. 30 Dec ,2015 After a delayed train we reached bhuj station by 2pm and missed the bus right in front of our eyes which we were supposed to board for Rann Utsav. Fortunately, proper arrangement of waiting hall and washrooms was made where we were to wait until the next bus came. We till then went to a nearby dhaba in bhuj had our lunch and came back to the waiting hall. After waiting there for almost 3 hours we left for dhordho tent city which took us an hour to reach there. We checked into tent city. When we found the tent( J-56) it exceeded our expectations. Our first activity was White Desert visit. We used as much time as it is required for dumping the bags in the room. Then we headed towards the main gate to get into camel carts which were provided on first come first serve basis and we didn't want to miss the chance. After reaching at the main gate of dhordho tent city we saw 7-8 camel carts which were yet to be filled. We both relaxed and smiled looking at each other. We got into camel cart,passed the Dhordo tent city on our way to the white desert. Right after crossing the BSF check post, you haven't leave the road (check for tyre tracks on the left side) and drive through the desert. Yeah you heard it right - Off-roading!!! So SUVs are highly recommended. OurCamel cart ran through the vast expanse effortlessly, making its own road and leaving a cloud of sand behind it. (In case you don't get off the road and continue straight, the road leads to India bridge and the Indo-Pak border.) Cars are permitted only till the point. After that there is the White Desert and there are your two feet - as far as they can take you. We had reached there at the perfect time - an hour before the sunset. The sun was still blazing, but we couldn't spot much whiteness around. This was so different from all the snow white pictures of Rann that I have seen. There were people around though, a little too much to spoil the mood and all the photography attempts. We had to leave the group and walked further inside. The more we walked inside the more white the land became. We walked more than a mile or so, till the salt layer was almost 3 inches deep. The sun has set by then. But there was still daylight. And it was snow white all around, just that it wasn't snow. We stood there for a while, clicked few pictures and walked back towards the group. Got back into the camel carts and headed toward the tent city. After a day long journey in train we were tired. We relaxed for sometime in the tent and headed to the dining hall. Post dinner, we took a walk through tent city.It was 2 days past full moon. Wishing that I could see a waning moon I looked up. I couldn't see a moon, but what I saw was jaw-dropping. An infinite black sky with more stars and constellations than I had seen in my entire life was spread out above me. Wasn't it the same sky that I see in Mumbai or Delhi or Jaipur.Wonder how I never saw so many stars in those cities or at my hometown? Or was it a desert thing? The starry sky seemed to merge with the unending dark horizon. We sat there silently for sometime looking up at the sky.It was getting colder but somehow it didn't matter. The entire universe was staring down back at us-twinkling. And there was absolute silence and a perfect company. 'The silence that is in the starry sky' in the words of William Wordsworth. Then phone broke us out of our reverie and shattered that silence too. But those moments of silence away from people were peaceful. We got up and walked back to our tents as it was late already.But "That place made me dream. Dream beyond infinity." And trust me you would feel every bit of it when you'll visit the Great Rann of Kutch.The Land of the White Salt Desert and exquisite art and craft, KUTCH is a quite HEAVEN.If you are looking for lots of colour, peace,flaming flamingos, flying cranes and different migratory birds, then KUTCH, GUJRAT is the IDEAL Place for you. The white desert comes alive under the moonlight and the unending horizon merges into the moonlight. Rann Utsav is held every year from Nov-March. I would suggest everyone to must visit Great Rann of Kutch once. And It'll attract you again & again everytime you'll plan a trip. PS:- This article is solely dedicated to a evening Rann of Kutch. The rest of the journey will be documented in a separate post. So what are you waiting for? HURRY! You can suggest your loved ones and everyone you know has wanderlust in her/his veins a visit to white desert. Will update more in my next story of Rannutsav. For further details:- anjalisahrawat21@gmail.com

Harsh Vardhan

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Day 3: Zainabad - Through the Little Rann of Kachchh - Adesar - Bhuj The next day began early before sunrise. The excitement was palpable, and both of us very quickly got ready. If everything went well, we would be through the LRK to Adesar in no time and would reach Bhuj quite early. However, the possibility of turning back after doing quite some distance in the Rann was also huge. We left for Jhijuwada at about 8:30 am after a hearty breakfast at Desert Coursers and armed with a packed lunch of sandwiches for the road. A word of advice for those entering the Rann - plan for the worst, and carry some drinking water with you. We entered the Rann through the same cut in the road we had discovered the previous evening. The entry points into the Rann are limited because of a thick vegetation of shrubs. We were quite aware of the fact that it would be difficult to exit the Rann too, if we were able to cross it somehow in the first place. Our hypothesis was that if we reach a salt farm on the other side of the Rann, there should definitely exist a track leading to a village on or near the highway to Bhuj. Keeping this in mind, I'd marked a village called Varnu Wandh near the highway which also had several salt farms near it, which we were able to clearly see on Google Earth. To make things further interesting, we had marked an oasis as seen on Google Earth on our GPS device, so the first target for the day was to reach this oasis. We followed the initial tyre marks which apparentely were headed straight towards the oasis as our GPS indicated. The shrubs disappeared, and soon all we could see was the parched land of the Rann. As we went deeper, the Rann started to get marshier and I shifted to 4H just to be safe. I’d heard that sometimes the upper crust just gives way all of a sudden and the chances of getting stuck in mud are quite high. At least with 4H on, there was a (false) sense of security that in case it happens, we stand a chance to get out of the rut. The tyre marks now seemed to go in a different direction, so we had to leave them and move in the general direction of the oasis. After driving for another 10 minutes or so, we found another set of tyre marks which were moving towards the oasis. In the Rann, it makes sense to stick to existing tyre marks, lest one intends to get stuck anywhere. These tracks led to a salt farm, and as the farm came nearer, the tracks became marshier. We decided not to head straight towards the salt farm, but skirt it to avoid the marshier patch around it. I parked the car near the house at the corner of the farm and walked towards it. The man working there came towards me and gave me the bad news that it would not be possible to cross the Rann. He was speaking in Gujarati, so we were both unable to comprehend each other completely, but as much as I could understood from him, there was some river ahead which was impossible to cross. It had been 1 hour 15 minutes since we'd taken the cut from Jhijuwada, and after coming so deep into the Rann, we were in no mood to go back. Disheartened, I gave the news to Aarti, but we both decided to at least see this river and maybe catch some interesting shots near the water body. Somehow the concept of a river through the Rann did not make sense, and we were hoping against hope that it was not true. We moved ahead. The tyre tracks soon disappeared, and we were left on our own, heading towards the village Varnu Wandh based on the directions the GPS gave us. We'd chucked the idea of locating the oasis, since it would definitely be marshy there. The drive during the next 45 minutes can at best be described as exhilarating. Cruising at 60 kmph through the Rann with nothing as far as the eye could see was a fantastic experience, difficult to describe in words. Some sets of tyre tracks came up, but disappeared soon, and seemed to head in a different direction. With nothing to see at the horizon, there is little reference frame to give a direction sense to the driver. All this while, we were waiting to hit the edge of a river or a huge water body, but nothing came up. We were filled with mixed emotions, the deeper we went, the greater chance we had of crossing the Rann, however the greater the risk of turning back at the last moment. We also found a set of stone pillars erected one after the other at equal distance forming markers of a path through the Rann, although there were no tyre tracks next to them. This gave us further confidence to move ahead, and we did.

Aakanksha Magan

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Kachchh, or Kutch, is the wild and determined Gujarat. Kachchh literally means something which is intermittently wet and dry. Edged by the Gulf of Kachchh, Great Rann and Little Rann, this marshy island is the wild west of India and one of the most popular Gujarat sightseeing attractions. The tribal villages dotted on the edges of Kachchh produce glittering textiles with intricate embroidery and shining mirror-work and are some of the most beautiful examples of Indian textiles and handicrafts. But the most interesting part of this district of Gujarat is the Great Rann of Kutch. A blinding-white expanse of salt in winters and a swampy, muddy land in summers, this natural wonder is a must visit destination with family. Then there is also the Rann Utsav, a four-month bonanza, organised by the Gujarat government, which is the best way to explore and enjoy the salt desert. A profusion of colours, a cornucopia of music and dance and stupendous design is what you can expect at the utsav. What else to see:There are so many things around the Great Rann of Kutch that provide an excellent way to discover the life of people around here. You can visit the various tribal villages and nomadic establishments on the outskirts of Rann. You can also visit Bhuj and Mandvi while here. How to reach:The nearest airport and railway station is Bhuj, around 80km or a 2-hour drive away. Ahmedabad is 400km and regular private and public buses run between Bhuj and Ahmedabad. Timings:The Rann can be visited all year round but it's only during winters that you see the wonders of the salt desert. Entrance fee:There is no particular fees to visit the Rann, however there are numerous camps around the desert where you can stay and enjoy the Rann at a relaxed and leisurely pace.

Sulekha Singh

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Main attraction of Gujrat and one of the must seen places in India is Runn of kutch. It is around 70 Km from the nearest railway station, Bhuj. People generally go there via auto, rental cars or may be in a tourist bus if large in number. You can find the tropic of Cancer passing within the way to kutch. In between you can have lunch in dhabas at max. 100 rs per person. There is entry fee of 100 rs per person but can be subsidized through proper proof of student ( On paper proof not just ID card). There are two places, one is Kala Doongar, near to the kutch, A scenic beauty point showing Arabian sea, surrounding mountains and bridge over there. Second, is the runn of kutch itself, also called White Dessert, which is basically salt shining all over spreading till infinity (well it looks like it) and you can walk over it, play something with friends, can have some quite time staring at the horizon, horse riding, long walk in any direction you want, can have beautiful photo shoot, sunrise and sunset are awesome there, star gazing ( a lot and lot of stars.. bringing wow!! in your face) and also full moon looks just perfect there. There is also a Runn Utsav, which includes various fun activities, introduces you to its culture, stay in those rounded huts called Bhunga-traditional homes of Kutch and many more things. This whole thing is available in some package. Many families and tourist come to visit for this Runn Utsav. But as we were students, we decided not to take this package and explore ourselves.

Ekta Goyal

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The land with the crystal shine grace of white sand spread across a great distance in Gujarat. Spend some quality time camping, enjoying the bone fire, revealing out surroundings, riding on camels and trying to fall asleep beneath the shimmering sheet of twinkling stars. Leave all the problems dug in the heap of sand and swear not to remember it ever again.Sacred Forest, Mawphlong Be prepared to resist the charming glory of meadows resting amidst a magical forest, defying most of the nature’s laws. Worth a visit spot for sore hearts, this enchanting treat of greenery and mystical mountains enclosed with ultimate peace is like anything. You can’t afford to miss this!! Traveling probably is the most effective cure to heal up that break in your heart with the ointment of joy, adventure and tranquility. Have you recently had a relationship breakup? Do nightmares wake you up with horrible jerks?? Does this heavy heart, plead to burst out??? Oh Lord!! Move on chap; let your mind and heart breathe in a blissful and happening air once again. Step out of the blanket drenched with your tears and step into your running shoes to get set go for an exhilarating trip to any of the below mentioned spots blessed with spellbinding landscape and serenity. Swipe away loneliness and mingle up with ancient tribes, exploring the historic trance of eminent places, take a fresh dive into the ocean and swim with colorful fishes, relish the ultimate sun shower and rest in the arms of the moon.