Hyderabad to Ahmedabad, Little Rann of Kutch, Dholavira and Great Rann of Kutch.

[Gowtham]

My friend and fellow moderator Sagar always wanted to explore Gujarat.

Personally, I had very less expectations on Rann of Kutch.
When he came up with Gujarat, our plan started to take its shape but I tried to skip it. I have initiated different plans and suggestions, but he did not budge.

 

On one fine day, he booked the tickets from Hyderabad to Ahmedabad.
We pulled in a few more friends and Now we are a group of 10 members ready to explore Gujarat.

 

Car booking:

Our next step was to book self drive cars, Only options available were Zoom and Myles.
All the 'Myles' cars were booked on our dates, So we have booked three cars from 'Zoom'.

 

Initial plan was to book 3 Eco-sports.

 

But due to unavailability and bad car conditions, we booked the following cars.

 

1. Ford Figo
2. Ford Ecosport
3. Mahindra Scorpio

[Gowtham]

Day -1 Ahmedabad to Little Rann of Kutch.

 

We hired a cab from Ahmedabad airport to Zoom car pick up location.
We completed all the formalities and we are out by 10:30 AM

We started hunting for the breakfast, We couldn't find a proper restaurant for breakfast.

 

We searched for 15 kilometers with in the city and gave up.
Once on the Highway, we found a small Dhaba and had a heavy brunch, we resumed our journey by 1 PM.

Little Rann of Kutch Permissions:

 

• Little Rann of Kutch requires permission to enter, Officially bikes are not allowed inside, but many people ride around without any issue.
• It has many entry and exit points.
• Many people don't take permission, when get they stuck or get caught, they end up paying fine which is very high.

 

How to get the permissions to explore Little Rann of Kutch?

 

• Little Rann of Kutch Permission is available at Bajana.
• Forest Guest house is located the entrance of the village.
• If you miss it, not a problem, you can ask around, It is very well known to the locals.

 

 

How much does the Little Rann of Kutch permit cost?
It costed us around 1800/- for 3 cars and 4 cameras.

Is the guide mandatory for Little Rann of Kutch?

Guide is not mandatory, but if you are not sure about trails,  and have no idea about routes, in a single vehicle, It is suggested to take a Guide.

We did not take a guide and have faced some issues. More on that later.

Is it easy to get the permission?

Permission is pretty straight forward, they even gave us some map.
They insisted us to hire a guide but we decided not to take.

Can we do Little Rann of Kutch in a Hatch back?

Yes can be easily done in any car.
We have done it in a Ford Figo, We did not face any issue.

 

Do we require GPS to cross Little Rann of Kutch?

It is better to take offline maps along with you, but you can easily manage without it.

Simple rule, follow the white stones and trails. Don't even try to make our own road which might lead you to end up in a no man's land at times.

What to do when we got lost in the Little Rann of kutch?

It is not completely isolated, you can get help from the other people, many locals roam around.
When in doubt always stop and ask around.

 

Best season to vist Little Rann of Kutch?

Post January is the best time to visit.

Entry Points at Little Rann of kutch?

You can get the latest information at the Bajana forest guest house.

• Major entry point is at a village name Zinzuwada and entry is from Mandapol gate. Use this route to cross Little Rann of Kuch and exit at Palasava. Check with the forest department before finalising the route.
• Bajana is the second point of entry.

Stay options at Little Rann of Kutch?

Stay options at Little Rann of kutch are very limited.
Accommodation options :

• Rann Riders
• Deseret coursers
• Bhavan resort and farm
• Royal Safari Camp
• Flemingo Acropolis

 

Let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

We took the Bajana entry point due to time constraints, If we were early, we could have taken the Zinzuwada entrance.

 

We soon realised that it is tough to navigate without any analysis.

 

Fords Kicking some dust

 

We stopped at many water bodies enroute and we spotted numerous variety of birds which were in large colonies.

 

Ready for the takeoff

 

We will either find a way or make one. We drove deep into the barren lands of Little Rann of Kutch.

 

Visibility is poor for the cars driving behind, better to maintain space

 

A look at ford said 'Keep calm and drive'

 

Creativity is always a leap of faith, When we face waste empty lands, time analysis is needed

 

Small dude joined the party late due to GC issues

 

Some walks you love to take alone

 

Birds have wind, they are free, they have mobility and still we envy them

 

Scorpio: I wish to be as free as birds do

[Gowtham]

Getting stuck and Falling out has been quite an adventure
 

It's not about the destination, it's all about where you end up, mishaps and memories you create will stay down the memory lane.

 

Always follow the tracks, If you try to make your own road, get ready for this.

 

Happiness is finding the rescue equipment in a no mans land, when you get struck.

 

We managed to get the Scorpio and Figo out quite easily, but the EcoSport got royally struck.

 

We found a villager few miles away with some raw tools.

 

Though we have the tools, we are not able to get the vehicle out.

It is getting deeper and deeper.

 

He pointed out at our wrong techniques on how we were trying to get the car out.

 

Now it was his turn to guide, we followed his instructions/inputs.

 

We are able to pull out EcoSport in 20 minutes.

He proved to us that experience is superior to any theoretical knowledge.

Video-log of our trip.

 

Accommodation details:

Name : Holiday village resort, Gandhidham.

 

We had booked our stay at this resort through 'Make my trip' which costed us 8000 INR (after 50 % discount) per room for 3 nights. The resort was beautiful and royal with all the amenities available. 

 

Rooms are neat and decent enough in area

 

There was good amount of greenery all around the place

[Gowtham]

Day-2  Great Rann of kutch, Dholavira.

 

Stay options at Dholavira?
Dholavira tourism Resort (Would suggest you to stay at 'Great Rann of Kutch')
 

Great Rann of Kutch is spread across a vast area where one can explore either sides of it.

1. Dholavira
2. Dhordo (White desert Rann of Kutch)

 

 

We have decided to explore Dholavira on Day-2

We started from our hotel by 9 AM and stopped by for breakfast at a Dhaba on the highway.
Roads were excellent through out the journey. Some of the best roads in the country.

 

First glimpse of 'The Great Rann of Kutch' white desert, Dholavira.

 

Black and White!

 

What Gujarat roads say? Stop worrying about the potholes and enjoy the drive.

 

We didn't bother about the burning hot climate as the view seemed breath taking!

Quote

When he came up with Gujarat, our plan started to take its shape but I tried to skip it.

 

After this view, I felt that I would call myself an idiot, If I had skipped this trip

 

Freedom of travel. We could go as far as we could sight

 

After spending around 1 hour, we left the place to explore more

 

 

Our next destination was towards the Dholavira excavation site - Ancient Harappan and Mohenjadaro sites

 

En-route we found a 'Sambar' in the middle of the road, by the time got to her, she ran deep into the woods

 

[Gowtham]

We finally reached the Indus valley civilisation and moved towards the the huge walls built of mud and stone to explore the ancient Harappan culture

 

Hats-off to the Tourism department of Gujarat who is still working on cleaning the remains and spoilts post earthquake

 

 

After the Harappan culture visit, we drove down towards the Fossil park which is end point of Dholavira

 

The poetry of earth is endless, breath taking view.

 

Even our cars are enjoying the view.

 

Helipad at Dholavira

 

Nature is cheaper than some random therapy in your city

 

 

On our way back to the resort, we stopped by the white salty marshy land to enjoy the sunset

 

Sunset from the place where we were was bliss to watch and we spent about 2 hours even after it got dark on the salt desert admiring the nature in peace. A beautiful end to the day

[Gowtham]

Day - 3  It was planned to explore the 'Great Rann of Kutch' and we reached this salt desert by noon

 

Great Rann of Kutch accommodations (Decent resorts - would suggest you to stay here)

• White Rann Resort
• Gateway to Rann
• Toran resort Kutch

 

 

Took the necessary permits and reached the entry point from which private vehicles are not allowed beyond this post.

We are supposed to walk down for 2 kms or hire a camel cart to reach the White desert land of the Great Rann.

 

We had paid 1000 INR to hire this camel cart for a journey up and down

 

We were given an hour's time to explore 'The Great Rann of Kutch' by the cart owner to take us back to our start point

 

On our way back from 'The Great Rann' we took an off road track to explore Dordo

 

Having everything set for this drive, we tightened our rocker-arms to enjoy our drive further

 

We made our own tracks driving deep into a place where we could find no human in the vicinity

 

 

 

Thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this drive as we drove down and simultaneously, we were being very watchful after a crazy adventure on Day-1 at 'The Little Rann of Kutch'

 

The Ford turned out to be an absolute performer on these tracks throwing out her brilliance in handling and dynamics

 

The Mahindra also turned out to be quite a stunner apart from being bumpy at times

 

 

And that's how it happened 

 

 

 

 

Surprisingly, The Figo showed up nothing less on an off road track

 

Next destination?
Mandvi beach for sunset

 

Mandvi has many beach view resorts.

• Serena beach resort
• HV Beach hotel. (right on the beach)
   

After experiencing high temperatures, everyone decided to visit Mandvi beach

 

Memories made at the beach will last for a lifetime

 

Promise of a new tomorrow

 

Cleanest sunset ever

[sagar]

Superb pictures @gowtham. Thanks for sharing all the information which would help the fellow road-trippers.

I would like to share a few memories that I've carried back home from this amazing road trip. Cheers!

 

Day - 1 (Ahmedabad - Little Rann of Kutch - Gandhidham) 

 

We started our road-trip from Ahmedabad towards Bajana to explore the 'Little Rann of Kutch'   

 

We have taken the necessary permits at Bajana village for our exploration drive and in no time, we made our tracks into the 'Dhrangdhara' wild ass sanctuary

 

The scorpio fared really well with the off-road conditions out there 

 

One needs to be really careful without getting lost during their exploration as the place looks almost deserted

 

There already existed few tracks which were laid by the regulars, otherwise we need to pave our own paths at times 

 

 

We passed by a huge lake whose area seemed absolutely dried out on a vast scale

 

One needs to pay 25000 INR as fine or undergo 7 years of imprisonment if any rules are violated or skipping of permits

 

We have arrived by a small lake which had numerous variety of birds such as swans, flamingos, cranes, herons etc.

 

Having spent some time by the lake banks, we moved further towards the lake bed which was quite hard

 

Another glimpse of the birds on the partially dried lake banks

 

We hovered up in between to stretch ourselves and relax a bit while the sun was scorching on us

 

We raced further deep into the woods to explore further and ended up in a no man's land

 

What is a road trip without any adventure in the tale. All the 3 cars ended up getting stuck in a deserted land with no other human to spot at for help. A lesson learnt, we need to be a watchful while we trace our track here.

 

A few miles away, we found a small shack where we could get some help with the equipment to dig the wet mud and clear the track and get out of the pit. The whole process of getting all our cars out of this wet land took us 4 hours

 

We drove back to the highway and headed towards Gandhidham as the land beyond where we got stuck seemed even more wet which seemed impossible to explore

[sagar]

Day - 2 (Gandhidham - Dholavira - Gandhidham)

 

Our day drive towards Dholavira started off post breakfast from Gandhidham

 

The road towards Dholavira was quite decent with neatly laid roads even after you bifurcate into the villages after you cross Bhuj highway

 

All the 3 cars lined up to halt at our first sight of the white salt desert of Dholavira

 

We parked the cars on to the side and got down the bridge to walk into the salt desert

 

Fabulous view of the vast salt desert of Dholavira which goes endless

 

We paved our path a little deep into the marshy salt land which seemed a little loose on friction to hold our feet 

 

All of us got involved in the photo sessions enjoying the magnificent view even though the sun was shining bright 

 

Having spent ample time clicking pictures, we started to walk back towards our cars to explore the next destination

 

There are absolutely no short-cuts to any place worth going!

 

We paced up the track, towards our next destination

 

 

Our next was the Harappan civilisation - The ancient genius

 

Harappan or Indus valley civilisation was built in 48 acres land with tall walls to protect it's residents from outsiders

 

 

A few glimpses of the Harappan civilisation

 

 

 

We then drove down towards the Kutch fossil park road to reach the end point (Karni temple) of Dholavira. 

 

The whole of day-2 turned out to be tiresome but eventful and we drove back to our residence in Gandhidham

[sagar]

Day - 3 (Gandhidham - Dordo - Great Rann of Kutch - Mandvi - Gandhidham) 

 

View from my room - The Holiday Village Resort

 

The resort were we had stayed is a beautiful place which offers all the amenities including sports like squash

 

The Restaurant inside the resort serves continental food suitable for any person in the country

 

 

Tried some authentic Gujarati food such as Dhokla, Fafda, Bhajiya goti, Dabeli etc. 

 

Our drive towards the 'Great Rann of Kutch' was an eventful one 

 

Fabulous view of 'The Great Rann of Kutch' - The place where 'The Rann Utsav' takes place every year

 

We chose to hit this place post 'Rann Utsav' to avoid the crowd which could be best suitable for exploration

 

 

 

We further explored the barren lands of Dordo and drove down to the Mandvi beach to enjoy the beautiful sunset 

 

Mandvi is one of the best beaches in Kutch, Gujarat to enjoy the sunset and relax amidst nature

 

We reached our resort late in the night to set everything for our drive back to Ahmedabad from Gandhidham on day-4

[shammy]

Awesome report Sagar and Gowtham

Few selfies and pictures from action camera.

 

 

[hithro]

I am seriously amazed by the beauty of that place, super intriguing stuff .. It reminds me of the Amitabh bachchan's Ad on Gujarat 'Katch nahi toh Kuch nahi'  Brilliant stuff guys..

[Kashyap]

A-1 drive & another scintillating report embellishing every bit of winsomeness. Kudos to the whole team for coming up with such a sterling story [emoji1305]

Gujrat has always been an inviting territory with its elegant vista diffused all over.

Wish to go on an expedition with you guys soon.

[ajay.pentakota]

A-1 drive & another scintillating report embellishing every bit of winsomeness. Kudos to the whole team for coming up with such a sterling story [emoji1305]

Gujrat has always been an inviting territory with its elegant vista diffused all over.

Wish to go on an expedition with you guys soon.

Ur comment described a lot abt this trip. For the next trip count me in

[vivek]

First picture of the post itself moved me. Lovely way of explaining with mind blowing pictures. Definitely a 5 star thread

 

[hsudhir]

This arid dry land is a beauty on earth. I had goosebumps all the way while I was going through this travelogue. Awesome pictures and very well narrated. It has all the information needed for a traveller.

[SagarSS]

Nice pics Gowtham and Sagar....

 

[bpt]

It has been one of my best trips so far, super adventurous.. Thanks for making it a memorable one guys.. And when is the next

[kamal]

Awesome travelogue.. The beauty of this white desert is something which cannot be explained in words.. how hot was the temperature there when you had gone there

[balag]

The Rann is so mesmerizing and humbling when you are standing in the middle of it. Another super duper travel story in your chariot ,, Great going team

[Vivekanand Gunturi]

Awesome guys Sagar, Goutham ... Wonderfully described ... Great experience in a glimpse ... Count me in for the coming trips ... Keep me posted guys ... Have wonderful time!!

Sent from my ONE E1003 using India-Drive mobile app

[Ravi]

Amazing write up gowtham. I feel like kicking myself for missing this one

[Gowtham]

16 hours ago, Vivekanand Gunturi said:

Awesome guys Sagar, Goutham ... Wonderfully described ... Great experience in a glimpse ... Count me in for the coming trips ... Keep me posted guys ... Have wonderful time!!

Thank you,
We will definitely catch-up on the next drive, cheers.

 

10 hours ago, Ravi said:

Amazing write up gowtham. I feel like kicking myself for missing this one

Even I want to kick you for not joining. Lets plan a quick catch up some time in the next week.

 

On 24/03/2017 at 2:13 PM, SagarSS said:

Nice pics Gowtham and Sagar....

 

Thank you @SagarSS

[ksa171983]

Aweessssooome..

When You ran  into issues did you guys find help quickly ? 

Written in an excellent way @sagar and @Ranger... amazing write up .. ??????

 

[Gowtham]

10 hours ago, ksa171983 said:

Aweessssooome..

 

Thank you

 

10 hours ago, ksa171983 said:

When You ran  into issues did you guys find help quickly ? 

 

Locals are very helpful, In-fact the place where we got stuck is very isolated.

Only a single hut is present in the surroundings.

Luckily, he has some recovery tools and also has some prior experience recovering the vehicles. 

 

Rann of kutch should be explored in a group. 

You always need a backup vehicles for the worst case scenario. 

Some places are literally no mans land. 

[ksa171983]

50 minutes ago, Ranger said:

 

Rann of kutch should be explored in a group. 

You always need a backup vehicles for the worst case scenario. 

Some places are literally no mans land

Get the “Into the wild” movie wala feeling ??

[karthik]

If we start from Hyderabad by road.

How many days will it take to explore the place and come back?

Taking a flight and Self-drive makes sense but driving our own car is something else.(last year drive from Hyderabad to Himalayas changed my perspective)

Any idea about roads from Hyderabad to Gujarat?

 

 

 

[ksa171983]

24 minutes ago, karthik said:

Any idea about roads from Hyderabad to Gujarat?

Roads till Mumbai are good.. From Mumbai will have to goto Surat-Vadodara and then Ahmedabad..

One can try to go by own car from hyd with the stops mentioned above.. Should take around 2 days with no night journey.

You can stay in Mumbai check out the city one day and then next day drive down to Ahmedabad stay overnight and then next day to Rann.

But From mumbai till ahmedabad it is all cities and traffic and there is nothing great to the eyes is what I know of(may be wrong).

But just for checking Rann and nothing else i feel driving so much may lead to just fatigue and not much happiness..

[ksa171983]

30 minutes ago, karthik said:

(last year drive from Hyderabad to Himalayas changed my perspective)

This is a different kind of drive i feel based on what I saw in the post.. This is one super exciting drive as the destination is so adventurous and you have places in and around to drive unlike Rann.

[karthik]

38 minutes ago, ksa171983 said:

But From mumbai till ahmedabad it is all cities and traffic and there is nothing great to the eyes is what I know of(may be wrong).

 

Thank you for the information.

 

37 minutes ago, ksa171983 said:

This is a different kind of drive i feel based on what I saw in the post.. This is one super exciting drive as the destination is so adventurous and you have places in and around to drive unlike Rann.

 

Agree with your point.
If there are any reasonable places en-route, it makes sense to drive down. 

 

Himalayas drive is something else, endless list of adventures.

 

My first drive with ID team after shifting back to Hyderabad.

Every December these guys are doing 5k+ trip.
I'm eagerly waiting for this December. 

 

Las year, I remember we are talking about revisiting Himalayas again. 

Even Rajasthan and Gujarat is also on cards. 

 

 

[sagar]

13 hours ago, ksa171983 said:

Aweessssooome..

When You ran  into issues did you guys find help quickly ? 

Written in an excellent way @sagar and @Ranger... amazing write up .. ??????

 

 

Thanks a lot @ksa171983. We did face a hiccup at the little rann of kutch. We got stuck for about 4 hours at that point. It infact was very adventurous for a while but few hours we felt "WHY ?" because even our back up vehicles got stuck. We were lucky enough to find a small hut in that deserted land. That old mad saved us for that session.

[sagar]

19 minutes ago, karthik said:

 

Himalayas drive is something else, endless list of adventures.

My first drive with ID team after shifting back to Hyderabad.

 

Expecting the last year's Chitkul drive report to be out soon and we are eagerly waiting for it  Draft it soon @karthik 

[ksa171983]

13 minutes ago, sagar said:

It infact was very adventurous for a while but few hours we felt "WHY ?" because even our back up vehicles got stuck

I am unable to control my laughter just imagining the situation out there .. so that hut fellow turned out to be GOD that time.

[ksa171983]

34 minutes ago, karthik said:

Every December these guys are doing 5k+ trip.
I'm eagerly waiting for this December. 

 

Las year, I remember we are talking about revisiting Himalayas again. 

Even Rajasthan and Gujarat is also on cards.

Interesting ... will keep my eyes and ears open and calendar free to check what is in store..

Have not been any trip with ID team yet .. so lets see..

[sagar]

11 minutes ago, ksa171983 said:

I am unable to control my laughter just imagining the situation out there .. so that hut fellow turned out to be GOD that time.

 He indeed was.. We had to walk about a kilometre to reach his hut and ask him for help. Initially seeing that old man, we never thought he could be capable of being helpful apart from lending us any rescue equipment. But, to our wonder he lacked the equipment or tools and had the experience of rescuing many cars like ours in that area. Experience is GOD and something more than education  

[Gowtham]

44 minutes ago, ksa171983 said:

so that hut fellow turned out to be GOD that time

 

I'm sure without his help.
We would have stranded there for a full night. 

 

33 minutes ago, sagar said:

Experience is GOD and something more than education

 

With all the experience and technical knowledge, we simply couldn't get the car out.

 

Once we got stuck, we tried every other book technique.

After an hour we realised we need some tools.

 

We found a hut, kilometre away from the place where the car is stuck. 

He explained him our situation, he agreed to take his work tools.

Initially we just took the tools from him.

We did not even bother to take him with us.

Started digging,pushing,lifting..after an hour, we realised that the vehicle is sinking more. 

We are tired and feeling helpless.

 

Worst case scenario, we decided to send women to the hotel.

And we will find some solution, or sleep over in the car for the night. 

 

This guy(from hut) started walking towards the vehicle.

 

He : What are you guys doing?
We: Trying to get the vehicle out. 

He: You are not doing it in the right way.
We: Thought, he is talking some useless stuff...

 

He: You know the mistake that you guys are doing?

We: No..?

He: You guys are trying to pull out the vehicle on a new track.

Align the vehicle on the track that you came in and stuck, come out in the same direction. 

 

He took the tools, aligned the vehicle on the track that we came and stuck.

 

Initially our team work was very poor. 

With proper orders and co-ordination.

He created a team, gave us orders and he managed to pull the car out in 20 minutes.

 

Once we are completely out. 

He invited us to his hut.
Gave us some water and offered us a lemon tea(best ever lemon tea)

We offered him some money, Initially he was bit reluctant but after some pressure from our side, he accepted it.

 

Experience matters!

[ksa171983]

17 minutes ago, Ranger said:

With all the experience and technical knowledge, we simply couldn't get the car out

Your writing made it so clear and quite interesting..

Must have been a wonderful man and one wonderful Lemon tea..

 

I remember when my car for stuck in chikmanglur near that MG Park thing.. I kind of did what you guys did ..

Reverse,different track,threw dry stuff.. pata nahi kya kya kia.. but what I kind of realized was if I am giving more power the car was sinking more .. I threw in some sticks,dry mud etc etc.. then put it 1st gear and gave minimal acceleration and my car crawled out.. I guess I should be practicing this more and get experience like that guy in the hut..

 

[ksa171983]

26 minutes ago, Ranger said:

He: You know the mistake that you guys are doing?

We: No..?

He: You guys are trying to pull out the vehicle on a new track.

Align the vehicle on the track that you came in and stuck, come out in the same direction. 

Same track?? This is interesting .. Let's practice in Sand,mud,Swamp 

[Sridhar Tandra]

4 hours ago, karthik said:

I'm eagerly waiting for this December

I wish this is changed to mid November / Mid January!! 

 

4 hours ago, karthik said:

Las year, I remember we are talking about revisiting Himalayas again

Wonderful thought, I am inn this time unless Admins kick me out again by scheduling this in December!

[ksa171983]

7 minutes ago, Sridhar Tandra said:

Wonderful thought, I am inn this time unless Admins kick me out again by scheduling this in December!

would december be a good drive to Himalayas as there may be only snow and no roads to drive on?

[sagar]

would december be a good drive to Himalayas as there may be only snow and no roads to drive on?

December in Himachal will be a challenging task. Both for the drive and for us to withstand the climatic conditions. The chilled out weather and the snow is very harsh. We were almost numb for the time we stayed in Chitkul that night. Many of the locals in the village have migrated for the time being. It’s fun, adventurous and at the same time risky and extremely challenging [emoji2]

[ksa171983]

1 hour ago, sagar said:

December in Himachal will be a challenging task. Both for the drive and for us to withstand the climatic conditions. The chilled out weather and the snow is very harsh. We were almost numb for the time we stayed in Chitkul that night. Many of the locals in the village have migrated for the time being. It’s fun, adventurous and at the same time risky and extremely challenging 

In that case my car would be filled with winter clothes ? ..but once we can try doing that snow driving with the chains or something else on for the tyres..

[sagar]

In that case my car would be filled with winter clothes ? ..but once we can try doing that snow driving with the chains or something else on for the tyres..

Snow chains during winter are a must and also 4x4 or AWD would be preferable [emoji1]

[ksa171983]

11 hours ago, sagar said:

Snow chains during winter are a must and also 4x4 or AWD would be preferable

@Rangeris waiting for Jimny and renegade ... whatever he picks up should be good ... so let’s push him to get one of them asap ... if jimny not being launched in India then importing from Pakistan should do ?..

 

10 hours ago, ksa171983 said:

@Rangeris waiting for Jimny and renegade ... whatever he picks up should be good ... so let’s push him to get one of them asap ... if jimny not being launched in India then importing from Pakistan should do ?..

Just found that renegade is a no for India instead they launching something like a brezza and expect it around 2020/21. 

[Gowtham]

11 hours ago, sagar said:

Snow chains during winter are a must and also 4x4 or AWD would be preferable

 

Last year we managed without them.
Luckily, we did not encounter extreme snow fall. 

 

11 hours ago, ksa171983 said:

if jimny not being launched in India then importing from Pakistan should do

 

Haha, why complicated my life.  ?

We can take some self-drive Thar/Fortuner

 

[ksa171983]

38 minutes ago, Ranger said:

Haha, why complicated my life.  ?

We can take some self-drive Thar/Fortuner

Btw jimny is coming to India in 2020... 

[sagar]

22 hours ago, ksa171983 said:

Just found that renegade is a no for India instead they launching something like a brezza and expect it around 2020/21. 

 

I still have positive vibes that Renegade is gonna be launched in India by 2019. Can surely push @Ranger to get this  

[RajG]

On 6/26/2018 at 2:15 PM, Ranger said:

Experience matters!

 

I'm sure you people will remember this part in the entire trip.

With group of friends, it will always fun into getting something like this.
Memories like these wont fade away because ..

if anyone talks about Gujarat, you will start your story. ?

 

On 6/26/2018 at 8:32 PM, sagar said:

December in Himachal will be a challenging task. Both for the drive and for us to withstand the climatic conditions.

 

This is what we love right? ?

Challenging roads..Adventure..but in a controlled manner!

[Guest Shuvam]

Awesome trip report and pictures.

 

I am planning a Kutch self-driving trip in February with family. Need some suggestions on the itinerary from the esteemed members here.

 

The planned itinerary is as follows :

Day 1 : Arrive at Ahmedabad in the morning (8-9am). Pick up rental car from Ahmedabad and drive to Little Rann. Drive through the LRK (enter from Bajana or Zainabad and exit through Palasava). Then to Dholavira and spend the night there. If time permits then see the Great Rann and/or the Harappan ruins.

Day 2 : See the rest of the attractions at Dholavira (whatever's not covered the previous day) and then drive to the Dhordo side. See the Great Rann on Dhordo side, may be Kala Dungar too. Attend the rann utsav musical programme and late evening drive back to Bhuj. Spend the night at Bhuj.

Day 3 : This day is not yet totally decided. I wish to visit the marine national park near Jamnagar and spend the night there. But if this is going to be a stretch then I may think of something else. Suggestions welcome.

Day 4 : Drive back to Ahmedabad and catch the evening flight. Is there anything on the way that is a must see?

 

Please let me know if the itinerary looks good. I realise it's probably on the tighter side but I would make an attempt unless it is absolutely crazy. 

 

Now for the questions :

- Do you recommend taking a guide to self-drive across the Little Rann? If so, where can I find one?
- Apart from the utsav related stuff (music, tent stay, etc.) is it necessary to see the Dhordo side of the Great Rann if I have already seen the Dholavira side?
 

Looking forward to your valuable inputs.

 

Best regards

[sagar]

12 hours ago, Guest Shuvam said:

Looking forward to your valuable inputs.

 

Hi Shuvam, Welcome on board.

Considering your travel with family and the drive starting from Ahmedabad, the plan that you've drafted looks impossible to me..

It isn't possible to do both Dholavira and Little Rann of Kutch on the same day.

 

Your day 1 actually starts post 10 O clock starting from Ahmedabad and you would reach Little Rann of Kutch vaguely around 2 PM considering a food stop in between.

Your permits is for Little Rann won't consume much time but, Since you are travelling with family, I would recommend you to take a guide if your's is the only car doing the trip.

 

It is quite easy in this place to experience an adventure where you would have no humans, signals or anything for help as it is all deserted and a dried out lake. Since you are doing this with your family, I wouldn't recommend an adventure  

 

By the time you fall out and escape from little Rann, it will definitely pass 7 PM to sight any other place.

 

Let your day 1 include just Little ran of Kutch and your Day 2 and 3 can include the rest of the places you want to visit.

 

 

 

[Guest Shuvam]

Hi Sagar,

 

Thank you for your response. This is the kind of inputs I am looking at. So, do you think doing Dholavira (in the morning) and the Dhordo side of the Great Rann (in the evening) is doable on the second day? And even if I don't do anything in Dholavira on the first day, is the idea to drive until there and spend the night at Dholavira a good one? Or you would rather suggest staying overnight somewhere closer to the Little Rann? And if so, where?

 

Thanks again,

Shuvam

[sagar]

Your Day- 1 is going to be really hectic and no doubt about that, because the nearest place to both Dhordo and Dholavira where you get accommodation for families would be Bhuj and Gandhidham.

Gandhidham is more closer for you compared to Bhuj, to reach after your Great Rann of Kutch exploration on Day -1. 

 

For Day - 2, I would recommend you to do Dhordo and Great Rann of Kutch considering lesser crowd in the mornings especially during the Rann Utsav (Crowded) season. This place would also be extremely hot due to the salt marshy land in the afternoon. If you manage to fall out of Dhordo by noon, you can drive down to Dholavira and tour the Harappan and Mohenjadaro ruins (Indus Valley Civilization), Border line (Karni Temple) and get back to the Dholavira Salt marsh land to enjoy the Sunset.

 

[Guest Shuvam]

Thanks Sagar, much appreciated. I will get back to you if I have more questions.

[hsudhir]

On ‎12‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 9:09 PM, Guest Shuvam said:

 

Looking forward to your valuable inputs.

 

 

Hi Shuvam, My colleague has visited Kutch last week during the Christmas weekend. As per his update, The place was very crowded due to the Rann Utsav. Accommodations around the Rann Utsav area were very expensive. Do plan smartly and make your reservations well in advance.

[raman]

I would suggest to do your trip after the Rann Utsav gets over. The place looks better with out crowd and much enjoyable. Between December to February, Kutch is heavily crowded because of the festive season.

[Guest Shuvam]

Thank you Sudhir and Raman. Appreciate your advice. I too is of the same opinion, though I would not be able to move the dates too much due to work commitments etc. That's why I am not planning to stay overnight at the Rann. I will stay until late evening and get back to Bhuj where accommodation is booked and decently priced.

 

Also from Bhuj, with the extra days I have I would be able to drive around to other places too, like the Great Indian Bastard Sanctuary. Any other ideas most welcome.

[mit1682]

Nice travel log @sagar, @Ranger. This was in my list when I was in Delhi. But not able fulfill it. With your photos, I am cursing myself for not doing it. But will surely plan it in near future with information provided by you.

[sagar]

48 minutes ago, mit1682 said:

Nice travel log @sagar, @Ranger. This was in my list when I was in Delhi. But not able fulfill it. With your photos, I am cursing myself for not doing it. But will surely plan it in near future with information provided by you.

 

You should definitely do this drive. It has it's very own unique beauty laid all over this place. But, the sun is always soaring high being close to the equatorial region. Sun and Salt are a dangerous combination