India unravel

Bhuj(Kutch)

10 things to do in Bhuj (Gujarat, India)

I went to Bhuj in Feb last week 2020, it can be a little hot at this time of the year. You can plan to visit in Nov to Jan, it is nice and pleasant then.

My main aim was to write of Rann of Kutch from my checklist of places to see in India. Kutch is about 1.5 hrs away from Bhuj, so you have to go there by cab once you reach Bhuj. Bhuj has an airport , so to reach there you can take a flight or you can come by train. Bhuj has an Air Force base so its well connected.

To my surprise , Bhuj has lot to offer. In our three day Vacation i saw, desert to beach to fort to museums to temples to tropic of cancer. In span of 150 km you see wide variety of scenery which is untouched, moderately preserved but totally unexpected.

Bhuj – Kutch Itinerary (3 day trip)

Day 1

Arrive at Bhuj ( Vapi to Bhuj ) by train
Check in at Hotel Prince residency
Swaminarayan Temple
Vande matram memorial
Vijay Villas palace
Mandvi beach

Day 2

Kala Dunddar
Rann of Kutch
Tropic of cancer

Day 3

Khari nadi gorge(canyon)
Aaina mahal
Prayag palace
Kutch Musem
Spa @ Hill view Resort
Train back to Vapi

Bhuj- Day 1

Bhuj is almost 12hr from Vapi, we decide take an overnight train. I reached Bhuj by 9am and went straight to hotel prince residency, it was a decent hotel with very spacious rooms, having a tariff of Rs4500 including breakfast. We planned to cover total of 200 km to and fro , so we had booked cab for entire day. We started our day around 12 pm and were back by 9 pm.

1. Swaminarayan Temple (Bhuj)

I started our journey with the famous Swaminarayan temple. It was peaceful and truly beautiful. Swaminarayan temples generally have very fine detailing/engravings on the walls and pillars, thus making it really mesmerizing. The temple closes by 1 pm in the afternoon so you can plan your visit in the morning or in the evening.

2. Vande Matram Memorial

Vande matram memorial depicts India’s journey to independence and the sacrifices of our countrymen and is located over a 12 acre complex at Bhujodi – Bhuj (Kutch). India’s art and craft is also promoted here, there are several huts that house different types of artifacts, carpets, jewelry and many more. There is Rs 50 ticket to visit the memorial and all inclusive ticket for laser show and memorial visit. the laser is for 90 mins. we didn’t had much time so we skipped the laser show.

3. Vijay Villas

This is a very nicely preserved place, clean and has every part intact, its 100 yr old. Movie : Hum dil de chuke sanam was shot here. Cool right!!! The place is around 65 km from Bhuj, at a palce called Mandavi, very close to Mandavi beach. The palace is surrounded by lush green garden. There is nominal visitor ticket and you have to take a ticket for your camera (DSLR). The king and queen of this place are still alive and live in Bhuj. Ground floor, 2nd floor and the roof is accessible to the tourist.

4. Mandavi Beach

I reached beach by 5.30, just close to the sunset. This is a very long beach and as you keep on walking it seems like an untouched beach. Gov has set up tent houses for stay at the beach, these huts set up is for around 3 months. The water was exceptionally clean and we felt really bad for not packing our beach wears. One could compare this beach to a good Goa beach.

Bhuj (kutch) Day 2

We had planned to see kutch desert today, which is around 75 km from Bhuj. Today we would be covering total 220 km to and fro thus we booked cab for the entire day. As the ideal time to be there is sunset, we started our day late. We left around 1.30pm

5. Kala Dungar ( Kutch)

Kala Dungar is the highest point of Kutch. In India’s monsoon, the flat desert of salty clay and mudflats, which average 15 meters above sea level, fills with standing water, which is called the Rann of Kutch lake. This lake is visible from this point. There is nothing much to do here thus we sat down in read about the formation of Rann of kutch.

6. Rann of Kutch

Rann of Kutch, the largest salt desert in the world. I was thrilled to reach here as it was a place i really wanted to see in India. Gov has set up tent houses here as well, and alot goes on in the tent area , which is called as Rann Utsav. These tents are put from Nov to feb. We reached here around 4.30 and it was still sunny. Cars do not directly go to the desert. There is a 3 Km patch from the car parking to the desert that one can cross by walking or can have a camel cart ride, which is Rs 50 per person. I decided to walk and trust me it was just wonderful to chat n walk down that breezy road filled with smiling faces.

When I reached the desert we were in bit of an aww to see white salt everywhere. We both were two crazy people doing all kind of experiment there, is it really salt?? how deep is it?? what is below the salt?? where does this desert become totally white??? There was not much activity to do there, so we just enjoyed each others company and watched an amazing sunset.

7. Tropic of cancer

When I was reading about formation of Rann of Kutch I discovered that Tropic of cancer passes across the road connecting Bhuj and Kutch. I started from Kutch after sunset thus it was dark on our way back , and I was really worried as there is just a sign board on the street which i was supposed to find. I was so excited to go a line, which i read about in my childhood in my geography class. Thus began my constant stare at the highway to find the sign board. Then I tried putting it on google maps, luckily Tropic of cancer is very well marked on the map across Gujarat. Then I just went there by google maps. Easy peasy !!!!

Bhuj- Day 3

I planned to see Bhuj city today, thus we decided to take an auto and ditched the cab.

8. Khari Nadi Gorge (canyon)

Khari Nadi canyon is carved by once flowing River , which is now completely dry, leaving behind this amazing natural beauty which is truly one of a kind . This lesser known tourist place in Bhuj. Its just 3 km From main city. It was little difficult to explain to the autowala where i wanted to go, but eventually they got it. There is a bridge over the canyon and the autowala just dropped me there. As it a canyon, its below the ground level, there is no proper way to get inside it. Its left in its most natural form. I had to slide down the rocks one by one to get inside. One should wear sport shoes for this visit. Its a secluded place, thus it good to go in a group.

9. Aaina Mahal, Prag Mahal & Kutch Museum

Aaina Mahal is one of a kind mahal, its around 150 year old. It’s built around the time mirror and glass manufacturing came to India and was in big fashion around the world. Thus Aaina mahal literally has mirror on every wall, there were many glass chandelier which were imported from Belgium. The mahal architecture is of very unconventional taste. Totally worth the visit. It’s decently preserved by Gov of India. some parts of the mahal were destroyed by earthquakes.

Prag Mahal was really well preserved, its was the first palace in india that had colonial architecture. An Indian architect had studied outside and came back and gave Bhuj a very different look and feel than the regular palaces of that time. It was totally mesmerizing to feel and image the rich life of our former kings.

As we squeezed in a movie in the afternoon, I ran out of time to visit the kutch museum, but I have read it has very beautiful artefacts which are totally worth visiting.

10. Spa

I ended our trip with Spa and dinner at Hill view Resort . The masseuse was really well trained, surprisingly, i would say the massage was in my top 5. They had used almond oil instead on mineral oil which is very good for the skin. The food was also good , I plan to stay at this hotel if we ever visit Bhuj again. They had fine wood carved set up for couples and friends on terrace for dinner.

I had our train at 10 pm from Bhuj back to Vapi, Home Sweet Home!!

Anchita Tanwar

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