The One n Only Kutch!

Visited in December 2025

Those endless views of while sand desert...this was what drew my attention to planning a trip to Kutch, that too on a full moon night. All the hype that I had heard of was absolutely proven true during our visit to Dhodra village in the White Rann. Here is the story of our visit to Kutch - The largest district in India, situated in the state of Gujarat.

We flew from Kochi to Ahmedabad via Hyderabad. The plan was to take a train from Ahmedabad to Bhuj and then by road to Kutch. However, with the operational issues of Indigo, our flights were impacted and delayed. So, we had to cancel the train, instead booked a bus from Ahmedabad to Bhuj.

Itinerary:

Day 1, 2 - White Rann area

Day 3 - Road to Heaven, Dholavira

Day 4 - Mandvi

Day 5 - Bhuj

Kehte hain, Kutch nahi dekha to kuch nahi dekha... guys, please take these words seriously and plan a visit, you wont regret it :). Kutch has its own remoteness, is very rustic and has certain kind of landscape which will definitely blow your mind.

As we landed in Ahmedabad, we got to see some ladies wearing traditional dress in the airport. After exiting the airport, we drove to the city centre where we the pick up point of our bus was. On our way, we saw the sites where the first bullet train project of India is all set to be ready - Mumbai Ahmedabad bullet train. We continued our trip by Patel Bus from Ahmedabad to Bhuj, and took about 8-9 hours by road.

After checking in to our Bhunga (traditional Kutch style home), we slept to get start early for sunrise at the salt field. We stayed at Rann Homestay, very close to Dhordo village in White Rann area.

The next morning, we drove to the Dhordo village, which also hosts the annual Rann Utsav which is from November to February. People from all over India visit Kutch during this time where they get to see the lifestyle of Kutch and White Rann, explore numerous shopping options and enjoy the beautiful views of the White Rann.

After watching the beautiful sunrise, we switched on the adventure mode for a para sailing over the white rann, and a 4x4 motor ride.

After having a nice Gujarati breakfast at the resort, we drove to Kalo Dungar, from where on a clear day, we can see the India - Pak border. The magnetic hill on the way to Kalo Dungar is amazing, where the car goes uphill on neutral gear :) I bought a beautiful Kutch style embroidered shawl from here, which you can see me flaunting in the entire trip.

Next, was one of the top highlight of the trip, a drive on the 'Road to Heaven'. This road connects the mainland of Kutch to Dholavira village, which is cut off from the mainland with salt water lakes around it. This island is so significant for its Harappan era excavations and is a UNESCO heritage site. The road is around 31 km long, straight and beautiful with salt water lakes on either side. It feels endless and indeed as if you are on a road to heaven.

Post lunch, we left the Harappan sites of Dholavira village and on our way back, we visited the fossil tree turned rocks from Jurassic era in Dholavira.

After leaving Dholavira, the next stop was at Gandhinugam, a shopping village to promote the art and craft work of the women of Kutch. These are authentic hand made art, craft and textile items with reasonable price. We bought several bedsheets, dress materials, mobile pouches, art and craft pieces directly from the women sellers and was very satisfying.

The beautiful vendor girls selling her hand made products in Dhordo village

We drove back to the tent city area of Dhordo to enjoy some cultural programs and shopping at Sakhi Craft Bazar. It was a full moon night and we waited for it to turn around 9 pm to go to the White Rann area to enjoy the surreal full moon experience on the White Rann.

The night of the full moon at White Rann was truly an otherworldly experience for me. It felt incredibly surreal, as if I were on a different planet. The white sands sparkled under the full moon, and the salt fields seemed endless. Photos cannot capture the essence of what we saw and experienced there; it was absolutely mind-blowing!

The next day morning, we visited the same White Rann area again for the morning views and it was super amazing.

It was now time to leave White Rann and go to Mandvi area of Kutch, to see the palaces and beach.

Our first stop was to buy local mava, a milk based delicacy of Kutch region. We had mouth watering Dabeli for lunch from Mandvi.

We stopped at a Jain temple on our way to Mandvi. We also saw the traditional wooden boat making sites of Mandvi.

Next was Vijay Vilas Palace (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam fame). It is a beautiful palace built in yesteryears by the Maharajas of Kutch. Highly recommended for photoshoot :)

After exploring the beautiful palace and its majestic interiors, we then drove ahead to the Shyamji Krishna memorial museum. It is built as a replica of the London House built by Shyamji Krishna.

The last stop was the beautiful Mandvi beach. We spent some nice time there and then enjoyed the sunset at the beach.

We then headed to Bhuj, checked in to the hotel and had a good sleep. The next day, we started off with a darshan at the beautiful Lakshmi Narayan temple and the Somnath temple. It is better to hire an auto-rikshaw to go around Bhuj and do all the important sight seeing.

After another round of Dabeli for breakfast, we went to Prag Mahal and Aaina Mahal.

The final point of visit at Bhuj was the Smriti Van, the earthquake museum, which is built in 6 floors and details about earthquakes and also has a memorial for those who lost their lives in the 2001 earthquake that shattered Kutch. It is very well maintained and has fully guided tours for visitors. On the 6th floor, there is a simulator which gives the visitors a chance to experience those moments of 2001 when Kutch was shattered by the devastating earthquake.

Finally, we bid farewell to our beautiful days in Kutch and headed to the Bhuj airport.