25 November,2016 08:20 AM IST | | Shraddha Uchil
This year’s Rann Utsav is already underway. If you’re a first-time visitor to this part of Gujarat, use this handy guide to travel like a pro
Rann of Kutch
Come winter and the salt plains in the Rann of Kutch transform into a stunning white desert. This is also when the popular Rann Utsav is held, bringing a burst of colour to the barren land in the form of bedecked camels, colourful costumes and shimmering lights. This year, the festival began on November 1 and will continue till mid-February, and, as always, is being held across a sprawling hub in a village called Dhordo.
Vibrant bazaars are set up, and there is also an array of activities like music and dance performances, parasailing, kite flying (above, in pic) and night-time camel safaris. While the festival is a tad gimmicky, there are other splendours that Kutch has in store for travellers.
For your culture fix
Visit the textile centre of Bhujodi, located roughly eight kilometres from Bhuj. Here, you can meet weavers, tie-dye artists and block printers, most of whom belong to the Vankar community. Watch them at work, and take home their handiwork.
Kutch's villages are home to weavers, artists and artisans who create these puppets
Another place worth exploring is Kalo Dungar (Black Hills), which, at 462 metres, is the highest point in Kutch. From here, you can take in the expanse of the Great Rann. The site is also home to a 400-year-old temple dedicated to Dattatreya.
Nandita R Nair travelled to Kutch with an NGOâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088in 2011
Legend has it that he had stopped here and offered his body to a pack of starving jackals, but being a god, his body kept regenerating. Even today, the temple priest offers food that has been blessed to the jackals in the area after the evening aarti.
For a wildlife high
Visit the Kutch Bustard Sanctuary in Naliya, which is home to the endangered Great Indian Bustard, a large bird that is not unlike the ostrich in appearance. You will also find other avian species here, such as the MacQueen's bustard, lesser florican, Stoliczka's bush chat, as well as the merlin.
Make time to explore the Wild Ass Sanctuary in Little Rann
The Wild Ass Sanctuary too is worth visiting, but is situated 420 km away (around 10 hours), in Little Rann. The sanctuary houses the last remaining population of the Indian wild ass that currently number around 3,000.
Rushikesh Kulkarni runs Breakfree Journeys
This land is also home to blackbucks, chinkara, and plenty of birds, including flamingos. Ahmedabad airport is closer to the sanctuary than Bhuj, so you can fly straight out of there instead of heading back.
