Role Reversal at Rann of Kutch

Now that you know why it is a must visit place in India, I will come back to my stories. I booked this trip with my parents and sister for January end about 3 months in advance. But as they say, Life is What Happens to You While You’re Busy Making Other Plans – our train tickets did not get confirmed till the last day. My dad had been in favor of doing it as a road trip from day I started planning, I guess god answered his prayers. I don’t want to brag (oh yes! I want to), but my father drove the entire 2,500Km (Return Journey from Mumbai) in just 5 days. I came back from office just when I reached there (thanks to my super supporting organization), and off we went on the road to one of the best family trips we had.


Next morning we left to visit the Rann of Kutch, after taking all required permissions. Our first detour came when we visited Indo-Pak border which was atleast 60km deep in the dry desert. When we reached the place where our soldiers camp, it was such a proud patriotic moment which cannot be described in words. Not only did soldiers greet us well, they also told us their stories of how they face the weather and daily life in such a secluded place. We thanked our soldiers (and we cannot thank them enough) for keeping us safe all the year round. It was definitely a humbling experience.


Our next stop was Rann Utsav where we experienced firsthand the Great Indian Salt Desert which we only heard about till now. It truly was great – vast sheet of salt spreading across the horizon. I could never have imagined that such dry and dull sounding place – it’s just salt after all – can be so beautiful. Daddy dear was so elated to see it that it was difficult to keep pace with him. Our parents were busy running around while we were busy capturing them and the Rann in our cameras – something which we know they have done with us too…lot of old pictures are a proof.
Our second detour to Mandvi was the best decision we made on this trip. Next day we bid adieu to our airbnb hosts a day in advance and took off to Mandvi – which our research showed to be one of the cleanest beaches in India. It was an impromptu decision and hence no stay was booked in advance. We looked up some of the places online on the way but when we reached those places, they were quite a disaster. One last place left was Serena Beach Resort – with fingers crossed we headed towards it. Though the service levels were just ok, the resort and the location were just perfect. Mandvi indeed was the cleanest beach I have ever been to in India and sunrise and sunset was picture perfect.


We had an amazing stay at Gujarat and we recommend this itinerary to everyone who is planning to explore the White Rann and Mandvi.