Our Rann Utsav Adventure – कच्छ नहीं देखा तो कुछ नहीं देखा

How nice it would be if I could just win a free round the world trip!

A travel enthusiast or not, chances are you have had that thought at least once in your lifetime. Imagine getting that dream come true for a trip you have already been planning. Well however unusual that might sound but this is what exactly happened to us in Nov. 2017. 

It was on the facebook page of Rann Utsav Official that I came across this contest for a free weekend stay at the Rann Utsav. I had never won any lucky draw ever before still I tried my luck and within a week I got a message in my inbox with ticket details. And that decided our destination for the winters.

Rann of Kutch is a huge seasonal salt marsh situated in the state of Gujarat.  The area is submerged in water during monsoon, when the water receds the land is left covered with layers of white salt. The area provides for around 75% production of salt of the country. The Rann of Kutch is a beautiful piece of nature, but if only visiting the white desert is your purpose then Rann of Kutch Utsav is not very ideal to experience it given the time and cost involved in reaching the western corner of the country. Once you have read the whole post, you’ll know why.

The Rann Utsav team greeted us at the Bhuj railway station in their reception tent,  they made arrangements at a hotel for our freshening up before we hopped into the bus for the tent city. It felt like school picnic days with the whole bus singing Bollywood tracks, playing dumb charades on the way. The Rann of Kutch Utsav is celebrated every year during the months from November to February. The tent city of Rann Utsav is situated on the outskirt of bordering village of Dhorado and houses around 400 tents (both AC and non-AC). You can find the charges for different tents here https://www.rannutsav.com/packagetour2.php

(Swiss tent at Rann Utsav Tent City, Kutch)

The Tent City-  The tent city is divided into cluster of tents, each cluster has a manager who is there to make your stay as comfortable as possible. The tents are swiss type with attached washroom. For the quality of tent, cleanliness and space, I’ll give Rann Utsav 10/10 marks. The dining area in the tent city is common and has buffet system. The tent city has shops for souvenir, activity area for various types of indoor and outdoor games. The tents, dining area, activity area all are air-conditioned but the high day temperature makes is very difficult to travel from one area to another despite the free rickshaws that the city provide. Given the high temperature at the Rann, the Utsav team has made arrangements for several indoor games in the activity area, including Pool, caroom, chess, Table Tennis, Archery etc. There are also outdoor activities including, wall climbing, rifle shooting, para motoring etc. but given the extremely high temperature we gave it a pass. Overall the tent city is a marvel of art and craft, you will find many props to satiate your photography desires.

The Night Life At the Tent City-  The nights are merciful in the white desert and Rann Utsav makes the best use of it with musical shows and other cultural programs to keep you engaged.

The white desert-  The white desert is the reason the whole thing is planned in the first place. We went to the desert twice, once in the evening and later at night since our stay was during the full moon night and the beauty of the white desert is at its best at that time. Its mesmerising to witness the white desert in its entirety. The huge span of land with no object but white salt all over the place makes perfect setting for some great photographic experiments. I found the desert more beautiful in the night. The moon light gives it a beautiful blue shade. The salt on the land looks like snow in the night. All I can say is its magical. You have to see it to feel it.

The experience of white salt desert is very different from what you might experience at the Jaisalmer sand desert. You can read my blog about Jaisalmer desert here https://blabbertour.blogspot.com/2020/05/jaisalmer.html

Now comes the spoiler, the reason I said The Rann of Kutch utsav is not the best way to experience the white desert.  You are taken to the desert in the buses by the team of rann utsav, so you are bound to return back when they want you to. Also for the night trip to the desert we almost missed our bus since we were at the activity area enjoying some great music by a band. It was when the band vocal made the announcement that the last bus to the desert is about to depart in 5 minutes that we left and we litteraly had to run to catch it. Now visiting the night desert for the full moon view meant we had to miss out on the music, we felt cheated. Then again our fun at the night desert was spoiled as we were asked to leave too early. It was only when we were returning to the roadside that we realised the reason for that, the celebrity guest of the night “Tumhari Sulu - Vidya Balan” was there with her entourage to experience the night desert, and so to give her privacy and rescue from the crowd asking for selfie and autographs, we had to leave too early. It wasn’t the first time that day that lady spoiled my fun. Few hours back at the tent city I was asked to vacate a prop site of a boat while taking a selfie with my husband because “Madam” too wanted a photograph there. I mean come on dear I have spent thousands of my hard earned money and many hours of my life watching your movies,  you could at least have waited 2-3 minutes for me. No wonder my anger jinxed your boat pose coz I didn’t find it on Rann Utsav handle.

I appreciate the Rann Utsav team’s efforts to allow a celebrity to roam around in the tent city, it does give some people the wow moment of walking with or taking a selfie with the celebrity but it could be a spoiler for some who want a peaceful experience of the desert and the tent city that the utsav has to offer. Even Mr.Hubby also got a lil “O La Laa” over Sulu. So however vexed I was with all the commotion, at least he had a gala time.

Complementary Tour of Bhuj City- As you bid farewell to the tent city the Utsav team gives you a complementary Bhuj city tour on your way back to the station and airport. It includes temple, meuseum, park, handicraft market of Bhuj city.

So overall the main attraction of the Utsav i.e. white desert leaves you wanting for more as you don't get to spend a lot of time there. Otherwise the experience is awesome and luxurious, the hospitality of team Rann Utsav definitely deserves applaud. Food is awesome. But I found it expensive, had it not been for the free stay I would definitely have regretted spending thousands for stay in a Swiss tent inside a man made tent City for some music and indoor gaming activities.