Bhuj to Dholavira: 4 hour fun journey

Dholavira is an unknown name for everyone except the people who have travelled to Rann of Kutch, that too if they had Dholavira in their itinerary. The town is located 220 kms away from the city of Bhuj in Bhachau taluka of Kutch district of Gujarat state in India. It is one of the important Harappan civilization’s archaeological sites. It contains the ruins of Indus valley civilization which is one of the five largest sites found in India after the Mohenjo Daro and Harappan city in Pakistan.

If you are planning to visit this place as a one day visit from Bhuj then leave early in the morning by 8 am. It takes around four hours to reach via Bhachau and Rapar. From Bhuj to Rapar, the road is in good condition but once you cross Rapar towards the Dholavira side, the road starts to get narrow and not good to drive.

You will find many food options and restaurants till Rapar, but after that you will only find small food joints which sell Gujarati snacks like dhokla, fafda and tea. It is advisable to keep some food supplies or dry snacks in Rapar.

There are small villages on the way, if you want to experience the typical Kutchi culture and taste the food, ask your driver to drive down to one of these villages and ask the villagers if they can provide anything to eat cooked by them. Mostly the locals are generous and welcoming, so it is not that difficult to find a good place to eat and experience the local cuisine.

Before entering the island of Khadir Bet you will cross the bridge which is as long as almost 2km to 3 kms. The best part of this journey is that on both sides you will see the largest salt desert where it gets difficult to differentiate between the sky and the earth. It is so vast that one can only imagine. It is spread across from the Pakistan border to the Arabian sea. It is almost like no man’s land.

Bhuj

The site is pretty big and it can take almost four hours to cover the whole site. There you will find some guides provided by Gujarat tourism and they don’t even charge. There is a small museum where all the pottery and fossils are displayed. There is one small movie hall where you can watch a documentary on the excavation work and the story behind this city.

If you are planning to visit Rann of Kutch, you must have Dholavira on your list. Though the site doesn’t have much to offer, the experience is different to see the only Indus valley civilization site in India.

Gujarat Tourism has set up a small campsite near the location where you can stay for a night or can have meals at reasonable prices. It is advisable to visit this site in winters as it gets difficult in summer because of the temperature which is unbearable sometimes.

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