About a decade ago the road from Bhuj to Dhordo, one of the last villages before the salt-encrusted desert wilderness called the Great Rann of Kutch, was like a ribbon of tar leading through open countryside. It had few facilities for visitors except for a safari lodge and a couple of ethnic properties catering to tourists who made the effort to visit the handicraft villages on this highway.
Today, new resorts, camps and lodgings have come up in this strip of Kutch district to make the most of the tourism boom in the Rann. “Kutch has so many attractions—colourful people known for their rich arts and handwork traditions, archaeological remains at Dholavira that offer an unparalleled insight into the Indus Civilisation, prehistoric fossil sites, forts, palaces of Bhuj, temples and dargahs, the gurdwara of Lakhpat, monasteries, endemic species of mammals, birds and reptiles, the geologically unique Great Rann of Kutch, hills with panoramic views and beautiful beaches,” explains Muzahid Malik, who runs the Kutch Wilderness Kamp.
He says Gujarat Tourism’s Khushboo Gujarat Ki campaign with Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador helped promote the Rann of Kutch. “When Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat, he talked about the White Desert. This brought the region into spotlight. Earlier, only foreign tourists and some domestic ones came here for art, adventure or archaeological experiences. Now, tourists from all over India come to see the salt desert in the moonlight,” says Malik.
At the Rudramata Dam near Bhuj airport, flocks of flamingo, ducks, other birds and sometimes crocodiles can be seen. Malik says tourism has brought many economic benefits to the area, including increased sales of handicrafts, the growth of ethnic resorts with benefits going directly to the village through self-help groups and employment opportunities for the local population in the arid areas.
Krutarthsinh Jadeja, who runs the Devpur Homestay in his ancestral property in Kutch, says, “There are many rules regarding not building properties in national parks. Similar rules are needed for the Great Rann of Kutch.” The Rann Utsav hosted by the Gujarat Tourism has yielded results for tourism in Kutch with its celebration of the culture of Kutch and Gujarat for two months.