Some people love beaches or mountains, while others prefer villages or cities. This place, though, will have you falling for a desert.

Salt, Not Sand

The Rann of Kutch is a salt marsh in Gujarat, once an extension of the Arabian Sea. Every monsoon, seawater floods the region. When winter arrives the water evaporates, leaving behind salt and transforming the plains into a White Desert.

Stepping into the white desert, the ground crunches under your feet. Covered with salt, the area glistens in sunlight. The desert covers over 7500 sq km. Locals provide camel rides across the salt flats, further enhancing your experience.

During full-moon nights, the view transforms. The moonlight reflects the salt, creating a starry scene beneath you, just as above. At sunrise, the golden hue spreads across the desert, followed by a pink hue, then finally settling into white.

Desert Nights Full of Festival Lights

Rann Utsav is one of the most famous carnivals in Gujarat, held every winter in Dhordo, a village near the Rann of Kutch. This once three-day celebration has now transformed into a three-month carnival.

As the evening falls, the festival ground lights up. Traditional Gujarati folk performance, garba and dandiya raas, begin with folk music in the background. Locals set up their stalls selling traditional bandhani embroidered clothing, Rogan art, mirror work embroidery, handicrafts, and many more. Visitors gather around stalls listening to the folks describing their century-old craft.

Food stalls are serving Gujarati thali, galabi fafda, dhokla, and their speciality dabeli. As the day comes to an end, visitors join the locals in a garba circle, spinning with the rhythm of the dhol drums under the sky filled with stars.

Experiencing the Bhungas

Apart from the main highlights of the place, the other thing that attracts visitors are the luxury stays in tents or bhungas (mud cabins). Staying here immerses you in tradition and the local lifestyle of the people.

Moreover, they aren’t just mud houses. Inside, you’ll find comfortable beds, bathrooms ensuite, and architecture rooted in tradition.

Apart from the aesthetic, they have a special feature. During hot summer days, the mud houses stay cool and comfortable, and in winter, the walls remain warm. No rush. No loud city noises. Just fresh air, peaceful roads, and a white desert ahead.

Rann of Kutch challenges everything you think you know about deserts. Not brown sand stretching endlessly, but white salt that glows under the sun and moonlight. Not barren, but alive, with festival lights, folk music, local food, and century-old craftsmanship.