What made us Rann at the year-end? It had to be a trip to Rann Utsav 2021- 2022. Rann Utsav, Gujarat was on our to-do list for ages. We always wanted to visit the White Rann – the only salt dessert in India. Rann Utsav was to provide us with an opportunity to witness the coveted sunset at Rann of Kutch. Additionally, we could get a glimpse into the mysterious Kutchi way of life. Little did we know that we were embarking on a journey we would remember forever.

What is Rann Utsav in Gujarat?

The Rann of Kutch in Gujarat is the only white desert in India. To celebrate this wondrous region of the country, Rann Utsav or Rann Festival is celebrated every winter at this spot. The festival is organised by Gujarat Tourism. It showcases the music, art, dance, food, and lifestyle of the people of Kutch. The people of Kutch have still by and large hold on to their traditional lifestyles.  The Kutch festival rejoices the ecological as well as the ethnic diversity of this western tip of India.

In short, Rann Utsav is the perfect culture tourism in Gujarat. An event created by Gujarat Tourism, it is a kaleidoscope of color amidst the Rann, the White Desert of India.

Where is Rann Utsav held?

Rann Utsav is held in the vicinity of Dhordo, a village in Kutch, Gujarat. Dhordo is one of the last villages in India before the India-Pakistan border.  A temporary tent city is set up by Lallooji & Sons for about 3 to 4 months to accommodate tourists and travelers to Rann Utsav.

Why is Rann Utsav celebrated?

The history of Rann Utsav is not very old and dates back to the year 2005 or so. During our recent trip to Rann Festival, we had an opportunity to meet Miyan Husen, the present Sarpanch or headman of Dhordo village. He gave us a brief background to this festival.

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The salty marshland or the Rann region of Gujarat remained barren most of the year. Gulbeg Miyan, the late father of Miyan Husen proposed developing a festival to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat. The summers are extreme here but winters are pleasant. Hence Gujarat Tourism curated a winter festival at this spot. The first Rann Utsav was for 3 days. Given the popularity, the duration was increased gradually. It now continues for about 3 months.

Rann Utsav plays many roles in the commercial ecosystem of Kutch. First, it provides a great spot for tourists or travelers to stay near the Great Rann of Kutch. Second, it provides people with an opportunity to visit the colorful cultures of the Kutchhi villages. Third, it generates employment for locals.

No wonder, Rann Utsav is such a sought-after event in India’s culture calendar.

What happens in Rann Utsav?

This was a huge curiosity for us when we reached Rann Utsav. While we had browsed the internet, we were still not clear as to what was it all about. This could be a bit of a spoiler, but what we share here are some basic facts surrounding our experience.

Where to stay at Rann Utsav?

Tent City at Rann Utsav

Lallooji and Sons Tent City – A temporary township comprising an array of tents in various sizes and with diverse facilities has been set up here during Rann Utsav. The zone comprises tents for visitors, media, a reception hall, a dining hall, craft shops, an open stage, a podium for exercises, space for dance, so on and so forth. There is a special tent for Prime Minister Narendra Modi which is also accessible for tourist visits.

Our tents at Rann Utsav

Our tents looked very smart from the outside. Off-white color exterior and floral printed exterior made for a pleasing look. Wood sofas and an antique recliner or what is called a planter’s chair was the high point of this sitting area. Inside, there was a queen-size double bed, a pair of sofas, a tea corner, and last but not least, enough electrical points for charging our devices.

In line with the vintage style, the dressing area had a wood clothes horse and a floor-length mirror framed in solid wood.

Our tents also had air-conditioners. When we checked in at night, we thought the ACs were redundant. We were corrected the next afternoon when it got very hot and we needed to cool down. All in all, our tents were a fusion of traditional as well as contemporary styles. Personally, this approach worked best for us. It reminded us of luxury tents for army officials who would have gone to war in yesteryears.

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How to get around the Tent City

There were so many modes of transport inside Rann city. The roads were broad and our bus dropped us near our tent cluster. The Tent City also provided electronic rickshaws and golf carts as internal transport. Tempo vehicles decorated with colorful streamers and festoons helped to create a festive village look.

What we loved most was the camel cart. Camel carts are a common mode of transport in a dessert. Perhaps to provide an authentic dessert experience, camel carts were used for ferrying visitors or luggage inside the Tent City. These provided great photo-ops too.

Is food included in Rann Utsav?

Hell yes!

That is what we were mostly doing when inside the Tent City. The facilities inside Lallooji Tent City included a copious amount of food comparable only to a big fat North Indian wedding.

They served standard North Indian fare, Jain food, Gujarati items, soups, salads, and desserts. The food was vegetarian and was spread over buffet at breakfast lunch and dinner. The variety of items ensured there was something for everybody.

And how could we miss the high tea? Within an hour of lunch, they had an array of snacks, coffee, and tea. Needless to say, we are a few kg up after the trip.

Along with the food, they had live singing. A singer performed soft Hindi numbers during dinner. This made the dining experience peaceful and festive at the same time.

What should I wear in Rann Utsav?

There is no dress code. Perhaps given the colorful background and a generally traditional environment, we saw many visitors wear Indian or fusion clothes or accessories. What we suggest is that you pack for a hot day and a cold night.

Packing Tips for Rann Utsav – The Rann of Kutch is known to have extreme weather in a single day. We found the days very warm, yet there was a nip in the air in the evenings. A jacket and scarf should do it in November. For the period end of December to January, some heavier woolen and a cap may be useful.

Things to do at Rann Utsav Tent City

The Tent City had an array of activities going on. It started from very early in the morning and continued till mighty late in the night. All visitors were free to participate in each or all of those.

Yoga

At about 6.30 in the morning, the day started with yoga under the guidance of an instructor. From our tents, we could also hear beat music and realized there was a Zumba session as well. So, even it was a holiday, one had the opportunity of starting the day with a dose of health.

Ziplining

While we did not try this, zipline facilities are available in the Tent City. Given the happy shrieks we heard from above, we could see that this activity had many takers.

Selfie stations

There were countless selfie stations installed around Tent City. For shutterbugs and fashion travelers, this was the perfect opportunity to create solid memories. The clear winter sun made every subject glow in photographs.

Camel ride

In sync with the local practice, camel carts are used to transport visitors as well as goods. If you are a tad more adventurous, Tent City offers you a camel ride as well. The wobbly gentle giants are rarely known to disappoint.

Kathputli puppet show

There was a separate enclosure for puppet shows. Kathputli or Rajasthani string puppet shows were held here from early evening till late night. The bright puppets with their dainty movements attracted the young and the old.

Stand-up comedy show

Stand-up comedians took the stage late every evening. They would come from various parts of the country and entertain the audience with simple jokes. The shows would not be very long so as to not bore you and there would be multiple artists.

Garba and other dances

Garba is the traditional community dance in Gujarat. Men and women participate in this group dance and knock sticks together making a woody musical sound. Garba groups came and performed on the stage set up for Rann Utsav. Visitors were also free to join in.

There was also a Siddi Goma dance performance. Siddi is a community of people of African descent who came and settled in the Bharuch district of Gujarat.

Music and dance we thought was a perfect end to a happening day we thought.

Best places to visit during Rann Utsav

Sunset at Rann of Kutch

A visit to Rann of Kutch is of course one of the prime activities during Rann Utsav. It is about 30 30-minute drive from the Rann Utsav Tent City. After the point where your vehicle drops you, the last 500 m is a fun ride on a camel cart.

Thereafter it is sheer bliss. We are trying our best not to give away spoilers here. Yet, we reached the actual Rann and looked at the horizon; it was nothing like what we had seen before. It was sunset time. The white salt desert almost merged with the sky with the soft hues of the evening sun casting a warm glow. It was like mixing gold and silver in the palette called nature.

Time stood still for us when we were finally at the Great Rann of Kutch and we were plain dumbfounded. Our best sunset all this while had been the one at Tanjung Aru Beach, Sabah, Malaysia. The ethereal sunset at Rann of Kutch was an even uplifting experience.

Kala Dungar

Kala Dungar is the highest point at the Rann of Kutch. It was an hour’s drive from the Rann Utsav Tent City. We got a beautiful view of the Rann from the hilltop. This area is a mere 50 km from the Pakistan border.  Our able guide Govinda regaled us with interesting stories about the Indo-Pak War on the way to Kala Dungar. We saw the Dattatreya temple and hiked up from the base to the hilltop. People were taking jeeps and camels as well. Local costumes were available on rent in case you wanted to look Kutchhi in a picture.

While the view was fantastic, a musician singing local songs blew our minds. He was an elderly man who sat on a side strumming his Veena and singing away a soulful number. He was like in a Zen state totally oblivious to all those who were shooting him or taking his photos. He made Kala Dungar a high point of our visit as well.

Mandvi Beach

Mandvi was a popular seaport in the Kutch region. The beach here is about one and half hours from Lallooji Tent City and they arrange for a visit. This, mind you, is not a white beach and the sand here is your regular brown-ochre.

You can go to the beach, ride camels, do water sports, have fresh coconut water, and generally have a good time. Sunsets at the Mandvi Beach are also very beautiful so try to make it early enough before dusk, Mandvi is also known for its 400-years old shipbuilding industry and remnants of a fort.

Urban Kutch Café

Urban Café is a city-style restaurant cum entertainment zone in the middle of Kutch. We dropped by in the evening and it was rather enjoyable. They had folk music and dance going on and some local handicrafts were on sale.

An array of food stalls served a variety of food. Dabheli, a signature dish of the Kutch region appeared to be the star here. We also had jalebis with a glass of saffron-flavoured milk on the side. If in Delhi, we might have frowned at this combination. But everything tasted so much tastier here.

Star-gazing at Rann of Kutch

Given the minimal pollution, the clear skies of Kutch are ideal for star-gazing. The Rann Utsav Tent City sometimes takes interested visitors for late-night star-gazing. If you are a fan of astronomy, you should check at the Rann City reception.

Shopping at Rann Utsav

Rann Utsav is capable of pulling out the shopaholic in you. There are many handloom and handicraft stalls inside Lallooji Tent City. Some of the shops are designed like the round Kutchi house or Bunga. This zone looked extra photogenic.

Kutch region of India is extremely rich in terms of handloom and handicraft hence we had a lot to see. The woolen shawls, Ajrakh printed stoles, suit lengths and sarees, appliquéd or stitched bed linen, local bells, handbags, and pouches, there were many options for shopping for self or souvenirs as gifts. Given that it was a temporary exhibition, we thought things would be expensive. We stood corrected; all the items were very reasonably priced.

Rann Utsav Tent City also had its own gift cum souvenir shop. Rann Utsav-themed caps, hats, and t-shirts were popular merchandise here.

Rann Utsav 2022-23 Dates

Rann Utsav 2022-23 started on 26th Oct 2022 and is on till 20th Feb 2023.

How to reach Rann Utsav

The nearest airport and railway station to Rann Utsav is at Bhuj approximately 58 km away. So you can either fly to Bhuj or take a train and thereafter it is little more than an hour by bus. Lallooji Tent City has special buses at the airport and railway station at Bhuj to ferry passengers to and fro Rann Utsav.

We however covered Rann Utsav as a part of a longer travel circuit and came from Ahmedabad. Rann Utsav Tent City is about 450 km from Ahmedabad and was roughly 9 hours via bus.

Rann Utsav prices and packages

There is a host of pricing for Rann Utsav. Depending on the size of the tent, the facilities you want, the number of heads and even which days you are visiting, the pricing differs. In fact, full moon nights are more expensive than other times. You should check the Gujarat Tourism website for costs on the specific days you want to visit. We are told, they are very helpful on phone as well.

Is Rann Utsav worth visiting?

We felt Rann of Kutch is a pride of India and deserved a visit. Whatever you have heard about the Rann does not justify the humongous awe we felt. Rann Utsav brings you to the Rann. It provides you with the ease of comfortable accommodation and local transport very close to the Rann.

Rann Utsav is also culture-travel to the Kutchi ways of life. The embroideries, the Bungas, the music, and the dance – you get to experience all that firsthand. Things have been modernized a little bit to cater to contemporary tastes. One may wonder what is more important – maintaining the culture or opening up to the potential provided by tourism. But that debate is for another day.

On our part, we were spellbound at the Rann and very happy at Rann Utsav. The quiet nights under the clear starlit sky, the cool morning breeze, the yummy food, and again all that color contrasting the White Rann – Rann Utsav was an experience of a lifetime.