The Little Rann of Kutch – 1

Rann which derived its name from ‘Virann’ or deserted land is located in Kutch and is generally referred to as Rann of Kutch. While the Little Rann is closer to Ahmedabad (approx. 100 kms.), the Greater Rann is more approachable from Bhuj, which is about 80 kms. away. Since our vacation consisted of just four days, we took Greater Rann off from the itinerary and decided to restrict our travel to the Little Rann while adding Gir to the agenda.

The train was on time and we reached Ahmedabad at 4:30 AM. It suited us since we were scheduled to pick up our self-driven car from Navrangpura at 6:00 AM. The two-hour drive to Zainabad (in Little Rann) was a pleasant one with intermittent stops – once for breakfast and a couple of times to capture some interesting shots of Kingfishers along the highway.

The two-hour drive to Zainabad (in Little Rann) was a pleasant one with intermittent stops – once for breakfast and a couple of times to capture some interesting shots of Kingfishers along the highway.

We checked-in at Desert Courses, an ethnic resort in Zainabad managed by Dhanraj Malik, the great-grandson of Malik Zain Khan, ruler of Zainabad.

After some basic vegetarian lunch, we set out to explore the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary. Located in Little Rann, the sanctuary boasts of one of the six sub species of the Asiatic Wild Ass – the Indian Wild Ass or Khur, as it is called. Out from Zainabad, we drove through another village before exiting on an endless stretch of cracked land interspersed with thorny shrubs. It only took us a few minutes to spot small droves of Asses grazing across vast expanses of the desert. As they became aware of our presence, they began moving away and I managed to get some pictures only after getting off from our vehicle.

Next on were the Nilgais or Blue Bulls. Known to be very shy, the Nilgai is the largest Asian Antelope and it is only the male that has horns and a grey or bluish grey coat. Females and their young ones are brown in colour. We noticed several herds as we drove along the scrub forest and at one location we even found some Nilgais sparring.

Finally, we drove through some salt pans and were also able to meet a family of Agariyas or the salt workers of Rann. We stayed back at the Rann till sunset in our quest to get some great shots during the golden hour.

On our way back to the resort we were amazed to note that our guide and driver – Yunis navigated his Jeep effortlessly across the desert back to the State Highway, with no roads, lights or compass to give him directions. Apparently he has been at this job for the last 15 years!