Page 435 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

GUJAR A T  433

wild ass (Equus hemionus khur),
known locally as ghorkhur.
Akin to the Tibetan kiang, the
ghorkhur is distinguished by
a dark stripe along its back.
Only about 1,000 of them now
remain. Known for its speed
(up to 60 km or 37 miles per
hour), the wild ass lives in
herds led by a stallion, and
survives by migrating between
the grassy bets through the
Tranquil seafront at Mandvi, once a busy port seasons, in search of food.
The sanctuary also has a large
d Mandvi spacious dwellings, a lower population of nilgai (blue bull),
town with open spaces for blackbuck, chinkara (Indian
Bhuj district. 60 km (37 miles)
SW of Bhuj. * 14,300. @ markets and festivities, and two gazelle), wolves, and the rare
stadia. An intriguing ten- caracal. Birdlife includes
This old port town has fine character inscription migratory demoiselle
beaches, good swimming, and (which is still to be cranes, pelicans and
camel and horse rides along deciphered) is on the flamingoes, who
the shore. Close to the beach citadel’s northern gate. come to the salt
is the Vijay Vilas Palace, an The presence of large marshes during the
impressive Indo-Edwardian reservoirs and a dam winter months.
pile built in the 1940s as a reflect the existence Dhrangadhra and
royal summer retreat. Its lovely of sophisticated Dasada are both
garden, drawing room and systems for Asiatic wild ass, interesting bases
rooftop terrace are open to harvesting water. found in Kutch from which to visit
visitors and provide beautiful the Little Rann of
views of the sea. In the town g The Little Rann of Kutch Sanctuary. Dasada has a
is the curious 18th-century 15th-century fort and a village
Old Palace of the Kutch Kutch Sanctuary where potters and textile
rulers (now a girls’ school). Kutch district. Entry points: printers practise their craft. The
Architecturally a blend of Dhrangadhra, 130 km (81 miles) family of Dasada’s former feudal
local and European styles, SW of Ahmedabad, & Dasada, 117 km chiefs arrange accommodation
it has a façade decorated with (73 miles) NW of Ahmedabad. and guided tours of the Rann.
cherubic Dutch boys holding £ Dhrangadhra, 20 km (12 miles) Dhrangadhra, capital of a
wine goblets – architect S of park. @ Dhrangadhra & Dasada, former princely state, has
Ramsinh Malam’s touching then bus or jeep. n Gujarat Tourism, a fine 18th-century palace,
salute to his adopted country. Ashram Rd, Ahmedabad, (079) 2657 and a bazaar with interesting
8046. For permits & tours contact colonial buildings. Tours of
P Vijay Vilas Palace Forest Office, Dhrangadhra. 8 & the sanctuary can be arranged
Open Thu–Tue. & Extra charges Extra charges for photography. through the Forest office here.
for photography. Accommodation is available in
An expanse of salt flats and the government rest house.
grasslands in northwest Gujarat,
f Dholavira the Little Rann of Kutch has a
stark and unforgettable beauty
Bhuj district. 250 km (155 miles) NE of
Bhuj. @ n For permission contact – in sunlight, the salt crystals in
the Superintendant of Police, Bhuj, the sand glitter like diamonds,
(02832) 25 0444. Open daily. while at night they bathe the
landscape in an eerie blue haze.
Dholavira is a small village Every year, during the monsoon,
where archaeologists have when the sea and rivers flood
unearthed extensive remains of the region, the salt flats are
a city that dates back to about transformed into great marshy
3000 BC. Lying on Khadir island swamps, with patches of higher
in the Rann of Kutch it is, along ground forming grassy islands
with Lothal (see p420), the largest- known as bets. Some 4,841 sq km
known Indus Valley settlement (1,869 sq miles) of this unique
in India. The site reveals evidence eco system, which supports a
of a remarkable planned city variety of rare fauna, form a
with broad roads, a central wildlife sanctuary that is one Salt pans in the Rann, a major source of
citadel, a middle town with of the last refuges of the Asiatic livelihood in Kutch

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