Sachin Jatkar
Well-Known Member
Day 10 - Continued - Khavda - Kalo Dungar - India Bridge
We got ready, had our breakfast and left for the day from the resort. We had planned to visit some arts and handicrafts shops in the Hodka village. Total distance covered on the trip so far 2112 Kms.
09:50 - Left Shaam E Sarhad and proceeded to nearby Hodka village where we had seen a couple of arts and handicraft shops. The shops were an extension of village homes where they had converted an outer room in to a display of arts and handicrafts which they sold. From what we saw, Hodka is not really an arts and handicrafts village.
In the couple of such shops that we went to, there wasn't anyone to show the items on sale, and we found the shops were without much light, so judging the colour etc. was a bit difficult. So we decided to do the shopping at Rann Utsav or at the arts and handicrafts shop in Shaam E Sarhad resort.
10:10 - Reached Bhirandiyara check post. When coming from Hodka / Dhordo, take a left from the Bhirandiyara check post to go towards Khavda/Kalo Dungar/India Bridge.
10:25 - Reached Khavda. Filled Diesel worth INR 1350 in here. Note that this is the only petrol pump around for a long distance. You can also get your tyre air pressure checked in the petrol pump and the machine is manned by a native of Bihar and called the "Bihar tyre service".
From Khavda, we proceeded towards Kalo Dungar.
About 8 Kms from Khavda, you come to this right turn which points to Shri Datt Mandir which is on top of Kalo Dungar. Take the right here for Kalo Dungar. Else the straight road goes to India Bridge.
As you climb up the road towards the top of Kalo Dungar, the road is very narrow in some places. Some parts of the road are not as smooth as the roads in Gujarat but I will not term it bad either.
Source - Wikipedia
Kalo Dungar or Black Hill is the highest point in Kutch, Gujarat, India, at 462 m. It is located at 97 km from District headquarters of Bhuj and 25 km from nearest town Khavda.
This is probably the only place in Kachchh from where a panoramic view of the Great Rann of Kutch is possible. Since it is located very near to the Pakistan border, there is an Army post at the top; beyond here, only military personnel are allowed.
The Kalo Dungar is also famous for a 400 year old Dattatreya temple. Legend says that when Dattatreya walked on the earth, he stopped at the Black Hills and found a band of starving jackals. Being a god, he offered them his body to eat and as they ate, his body continually regenerated itself. Because of this, for the last four centuries, the priest at the temple has prepared a batch of prasad, cooked rice, that is fed to the jackals after the evening aarti.
11:00 - We reached at the top of Kalo Dungar.
Note - I have read it in other forums that there is at times traffic jam at the top as parking space is limited when it gets crowded, and due to the narrow road. We did not face any traffic jam and could get parking easily. However, I did overhear a police officer addressing a hawaldar that "Apna kaam hai parking, traffic aur logo ko control main rakhna." (Our job is to manage parking, people and traffic).
We went in to the Datt mandir and completed our darshan and then proceeded onwards to see the views from Kalo Dungar. I will let the pictures do the talking now.
Dattatreya mandir on top of Kalo Dungar
Walking to the top of Kalo Dungar. From the mandir, it's about 300 mts walk. Maybe a little more. There are displays of birds and animals found in the surrounding region along the path with details given about each species. Good initiative.
Highest Point in Kutch
Panoramic view of the Great Rann of Kutch from Kalo Dungar
11:40 - We left from Kalo Dungar, before the aarti at the Datt mandir at 12 PM. On the way down saw quite a few vehicles coming up.
12:00 - Reached India Bridge. Vehicles were being allowed to cross the bridge which is very small, but as soon as you cross it there is a check post and you are not allowed to go ahead unless you have a special permit which has to be obtained from Bhuj and is very difficult to get for obvious reasons.
My son asked a jawan posted there "How many Kms is the Pakistan border from here?" and the jawan replied 80Kms.
Note - There are no sign boards which point to "India Bridge", but we the sign boards mention "Kunver Bet".
Note - Photography and Videography at India Bridge is strictly prohibited.
There is nothing to see at India Bridge except for the sense of joy that you drove up to the last point that civilians can drive to without requiring special permissions to go ahead. We spent 10 mins at the spot, and started on the way back to Hodka.
12:10 - Left from India Bridge.
As we were unsure how much time it would take to cover Kalo Dungar and India Bridge, we had told the Shaam E Sarhad staff that we would call in advance if we are coming back to the resort for lunch. So we called them to confirm that we would be back for lunch.
13:00 - Reached back at Shaam E Sarhad Hodka.
We got ready, had our breakfast and left for the day from the resort. We had planned to visit some arts and handicrafts shops in the Hodka village. Total distance covered on the trip so far 2112 Kms.
09:50 - Left Shaam E Sarhad and proceeded to nearby Hodka village where we had seen a couple of arts and handicraft shops. The shops were an extension of village homes where they had converted an outer room in to a display of arts and handicrafts which they sold. From what we saw, Hodka is not really an arts and handicrafts village.
In the couple of such shops that we went to, there wasn't anyone to show the items on sale, and we found the shops were without much light, so judging the colour etc. was a bit difficult. So we decided to do the shopping at Rann Utsav or at the arts and handicrafts shop in Shaam E Sarhad resort.
10:10 - Reached Bhirandiyara check post. When coming from Hodka / Dhordo, take a left from the Bhirandiyara check post to go towards Khavda/Kalo Dungar/India Bridge.
10:25 - Reached Khavda. Filled Diesel worth INR 1350 in here. Note that this is the only petrol pump around for a long distance. You can also get your tyre air pressure checked in the petrol pump and the machine is manned by a native of Bihar and called the "Bihar tyre service".
From Khavda, we proceeded towards Kalo Dungar.
About 8 Kms from Khavda, you come to this right turn which points to Shri Datt Mandir which is on top of Kalo Dungar. Take the right here for Kalo Dungar. Else the straight road goes to India Bridge.
As you climb up the road towards the top of Kalo Dungar, the road is very narrow in some places. Some parts of the road are not as smooth as the roads in Gujarat but I will not term it bad either.
Source - Wikipedia
Kalo Dungar or Black Hill is the highest point in Kutch, Gujarat, India, at 462 m. It is located at 97 km from District headquarters of Bhuj and 25 km from nearest town Khavda.
This is probably the only place in Kachchh from where a panoramic view of the Great Rann of Kutch is possible. Since it is located very near to the Pakistan border, there is an Army post at the top; beyond here, only military personnel are allowed.
The Kalo Dungar is also famous for a 400 year old Dattatreya temple. Legend says that when Dattatreya walked on the earth, he stopped at the Black Hills and found a band of starving jackals. Being a god, he offered them his body to eat and as they ate, his body continually regenerated itself. Because of this, for the last four centuries, the priest at the temple has prepared a batch of prasad, cooked rice, that is fed to the jackals after the evening aarti.
11:00 - We reached at the top of Kalo Dungar.
Note - I have read it in other forums that there is at times traffic jam at the top as parking space is limited when it gets crowded, and due to the narrow road. We did not face any traffic jam and could get parking easily. However, I did overhear a police officer addressing a hawaldar that "Apna kaam hai parking, traffic aur logo ko control main rakhna." (Our job is to manage parking, people and traffic).
We went in to the Datt mandir and completed our darshan and then proceeded onwards to see the views from Kalo Dungar. I will let the pictures do the talking now.
Dattatreya mandir on top of Kalo Dungar
Walking to the top of Kalo Dungar. From the mandir, it's about 300 mts walk. Maybe a little more. There are displays of birds and animals found in the surrounding region along the path with details given about each species. Good initiative.
Highest Point in Kutch
Panoramic view of the Great Rann of Kutch from Kalo Dungar
11:40 - We left from Kalo Dungar, before the aarti at the Datt mandir at 12 PM. On the way down saw quite a few vehicles coming up.
12:00 - Reached India Bridge. Vehicles were being allowed to cross the bridge which is very small, but as soon as you cross it there is a check post and you are not allowed to go ahead unless you have a special permit which has to be obtained from Bhuj and is very difficult to get for obvious reasons.
My son asked a jawan posted there "How many Kms is the Pakistan border from here?" and the jawan replied 80Kms.
Note - There are no sign boards which point to "India Bridge", but we the sign boards mention "Kunver Bet".
Note - Photography and Videography at India Bridge is strictly prohibited.
There is nothing to see at India Bridge except for the sense of joy that you drove up to the last point that civilians can drive to without requiring special permissions to go ahead. We spent 10 mins at the spot, and started on the way back to Hodka.
12:10 - Left from India Bridge.
As we were unsure how much time it would take to cover Kalo Dungar and India Bridge, we had told the Shaam E Sarhad staff that we would call in advance if we are coming back to the resort for lunch. So we called them to confirm that we would be back for lunch.
13:00 - Reached back at Shaam E Sarhad Hodka.
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