Our Travels: Suset point. White Rann. White Dessert View Point 2

Suset point. White Rann. White Dessert View Point 2.

As per our booking, the itinerary for day one was arrival, Check-in formalities, lunch and at 5:30 PM departure for Sunset Point in the White Rann in an A/C bus from the bus parking.

White Rann, or White Desert of Rann, as it is known, lies north of the Tent City.

We exited Tent City through the gate and the guard post near the PM cluster and crossed White Desert Road.

For a minor road in the rural Gujrat, this road carries a surprisingly large amount of traffic, 24X7, mostly huge dumper trucks and large 12- to 16-wheeler trucks, all carrying salt produced in the salt pans of the white rann. Besides carrying all that traffic, this road, which is a blacktop road, is a clear-cut dividing line between the desolate and barren desert of White Rann to the North of the road and the villages with a productive population and greenery of the babul trees all around to the south of the road. The contrast is stark and truly astonishing.

As you cross the road and progress deeper in the White Rann, initially, there are small trees, shrubs and patches of grass. Within 100 meters or so in the white Rann, all the shrubs and grass patches give way to very fine whiteish-looking sandy soil. Thereafter, as far as the eyes can see, there is not a blade of grass, trees or any habitation, and this can be clearly seen in the video attached.

The bus dropped us about a kilometre and a half in the white Rann. A few camel carts were waiting at the bus stop. The framework and mattresses, etc., of the carts are all covered with a cloth with a patchwork of cloths which creates a riot of colours. Due to this colourful patchwork, mirror work and colourful tassels, these camel carts have a very decorated and festive look.

These camel carts take you about a kilometre to Sunset View Point in the White Rann.

The Tent City has erected a permanent big three-dimensional letters reading “ RANNUTSAV”, and every day in the evening, guests are brought to this ‘sunset point’.

Enterprising persons have taken advantage and started providing adventure sports in the form of motorised parasailing, local attire for people to dress up and get photographed, and a gadget with a circular rotating platform to create a ‘reel’. The general atmosphere is very much like a village ‘mela’ with everyone having a good time.

We saw some people on a bund and decided to join them to see what lies on the other side. Through the muddy trench and loose gravel, we dared to climb the bund. The seawater was trapped behind a huge area enclosed by bunds to produce salt as the trapped seawater evaporates and leaves behind layers of salt, which seems to be big business around here.

I had seen photos of White Rann where the ground looked as white as it would look after a snowfall, and so I was expecting vast expanses of snow-white ground. What I saw was that though the ground looked white, it was a dull white made up by very fine soil/sand all around and not the pure whiteness of the salt.

Even though you are taken to what is called sunset point, the whole area of White Rann is so flat without any structures or trees or high-rise obstructions that you have a very clear and unobstructed view of the horizon, and the whole of White Rann is a big, big sunset and sunrise viewpoint.

Visibility was not too good. Plenty of clouds. It was doubtful if we would be able to see the sunset, so we got on the camel cart for the bus stop and returned to the tent city.

Overall, nice outing with a little bit of adventure in climbing the bund.

Video taken from the bus. On the way to White Rann Sunset Viewpoint.Within a short distance all the shrubs and grass patches are replaced ny whitish fine sand.

Bus drop point at white Rann.

From here, one gets on to nicely and colourfully decorated camel carts which take you further about a kilometre to Sunset View Point in the White Rann.

Bus drop point at white Rann.

From here, one gets on to nicely and colourfully decorated camel carts which take you further about a kilometre to Sunset View Point in the White Rann.

Bus drop point at white Rann.

From here, one gets on to nicely and colourfully decorated camel carts which take you further about a kilometre to Sunset View Point in the White Rann.

The Tent City has erected a permanent big three-dimensional letters reading “ RANN UTSAV”, a photo shoot point

Though it looks white, it is whitish sand all around and not the pure whiteness of the salt as I have seen in many photos of the White Rann.

Few people could be seen a couple of kilometres further, near the horizon. Maybe the White Rann was really pure white of the salt deep in the white rann around where they were.