VISITING KALO DUNGAR OR THE BLACK HILL IN KUTCH, GUJARAT

Photo Travelogue :
Read first part - Here!

When you visit a particular place, you like to visit the nearby attractions too. When I visited White Rann of Kutch, I wanted to cover Chota Rann ( famous for wildlife ), Dholavira ( famous for ancient ruins ), Mandvi ( for beach & palaces ) etc; but, time seemed a constraint and I had to opt for Kalo Dungar instead, which was on the route. Kalo Dungar had some ancient tale attached to it which I was interested in, besides being the highest point in Kutch, and the best view-point to see the White Rann from top. It also has the Tropic of cancer passing through the road on the way, and a Magnetic hill stretch. After crossing border check-post of Bhirandiyara ( there's a fork - left turn goes to White Rann, Dhordo ), we head straight first ( the road ultimately goes north to the India Bridge ), and Khavda village, then take a right turn mid-way to reach Kalo Dungar.


crossing Khavda; from Bhuj, we've been on the way for over 2 hours now...


we go uphill the rough terrain to kalo dungar, but the slope is long and gradual, not steep...
although, there are many ghat-like sections along the way...


the marked line is the tropic of cancer that we passed...
( on this route, 30 km from Bhuj, we pass the Kutch Fossil Park )


the exciting 'Magnetic' stretch of the road, where vehicles behave weirdly...
they move backwards uphill even with the engines off, interesting, no?


welcome to Kalo Dungar...


meet a camel on our way up...


I greet one, they are not bothered...


something in gujrati...welcoming us, methinks...


its a long way to the view-point...many steps...


passing by infos about the various wild-life found in the area...


by Gujarat Tourism...


some 360 degrees panoramic view from the top...

Touching Great #WhiteRann desert highest point #KaloDungar #cool #travelblogger #ttot #lp #travel #travelphotography pic.twitter.com/QpYLZo5fvJ

— ? ? NandiniDéka ? ? (@NandiniDeka) December 1, 2015

when skies are clear, the sky reflects on the vast white virgin salty stretches of the Rann...
sunlight effects with the region gives breathtaking views of the valley below...
India bridge is visible too from here, which we'd be going to later...


the famous Dattareya temple is located here, also other prayer stalls...
as I'm not the religious sort, I gave them a pass...but...

the spooky part...

I did look with interest at the place where the jackals still come to eat prasad...
they would come later in the evening, I was informed; my bad luck :|A circular cement platform, about a metre high and three metres across, serves as the dining table for the jackals. They eat sweetened rice, cooked by the priest and given by a particular village ~ which is a weird diet for jackals ( being natural meat-eaters ). There is a legend attached as to why they come here to eat the prasad. Sometimes, they refuse the offering as well, which means something bad has been done or befallen nearby.



Kalo Dungar or Black Hill is the highest point in Kutch, Gujarat, India, at 462 m. It is located 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. It is advised to travel to the place early and return by early evening as there are very few road lights in the area ( wiki ).

Address : Kalo Dungar Road, Khavda, Kutch district, Gujarat 370510 India
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