Little Rann of Kutch - Hammock Holidays

Once an arm of the Arabian Sea, the Rann, a remarkable and unique landscape , is a vast desiccated, unbroken bare surface of dark silt, encrusted with salts, which transforms into a spectacular coastal wetland after the rains. The present saline desert of the Little Rann has an amazing variety of geomorphic facets to be considered a large ecotone - a transitional area between marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

Climate
Little Rann of Kutch has extremely hot and dry summers (average temperatures hover around 44°C but can go upto of 50°C), wet monsoons when the land gets flooded and cool winters (minimum temperature drops to below freezing point).

Connectivity
Nearest Airport(s): Ahmedabad International - 90 to 130 kms
Nearest Railway Station(s): Viramgam - approx. 30 kms; Ahmedabad - approx. 130 kms
Nearest Bus Stop(s): Dasada, Dhrangadhra

When the Rann gets inundated during monsoons, it is dotted with elevated plateaus or islands called 'bets', which support a variety of wildlife including the 'Gudkhur' (Asiatic wild ass) that is not found elsewhere.

Other wildlife include Indian Blackbuck and other antelopes, gazelles, the endangered Indian wolf, foxes, jackals, desert and jungle cats, hyenas, hares, gerbilles and hedgehogs, and various reptiles and snakes. A unique acitivity is the cross-desert safari in open vehicles. The vast cover of saline mudflats have very little shrubby vegetation.

The biggest local industry is mining salt from from the saline ground water. But the workers live in extremely poor conditions. Legend has it that even after a salt worker dies and is cremated, the soles of his feet survive - a lifetime of labor in the salt pans bakes them so hard that even fire cannot fully burn them.

Among several villages along the Rann of Kutch, the silk-weavers colony at Dasada are known for their embroidery work. The historic city of Patan is known for its Patola silk weavers, who practise an intricate weaving technique called double ikkat which involves dyeing both the warp and weft threads according to the final design before setting them on the loom for weaving, resulting in an extremely rich fabric. Many textile and handicraft experts stopover at Rann Riders en route to Bhuj and Banni.

Nearby areas are known for their rich array of handicrafts including embroideries of Rabaris, Bharwads, Jaths, Muthwas, Sodhas, Lohanas, etc, besides bandhini tie-and-dye, block printing, woodcarving, metal crafts and pottery. Dhrangadhra is the nearest headquarters of Little Rann of Kutch.