Kutchh

Kachchh, Gujarat

Kachchh is a essence of Gujarat and your visit is incomplete without going to Kuchchh. The state's biggest district and most sparsely populated one, Kachchh is a sandy, barren area over half of which is desert and marshland. Like so many other regions of Gujarat, Kachchh has its own distinctive character. It has a remarkably heterogeneous population belonging to 18 different tribes, each with its own language and culture.

The Great Rann covers an area of about 7,000 sq miles (18,000 sq kms) and lies almost entirely within the state of Gujarat, along the border with Pakistan. The Little Rann of Kachchh extends northeast from the Gulf of Kachchh and occupies about 2,000 sq miles (5,100 sq kms) in Gujarat state.

Originally an extension of the Arabian Sea, the Rann of Kachchh has been closed off by centuries of silting. During the time of Alexander the Great it was a navigable lake, but it is now an extensive mudflat, inundated during monsoon seasons. Settlement is limited to low, isolated hills.