A Journey back to 2650 BC

After spending two blissful nights in the breathtaking and remote Rann of Kutch, we were excited to head to Dholavira. The distance to Dholavira from Dhordo is roughly around 60-70kms as the crow flies. But since Dholavira is an island surrounded by marsh lands and salt plains and not connected to Dhordo yet, we had to take the the rather longish circuitous route that cuts back into the mainland. Dholavira was also a prominent Harappa civilisation site, with state of the art township. Not much was/is known about what happened to the people here or how the town ceased to thrive and exist.

This heady cocktail of interesting history and the mystic remoteness got us all excited about the place. And the fact that there is hardly any public transport access to this place piqued our curiosity to explore this place.

Now the circuitous route is rather long and even though it was late January, the scorching sun had us beat. It was almost twilight by the time we ended up in the last village before taking the road that leads to Dholavira.

We stopped here to snack on some quick traditional munchies that were being prepared freshly off the wok. It also got us talking to the locals. Considering the sun had almost set, that warned us to keep an eye out for Neelgai or the blue bull, endemic to these parts of the world. For someone from the south who had never seen a Neelgai before, it looked like a mix of camel and horse with mostly the agility of a horse. We weren't sure if they were dangerous, but of course we did not want to find that out the hard way.

After snacking and bidding goodbyes to the locals, we started on the road towards Dholavira, now with a mix of excitement and exercised caution. The initial bit of the road was mostly broken tarmac that passed through a scrub jungle. Out here, we kept an eye on every bush, every perceived movement in the darkness, almost expecting a huge neelgai to walk out right to us. But luckily, no adventure of that sorts happened.

A while of riding through this scrub jungle and suddenly the road opened up. Now we were back into the marshy salt flats of Kutch and the road cut through the salt plains right in the middle.

It was a full moon night and the soothing moonlight reflected off the salt plains, creating a dance of light that was magical to experience. We stopped, transfixed at the amazing sight we had just witnessed. We switched off our engines, our headlights and just sat for a while, staring into the nothingness that lay in front of us.

It took us some effort to break free from the spell and head towards the village of Dholavira.

We finally made it to Dholavira and stayed at the only government Guest House there was. It had been a tiring day. But we were eagerly looking forward to exploring the ancient Harappan site of Dholavira the next day.

The site was exceptional! I hadn't seen anything like it in my life. The way the entire city was planned and built, all those many years ago without all our modern technology, our present day cities sure could take some inspiration from here!

There is even a museum that has been set up with a lot of artefacts that have be found in this site. I dont' personally know much about archaeology myself, but what I know that I felt great being here at this site, getting a little peek into how people must have lived and thrived all those years ago!

Don't miss: A visit to the heritage museum and the ancient Harappan site at Dholavira, and the if you can plan it, ride to Dholavira on a full moon night!