ECOCAMP @LITTLE RANN OF KUTCH

Hey readers,

Hope you all are doing great and are safe in this pandemic. Here, I am back, with the first travelogue! If you haven’t read my previous one, check it out here: https://travelogue-upasana.blogspot.com/2021/05/travel-opens-your-heart-broadens-your.html

EcoTourism!

What is EcoTourism?

The practice of touring natural habitats in a manner meant to minimize ecological impact. 

 Source: http://merriam-webstercollegiate.com/dictionary/ecotourism

Let's get going with the travelogue now!

Most of 2020, we were confined within our respective homes. Out of boredom and monotony, we thought of taking a trip in this challenging Corona times. Keeping in mind the risk we decided to go remote places in nature’s lap. We chose Eco camp in the small village, Jogad, located in the outskirts of Little Rann of Kutch (LRK). This trip was our family time together amidst nature. Early morning of 21st December, 2020, we took a car and left for a road trip to this eco camp. After a long gap, we had fun road trip. 

Check out the co-ordinates on the google map👇

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/ahmedabad/Eco+Tour+Camp,+Jogad,+Gujarat/@23.0574437,71.5731338,9.48z/data=!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x395e848aba5bd449:0x4fcedd11614f6516!2m2!1d72.5713621!2d23.022505!1m5!1m1!1s0x395bd2c4a87d4f21:0xf888eadb39d4ea79!2m2!1d71.2101165!2d23.1443622

On arrival, a very warm welcome was extended by Ajaybhai Dhamecha, the owner of the eco camp at LRK. Next, we were taken on a tour around the eco camp and were allotted our accommodations in the Kooba. Koobas are cosy and comfy eco friendly huts and are set up to provide a taste of rural life in Little Rann. Sounds exciting, right? Here is a picture for you of the Kooba hut where we stayed. 

Source: (Koobas) https://lostonthestreet.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/in-pursuit-of-a-mirage/kooba-huts-3/

After lunch, we left for the most thrilling part of the trip, the safari. During this safari, we explored India's 4th largest Wildlife Sanctuary which is a part of Little Rann of Kutch. 

 We hopped onto the open Jeep and started venturing into the vast open landscape of the sanctuary. Ajaybhai being a tour guide, his knowledge about the wildlife was commendable. In a really short span of time, a series of wildlife unfolded before us. It felt magical! We were lucky to get an glimpse of the prime attraction of this sanctuary, which is the Indian Wild Ass. This sanctuary is the home to the last of the Indian Wild Ass, which are approximately around 6080.

Source: (Wild Ass) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wild_ass_india.jpg

Then came my favorite part of this trip: Photography! What a great opportunity this was for a photography lover like me! 

Moving on, we saw the process of the main occupation of the local people here: Salt Farming. Salt, a very important/ vital part of all our Indian cuisines. After seeing the real process, I understood that how tediously the salt farmers work for such a long time, but they receive an unimaginably tiny amount. While exploring the salt pans we even collected a handful of salt crystals. 

Source: (Salt Crystals) That's clicked by me 👆😇

Source: (Salt Pans) That's clicked by me 👆😇

We then, drove around in this vast flat terrain for a while. Then sun was about to set, and we pulled over to watch the sunset. It was truly beautiful! The skyline was magnificent! Check that out!

Source: (Sunset) That's clicked by me too👆😇

As the light was fading away, we started on our way back to the camp. On reaching to our Koobas we relaxed for a bit, spent some time with each other. Next, we went for dinner and had a scrumptious and fulfilling meal. We were overwhelmed with joy after having the homely here. After dinner we walked around the campsite and enjoyed star gazing in the limitless open sky! 

Next morning after breakfast we drove back to home. The duration of this trip might have been short, but the trip was memorable as well as fun.

Hats off to the owner as well the founder of the camp, who have taken up a mission to run this camp truly in a eco-friendly manner! 

📍THEIR PHILOSOPHY & MANTRA OF ECOTOURISM INCLUDES SOME OF THESE BEST PRACTICES: 

~Avoid usage of plastics

~Traditional method of water heating to save energy

~Waste management

~Rain water harvesting

~Eco Friendly Koobas: made with natural materials, most use of natural light in the Kooba, thatched roofs and mud walls to generate natural cooling effect during soaring heat. 

Hope that you all loved this blog! Thank You For All The Unconditional Support❤️

★ Feel free to share any feedback/ suggestion. 

That's all for now, keep reading for more such blogs and exciting travelogues!!✨

See ya,

Upasana