[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

The Great Rann of Kutch is a seasonal salt marsh located in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India and theSindh province of Pakistan. It is about 7,505.22 square kilometres (2,897.78 sq mi) in size and is reputed to be one of the largest salt desert in the world.^[1] This area has been inhabited by the Kutchi people.

The name “Rann” comes from the Hindi word ran meaning “desert”. The Hindi word is derived from Sanskrit/Vedic wordiriṇa  attested in the Rigveda and Mahābhārata. As early as 325 BCE, Alexander the Great was aware of the area.

The Great Rann of Kutch, along with the Little Rann of Kutch and the Banni grasslands on its southern edge, is situated in the district of Kutch and comprises some 30,000 square kilometres (10,000 sq mi) between the Gulf of Kutch and the mouth of the Indus River in southern Pakistan. The marsh can be accessed from the village of Kharaghoda in Surendranagar District.

In India’s summer monsoon, the flat desert of salty clay and mudflats, which average 15 meters above sea level, fills with standing water. In very wet years, the wetland extends from the Gulf of Kutch on the west through to the Gulf of Cambay on the east.

[/vc_column_text][vc_media_grid grid_id=”vc_gid:1462346863067-17424ca1-f4a2-7″ include=”458,459,460,461,462,469,468,467,466,465,464,463,471,472,473,474,475,476,477,478,479″][/vc_column][/vc_row]