For decades Dholavira was a cul-de-sac. Khadir Bet could be reached only from the east, by a long loop through Bhachau and Rapar that made the trip from Bhuj a five-hour, 220-odd-kilometre haul. Then a new highway was pushed straight across the Rann from the Khavda side. The crossing is about 30 km long and almost perfectly straight, raised a little above the flats, with nothing on either side but salt, sky and, in season, water.
Travellers started calling it the Road to Heaven and the name stuck. Officially it is part of the Ghaduli–Santalpur road, National Highway 754K, a border-area highway that will eventually run from the far west of Kutch to north Gujarat. The stretch across the Rann opened to traffic in the early 2020s and work has continued on it since, so expect the odd rough or unfinished section.
What you see depends entirely on the season. From about December to March the Rann dries to a hard white crust and the road runs between two fields of salt. After the monsoon it is a causeway through a shallow inland sea, pale blue and mirror-flat, sometimes with lines of flamingos feeding close to the embankment. In the hot months it is a blinding, shimmering emptiness. At any time it is one of the great short drives in India.
What to see and do at Road to Heaven
Drive it at sunrise or sunset
The low sun turns the salt pink and gold and the water to metal. If you are staying at Dholavira, come out for sunset and drive back in the dusk; if you are coming from Bhuj, leave early enough to cross soon after dawn.
Stop — carefully — for photographs
There are places to pull over. Use them rather than stopping in the carriageway: the road is straight and empty, and other drivers treat it accordingly.
Watch for birds
When there is water, look for greater and lesser flamingos, pelicans, cranes and waders. The numbers depend on the year’s rain; some winters there are thousands near the road, some winters almost none.
Step onto the salt
In the dry season you can walk a little way out on the crust. Go only where it is hard and white. Grey or damp patches are mud underneath, and people do sink in to the knee.
How to get to Road to Heaven
- From Bhuj, drive north towards Khavda (about 70 km), passing the Tropic of Cancer sign and the Bhirandiyara junction, then follow signs east for Dholavira. The Rann crossing begins beyond the last villages and ends on Khadir Bet a short way from Dholavira. Bhuj to Dholavira this way is around 130–140 km and takes about three hours without long stops.
- There is no public bus across the Road to Heaven that we can confirm. You need a hired car with driver, a self-drive car or a motorbike. See getting here for the alternatives.
Practical tips
- Fill the tank in Bhuj or Khavda. There is no fuel, no water and no shade on the crossing, and very little on Khadir Bet.
- This is a border district. Carry photo identity for everyone in the vehicle, expect the occasional checkpoint, and do not fly a drone without permission.
- Mobile coverage is patchy to absent on the crossing. Download offline maps.
- Do not drive off the embankment onto the Rann. Vehicles bog down quickly and recovery is slow and expensive.
- Take every scrap of rubbish away with you. There are no bins and nobody to empty them.
Best tours for Road to Heaven
Bookable tours that include Road to Heaven or the country around it — check each itinerary before you book:
Private multi-day tour from US$843 Ahmedabad: Dholavira & White Desert 3-Day Private Tour
The only tour we found on GetYourGuide that actually goes to Dholavira. It is a private three-day loop by car from Ahmedabad: a jeep safari in the Little Rann of Kutch for wild ass and flamingos, the ruins of Dholavira and an evening on the salt flats next to the island, then the stepwell of Rani ki Vav and the Sun Temple at Modhera on the way back. Two hotel nights with breakfast, the guide and the safari are listed as included; entrance fees and other meals are not. It is a new listing without reviews, and it is a lot of road for three days — but as a single booking that solves the transport problem, nothing else comes close.
- A guided visit to the Harappan city of Dholavira
- Sunset on the white Rann beside Khadir Bet
- Little Rann jeep safari, Rani ki Vav and Modhera on the way
Private multi-day tour from US$481 From Bhuj: 3-Day White Rann of Kutch Desert Tour
The most thorough of the Bhuj-based tours for the Dhordo side of the Rann. It strings together Rogan art at Nirona, the salt desert at sunset and again at sunrise, the bhungas of Dhordo, Khavda’s potters and the view from Kalo Dungar, sleeping two nights at a village resort in Hodka rather than driving back to Bhuj. Rann permit fees are payable directly. It does not include Dholavira — but it ends at Khavda’s doorstep, so ask the operator about adding the Road to Heaven and Dholavira as an extra day.
- Sunrise and sunset on the White Rann
- Nirona, Dhordo, Khavda and Hodka village visits
- Kalo Dungar viewpoint; two nights at a village resort in Hodka
Private package with tent stay from US$722 Rann of Kutch: 2 or 3 Day White Desert & Cultural Experience
An all-in package built around a night in a “premium tent” near the White Rann: pickup, the Swaminarayan Temple and Kutch Museum in Bhuj, sunset on the salt, cultural programme and dinner, then sunrise and Kalo Dungar before the drive back. Having meals included is a real convenience out here. As a new listing without reviews, confirm exactly which camp is used on your dates.
- White Rann sunset and sunrise points
- Kalo Dungar, Bhuj’s Swaminarayan Temple and Kutch Museum
- Premium tent, all meals and a camel-cart ride listed as included
