Our trip to Rann of Kutch didn’t end at Rann Utsav, in fact it was only the beginning. We travelled from White Desert to Narayan Sarovar through Hajipir Dargah and Lakhpat Fort.

Finally reached Narayan Sarovar

After visiting Hajipir Dargah and having our lunch on Lakhpat Fort, we continued our ride to Narayan Sarovar. All of us were extremely excited because our stay at Narayan Sarovar was like no other.

Narayan Sarovar is considered to be one of the five most holy lakes including Mansarovar in Tibet, Pampa in Karnataka, Bhuvaneshwar in Orissa, and Pushkar in Rajasthan. The best time to visit Narayan Sarovar is in the winters from October to February.

The entrance or gateway to Narayan Sarovar is gorgeous. An arched entrance and single lane with serene water on both sides and the setting sun shining on the water. We couldn’t stop ourselves from stopping here for a moment to take it all in. If this was just the entrance, what is Koteshwar going to look like?

Detour to Mata-Na-Madh

You can also take 15-20 minutes longer route, and visit Mata-na-madh. Mata-na-Madh is known for an ancient Ashapura Mata temple, the mother goddess of Jadeja Rajputs. We couldn’t take this halt as we didn’t want to miss the sunset from Koteshwar.

Koteshwar Temple – Temple of a million Gods

Koteshwar or Kotilingeshwar is an ancient Lord Shiva temple is literally located at Land’s End in Lakhpat, Gujarat. It is another 1-2 kilometers away from Narayan Sarovar.

Koteshwar temple used to be in the middle of the sea and not connected to the land. But you can now you can walk to it on a well-developed road. You can see the temple, walk along the beach, and spend some time on the promenade until the sunsets.

This area is under extreme surveillance by the army and BSF team. The temple is closed after the evening pooja and everyone is asked to leave after it gets dark. The sight of calm seas and cool sunset made us forget our scorching ride.

The feeling of watching the land end and meet the sea. Knowing just a few kilometers away is a land that used to be a part of India. All of this just makes you dive deeper into the history and relive the past.

We had some Maggie and chai at the stalls near the temple. The stall-keeper said it’s closing time, and all the shops will also close in some time and open again at dawn.

Staying in Dharamshala

We reached in the evening at around 6 pm to Narayan Sarovar, enjoyed a peaceful sunset, and checked-into our rooms by 8 pm. Time flew at the beach.

This was another experience in itself because we stayed in a Dharamshala or a community center. The rooms were only 250 rupees per night. They were clean and enough for one night stay.

After resting in our rooms for a few minutes, we left for early dinner. We went to a place that serves free food. The food was tasty and fresh. This was a completely nomadic experience, that everyone should experience at least once in their life.

You need to realise the importance of small things, that may be small for you but a big deal for others. The rooms that sound only 250 rupees for us, is a big amount for some devotee who is visiting Koteshwar temple for pilgrimage and has only 500 rupees for the whole journey.

The plan was to leave early the next morning, so we would reach Mandwi beach on time and start setting up for another adventure. This was the last major destination and the biggest cherry on the cake.