The Rann of Kutch is located northwest of
Gujarat, in the
Thar Desert. This place is famous for the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary. Once below sea level, this area was raised by earth movements which cut it off from the Gulf of Kutch, and was broken up by later earth movements into the flat saline areas and higher grounds with sandy, salt-free soil. Located at 2 to 3 m above sea level, the total area of the place is about 495,370 hectares.
Kachchi,
Gujarati,
Hindi and English are spoken here.
October to June is the best time to visit this place. The average temperature in May, the hottest month, is around 31°C. In the coldest month January, the average temperature falls to 11°C. The monsoon months July - September see the region flooded by about 2 feet of water.
There are no large trees and the area is full of dry thorny scrubs. Indian Wild Ass which is one of the three surviving species of the Wild Ass in the world, chinkara, desert fox, jackal, desert cat, caracal, nilgai, wolf, blackbuck, and
striped hyena are seen at the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary. Many species of grass are grown in this place, and this is the main source of food for the wild Ass. Zinjuwada and Zainabad are the nearest important places.
