“The horizon is just an imaginary line that separates the earth from the sky. But in Kutch, that line disappears.”
They call it the “Road to Heaven”, and the moment your tires hit this stretch of asphalt leading to Dholavira, you understand why.
This isn’t just a road; it is a ribbon of black cutting through an infinite canvas of white and blue. Driving here feels less like travel and more like lucid dreaming.
A Landscape Like No Other
The geography of the Great Rann of Kutch is a geological marvel. It is a vast salt marsh that spends months submerged in water, only to dry up into a blindingly white desert of salt crystals.
The road to Dholavira (on Khadir Bet island) slices right through this vastness. On both sides, as seen in the picture above, the water mirrors the sky so perfectly that you lose your sense of orientation. You are suspended in a blue void, with nothing but the road to anchor you to reality. It is a topography that forces you to whisper, even when you are alone.
The Art of Sitting Still
I sat down in the middle of the road—as you can see in the frame—simply because the silence demanded it.
In our city lives, we are surrounded by noise, deadlines, and cluttered horizons. But here? There is nothing. No trees, no buildings, no visual noise. Just the raw, naked elements of nature. Sitting there, watching the golden hour dissolve into twilight, I felt a rare kind of insignificance. The kind that is comforting, not scary.
Dholavira: The Time Capsule
The road eventually leads to the ancient Harappan city of Dholavira, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It adds a layer of mystical history to the journey. You are driving through a prehistoric sea to reach a 4,500-year-old civilization. It is literally a journey through time.
To the traveler seeking this view: This is a once-in-a-lifetime drive. The “Road to Heaven” (officially the road from Ropar to Dholavira) is best experienced at sunrise or sunset. The light plays tricks on the water and salt, turning the world into a pastel painting.
Come here not to find a destination, but to lose yourself in the emptiness. Because sometimes, the road to heaven isn’t a metaphor—it’s a coordinate on a map in Gujarat.