Little Rann Travel Guide: Wild Ass Sanctuary, Birds and the Salt Desert

The Rann of Kachchh has two parts, the Great Rann and the Little Rann, according to the Gujarat Forest Department. The Little Rann's Wild Ass Sanctuary, headquartered at Dhrangadhra in Surendranagar district, is the part visitors come for. Gujarat Tourism places it about 200 km from the Great Rann, so the two are separate trips.

The Indian wild ass

The sanctuary's star is the Indian wild ass, Equus hemionus khur, which Gujarat Tourism describes as chestnut-coloured and the Forest Department calls a flagship species of the landscape. The department says the species is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, that the IUCN lists it as endangered, and that it can gallop at 70 to 80 km an hour and withstand temperatures from 1°C to 50°C. Wild asses are easily spotted in big groups in the open desert, it adds.

Birds of the Rann

Gujarat Tourism names greater flamingos, Eurasian wigeon, common teal and demoiselle cranes among the sanctuary's winter birds, and gives November to February as the best months. The Forest Department adds houbara bustards, Dalmatian pelicans, lesser flamingos, Sarus cranes, harriers, falcons and spoonbills, and notes that the area lies on a migratory route into the subcontinent. The department says the monsoon's shallow fresh water is a feeding ground for prawns, fish and several birds.

Other wildlife

Besides the wild ass the sanctuary has nilgai (blue bull), the most numerous other animal in the Forest Department's 2020 count, chinkara, wild boar, jackals, foxes, hyenas and desert cats. The department also lists the caracal, the desert fox and the black cobra among its rarer residents. Wolves have fallen sharply in number, and the 2020 survey counted only one, so a sighting is not something to plan around.

The beyts and Mardak Bet

Within the Rann, raised islands of higher ground are called beyts. The Forest Department says they matter ecologically, because when the Rann is under water for two to three months in the monsoon they become the breeding ground of the wild ass and a shelter for migratory birds. It lists Mardak Bet, an island with wood fossils, colourful stones, natural saline springs and fresh-water wells, among the sights near the sanctuary; ask your guide whether a visit is possible.

Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary

Gujarat Tourism lists the Wild Ass Sanctuary among Nalsarovar's nearby attractions. Nalsarovar lies about an hour's drive from Ahmedabad. Gujarat Tourism says it covers 120.82 sq km, holds more than 250 species including pelicans and flamingos, became a Ramsar site in 2012 and is best from November to February. It is listed as open from 6 am to 6 pm.

The Great Rann and Bhuj

Bhuj is 196 km from the sanctuary, and it is the base for the white salt flat at Dhordo, the Kalo Dungar hill and the craft villages; our Rann of Kutch travel guide covers them. The winter festival at Dhordo, Rann Utsav, is held in Kutch, not in the Little Rann, and the White Rann there needs a permit.

Gujarat Tourism lists the Wild Ass Sanctuary as open from dawn to dusk from 16 October to 15 June, and gives November to February as the best months, when migratory birds fill the sanctuary. The Forest Department says the best time is after the monsoon and in winter. In the monsoon, it says, the whole sanctuary fills with shallow fresh water and the Rann stays inundated for two to three months, which fits a visiting season that starts only in mid-October.

IMD's Ahmedabad figures, the nearest big station, give November to February daytime highs of 28°C to 33°C and nights of 12°C to 17°C. By May the daytime mean is 42°C. The Forest Department notes that the area has the highest annual evaporation rate in the country, with scarce drinking water for animals.