[libranof1987]

Creating this thread to discuss route queries / conditions from Pune/Mumbai and down south to Statue of Unity. There are quite a few travelogues on Statue of Unity already so we can focus just on the road conditions.

While planning, we decided to visit Ahmedabad (for the Science City) so the onward journey was going to be Pune - Baroda - Ahmedabad. If you want to do SoU directly, follow the route mentioned below (taken during the return journey).

The Pune - Baroda - Ahmedabad route is simple:

Pune - Mumbai: typically via Thane - Airoli - Ghodbunder (Hotel Fountain)
Mumbai - Baroda: NH48
Baroda - Ahmedabad: NH48 / NE1
Ahmedabad - SoU: you end up having to come to Baroda and then take the the highway towards SoU. While the road is pretty good, you may get stuck at multiple train crossings.



With a 5am start, we reached

Hotel Fountain at 8.15am
Baroda at 3pm (stayed over)
Baroda - A'bad in about 1.5 hours

Toll: ~1300

At Hotel Fountain, they allow vehicles in one direction on both bridges in batches of 15min.

On the return journey, we did SoU - Pune direct. There's quite a few options:

1) via Nashik: avoid as the road is bad
2) via Baroda: best road, but will take 1.5 - 2 hours longer
3) via NH56 / SH 5: Netrang, Mandvi, Bardoli

- I'd suggest going 10km further and joining NH48 at Palsana (just short of Surat) rather than the shortcut Google Maps suggests: via Sarbhon on SH88.

Take option 3.





The roads on NH56 / SH 5 are typically fairly good, except for a few bad patches before Mandvi. It is also a much better drive, than the boring NH48 in this region. You cross a couple of hills and small ghats, so you can enjoy the scenery.

With a 7am start from SoU, we reached:

Manor: 12.30pm
Pune: 5pm

Toll: ~550

[libranof1987]

Points to remember:

1) Book the Express Entry ticket: yes, it is steep. But it is worth every penny. SoU is crazy crowded with thousands of visitors. The express entry ticket has a separate line at the ticket check, security check, and elevators. It can save you anywhere between 30-60min easily on a good day. On a bad day, way more.

2) Travelling in the campus:

a) You can take your own vehicle all the way only at the Shoolpaneshwar temple (the site for the Narmada aarti); everywhere else, you either hire a private e-rickshaw or take the SoU shuttle

b) If you have multiple stops planned during the day (say hotel - Jungle Safari - Narmada dam - Valley of Flowers - SoU - Glow garden), I'd highly recommend hiring the e-rickshaw. Not only do they drop/pick-up right at the gate of each attraction (vs. the parking lot for the buses), they are also available at your beck and call (vs. waiting for the shuttle to cross by).

Makes a BIG difference.

The e-rickshaw is
1k for four hours
2k for the entire day

c) At least plan to stay one night. That way,

Day 1 evening: you can attend the Narmada aarti
Day 2 day: attractions you choose
Day 2 evening: laser show on SoU

You cannot do the laser show and Narmada aarti on the same day, since they're both at 7/7.30pm.

3) Make sure you select the location for the laser show: booking the SoU ticket doesn't automatically get you a spot for the laser show, even though it is free.

Here's what we did:

1) Narmada aarti



2) Dino trail: worth the 15min walk. Interesting to note that Rajasaurus Narmadensis was a prevalent dinosaur species in this region.



3) View of the Narmada dam: an engineering spectacle in itself



4) SoU, and the laser show from the SoU campus



5 and 6) also did the Jungle Safari and Glow Garden

[dmplog]

Hello - I am planning a drive to Statue of Unity in mid-March from Pune. I wanted advice on few aspects:
1. What are the attractions I should not miss? And how much time I should keep for those?
2. Will mid-march be Okay to visit this place? Will it be too hot and humid around that time? Will the dam have enough water for cruise?
3. What are the accommodation recommendations around SoU? Do they have in-campus or need to look outside?
4. We are going to have 2 senior citizens (~70 yrs age). They don't have any mobility restrictions (i.e. they can walk normal terrain all fine). But wont be able to do like 5km+ easily quickly. Are there any battery operated carts for use?
Thanks

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by dmplog

1. What are the attractions I should not miss? And how much time I should keep for those?

There's a LOT of attractions, depends on your interest and enthusiasm.

1) Statue of Unity
2) Laser show at SoU (this is at 7pm) right next to the Statue
3) Jungle Safari: bird and animal zoo, with species from across the world
4) Glow garden: a small garden with different objects lit up (done in the evening)
5) Cactus garden
6) Valley of flowers
7) Narmada aarti (at 7.30pm)

then, there are river cruises, cycle tours, nutrition parks and so on.

Check here: https://statueofunity.in/what-to-visit/

Kids would enjoy the jungle safari and glow garden.

2. Will mid-march be Okay to visit this place? Will it be too hot and humid around that time? Will the dam have enough water for cruise?

It was quite hot during the day even last week. I suspect mid-March will be way more. Also, all the attractions are open to sky. Next, there's a lot of walking involved, within each attraction.

If you're going with senior citizens / kids, they may not enjoy this. One option is that you can split it between two days so you only go out in the morning and evening.

The dam has a running hydro power plant so the water is discharged daily; the river cruises should be running.

3. What are the accommodation recommendations around SoU? Do they have in-campus or need to look outside?

There's a Ramada and Tent City which is on one side of the premises, and a Fern on the other. These will be slightly expensive. There are several hotels coming up in a 5-10km radius.

But wont be able to do like 5km+ easily quickly. Are there any battery operated carts for use?

There is a golf cart at the jungle safari but that's also only after about 200m into the park. And you still have to walk through several enclosures.

At other places, you have to walk. We did see on person on an electric wheelchair/car; but I believe it was her private vehicle.

The SoU campus is VERY spread out, and even though the shuttles run continuously, there is quote some physical exertion.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Creating this thread to discuss route queries / conditions from Pune/Mumbai and down south to Statue of Unity

I wish this was started last year & we would've made full paisa vasool during our year end trip.

Nevertheless, here're our lesson learnt:

1. First of all, SOU is not a place that's intended for a day's visit, one has to certainly stay 2-3 days {will get to this later} to explore completely. And it's MUST to be explored which is more of educational than just entertainment, which in my humble opinion is THE BEST initiative by the govt
2. Accommodations {at the time of writing} is abundantly available from luxurious to budget stay (from Ramada to BRG to OYO) in & around Kevadia; accommodations near to SOU, more expensive, otherwise cheaper but comes with an option of bringing our own vehicle or hiring transportation
3. It's a huge hectares of area (size of a typical Indian town) that's not easily commutable by walk, unlike other tourist places in India; however there're plenty of public & private transports from free to paid services & one HAS to avail transportation to reach between each attraction. There're 3 different modes - own vehicle, private e-autos & govt operated free bus which comes with the caveat of huge organized queue. But then there're plenty of free govt tourism buses plying every 5 minutes or so as well
4. For sure all the attractions from river rafting to cactus garden to Narmada arati to Light show to SOU gallery to Eco Tourism to Cactus garden to Boating to Jungle Safari & ofcourse a visit to the top of tallest statue CANNOT be covered in a single day
5. But yes, just a visit to SOU & to the top can be done in a day or even half a day even if commuted by public/own transport
6. Right from public transport to SOU everything is a notch over Indian standards, be it the availability of water, toilet, transportation & most importantly cleanliness, it's little difficult to believe it's Indian tourism; real commendable job
7. Strongly suggested to visit the place by booking all tickets online & have the SOU official mobile app installed for convenience
8. It's really a tiresome journey {related to point #1} for people with lesser energy due to the vast area, commute between attraction located Kms away apart from each other
9. Except mobile & water nothing can be carried inside SOU campus & there're convenient cloak rooms available; water bottles can be carried & can be filled for free (and yes, despite stating its RO, the water is slightly hard & I'm assuming the TDS has to be somewhere over 100, just to give an idea); but certainly consumable. Again, right from water to food everything can be bought inside various food courts at SOU (another food court at Shreshtha Bharat Bhavan near Ekta Mall)

As our last visit was only for the purpose of learning about the place, this is what we intent to do next time {incase we make it second time}
1. D1 - Reach SOU as early as possible, visit SOU including Express Entry {here Express means, the Express elevator & does not mean immediate entry}. This should perhaps take easily a little over half a day including lunch & SOU viewing gallery. But then it all depends on the length of queue. Rest/Eco Tourism (Vishwa van, Aarogya van, Ekta Nursery, Cactus & Butterfly garden) & Unity Glow garden at night
2. D2 - Narmada Arati, Boating, Rafting, Shoolpaneshwar Temple & other attractions depending upon available time & end the day with Dinner Cruise
3. D3 - If time permits, remaining attractions otherwise return

Above 2 days is what we intent to do, but then, we're unsure because it becomes a very tiring journey; elders, if visiting all attractions, 3 days is MUST. This is to just give an idea on the size of the entire locality.

PS - It was a little hard to believe that the staffs at SOU were govt employees as they behaved unlike the yesteryear govt employees. They were very friendly & were willing to share more than required details & extremely helpful, atleast to us

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by aargee

First of all, SOU is not a place that's intended for a day's visit

Agree. Far too many plan for only a day (mostly, without an overnight stay), and then realize they didn't get the most experience.

They were very friendly & were willing to share more than required details & extremely helpful, atleast to us

Absolutely. When we visited the Narmada dam, a woman guide promptly walked over to us and asked if we'd like her to give info. And she was spectacular; gave us a lot of information regarding the dam, the history surrounding it, and the impact the dam (and hydro electric power plant) has brought about. No payment expected, or even hinted at.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Agree. Far too many plan for only a day (mostly, without an overnight stay), and then realize they didn't get the most experience

And I think it's perhaps because, it's one of the first kind of educational entertainment (and even a pledge) of this large size in our Nation that we're not much used to

Originally Posted by libranof1987

No payment expected, or even hinted at.

Yes; absolutely agreed; we experienced the same at GSRTC bus station, inside SOU, Cactus garden (it was phenomenal that the lady seated asked us if we need to be briefed & she did a fantastic job); unless they explained us the significance of each attraction we would've not appreciated them.

That experience at SOU reminded me of my guided tour experience at Udaipur palace

[NagaBond]

1 - Stay option. If possible stay in one of the Tent cities. It is an experience in itself. The food (included in tent booking) is also very good.
2 - SOU Express Ticket - If you are going during off-season on weekdays, buy normal ticket. We went there in last week of April (peak summer) on a weekday with Express ticket. When we reached in the morning, we were third in the express line with the normal line empty !!
3 - Stay for at least 2 days. Lot of things to explore and it is time consuming as well.

[rakesh_r]

As far as possible, strictly avoid visiting SOU during weekends or public holidays, it gets crowded to the core.
Warning: I don't remember as to where i read or saw, someone's Tata Nexon was broken into by breaking the rear glass at the SOU parking lot. Just make sure to stow your bags or valuables in the car's boot.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by NagaBond

We went there in last week of April (peak summer)

How is it to explore in summer? We might see the attractions apart from the statue possibly this summer. I expect temperatures were in the 40s then

[MayurS]

Originally Posted by narayans80

How is it to explore in summer? We might see the attractions apart from the statue possibly this summer. I expect temperatures were in the 40s then

The best time to visit GJ and SOU would be Dec-Jan till early Feb. Summer in Gujrat is quite hot with temperatures between 40-45

[NagaBond]

Originally Posted by narayans80

How is it to explore in summer? We might see the attractions apart from the statue possibly this summer. I expect temperatures were in the 40s then

We went there during the heat wave in 2022 April (It may have worsened in May/June). One advantage was that it was less crowded in almost all places. But at the same time, we also did not feel like exploring in the afternoons as it was quite hot to walk outside. If you are spending most of the time in A/C car or Hotel and visiting places in morning or in the evenings, then it should not be much of a problem. Stay hydrated and drink Chaas that all hotels serve for free.

[ACMerchant]

Originally Posted by dmplog

Hello - I am planning a drive to Statue of Unity in mid-March from Pune. I wanted advice on few aspects:
1. What are the attractions I should not miss? And how much time I should keep for those?
2. Will mid-march be Okay to visit this place? Will it be too hot and humid around that time? Will the dam have enough water for cruise?
3. What are the accommodation recommendations around SoU? Do they have in-campus or need to look outside?
4. We are going to have 2 senior citizens (~70 yrs age). They don't have any mobility restrictions (i.e. they can walk normal terrain all fine). But wont be able to do like 5km+ easily quickly. Are there any battery operated carts for use?
Thanks

*I have visited SOU twice once in June22 and again in Dec 22. (Since I stay in Gujarat)
*1st time stayed in tent city1 and then Ramada.
*Few points to consider as you will be driving and also have senior citizens.
- Both places(tentcity1 & Ramada) are easily accessible for senior citizens and have parking facility for guests.
- If you opt to go on weekdays line would be minimal but if having doubts then take the express tickets. Plan your Statue trip @ 16.00 hrs as the laser show starts around 18.00 - 18.0 hrs depending upon the season. Laser show will be visible from any part -front/back/side or inside so choose seats towards the rear as when the show is over the exit gate is nearer.
-Lots of walking everywhere so be prepared, for the statue visit the first part till security check is about half to three quarters of a football field. After security check about a full football field lengthwise but there are walkalators and benches if you want to rest. (Have attached two pics)
-Download the SOU app as will need to book tickets (max 6 per cell no) and see the map(The attractions are all in the Map so plan wisely) .Parking is paid at the beginning as cars are not allowed and then travel to attractions is by bus(free) or E-rickshaw(paid).
-For Ekta Nursery/Narmada Arti/Cactus garden & Butterfly park you can take your car.
-Mid March the temp will be ambient @ 25°C - 28°C but do carry caps/water bottles.
-The river cruise is near the SOU and not in the dam - Which you can view from the viewing point near the Valley of Flowers.
-If planning to stay in tent city1 then please inquire before booking if any govt function is to be held - since in my case in June they(we were getting full refund) reallocated our dates as SOU was booked for some Govt seminar.
-Route as you will be driving from Pune there are two options as stated by fellow bhpian libranof1987 in his post #1 but after Ankleshwar you will have to take a right turn to go to Rajpipla and then to SOU. The second one also mentioned by fellow bhpian libranof1987 in his post #1 is Pune-Nasik-Saputara-Mandvi-Netrang-Rajpipla-SOU.
The first option is the usual one via NH 48 which has all the stops(fuel-bio breaks) which I prefer when I visit Pune but Toll is high. The second one is through the forest and hilly areas - scenic and less crowded also tolls are very few compared to the former but would not advice as you have senior ctzns with you.
*I guess have covered nearly all the points.Happy holidays and have a safe trip.

[lifeinpune]

Great Initiative. I had been meaning to create this thread. We recently did SoU as part of our Christmas Vacation. We did a 1 day trip and realized that its not enough. You need 2 full days. If you want to do things at leisure and/or are going with young kids, I would say you would need 3 days.

We went from Ahmedabad by road in a hired vehicle. Had booked a night's stay at Tent City 2. I would highly recommend stay at Tent City. Its an experience in itself. Tent City 1 is closer, has better views and also the more expensive option. Tent City 2 ~8 KMs from the main SoU entry. Food is only available at the set timings.
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Snacks
- Dinner.

Food is transported from elsewhere based on the number of guests. Between the fixed timings, there is NO FOOD AVAILABLE. Please keep this in mind if traveling with kids. We learned this the hard way. Landed at round 6:15 PM with a hungry 5 yr old and had to wait until 7:30 PM when dinner was served. The canteen manager took pity on us and made a few biscuits available and prepared a simple sandwich for our son.

The food spread for Dinner at Tent City was good. They have live counters and live music! It felt like a Wedding! Breakfast was average. Nothing to complain about but the spread was simpler.


Coming to the attractions,

SoU
-----

Base
-----
At the base there is a Museum with a lot of educational content. You can easily spend 30-40 minutes here. Getting to the base from the road is a 10 minutes walk. There is an airport style moving walkway to get in/out! A lot of thought has gone into the design of the place. If you have express entry, the fast track entry starts right before the entrance to the walkway.

Viewing Gallery
-----------------
It is at 152 meters. You take a lift to get here. You don't get a clear panaromic view from the viewing gallery as the statue body structure acts like a busy window grill. So it might be disappointing. You can do it for the been-there-done-that experience. We had booked the express entry and its worth every penny. When the lift comes, you are let in first! No wait! Both while going up and coming down.

[ACMerchant]

Posting a picture taken from the viewing gallery(inside the statue) from the grill.