[abhikb]

Trip Summary:

- Route: Ahmedabad-Barmer-Jaisalmer-Sam Sand Dunes-Munabao-Ahmedabad
- Start date & Time: 8/11/2018 08:30 Hrs.
- End date & Time: 10/11/2018 01:30 Hrs.
- Vehicle: Honda BRV (I-DTEC), 4 Months old & 6000 kms driven.
- Travellers: Myself, Wife & Friend.
- Distance Covered: 1340 Kms in 41 Hours.



If I have to describe the experience of this Road trip in one sentence then it would be "An Unplanned Trip enables you to delve into limitless possibilities of exploration & experiences".

It was Diwali and as usual we get 3 days holiday in Gujarat during this time. On the evening of Diwali we decided to go on a road trip for 2 days in Rajasthan to make the best use of the mini Vacation. After checking on all the possibilities we decided to Visit Munabao (India's Last Railway Station) with a stop over at Barmer. However, on reaching Barmer we decided to take a detour to Sam Sand dunes (Jaisalmer) and return to Ahmedabad via Munabao the next day.

I called up my Friend (Mohit Asrani) at 11:30 in the night whom I have known for 12 years & explained the intent for doing a frantic road trip in 2 days. After few moments of discussing the plan was set and we decided to leave the next morning at 8:30 AM.



We followed the above route. On this trip we were able to cover Sam Sand dunes in Jaisalmer, Munabao & the landscapes on Jaisalmer-Munabao highway via Khuri which is maintained by BRO (Border Road Organisation).

Sam Sand dunes is approximately 40 kms from Jaisalmer city where you will get ample of options for stay in Swiss Tents who offer package wise options which covers stay, food & safari. While visiting Jaisalmer it is must to stay there and experience the Desert Safari (Sunrise or Sunset time) & their traditional cultural shows.

Munabao called as India's Last Railway Station is not very much popular till date. It is located on the Indo-Pak border in Barmer district of Rajasthan. A train named Thar Express runs every week from Munabao to Khokrapar (Pakistan). As per details available on Google this service was started by both countries in the year 2006.The railway station is located 2.5 kms before the border. You don't require any prior permission to visit the station however, civilians are not allowed to visit the premises beyond the railway station.

After completion of Spiti valley road trip in the month of May-2018 (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ahmedabad.html (A Road Trip to Spiti Valley from Ahmedabad)), we replaced the Jolly old Xylo with BRV as the former had already done 2.5 Lakh kms. However, didn't drive the BRV for long trip till the time it completed 5000 Kms (self perception). This road trip was the perfect opportunity to test the BRV on a long trip.

Day-1: (580 Kms, 10 Hours)
Ahmedabad to Sam Sand dunes via Barmer.

As decided we started our trip at 8:30 AM from Ahmedabad. Our initial plan was to stay in Barmer, and make a to & fro trip to Munabao and then return to Ahmedabad. The roads were completely tarred all the way where you can easily cruise at 80-100 KMPH without any problem. It took us around 8 hours as we reached Barmer at 4:30 PM. While we were about to reach there, my wife asked how long it should take to reach Jaisalmer to which I replied another 2 Hours. Then the next thing we discussed was why can't we stay in Jaisalmer at night. This less than a minute conversation was convincing enough for us to take a detour to Jaisalmer.

We had stopped at the Main circle from where you need to enter Barmer city else take right to Jaisalmer. I called up few resort owners in Jaisalmer and one of them agreed to provide 2 Swiss tents in Sam Sand dunes. The booking was confirmed and boom we turned the car towards Jaisalmer. In a span of 10 minutes the above sequence of events took place.


(Barmer- Jaisalmer Highway)

We had booked our stay with Heritage Juma Resort camp which is located 42 kms from Jaisalmer city. It is a nicely set resort with approximately 40 Swiss tents which were modern designed with attached washroom and you get continuous hot water supply. The distance to be covered was 192 kms which took us around 2.5 hours from Barmer. At 4:40 PM we started our journey towards Sam and by 7:30 PM we checked into the resort.

Our package included 1 night stay in swiss tent, Rajasthani cultural & folk show, a camel safari in the desert, evening tea with snacks, dinner, morning tea & breakfast. From the resort we booked desert safari for next day. We had specifically told them to pick us up from resort at 5:45 AM so that we can reach the middle of the desert well in advance of the sunrise.


(Barmer-Jaisalmer Highway at night)

The road from Barmer to Jaisalmer is complete drivers paradise (NH68). Alongside you can see huge wind farms, desert landscape and continuous movement of Army convoys. The road is of strategic importance to the forces due to which the quality of the same remains unmatched. We could barely cover 50-55 Kms in a hour till Barmer, but from Barmer, we completed further stretch of 192 Kms in 2.5 hours.

We checked into our tents got freshened up and went for the Rajasthani Cultural & Folk show which was organised in the premises itself. We were served with Coffee & Pakodas while witnessing the alluring performance of the troop showcasing the grandeur of Rajasthan & its culture. The weather was cold & pleasurable and got further chilly as the night progressed. Performances of the artists performing the show had full of energy. To name a few they displayed ghumar dance, skills with fire stick, traditional dance where the girls dance with pots on their heads standing on one or the other obstacles. For dinner we were served with Local delicacies. Once done with the dinner we sat for a while outside the tents as something unexpected came to our notice - The Night Sky. All the stars were clearly visible as if they were glittering with all the light they could and the pitch dark environment makes them glitter like diamonds.

The view of sky at night is not to be missed after 11 PM and you can prepare a good time lapse video if you have the right equipment. Nevertheless just gazing at the stars is good enough as this is something which is not quite possible in urban life.

Day-2:
Sam Sand dunes-Munabao-Ahmedabad (700 kms/16 hours)

After a good six hours sleep, we woke up at 5 AM and got ourselves ready for the desert safari. We were served hot coffee in the morning which provided much needed relief from the cold. The driver (Pathan) a young lad in his early twenties came to pick us up in his Mahindra Thar (The car that we desire to own someday) which was open from the top, we sat & left for the desert safari at 5:45 AM .

We had 1 hours time till sunrise hence, asked Pathan for some off roading in the desert dunes. The off roading experience was thrilling as the car climbed and descended from one dune to another in quick successions. The vehicle was open top which added to the thrill & adventure of the activity. After a thrilling 1 hour in the dunes, we were taken to the sunrise point. We were offered some refreshments and then had brief photography session of the desert and the rising sun.

The incessant light of the rising sun as it falls on the desert sand makes the desert glow in golden light making it a sight not to miss. We took several photographs of the view and had a playful session in the sands of the Great Indian Thar desert. After a while,we did the camel ride in the desert. Me & my wife sat on 1 camel while my friend sat on the other one. I must admit one thing that you need to hold on to your nerves when the camel stands and sits.


(Just before sunrise in the sand dunes)


(Sunrise at the dunes)




(Camel ride)







The person taking us for the camel ride asked if we wanted experience camel race, we thought for a while and decided to give it a miss. This was done primarily for 2 reasons: 1) Not to bother the poor animal. 2) Save time so that we can have one more session of off-roading with the Thar in Thar desert.()

As decided we asked our driver Pathan for another session of off roading before he drops us back to the resort. Earlier the off-roading was done before sunrise this time we knew it was going to be more exciting as we would be experiencing off roading in daylight. Pathan excitedly took us to the dunes for another session & this time the experience was more thrilling & electrifying.


(After completing the desert safari)

We were dropped at the resort where we had our breakfast and got ready for the day's trip. We checked out from the resort & started our journey towards Munabao at 9:30 AM. We had decided to use the Khuri-Phuliya route as its more scenic and runs along the border. On enquiring, Locals suggested us to go via Jaisalmer- Gadra route and avoid Khuri-Phuliya route. But since, we had already sensed the adventure that we were about to experience on our pre-decided route, we set up for our journey towards Munabao.

The distance to Munabao was approx. 170 Kms from Sam dunes and took us around 4.5 hours to cover. The road from Sam village to Munabao is maintained by BRO (Border Road Organisation) and is mostly deserted with less vehicle movement. Driving on that road gives you a similar views of Nevada desert when driving to Las vegas. (As seen in Photos & just a self perception).

From Sam village, Khuri is located at a distance of approximately 50 kms which is the most treacherous part of the journey. At many places you will find desert sand rolled over the roads due to sand storm making it difficult to drive and even there is a chance that your car might get stuck. In order to avoid getting stuck its best to follow the tire marks for vehicles that have passed from there. However, the middle section of the tire tracks is the spot where the sand gets accumulated making it difficult for the car to move.We encountered this problem at 3 places where we managed to get through 2 spots and got stuck at the 3rd one.

The BRV despite having a Ground clearance of 210 mm couldn't get through the thick sand on the road due to shorter wheel base. To be honest i have driven in many different terrains such as high mountain passes, snow, slush etc. but driving on desert was a 1st time experience. We tried our level best but the more we tried the worst it got. We waited for a while to get help from local vehicles while trying figure out an alternate to get out of the mess.

A Bolero pick up was coming from the opposite direction which proved as a respite for us. We requested the driver to help in pulling out our car from the sand to which he readily agreed. They tied the rope to the rear portion of our car but couldn't pull it out. The bolero again turned and made its move towards the front portion of the car. We tied the rope and then car was successfully pulled out from the desert. The way Bolero was moving around in the sand despite not being a 4 X 4 vehicle, continuously reminded me of our Xylo as it managed to move out of rock terrains and slush during our trip to Spiti Valley. I realized that day, Mahindra vehicles are rugged enough to manage on any surface & terrains. (A personal opinion being an Ex- Mahindra owner).

Thanked the driver of the Bolero & then we started with our journey towards Munabao. This time we were more careful and alert whenever we saw sand covering the road. Once, we crossed Khuri the views and landscape became more beautiful and you would not find any signs of human habitation apart couple of huts. At many points you can see that the road seems endless and is visible the till the point your eyes can see. But nevertheless its quite comfortable to drive at 60kmph+ continuously since there is minimal vehicular movement on this route. My wife and friend both photography fanatics were constantly busy clicking pictures and shooting videos of the natural beauty that we were witnessing.

We had kept sufficient water for drinking and to feed the car in case the radiator fails. Also we were carrying sufficient food packets as we knew we wont get anything to eat till evening. Enroute we saw a desert national park which houses fossils from ancient times. We decided to skip since we had lost significant time owing to our car getting stuck in sand.





(Stuck in the sand and getting pulled out by Bolero)











(Glimpse of the beauty witnessed enroute)








At around 2:30 PM we reached to a point where the road ends and you need to turn right towards Munabao which is hardly 5 minutes from there. At the checkpost our ID cards were checked and registration was done by BSF personnels. The border was 2.5 kms from the railway station. We got to know that you can visit the Railway station but for visiting the BSF camp you need to get prior permission. However, the stars were in our favor as we requested a Senior BSF official who allowed us to visit the BSF camp at border.

We were taken to a viewing tower near the border from where we could see the border as well as Pakistan rangers camp & railway station on the other side. The Indian forces have fenced the entire region and is illuminated at night, an assuring sign that the borders are safe from any kind of infiltration. There is hardly any difference in the landscape yet the area is divided into two countries by a line.

We were not allowed to click photos or make videos at the border since, it is prohibited and can compromise national security as people tend to upload everything on social media these days. As responsible citizens we didn't argue with the BSF officials and obliged to the rules. However, getting a chance to see the border was enough & satisfying for us.

After this we returned to see the station which wore a deserted look as there were no train movement that day. But the premises is neatly maintained and free from filthiness. The train coming from Pakistan arrives at Platform No. 2 from where the passengers need to go through a immigration process and then reach to Platform No. 1 where they can catch the train towards Barmer or Bhagat Ki Kothi. (Vice Versa while travelling to Pakistan). The train comes every Saturday at 12:30 PM from Pakistan & goes back at 2:30 PM. This service immensely helps people from both countries visit their near and dear separated due to partition.We were allowed to visit Platform No. 1 while Platform No. 2 is cordoned and fenced in order to avoid any trespassing.










At 3:30 PM we left the station and started our return journey towards Ahmedabad. It was a good 500 Kms drive which we covered in 10 hours. We took the road towards Barmer which was located 125 kms from Munabao. The road is maintained by BRO till Gadra and is a narrow single lane road. This route runs along the Barmer-Munabao railway track and has got good vehicular movement. On reaching Gadra at 4:00 PM where we spotted a dhabha where we had our lunch.

The onward journey post lunch was continuous driving session apart from couple of breaks for refreshment & dinner.We reached back home at around 1:30 AM in the night after covering being on road since for almost 16 hours. Though we were tired as hell but the sense of fulfillment that we were getting after experiencing this journey got over all the tiredness.

Apart from getting stuck in the sand we didn't encounter any problem with the BRV, this could have been possibly averted with little know-how on ways to drive on loose sand. Few things we learn in life the harsh way but this would certainly remain a learning experience for us.It clocked a mileage of 22.1 KMPL overall throughout the trip. The car offered good driving comfort overall and is quite feasible in driving owing to higher ground clearance & better visibility. Next target would be to take the vehicle to the mountains
in North next year.

Conclusion:

It doesn't matter how many number of days you have traveled, the extent to which you travel even if it is in shorter span, it is as good as a week long vacation.

Few random clicks:

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[SJM1214]

Originally Posted by abhikb

Distance Covered: 1340 Kms in 41 Hours.

Wow, that was fast. A mini vacation well utilized. It looks like you completely ignored Jailsamer city. However, Sam Sand dunes are always fun. Thanks for the details of Munabao Railway station. I was not aware of Karachi- Munabao train.

Thanks, once again for the detailed report and amazing photographs. Keep travelling, keep writing.

[varunsangal]

Originally Posted by abhikb

As decided we started our trip at 8:30 AM from Ahmedabad. As per the initial our plan was to stay in Barmer, make a to & fro trip to Munabao and then return to Ahmedabad. The roads were completely tarred all the way where you can easily cruise at 80-100 KMPH without any problem. It took us around 8 hours as we reached Barmer at 4:30 PM.

Great travelogue. It is always fun to visit the desert. However, you sort of skimmed over the details of the Ahmedabad-Barmer stretch.

Can you please elaborate about the road conditions, filling stations, any good restaurants/dhabas along this route, or any other tips? I am planning to do Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Barmer-Jaisalmer soon. Any pointers would be really helpful.

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

Wow, that was fast. A mini vacation well utilized. It looks like you completely ignored Jailsamer city. However, Sam Sand dunes are always fun. Thanks for the details of Munabao Railway station. I was not aware of Karachi- Munabao train.

Thanks, once again for the detailed report and amazing photographs. Keep travelling, keep writing.

Thanks...we tried best to utilize the time we got.

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by varunsangal

Great travelogue. It is always fun to visit the desert. However, you sort of skimmed over the details of the Ahmedabad-Barmer stretch.

Can you please elaborate about the road conditions, filling stations, any good restaurants/dhabas along this route, or any other tips? I am planning to do Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Barmer-Jaisalmer soon. Any pointers would be really helpful.

While going I took the Ahmedabad-Mehsana-Palanpur-Deesa-Dhanera-Sanchore-Barmer route. The roads from Deesa to Sanchore is pathetic and consumes a hell lot of time. Alternatively I came back from a different route which was better and you can use for your trip. Ahmedabad-Mehsana-Unjha-Patan-Shihori-Tharad-Sanchore-Barmer. The roads are good and completely tarred. Fuelling will not be an issue as there are many petrol pumps enroute but pumps in Rajasthan don’t accept card for payment that easily. Hence, better to carry cash. Fooding option will be slightly limited after Patan till Barmer but still manageable as restaurants/dhabas are there every 40-50 kms. In case you crave for non veg food you won’t get any options enroute. Overall the journey would be good and pleasurable subject to going via Patan, Tharad. It took around 8 hours to cover the distance till Barmer.

[varunsangal]

Originally Posted by abhikb

Ahmedabad-Mehsana-Unjha-Patan-Shihori-Tharad-Sanchore-Barmer.

Thanks a ton for the directions.

Patan makes me think of Rani ka Vav. Have you been there by any chance? If yes, what is the usual time taken to visit? Is it worth scheduling it in between the Ahmedabad - Barmer drive both time and value wise?

[ARAY]

Thanks for sharing sucha beautiful and crisp thread.
This brought back very fond memories of our last RJ trip.
Next visit will definitely take the Duster AWD further into the desert if authorities allow. Keep traveling and sharing the experience.

Sharing few pictures of Sam Sand Dunes.

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by varunsangal

Thanks a ton for the directions.

Patan makes me think of Rani ka Vav. Have you been there by any chance? If yes, what is the usual time taken to visit? Is it worth scheduling it in between the Ahmedabad - Barmer drive both time and value wise?

It will require a detour of 1 hour approximately. Had been there long time ago. It is a step well constructed in ancient times. If you admire historical monuments then you can visit the place.

[gajadonga]

Originally Posted by abhikb

While going I took the Ahmedabad-Mehsana-Palanpur-Deesa-Dhanera-Sanchore-Barmer route. The roads from Deesa to Sanchore is pathetic and consumes a hell lot of time. Alternatively I came back from a different route which was better and you can use for your trip. Ahmedabad-Mehsana-Unjha-Patan-Shihori-Tharad-Sanchore-Barmer. The roads are good and completely tarred. Fuelling will not be an issue as there are many petrol pumps enroute but pumps in Rajasthan don’t accept card for payment that easily. Hence, better to carry cash. Fooding option will be slightly limited after Patan till Barmer but still manageable as restaurants/dhabas are there every 40-50 kms. In case you crave for non veg food you won’t get any options enroute. Overall the journey would be good and pleasurable subject to going via Patan, Tharad. It took around 8 hours to cover the distance till Barmer.

I had taken the route via Tharad and Sanchor when I was coming back from Jaisalmer to Nashik via Ahmedabad. We had dinner at Sanchor. From this place to Miyal the roads were bad with potholes. But once into Gujarat the roads were awesome. Ahmedabad ORR was amazing.
Nostalgic.
Thanks for sharing

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by gajadonga

I had taken the route via Tharad and Sanchor when I was coming back from Jaisalmer to Nashik via Ahmedabad. We had dinner at Sanchor. From this place to Miyal the roads were bad with potholes. But once into Gujarat the roads were awesome. Ahmedabad ORR was amazing.
Nostalgic.
Thanks for sharing

We didn’t encounter bad roads on the stretch. Sanchore to Miyal village roads are now completely tarred.

Originally Posted by ARAY

Thanks for sharing sucha beautiful and crisp thread.
This brought back very fond memories of our last RJ trip.
Next visit will definitely take the Duster AWD further into the desert if authorities allow. Keep traveling and sharing the experience.

Sharing few pictures of Sam Sand Dunes.
Attachment 1818768

Attachment 1818769

That’s great...the place is indeed worth visiting.

[udaygk77]

Originally Posted by varunsangal

Thanks a ton for the directions.

Patan makes me think of Rani ka Vav. Have you been there by any chance? If yes, what is the usual time taken to visit? Is it worth scheduling it in between the Ahmedabad - Barmer drive both time and value wise?

@ Abhi :- Nice travelouge. I did try for BP visit in tanot but not successful to get BSF approval as it was saturday and both collector office & North BSF office in jaisalmer are in weekend mood.

@ Varun
I did my Pune to Jaisalmer on 1st & 2nd Nov with over night stop over in Mehsana. On 2nd Nov we started our journey by 7.15AM and reached Modhera sun temple by 8AM spent 1hr in this place. We travelled then to Rani ka vav (1hr drive) reached their by 10AM, spent 30mins and then started our journey from 10.30AM to jaisalmer, reach Tharad by 12.30Noon, 30mins break for lunch , reach Barmer by 3.30PM and Jaisalmer by 5.30PM.

All the Guajarat SH 54/72/130/and short distance on NH 27 are in good condition allowing avg speed of 60

Tharod to sanchor NH 68 ( In Gujarat) and renumbered as NH 15 in rajasthan are in excellent condition. Initial 70kms of this road has lot of truck traffic coming from Gujarat sea ports , i guess after 70kms they take a right deviation to north india and you are on truck free traffic for the next 260kms.

[su1978]

thanks mate. your travelogue reminds me of my Jaisalmer trip last year in December during Christmas holidays. The deserts are truly mesmerizing. Just as your BRV got stuck stuck in sand, our mobilio also got stuck in sand . Luckily to our rescue, it was again a mahindra vehicle. But ours was a Scorpio. I even had a chance to visit the longewala post.

the long and beautiful road leading to longewala post managed by border roads organization


Longewala post




The Guns used during the 1971 war


The Highlights of the war


The Patten tanks were given to Pakistanis by Americans. These were left behind by fleeing pakistanis


The jeep driven by Mathura Das


Parting shot of the 1971 battleground




Folk dancers in the evening at the camp






Dancers on the bed of nails with the matkas on their heads

[abhikb]

Originally Posted by udaygk77

@ Abhi :- Nice travelouge. I did try for BP visit in tanot but not successful to get BSF approval as it was saturday and both collector office & North BSF office in jaisalmer are in weekend mood.



@ Varun

I did my Pune to Jaisalmer on 1st & 2nd Nov with over night stop over in Mehsana. On 2nd Nov we started our journey by 7.15AM and reached Modhera sun temple by 8AM spent 1hr in this place. We travelled then to Rani ka vav (1hr drive) reached their by 10AM, spent 30mins and then started our journey from 10.30AM to jaisalmer, reach Tharad by 12.30Noon, 30mins break for lunch , reach Barmer by 3.30PM and Jaisalmer by 5.30PM.



All the Guajarat SH 54/72/130/and short distance on NH 27 are in good condition allowing avg speed of 60



Tharod to sanchor NH 68 ( In Gujarat) and renumbered as NH 15 in rajasthan are in excellent condition. Initial 70kms of this road has lot of truck traffic coming from Gujarat sea ports , i guess after 70kms they take a right deviation to north india and you are on truck free traffic for the next 260kms.

Thanks for appreciating. I also desired to visit longewala but time didn't permit.

Originally Posted by su1978

thanks mate. your travelogue reminds me of my Jaisalmer trip last year in December during Christmas holidays. The deserts are truly mesmerizing. Just as your BRV got stuck stuck in sand, our mobilio also got stuck in sand . Luckily to our rescue, it was again a mahindra vehicle. But ours was a Scorpio. I even had a chance to visit the longewala post.

Great to interact with people having same mindset. I was willing to visit longewala. But since there was constraint of time decided to skip it this time

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[coolmind]

Hi Abhi,

I could connect every word of your trip with my visit to sam sand dunes about 3 years back. Thanks for the recap.
I have been to jaisalmer on official trip for a visit ro Ramgarh power plant where we supplied our equipment to RVUNL. I was there for about 10 days. So during that trip, I got chance to visit the sand dunes. I have done the camel safari, however could not have night stay. Hope I get a chance again.