Bhuj

Understand

thumb|350px|View of Bhuj

Bhuj is a historical city. It has a long history of kings and empires. It was named for a big snake, Bhujang, that lived on a hill that was later named Bhujiyo Hill. Bhuj has a population of approx 200,000. It serves as a stopover to explore the remote areas of Kutch. Bhuj can also serve as base for day trips to Dhordo (white Rann of Kutch with luxurious tents to spend nights), Khavda, Kala Dungar, Mandvi (sea beach with wind farm), Kera (very ancient ruins of lord Vishnu and Shiva temple), Mata No Madh (goddess Aai Ashapura temple), Narayan Sarovar, Koteshwar (ancient Hindu lord Shiva temple on the shore of the Arabian Sea), and Haji Pir (tomb).

Get around

Circulation is possible via auto-rickshaw (tuk-tuk) and guides with vehicles. Bargaining is a must as they will quote high if they see you are a first timer. If you have time you can also hire a bicycle and roam around the city.

There is a city bus service operating from GSTRC Bus Port.

Buy

Bhuj is mostly famous for its handicrafts. You can get variety of clothes and other things having this kind of art work. And don't forget to buy sweets. Try Khavada, which has branches at many places in Bhuj.

Rogan Painting: Post. Madhapar, 3 km from Bhuj. "Rogan Art (Ashish Kansara) Kutch"

Eat

Most places are vegetarian. You can find non-veg food in big hotels or in the outskirts of city. There are many good restaurants like Neelam, KBN, Anando, Green Rock, jiya, sankalp etc. You can also find local stalls for many Gujarati, Chinese, and South Indian spices on the roads, especially on a hospital road. Some of them well known for their delicious taste are Joshi stall, Khavda stall, and Maharaj stall.

The local dish called Double Roti (also known as Dabeli) is famous, and is very easy to prepare. You can carry its 'masala' to prepare back to your home.

Drink

Being a dry state, consumption of alcohol is generally illegal, unless it is accompanied by an appropriate permit. If you want to have alcoholic beverages, you will need to get a permit from competent authority to carry liquor. Better you enjoy local drinks. You can have butter milk made from curd. you can also enjoy locally available milk. On the outward main road parallel to the Shroff market and very close to the bus station is Bharat juice center which serves milkshakes, fresh juices and ice creams.

Sleep

Hotels and Guest houses of different budget are available within the walled-city near places and the lake as well as in the outskirts.

Go next

Bhuj being one of the very few main towns of Kutch region serves as a central access to most of the remote regions of Kutch. Some of the places worth a visit as a tourist like Khavda, Dhordo (famous for its white desert and luxurious stay in a well maintained tents to spend nights in picturesque full-moon. Kalo Dungar is a Magnetic Hill with a picturesque view of the horizon. Downsouth is the shipping port town Mandvi which house a beautiful palace known as Vijay Vilas palace and a calm beach along the wind-farm.

Mandvi Dholavira