Introduction
The Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest statue standing at 182 metres, is situated in Ekta Nagar (earlier known as Kevadiya) in Gujarat. Reading the opening line, if you are thinking that this is going to be a boring travel guide written by a bot, then I assure you that it is not. And if you think that the statue is the only attraction then that would be another mistake.
I travelled to Ekta Nagar a few months back in winter with my family (including a fussy kid 😊). We had three full days to spend at the place. As with any other trip with family, I had done my homework beforehand and most of the sources indicated that two days would be enough. Later on, I found out (to my surprise) that there were too many places to cover even in three days. At the end of the trip, it seemed I had left out more places that I had covered.
So, in this blog, I will try to give you a first-hand account of my experience so you can take away some tips that could prove helpful to you.
Logistics
The first thing we did was to book a return flight from Vadodara as the rates were reasonable. There was only one direct train to Ekta Nagar at a very inconvenient time, so we decided to travel to Vadodara and then cover the remaining distance by road. We booked a confirmed ticket in Trivandrum Rajdhani and a waitlisted one in Mumbai Duronto. The Rajdhani journey would have wasted our full day, and it isn’t so convenient to sit for a full day. We were hoping against hope for our waitlisted ticket to get confirmed. It happened on the day of the journey to our relief, so we cancelled our other ticket and had to forego some money.
The next thing was accommodation since it was a busy season, everything was too expensive. The closer we looked to the Statue of Unity, the higher the rates were. But we finally decided to pay a premium and stay closer to Ekta Nagar. If you are travelling with children, then I would suggest you do the same as you would end up spending a lot of money commuting to and fro. The hotel that we booked was “The Scenic Unity” which was around 3 km from the Shreshtha Bharat Bhawan (SBB) parking.
Delhi to Ekta Nagar via Vadodara
You could call this our Day 0. As mentioned earlier, our Duronto ticket was confirmed which left Delhi a little after 10 PM. Even our journey to the railway station was not without drama. We forgot to load a small backpack into our taxi, so spent some anxious moments trying to retrieve it. We found out that Uber can also be used as a courier. While we were on the way to the station, we booked an Uber courier and got the bag directly at the railway station. Amazed at the times we are living in! There was nothing else to report from the train journey as it was already late when the train departed, we just slept off.
As scheduled, we reached Vadodara at half past 10 in the morning. Ekta Nagar is about 80 km from Vadodara, so our next task was to look for a taxi. I strolled outside the station looking for one, there was some construction going on, so it was tough to get an idea of where the taxi stand was. While we were figuring out things, a taxi guy rolled next to us and quoted an amount of ₹ 1,800. The charge seemed reasonable as it was a couple of hundred bucks cheaper than what was quoted on Uber.
Though the roads were in reasonably good shape, it still took us close to a couple of hours to reach our hotel. I felt that our driver was quite slow, still I did not push him to go faster. We checked into our hotel and chilled out for the rest of the afternoon. There is a small pool where the kids enjoyed for a while. Since it was winter when we travelled, we had packed in a lot of woollen clothes. We found out later that it was a big mistake, as the weather was a bit on the warmer side compared to what we experience in Delhi.
Ekta Mall
We were getting a bit bored staying put in our hotel and decided to explore a bit. But the problem was of transportation to reach Ekta Nagar. Although there were autos available outside during the day, it thinned out by evening. So, we requested the hotel desk to arrange for a car which they did after some push from our end. We asked our driver to take us to the local market, although he insisted that there was not much to see. We thought he was discouraging us just to avoid going there but later found out he was indeed right.
After spending some time at the market, we decided to head to the Ekta Mall, the time was a little past 8 PM. Coming from a metropolitan city, the word Mall means an entirely different thing to us. But here the theme was something else. As per the verbatim on the official Statue of Unity website, “It serves as a hub where traditional textiles and handicrafts from diverse regions across India converge, emphasising the essence of national integration and harmony”. So, you can make out that it is a place where different states showcase their unique textiles and handicrafts.
We spent around half an hour exploring the displayed articles at different shops before heading back to our hotel and calling it a day. Again, not before encountering some drama over dinner. When we came back, we realised that the restaurant is very famous with the locals and entailed a waiting of minimum of 30 minutes. We were fortunate to be the guests at the hotel, as we just gave our room number and asked to be notified whenever our number was up. This continued for the rest of our days at the place so thought of mentioning it at least once.
Statue of Unity
This was officially the Day 1 of our trip. We had booked our noon slot online before even reaching this place. We got up at our leisure pace, had breakfast and were ready for the main attraction. What baffled me was the lack of credible information about various things like shuttle services etc. Here I would like to mention that the shuttle services for exploring the whole area are available from the SBB parking area. It is a free shuttle every 10 minutes that covers all the important places in and around Ekta Nagar.
We took the shuttle which dropped us off at the bus station near Statue of Unity. From our drop off point, there is a long walk to get to the entry point. There is canopy for the most part of this walk to shelter from sun. The fussy kid was getting agitated having to walk all the way in the warm weather 😊. There are different types of tickets to visit the Statue of Unity. We had bought a regular ticket to the viewing gallery, which gives access to the chest level of the statue. The lower level, which has the bust and a smaller replica of the statue was fully airconditioned giving some relief from the heat.
There is a high-speed elevator that takes us to the viewing gallery. We decided to skip exploring the lower level and head to the viewing gallery first. There was a short queue and after some time our turn came. It barely takes few seconds from the ground level to the viewing gallery standing at over 150 metres. We enjoyed the views from the gallery of the Narmada River flowing below and the Sardar Sarovar Dam at a distance. We spent some time at the viewing gallery and then headed back down.
Apart from the bust and a small replica of the statue, there is also a theatre area that showcases the life of Sardar Patel. We watched a clip of that and then spent time exploring other things at the ground level. There are some art forms and posters of the local communities giving out information about them. The overall logistics and management are top-notch; there were well-maintained washrooms and easy drinking water availability.
The next thing we did was to go to the foot level of the statue. A series of escalators takes you to the foot level. Once we were at that level, we could then realise the magnitude of the statue, it was huge! We spent some time marvelling at the structure and then proceeded to exit.
Lunch time
It was time for lunch, and we started to look for options. There is a food court within the Statue of Unity premises, but it was overcrowded. We exited the premises and spotted a few dhabas just across the road. Some of them were packed to the brim; fortunately, we found an empty one hidden behind the other dhabas. We ordered simple roti and dal, the taste was just about palatable.
With our stomachs full, nobody was in the mood to go anywhere else. It was around 2 PM, and it had become uncomfortably warm. So, spent more time just sitting under the fan trying to while away the time and the weather to cool down a bit.
Valley of Flowers
Although the majority in our group were not in the mood to go out in the heat, it had to be done. We went to the parking area of the SoU and got the shuttle bus to the Valley of Flowers. From the drop-off point, we had to walk a few hundred metres to get to the entry point.
Since it was winter (supposedly), there were no or very few flowers in bloom in the park. It still was maintained very well and was a joy to walk through the park. The park is not huge, but the heat was getting on to us (especially the kids). I would have liked to explore even more of the park, but it was not possible with kids. Also, the kids were more interested in going to the Maze Garden (rather than a real one). It still was a good enough experience.
Maze Garden
Wilting under protest from the kids, we exited the garden and proceeded towards the next attraction, the Maze Garden. Again, the distance was not much, and we were at the entrance gate. There was a bit of a crowd at the gate because of the absence of the ticket counter. We enquired and found that it was somewhere inside the bus station. As the attraction was nearing its closing time, we booked it online and proceeded to enter.
The first building upon entering is an orientation centre which shows a 10-minute clip about the maze and the science behind it. We entered the maze, the walls constructed by nicely manicured shrubs. The first target is to reach the centre of the maze. It has a globe with a maze imprinted on it and water flowing around like a small fountain. Reaching this centre was a breeze as it hardly took us 5 minutes and we thought that there was no real challenge. We spent some time at this place clicking some pictures and started back. Getting out was the real challenge as we were reaching dead ends everywhere. After struggling for a while, we managed to find the exit and got out.
While I would stop short of calling it an exceptional experience, I would still recommend it for the fun quotient. It took us back to our childhood days, and the kids definitely had fun.
Statue of Unity – The light show
The light show typically starts at around 6.30 to 6.45 PM every day except Mondays and goes on for about 15-20 minutes. The start timings (my guess) depend on the time of the year. The best seats are those which are within the Statue of Unity premises but unfortunately those can only accommodate limited number of people. If you are booking online (like we did), you will get to know if you are one of lucky ones at that time itself.
The unlucky ones (like us) have to sit near the bus drop-off point. There is an area designated just for this with some benches installed but as we found out, those were simply not enough. We simply sat on the road (floor) along with hundreds of other people. Just after it gets dark enough, the show starts. It is the life journey of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel projected on the statue itself. Though it looks great, the experience from outside ruins it all. Buses are running in front and people walking all the time obstructing the views.
I would wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone visiting the place but make sure you book well in advance so that you get the seats inside the premises.
End of Day 1
After finishing up on the light show, we hired an auto that dropped us to our hotel. As mentioned earlier about the waiting times at the restaurant, we booked a slot and requested a callback. We finished our dinner and called it a night.
Jungle Safari
It was the beginning of our Day 2 and the one which the kids were the most excited about. After having our breakfast, we boarded an auto to the SBB parking area and then the free shuttle to the gate of Jungle Safari. It is a zoo but the way it is built gives you the vibe of a jungle safari.
There are multiple zones inside the park, like one for predators, reptiles, birds, etc. There are electric vehicles inside the parks which one can avail to move between the zones. Most of the people were excited around the big cats (who would not be) but the felines do not operate on our payroll. As with any species of cats, they mostly laze around the day and that is what we found along with countless disappointed others. The best zones, according to me, belonged to the birds.
Although I love to see animals and birds, I would still prefer them in the wild rather than in a controlled enclosure. Anyway, the whole purported safari took about 3-4 hours and we got out close to 1.30 PM. We had booked a cruise at around 3.15 PM and still had our lunch to do.
Ekta Cruise
The boarding point of the cruise or the boat ride is behind the Amul Foodland restaurant inside the SBB parking area. We had a good lunch at the restaurant and it being airconditioned also helped to provide much-needed relief from the afternoon heat (this is still winter we are talking about). There are electric carts to ferry passengers from the restaurant to the boarding point (about 200 metres away). We decided to skip the queue and walked downhill to the starting point. We got the first glimpse of the boat, an ordinary-looking one with a lower and upper deck.
Being early in the queue had its perks and we got ourselves window seats in the lower deck. The upper deck was not accessible at the beginning. As the boat started rolling, there was a host who tried to keep things interesting for the guests. There was a short dance performance from local Gujarati folks and at the end of it an open invitation to whoever wanted to join. That was when the upper deck was opened, and we duly headed there. There was also a paid snack counter for anyone interested.
The distance to be covered was not much, but the boat was slow, very very slow. There is a stop at the base of the Statue of Unity for those who want to visit it. Some of them disembarked, but we stayed on for the return journey. There are also speedboats operating, but they cost a lot more. The same boat also has a dinner variant that operates at night (costs extra for the dinner on board). We also managed to spot a crocodile lazing around on the banks. Narmada River has a lot of crocs, and swimming is strictly prohibited. The round trip took about an hour, and we returned to the same point from which we had boarded.
We took the electric cart to reach the parking area and then an auto to reach our hotel. We did not plan anything else for the day as it was closing time for most of the attractions.
End of Day 2
We reached our hotel and still, there was some daylight left. So, we decided to check out the pool area. Although only one person in our group knew how to swim, that didn’t deter others from using the floaters and having fun. It was still winter, and the water was quite cold, as the sun went down it became uncomfortable, and we retreated to our rooms.
Repeated the same thing for our dinner and then called it off.
Arogya Van
It was the start of Day 3, and probably the final day exploring Ekta Nagar. It was a cloudy morning and there was a slight nip in the air, we didn’t mind this pleasant start at all. The first order of the day was to visit Arogya Van which is very close to the SBB parking area. We took an auto to the SBB and then the shuttle to Arogya Van.
Although this place was not there in our initial plans, thankfully we did not skip it. Arogya Van is a beautifully landscaped area that was mainly meant to house medicinal and herbal plants, but we found out that it had other varieties like indoor plants as well. As soon as we entered, it felt like we were teleported to a different dimension. There was virtually no one inside the place which was a bonus. We were tired of being in the midst of too much noise that this felt like heaven and the weather helped the cause.
There is an option of a guided tour in an electric cart if you want to get into minute details. But we just decided to explore the place on foot. There is a fountain and some water bodies with live fish which kept the kids interested. We also visited a restaurant inside the park and had some local delicacy Thepla, made by local folks. There is also a souvenir shop with items made by local artisans if you are interested. All in all, we had a great time inside the park, and I would say that this place is not to be missed.
Miyawaki Forest
The next place to visit was the Miyawaki forest which is around 700 metres from Arogya Van. We had initially thought of walking over, but we got the shuttle as we exited Arogya Van. This is again a nature lover delight, though the area is smaller than Arogya Van.
The Miyawaki method is a technique of planting native trees in dense clusters to create forests quickly. It was developed by a Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki in the 1970s. It is an afforestation technique that provides quicker results.
There is an orientation centre that shows a short video of the adverse effects of deforestation and how the Miywaki technique can make a difference. After that begins a walk along a well-defined path with trees doting both the sides cultivated using the technique. It was a good nature walk amongst the greens, something we people dwelling in cities get very little of.
Rapid economic growth may be good, but we seriously need to consider the cost of such growth. It always pains me to see the trees being felled or mountains being cut in the name of growth. And when nature strikes back to reclaim, there is no point in crying over it. Anyway, I can continue my rant on this topic but maybe in some other blog, I will leave it at this.
Children Nutrition Park
This attraction is just on the main road intersection near the SBB parking, so we took the shuttle and came back. There is a food court as well adjacent to this place.
Children Nutrition Park is a fun theme park designed to promote healthy choices among children. Visitors can expect to learn more about healthy eating habits and the nutritional values of different types of food. There is a toy train which is called “Nutri Train” and this train takes you around the park. Inside the park, there are four operational stations, each of which depicts a theme, ranging from the importance of milk, fruits, nuts, etc. There are short videos played inside each station, and some fun games that the kids can play and learn. There were a few stations related to games that were closed pending fire clearances.
The highlight of the park was the train ride and the fun games, and the kids had a great time experiencing them. Although the place is supposed to be for children, the adults in our group also had a decently good time.
Pets Zone
Before going to the Pets Zone, we had lunch in the food court next to the Nutrition Park. There was too much rush, and we had to wait a lot before we could catch any glimpse of food. Anyway, we caught a shuttle and got off at Jungle Safari. Pets Zone is just opposite to it. We were unable to book tickets online and there is no counter at the site. One has to cross the road and get the ticket from Jungle Safari counter.
Expectation vs. Reality: The idea of the Pets Zone in our mind before entering was that there would be some friendly pets like rabbits, goats etc. and the kids could pet/feed them under supervision. The reality was something different. Yes, there were pets housed inside but the enclosures were not maintained and there was a lack of hygiene. I was not confident enough to let my kid anywhere near the animals and catch some infection, so it was a quick exit.
There were a lot of rabbits, ducks, goats, alpacas, parrots and even a couple of cats. There were no staff to guide people around and overall, it did not feel good. I do not like to criticise anything without knowing much about it but certainly, there is a scope for improvement here.
Narmada Aarti
We left the underwhelming Pets Zone at around 4:30 PM and started wondering what to do next. The next stop was the Narmada Ghat to view the evening aarti, but we did not know how to fill the remaining time. We finally decided to spend the time just sitting around in the ghat. Till now we were on the left bank of Narmada and the aarti happens on the right bank. The free bus shuttle from the Statue of Unity that takes us to the location only starts right after the light show i.e. around 7 PM. We decided to take an auto and crossed the bridge to the right bank.
The auto left us at the entrance of a beautiful temple called Shoolpaneshwar Mahadev Temple. As the name suggests, Lord Shiva is the presiding deity here. There was not much of a crowd, so we had a leisurely darshan at the temple. Nowadays, it is a rare sight to see less crowd anywhere, so this was a welcome change.
There is a walkway leading down from the temple to the ghat. We reached the ghat and the time was close to 6 PM. It was not even close to being dark, so we knew the wait had to be long. Though the wait was long, we did not feel bored sitting there. After a hectic trip visiting so many places, it felt nice just sitting and doing nothing and no better place than the ghats of the holy river.
The aarti started close to 7:30 PM and lasted for around 15-20 minutes. I had been to Varanasi and seen Ganga aarti there, so I was kind of aware of what to expect. This was not at the scale and grandeur that one witnesses at Varanasi, but it was spiritually invigorating nonetheless. There is an amazing light and sound show after the aarti concludes. It was very well executed and was an ode to Lord Shiva. You can head over to my YouTube channel to watch the video (access from the homepage).
The return was a bit chaotic as everyone who came, exited at the same time and the transport arrangements were not up to the mark. We found most of the minibuses full and had to haggle with an auto to drop us to the SBB parking area.
Unity Glow Garden
This was our final business of the day, but we were in two minds if we should go for it or not. The time was almost 9 PM when we reached the SBB parking area. After many deliberations, we decided to make a dash for it. We boarded the shuttle and were surprised to find it packed; we could not get a seat. Anyway, the ride was only for 10 minutes, and we reached the entrance of the Unity Glow Garden. In the darkness of the night, the place was magical with all the sculptures coming to life. I will let some pictures do the talking here. In the end, it was worth the time and effort that we put into it.
As the kids were getting restless and hungry, we decided to leave. We would have hardly spent 15-20 minutes at the place, but we were happy (kids included) that we did not miss this experience.
We caught the shuttle and an auto to get back to our hotel. As usual, ran into heavy footfall at the restaurant and waiting times before we could eat our dinner and call it a night.
Start of the final day
It was time to bid goodbye to Ekta Nagar. We got up leisurely and after having our breakfast started packing our bags. At the reception area, there were some portraits of some prominent places in and around Ekta Nagar. One place that caught our attention was Nilkanth Dham around 35 km away. We had booked a return flight from Vadodara and that was around 6 PM, so we had a lot of time on our hands.
We had spoken to the same taxi guy who dropped us at the hotel for the return journey to the airport. While calling him up and enquiring about the Nilkanth Dham, he seemed evasive and was not enthusiastic. When he reached our hotel, he mentioned that the route was very bad and not many people ventured there. We persisted and then he finally relented for some extra bucks. The route from our hotel to the Nilkanth Dham was not too bad barring some rough patchwork on the road.
Nilkanth Dham, Poicha
The reason we decided to go to this temple was the architecture looked fascinating in the picture. And when we reached the place, it did not disappoint. I was under the impression that the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva but upon entering found that it is dedicated to Swaminarayan. The temple complex is huge and immaculately maintained. At the back of the temple, the holy river Narmada flows giving it a pretty setting. There are idols of various gods and goddesses inside the complex. Some of them that I could recollect were of Radha Krishna, Lakshminarayan, Bal Ghanshyam in a cradle, Lord Hanuman and Lord Shiva and Ganpati.
It was probably the hottest day of our trip, and it did not help our cause. We were getting restless and the kids even more. So, we quickly covered all the temples inside the premises and decided to head out. There is a big enough food court, which is an area that has stalls for different kinds of cuisines. But with the heat, we decided to indulge ourselves in ice cream and it made the kids happy as well.
Back to Vadodara and End of our trip
After spending about an hour or so, we started our journey back to Vadodara. On our way, we faced the “I told you so” moment. A stretch of about 20 kilometres was in very poor condition and we had to hear from the driver all about it during this phase. Yes, it was bad, but have we not encountered such roads somewhere or the other? We did not mind this over what we experienced at the Dham, so it was all good at the end.
We were dropped off at the airport at around 3:30 PM and spent the remaining time just lazing around. Vadodara airport is not a big one, there are very few stalls to pass the time, so we spent most of the time eating something. The time for our boarding came and we headed back to a freezing Delhi. After spending close to 5 days in a hotter environment, the freezing weather felt good for a change.
Final thoughts
There is not enough reading material on how to plan a comprehensive trip to the Statue of Unity, so you can consider this an attempt from my side. Believe me, there is so much more to see in Ekta Nagar than just the Statue of Unity itself. While planning, we wondered if three days was excessive for the place, but in the end, we missed visiting many places.
Hope this lengthy blog gives you some insights into how to manage your three days if you are visiting Ekta Nagar.
Drop me a comment if you have any questions. Till next time, happy reading!