The Marvel revisited - Statue of Unity after three years

The last article was written when this marvel of a tourist-destination-dream had just seen its fruition and opened its gates to one and all. I revisited the Statue of Unity now after three long, with one non-year in between due to the tiny havoc-wreaking being called Covid-19, years. The attraction, the magnetism, the charm has all grown multifold since I last visited The Statue of Unity. Now the Statue is not “just a statue” anymore but a full-fledged tourist destination with as many as 36 state-of-the-art attractions / activities in place. Everything is though nature and local centric and promotes nature in all its beautiful forms - be it the Wildlife Safari Park or Jungle Safari, Petting Zone, Cactus Garden, Valley of Flowers, Butterfly Park or just a serene cruise over the waters of Sardar Sarovar Dam. The local tribals have been employed and trained to run this ecosystem called Kevadia with unmatched efficiency.

What’s New

Let me take you through my experience of re-visiting SoU after three years.

Started as a day excursion option, but now Statue of Unity is easily a two-day if not three-day destination. An attraction suited to all age groups, young and old alike. Facilities and attractions are planned keeping every age group in mind. With wheel-chairs being available to travellators to take you to the Statue, details have been thought through to keep seniors also equally engaged and interested. The stay options have mushroomed in and around Kevadia, accommodation to suit all pocket sizes is available. An ultra luxurious tent city, a hotel of class, a budget tent city, even a few lodges and tribal-homestays, there is something for everyone to choose from. 

Bookings are available online, reducing your dependency on the “ask-around" option. Go online and in three easy steps book your tickets. Make bookings for your stay at one of the many options that suit you and you are ready to live a grandeur of an experience!

A quick re-cap of the must-knows

Dedicated to The Iron Man of India, The Architect of the Unified India and The Farmers’ Leader, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, the Statue of Unity stands 182 meters tall, approx. 600 feet. This is the tallest statue in the world. As a true symbol of national unity, about 5000 tonnes of iron from farming implements and soil from villages across the country was collected and utilised in the construction of the project. Completed in record time, the Statue stands as a tribute to the visionary Sardar Patel and is a paragon of artistic expression and engineering excellence.

The Statue is a three-level engaging wonder, with a museum and theatre at the base, an open deck at the mezzanine and an observation deck inside the statue at an astounding height of 500 feet. The tickets are available with two options - one that allows you to visit the base and the mezzanine and the second one that allows you a trip up the elevators to the observation deck as well, where you can get a panoramic view of the valley from and witness the Sardar Sarovar Dam and Narmada in all its glory. The tickets have time slots mentioned and one must stick to the allotted time in order to have a smooth and glitch-free “statue-darshan”!

The Base

The museum at the base is now more vibrant and has a few newer additions, one being an “I-pledge” console. The digital console allows you to fill a brief form with your name and place of residence and a section where you write a pledge that you wish to take when you visit the memorial dedicated to the Iron Man of India, the one who united us all- Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. The pledges are displayed on a screen above the console. Next to this console is a beautiful collage of all the rulers of various princely states of India who joined hands under the able guidance of Sardar Patel to make one big united nation that India today is. Imagine the mammoth task of bringing the recalcitrant princely states together to become one to form a Unified India!

Besides these there is a wall mural of Sardar Patel’s silhouette that is made up of a collection of various farm equipments. And indeed the prototype of the head of the statue too. Queue up for your elevator ride, and be ready for that view from up above.

The Observation Deck

There hasn’t been any change here in the last three years. The deck is as clean as it was then. If you are punctual as per your ticket time-slot, you can get ample time to walk around and have a good view of the river flowing below and the Steadfast Dam standing afar. Do not hesitate to use that camera!

The Mezzanine

The elevators bring you to the open deck at the mezzanine floor, which is the pedestal of the statue. Yes, you are now where the feet of the grand statue are. You get a good panoramic view of the valley from here too. The location has been chosen keeping the climate in mind and the temperature here remains moderate all the year round. Spend some leisurely moments marvelling at the grandiosity of the vision that now stands towering over you, riveting the gaze of one and all who come here to Sadhu-Bet to visit the memorial to India’s Iron Man.

Food Court

Once out, the food court will signal a “come-hither” and no force of any resolution can then stop you as the wafting aroma from deep-fried goodies will guide your path to a table inside this coming together of flavours. Savour the local dishes or just grab a cuppa to recharge yourself for the trip ahead, you have options galore. When I last visited this food court, there were only three outlets with one being solely for bottled water. Now you have many options here with some International brands also making their presence felt.

So much to See, so little time

I must mention that a few attractions charge a nominal entrance fee while others are free of charge.Tickets can be bought at the entrance gates of these attractions.

Hop on to the next available bus (there are 17 bus stops in all, along the circular sightseeing path) and embark upon a journey through the valley of Kevadia. There are bicycles available for renting if the cyclist in you wants to get adventurous. Next big attraction definitely is the Jungle Safari. At the jungle safari, a ticket is required to be bought. Queue up to take your ride in an electric cart and go meet the various carnivores, herbivores, reptiles and avian fellows that live here. The Safari Park is a unique zoological park and is home to many indigenous and exotic animals and birds. You can walk through the huge dome of the aviary and can see the many rare and exotic birds up close. The deer park too has many species in their respective enclosures. Animals from far and wide have been brought here, one can see a Rhinoceros, a White Tiger, Emus, Wildebeest and even a Giraffe! Children are sure to have a fun filled experience at this attraction at the Statue of Unity. The domestic animals are kept separately in a Petting Zone, where one can feed, touch and play with these animals. Close to the Jungle Safari is the Dino Trail, very much worth taking.

The Cactus Garden, the Valley of Flowers, the Butterfly Garden, are all huge crowd pullers. Exotic species of flora and fauna add their uniqueness to this tourist hub. 

Indulge in some boating over the Panchmuli Lake in Kevadia, or take a cruise over the Sardar Sarovar Dam and get a closer look at the Statue from your boat as you sail past Sadhu-Bet. Adventure seekers, there are water sport activities too, the details of which can be sought once you plan your trip.

The highlight : Light and Sound Show

As the day progresses with one activity after another, a sumptuous lunch later one can either take a short break and rest in their room / tent or can further carry on exploring the other remaining activities, while reserving energy for the light and sound show, because that is one attraction that should not be missed. Gather at the Statue at the theatre that has been specially created for the show, and sit back while the 20 minute show takes you through the life and times of Sardar Patel. A slice of history that will fill you up with tank-full of inspiration!

Post the show, take a bus ride to the Dam promenade for another light and sound show, of a different kind. This one is a stage performance by some very talented artists, the artists being colourful laser beams dancing across the horizon to the tunes of very popular peppy songs. DO NOT MISS THIS SPECTACLE! 

Talking about all things light, there is a Glow Garden too that should not be missed. Though, I being very tired wanted to skip this one but the thought of “when will I visit again”, dragged me inside the gates of the Glow Garden. A beautifully lit garden spread over 3.61 acres of land where light and colours play together to create a visual-sensory delight. Walk along to marvel at illuminated installations, figures and optical illusions. A dance floor where one can hop and dance and try catching the glowing tiles by jumping onto them, as I said earlier, there is something for every one here. Old and young, each member of your family will return delighted and pleased from this vacation with a difference.

Statue of Unity, has established itself as a very popular tourist destination already. Now, with huge banquet spaces coming up all around, vast expanses of open spaces for hosting events and large inventory of rooms to accommodate many guests, the destination is also emerging as a wedding and events venue. Corporates are considering hosting their off-sites and incentives at Kevadia, Destination weddings are being planned around it and other meets and conventions are already being hosted here. The plus plus is the fantastic connectivity, with trains connecting Kevadia to Surat, Vadodara and Mumbai, Seaplane connectivity from Ahmedabad and of course the good expressways from Vadodara and Ahmedabad, bringing your troupe over to Kevadia is not a difficult task anymore.

If you already have visited the Statue of Unity, go visit again and experience the newer attractions, if you haven’t yet, hey what have you been waiting for?

Statue of Unity - A true Marvel !

The latest addition to our “places to visit in India” and “Places to visit in Gujarat” definitely is the much talked about Statue of Unity. Dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the iron man of India, the statue indeed is a creation par excellence. We take you on a tour to Sadhu Bet, the island which the Statue stands on, today.

To start with, there are three different tickets available for the visit - one that takes you all the way up to the observation deck, the second one that allows entry till the base of the statue and the museum too and, the third one that gives you freedom till the gates of the walkway to the statue only. Our advise - go all the way up for that experience. And do keep this in mind that the Statue is closed on Mondays for maintenance. 

The statue is built on an island in the river Narmada - Sadhu Bet named after a monk who prayed here. The destination is easily accessible from Surat, Ahmedabad and Vadodara the last being the closest and most preferred ; just 96 kms. Buy your tickets online and drive to Kevadia, Rajpipla Gujarat. Just 14 kms from the statue and you see the first hazy silhouette of the mighty iron man! Seven kms from the statue is the barricade or the gates where you are required to show your tickets, park your car and queue up for the shuttle buses. In no time you hop onto one of these comfortable buses and are on your way to your appointment with the world’s tallest statue! There are guides on each bus who speak fluent Gujarati and Hindi with knowledge of English too. In view of generating employment and uplifting the nearby villages, these guides are men and women, girls and boys from the same region itself. With a little training, they are now the face of tourism at The Statue of Unity. They would share the vital details of the project and keep you amused with trivia during your very short ride. Keep looking out to your right as that is where Sardar Patel stands. What a sight it is when you get those first glimpses. Mighty as can be!

You arrive at your destination and disembark. The local natives have set up some make-shift kiosks around here and sell snacks and toys still trying to figure out as to what would appeal to the urban visitors. They are learning and evolving. Just as you lift your gaze up from the tiny market , lo  and behold the tallest statue in the whole wide world catches your eyes! The pathway from the bus drop point first leads you to the Wall of Unity which is made with soil and iron collected from a whopping 1,69,000 villages! A true tribute to the son of the soil, a farmer’s son, the soil and iron from these many villages was collected and used in making of the statue as well as this wall of Unity. The colour, texture, fragrance, minerals present in each soil give it a multilayered, multihued look.

Move on and show your tickets at the entry point of the walkway to the statue. The walkway is some 300 meters long and has travellators on both the sides. Walk the distance or just hop onto the travellator. The short walk / ride takes you to the platform on which the museum is built. The statue stands above the museum. Enter the museum for an insight into the making of the grand structure and also the life and times of the great personality it is dedicated to. A prototype of the statue graces the centre of the museum that glows orange, heels tap on the shiny granite floor, utilities on one side and the path leads you to a small theatre where a short movie showing the life history of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel plays. Into the library and out next to the elevators. Queue up for your ride up and in no time you are 400 ft above the base of the statue which is roughly around 40 floors up!! The observation deck is created around the chest of Sardar Patel and we peep through his jacket at the Narmada below. Your ticket entitles you to two hours in the deck, but there isn’t much to do here other than gazing at the mighty river and taking many many pictures. Take your ride down and you would exit at the base of the statue which is the roof of the museum. A flight of stairs and you arrive at the feet of the statue which are almost double your height! A closer look from here and you can see the minutest details that the artisans have taken into consideration, like the skin texture on the hands, the nails, the tassles hanging from Sardar Patel’s shawl. A lot of scientific knowledge goes into creating such majestic structures and the many air passageways below the jacket of the statue clearly show that. Wind flow and speed, and sun's direction were considered before deciding which direction the statue would face. The breeze as strong as it might get, loses its strength when hitting the statue as there are vents and passages made for letting the wind pass and not destabilise the structure. You can spend as much time as you want here and then descend the stairway / escalator and while admiring the “Hollywood” style signage of “Statue of Unity” walk / ride back to the main entrance. 

The food court is to your right as you exit the statue premises. Above the food court is the viewing gallery for the daily light and sound show. The food court has many local and international snacks to choose from. Beverage options galore too. A souvenir shop that sells replicas, magnets, t-shirts, caps, mugs and the likes and you are headed back to the bus stop. Hop onto any bus that is leaving and your ride through the Sardar Sarovar Dam begins. The bus has a couple of stoppages on its way out. You would not be taken out from the route you came by. The first stop is the valley of flowers. The immaculately landscaped gardens adorn the whole valley where flowering plants have been planted in beautifully laid out patterns. This too is a sight in itself. Soak in the beauty of a river close by, the tallest statue in the world and the vibrant colourful valley of flowers. Again, you may take any bus from here.

Next stoppage is near the Sardar Sarovar Dam. Another wonder, the Dam itself is a magnanimous structure making it one of the largest in the world. The flora and fauna around here and the beautiful Narmada take your breath away. A bird watchers’ paradise, may we add. Next stop on the bus ride would be on one of the Sarovars or lakes where The newly set-up tent city can be seen on one side and a huge water body on the other. A lot of birds can be seen here, and lucky you are if a crocodile might also make a rare appearance. Next, you cross another phase of the tent city as the road snakes around lakes and hills. This tent city sits flanked by the lake on three sides and the road to one. The ride comes to an end when the bus brings you back to the main entry barricade.

A statue of Goddess Khodiyar (Devi Narmada) sitting on a crocodile can be seen near the entrance. Find your car / bus and leave for your next destination with a realisation that you just witnessed the tallest statue in the world and visited one of the largest dams in the world!