70 years after independence, india is still a diverse, ever evolving assortment of cultures, creeds, religions and languages. Heading off the well worn tourist path, were on a journey which spans this vast subcontinent from east to west. Travelling from one of the driest places on earth. It is quite incredible, the sand. Its just crystal, hard cystals. White salt. You can probably taste it. To one of the wettest. These are areas really for the adventurous traveller. This isnt india on tap. Im on a quest to find out how history, religion and politics have shaped india. And also meet the people who call this intriguing and sometimes overwhelming country home. Its going to be an amazing journey. For thousands of years, india found its riches and influence through international trade. At the heart of this enterprise was the sea. And the state of gujarat, with 1,000 miles of coastline, served as a Shipping Gateway to africa, arabia and beyond. This is as far west as you can get in india. It
And 70 years after independence, india is still a diverse, ever evolving assortment of cultures, creeds, religions and languages. Heading off the well worn tourist path, were on a journey which spans this vast subcontinent from east to west. Travelling from one of the driest places on earth. It is quite incredible, the sand. Its just crystal, hard cystals. White salt. You can probably taste it. To one of the wettest. These are areas really for the adventurous traveller. This isnt india on tap. Im on a quest to find out how history, religion and politics have shaped india. And also, meet the people who call this intriguing and sometimes overwhelming country home. Its going to be an amazing journey. For thousands of years, india found its riches and influence through international trade. At the heart of this enterprise was the sea. And the state of gujarat, with a thousand miles of coastline, served as a Shipping Gateway to africa, arabia and beyond. This is as far west as you can get in
Something like this. the further out i walked, the less lovely it became. it s actually quite incredible. it s more like snow or sludge than white sand or cystals. when it gets wet around here, i m deep into it. whoa! today, this shimmering wilderness is a healthy source of income for the region. thanks mainly to a three month long festival throughout the winter. it is amazing what was a vast barren landscape has been transformed into this colourful complex, whereby night, there s live music and other performances and by day, there s plenty of activities and just here, what you might call the glamping headquarters. 50,000 people have come here in the last couple of months alone. i guess this is like a cross between a weekend festival
That way is pakistan, about 70 kilometres up north. that s where the border is. that lies in the middle of the rann of kutch which is of geographical value. at nearly 500 metres above sea level, the highest point allows us a dramatic view of this geological phenomenon, the rann, the desert, which continues into pakistan. i wanted to get up closer to this natural wonder. it s quite incredible, this sand. it s just cystals, hard cystals, white salt. probably taste it. really unusual to see