On this Republic day weekend, while on visit to IIM Ahemadabad for the "Healthcare Summit - India vision 2047, I was fortunate enough to lay my head on the holy feet of the Statue of the greatest leader of India, the true "IRON MAN" who made our "INDIA" possible as a United country ... A true Sardar, a true farmer and our greatest leader Sardar Vallabhai Patel, who has been my idol since school days. Paid my obeisance at the feet of Statue of Unity and spent some time at Ekta Nagar, built from scratch by the greatest leader of our times. Hon Narendrabhai Modiji.
One of the most important items in my bucket list is ticked!
Ekta Nagar, that was built from scratch in the area erstwhile known as Kewadia, is a must visit place for every Indian. It has world's largest statue .. the Statue of Unity and numerous other attractions like the Sardar Sarovar Dam, many theme gardens, eco-tourism and adventure tourism opportunities, River cruises, hiking, biking trails, beautiful Jungle Safari, Maa Narmada Aarti in the evening is an icing on the cake.
It is advisable to have a 3-4 day stay and enjoy this beautiful area of Ekta Nagar-Statue of Unity. Details can be had from following website: The Unity Tourism
Of all the available options to the tourists, I would recommend the following as "Must Visit":
1. Statue of Unity , Museum and Viewing gallery at 135m - Keep 5-6 hours for this. Book tickets for the slots online
2. The Projection show held at around 7pm
3. Ekta Cruise on river Narmada
4. Nauka vihar on Sardar Sarovar
5. The evening laser show on Sardar Sarovar Dam ( starts at 8pm )
6. Jungle Safari - beautiful well maintained open zoo with exotic animals and birds
7. Maa Narmada Aarti - held at 8pm daily
The transportation by E buses is free within Ekata nagar and the pink rickshaws are paid service run by women empowerment group. The overall facilities are excellent and one gets a great cultural, patriotic, eco-friendly, natural and spiritual experience.
I have posted around 10-11 videos of my experience at Statue of Unity and Ekta Nagar on my YouTube channel. Here is the link to the channel.