Gujarat’s Dhordo awarded Best Tourism Village 2023

Dhordo, a village located in the Kutch district of Gujarat, is well-known for being the gateway to the Great Rann of Kutch. This is also the same village where Rann Utsav was launched back in 2005. Today, Dhordo village, for all its cultural impacts, is a well-known name. Dhordo has been conferred the prestigious title of the Best Tourism Village by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

With this, Dhordo is now one of the 70 villages from nearly 40 countries that enjoy this prestigious title. Dhordo received this title at the Best Tourism Village - 2023 award ceremony organised by the UNWTO at the historic city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan on October 19, 2023.


Who gets awarded the title of Best Tourism Village?

This prestigious award is given to the villages that are doing exceptional work in terms of rural development, maintenance of the original landscape, cultural heritage and diversity, local values and food traditions.


The selected villages are then evaluated on the basis of cultural and natural resources, promotion and conservation of cultural resources, economic sustainability, social stability, environmental sustainability, tourism potential & development, and value chain integration. Gujarat’s Dhordo has checked all the boxes, and what we have today is deserving of praise and celebration.
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For those unaware, the Rann of Kutch is one of the most unique geographical locations in India. The vast salt desert covers a total area of 27, 454 sq km. Think of a vast, white and barren landscape that goes on for as far as the eyes can see. However, there is a beautiful side to this unique geographical feature. Under the moonlight, Rann of Kutch looks almost otherworldly and breathtakingly beautiful.
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It’s because of this feature and the fact that the region is home to several semi-nomadic tribal communities every year that the cultural festival of Rann Utsav is celebrated here. This annual festival draws a huge number of tourists from all over the world.


This year, Rann Utsav is scheduled to start on Nov 10, 2023, and it will go on till Feb 25, 2024. It’s four months of cultural extravaganza in a natural setting that’s most beautiful.