How to make the most of the road trip to the Statue of Unity

Ditching the usual 4 days road trip to Goa, we thought of visiting the spectacular Statue of Unity. All the praise and adulations we had heard of the place, had set our expectations very high. Did it actually turn as expected? It was BETTER than expected!!!!!

The initial research revealed that everything can be booked online here. This was such a great relief and such a boon. Not just the Statue of Unity itself, but the campus has so many other attractions to visit.

Here is a map to help you guide with the overall layout of attractions.

For details and tips for planning you SOU trip click here

Here is our itinerary for 4 days 3 nights, which includes the drive from Pune to Kevadia.

Day 1 : Drive from Pune to Kevadia

We drove from Pune to our stay in Kevadia. We took the route:

Pune – Mumbai – Manor – Vapi – Valsad – Ankleshwar – Take a Right from Ankleshwar – Mulad – Take a right at Mulad – Rajpipla – Status of Unity (SoU)

It was a long drive and we reached around 3pm. After a quick lunch we drove to Ekta Nagar and parked at Shreshtha Bharat Bhavan. This is the main parking lot and booking center. From here free buses ply, every 15 mins, to the SOU bus terminal. (which is close to the statue).

We took the Circular Route bus, which rides you through all the attractions in the SOU vicinity. This is the best way to get acquainted with the area and familiarize yourself as to where to travel for your place of interest. This ticket costs Rs 50 per head and covers the entire 45km campus.

At the end of our tour through the campus we reached back at the Bus terminal. We took another bus to Unity glow garden as it was getting dark and an ideal time for the glow garden. The glow garden is very beautiful and tastefully done. Children specially enjoy the glowing animals, flowers ad plants here.

We then took a bus back and called it a day.

Day 2 : Visit to Statue of Unity, Jungle Safari, Petting zoo, Valley of flowers, Dam view points and laser show.

Today was an all-in day. I had planned to cover the attractions in the same vicinity in one day, but it turned out to be rather hectic. We started early by visiting Jungle Safari. This has multiple zones and two huge aviaries -One for Indian birds and one for exotic birds. It has many herbivores and carnivores and is a huge hit with the kids. In one zone you can ride the golf cart\buggy but otherwise you are on foot.

We then walked to the Petting Zoo, which is exactly opposite to the Jungle Safari. Here there are rabbits, sheep, Llama, guinea pigs, hens, ponies etc for the children to play with.

After a hectic morning we settled for lunch and some breather. We then took the bus to Statue of Unity. We had an express pass so the queue was not big. The SOU campus is huge and built in international standards. There are escalators and travelators but still you need to walk. The campus is divided into 5 zones of which 3 are accessible to visitors.

Zone One – from the ground floor to Sardar Patel’s feet. This has a memorial garden and a museum.

Zone Two – From his feet to his thighs. This hosts the elevators.

Zone Three – This includes the Viewing Gallery at 45th floor. The gallery is positioned in the chest between button 2 and 3 of the jacket.

Zone Four – This can be identified as the area from his chest to his shoulders. This is the maintenance area

Zone Five – This covers his head and shoulders

We started with the viewing gallery first by taking the elevators to reach the 45th floor in mere 38 seconds. The views from here, though obstructed by the cage like structures, are breathtaking. One can view the Sardar Sarovar dam, Narmada river and the beautiful green vicinity from here.

We took the elevator back to exit the viewing gallery and reach the museum. It has insightful display of India’s freedom struggle and contributions of Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel and other freedom fighter in audio-video and visual displays. It also tells the story of construction of the humongous statue and that of the Narmada dam. Exiting from the right, one can also visit at the foot level of the statue to view the enormity of it. It was spectacular!!!

After visiting the statue we took a coffee break on campus and after some rest took a bus to Valley of flowers and the dam view points. It has beautiful collection of flowering trees and is a good spot to catch sunset.

It was time for the laser show. We had booked the show on SOU campus, so we took an electric rickshaw to the SOU campus. The show started late around 7.30pm, but it was worth the wait. The show ended by 8pm and gave a glimpse of the journey of Sardar Patel and the freedom struggle and elaborated on the Unity. We then took the bus back and reached in time for dinner at the end of a super tiring day!

Day 3 : Visit to Cactus garden, butterfly garden, boating at Nauka vihar, visit to Shoolpaneshwar temple and attended Narmada aarti.

We started the day with visit to cactus garden and butterfly garden. We can take our private vehicle to the cactus garden. The Cactus garden, as the name implies hosts a number of cacti and is connected to the butterfly garden which has a variety of beautiful butterflies. But sadly there is no detailed information about the cacti nor about the variety of butterflies.

Just on the road to Cactus garden is a selfie point with best angle of the statue.

We then parked at Shreshtha Bharat Bhavan and visited Children’s nutrition Park. This was thoughtfully designed for the kids. Its divided into multiple zones which we travel by train. Each zone explains a nutrition and is accompanied by some interactive games elaborating the concept. Kids thoroughly enjoy this place.

After a relaxing lunch and some rest we took a bus to Sardar Sarovar Nauka Vihar and took a boat ride on the Panchmuli lake and Khalwani lake, enjoying the beauty of the Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary on the Upstream side of the Sardar Sarovar Dam. Its a 45 minutes ride.

After a soulful ride and some crocodile sightseeing, we took bus back and took a break for coffee. We then visited our last stop for the trip, the Shoolpaneshwar temple. This is an old Shiva temple on the banks of river Narmada. We witnessed the evening aarti here and then followed the Narmada aarti at the Maa Bharati aashram on the banks of Narmada. Since it was the end of rainy season the Narmada aarti destination was changed from the banks to Maa Bharati aashram. Confirm the venue and time before visiting as it keeps changing as per season.

At night the SOU campus is all lit with colorful lights. We reached back for dinner and then drove back to Pune the next day.

With this came to an end our amazing road trip to the Statue of Unity. Its a must visit destination for every Indian.

For details and tips for planning you SOU trip click here