Statue of Unity – Visit to Worlds tallest Statue

We were planning trip to Statue of Unity from quite some time. This year in Holi holidays we finally visited Worlds tallest Statue standing tall at a height of 182 Meters.

It is around 420 Km from our home. We took NH 48 till outskirts of Bharuch and then took diversion on State highway 165 towards Statue.

We usually start our road trips early morning, this time was no different. We left around 5.20 AM from our home. I think this was the first time we got lost at the start of the trip.

Not exactly lost as we have Google but we took 1 or 2 wrong turns, due to this we went inside Biwandi. Maps showed us this route as there was some accident or work on NH after Thane.

As it’s National Highway there are tolls but the roads are in great shape. We misplaced the receipts so won’t be able to tell how much total toll we paid.

But due to Fast Tag we went in wrong lane and paid double the toll in one of the toll plaza. Most of the time there are clear signs for Cash lane and Fast Tag lanes but some how we missed it at one of the plaza.

Our experience with cash lane was like it was fast at most of the tolls, as most of the travelers have opted for Fast Tag so the rush on those lanes were little more at some tolls and took more time to clear.

We too have Fast Tag but the site was not working a day before so we couldn’t recharge it. The state highway in Gujarat is not in good shape, there were many patches which were in bad shape but manageable.

Our first stop was for B/F at Silver Miles restaurant. This is one of the most rated place on this route. It is big place with ample of parking, clean but not properly maintained restrooms.

Food was good and fresh and they accept card payment. Cost was little bit on higher side for normal Idly dosa but it’s Ok. It was around 100 Km from our place and took around 2 hrs.

After this we didn’t stop any where and directly stopped for Lunch around 12.30-1 PM at Hotel Narmada. It is around 400 Km from our place and around 20 Km from Statue so it was good point to stop.

Our visiting slot for Statue was 2.30 to 5 PM, so we had ample of time for lunch and relax before visiting the Statue. Food was Ok, not bad nor that good but it was fresh and service was fast as it was not that crowded at that time.

We reached the Statue at around 2 PM. There is ample of parking available around the Statue, there are different type of parking available like one w/o any shade.

It was more like a empty ground converted into parking. Then there is parking which has shade and tar road.

Parking with shade is little far from the Statue. No need to worry as the bus ride from parking to Statue main entry gate is included in the ticket price. Parking fee for both the parking is same i.e. Rs 150 no time limit.

You can find a detailed guide about this place here. Other then the statue there are lot of things to do here.

Now we entered the compound, there is one security check at the main entrance. Then you have to walk around 100-120 meter to the gate where the tickets are scanned.

We have taken Rs 350 ticket which include the entry to the viewing gallery which is at the height of around 124 meters i.e. in the chest of Sardar Vallab Bhai Patel.

If you don’t want to stand in line for ticket purchase book your tickets here well in advance. As there are limited tickets for each slot.

Other types of ticket are general ticket which cost Rs 150 and does not include entry to viewing gallery. Then there is express entry costing Rs 1050. If you buy this ticket then you don’t need to stand in any line.

Here you will find a long queue if you are going in season or say weekend evening time. As we booked the slot for little odd time we didn’t find that much of crowed but it took us around 10 min to enter.

There are Travelators on each side and is covered from the top so you will have shade most of the time. There are escalators every where which is wonderful and very thought full.

This will reduce the overall tiredness and keeps you fresh which is necessary to explore other things. Best part is you can come with full family as escalators are really nice facility specially with elders and kids.

When we first saw the Statue it was like WOW, this is simply a architectural marvel and a great tribute to Sardar who united India.

There is museum at the bottom of the statue. This is the only place which is air conditioned.

Entry to this place is given as per slots. It has huge metal head of Sardar and other details of the full construction. It also contain pictures and videos related to Sardar providing more details about his work and his life.

In the middle of this museum there is big wooden circular shape which contains the lifts to take people to the viewing gallery. There is big line here, bigger then the one we get on the main entry.

Museum is made with proper sitting areas and benches all over the place. Their is two movie theaters where you can watch small documentary on Dam and Sardar’s life.

It took us 15-20 min to reach the Lift and then few seconds to reach the viewing gallery.

The view is amazing but you will enjoy more if you visit after rains. There will be water in Narmada and if you are lucky enough you can witness the open gates of the Dam.

There not much to do here, you can enjoy the view for some time, click some pics and then again get in line to get down. All these lines can be skipped if you purchase express entry ticket.

For us it was too costly and didn’t justify the price as we were visiting in a kind of off season.

After getting down you can again enjoy the museum or relax a bit. After getting out of museum we climbed to the feet of Sardar. They are so huge and one can’t even see the face of the Statue from the bottom.

The view is great from here as well. You can enjoy some time here click some pics. As I said earlier there are escalators so you don’t have to climb a single stair 🙂

After all this we started walking(basically standing on Travelator :)) to exit. It was great experience and one should definitely visit this. There is food court in the campus which is quite big and has different options to eat.

Note – there is free water available in the premises, you can either refill your bottle or buy one as a souvenir. Do carry sun glasses and sunscreen in case you are visiting in day and if it’s sunny

There are other places to see near by, I’ll give more details about them in my next blog so stay tuned 🙂