The Statue of Unity is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, 182 metres tall, standing on an island in the Narmada just below the Sardar Sarovar Dam. It was unveiled in 2018 and is the tallest statue in the world by a wide margin — roughly twice the height of the Statue of Liberty including its pedestal.
What surprises most people is that the statue is only the centre of it. Kevadia, now officially Ekta Nagar, has grown into a small town of attractions spread along the river, and seeing them properly takes a full day on top of the statue itself.
It is a long way from Saurashtra, which is why the trip works best as an overnight rather than a drive there and back.
The statue and the viewing gallery
The visit begins at the base, where a museum and memorial cover Patel’s life and the integration of the princely states after independence — the reason the statue is called what it is.
Lifts take visitors up inside the statue to a viewing gallery at around 153 metres, in the chest. The view runs across the dam, the reservoir and the Satpura and Vindhya hills. It is the part everyone remembers.
The viewing gallery has a separate ticket with a daily limit, and it sells out at weekends and in holiday weeks. Book it on the official site before you travel, not at the gate, and carry photo ID for everyone in the group.
After dark a laser and sound show is projected onto the statue on most evenings. If you are staying the night, it is the reason to.
Kevadia beyond the statue
The Jungle Safari is a large zoological park with animals from across the world and a separate aviary. It is the attraction families spend longest at.
The Valley of Flowers runs along the riverbank below the statue, and the Cactus Garden, Butterfly Garden and Arogya Van, a garden of medicinal plants, sit within a short shuttle ride of it. Most of these are pleasant rather than essential; choose two or three rather than trying for all of them.
The Sardar Sarovar Dam viewpoint is worth seeing for the scale of the dam itself. The Ekta Cruise runs on the Narmada when the water level allows, and river rafting operates a little downstream in season.
Private vehicles stop at the main parking at Ekta Nagar and an electric shuttle carries visitors between the attractions and the statue. Your driver drops you at the shuttle point and collects you there.
Getting there and fitting it in
From Rajkot it is about 330 km and six hours, through Bagodara and Vadodara on good highway for most of the way. From Ahmedabad it is roughly 200 km, about four hours, and from Vadodara under two.
Two nights is the comfortable shape from Rajkot: drive across with a stop in Vadodara, a full day at Kevadia with the laser show in the evening, and drive home. Our four-day Statue of Unity package adds Vadodara’s Laxmi Vilas Palace and Champaner-Pavagadh, a UNESCO site an hour from Vadodara.
Mondays are the maintenance day and most attractions, the statue included, are closed. Do not build a trip around a Monday.
When to go
- October to FebruaryBest timeThe best window. Cool enough to walk between the gardens, the river is full after the monsoon, and the views from the gallery are at their clearest.
- March to JuneHotHot by late morning. Go early, take the gallery first, and save the open-air gardens for the late afternoon.
- July to SeptemberMonsoonMonsoon. The dam is at its most dramatic when the gates are open, though rain can close the cruise and some outdoor sections.
- Weekends and holidaysBusyThe busiest days by far. A weekday visit is markedly calmer, and gallery tickets are easier to get.
Getting there · Plan this trip
Rajkot to Statue of Unity — fares and drive time
We drive this route regularly, with fixed all-inclusive fares and a driver who knows the road.
Sedan, one way from ₹6,000
