This post is an updated information guide of Vishal Khadi Eco Tourism Campsite. The site is more prominently known as Visal Khadi among locals. Due to its close proximity to Rajpipla town and high accessibility due to the state highway, Vishal Khadi is the most popular ecotourism campsite of Narmada district.
A few months back, I was contacted by Narmada Forest Department to improve digital presence of Narmada eco tourism campsites. I, along with help of my younger brother Kunj Dodiya, set out to document every campsite in Narmada district by photos, videos and web pages.
Following is the account of Vishal Khadi Eco Tourism Campsite:
Please note that we photographed Visalkhadi in the month of February 2018, which isn’t the best time to capture beauty of Narmada region. Expect the campsite to be a lot more vibrant and green in the monsoon and post monsoon months up-to December.
Introduction Video
Video by: Kunj Dodiya
Photo Gallery
The images below are 24 megapixels ultra high quality images and will take some time to load. I should’ve scaled and optimized them for web. Too late now, my bad.
Photos by: Kunj Dodiya
Location
Vishal Khadi Campsite is situated 25 km from the Narmada district headquarter, Rajpipla. It is very well connected by Gujarat State Highway GJ SH 160 and NH953.
Be careful about getting off from NH953 to Vishal Khadi. There is a board but as the slope is downward and roads are windy, it is easy enough to miss the turn. At least, I did a couple of times. ๐ Below is the linked exact Google Maps location:
Distance Matrix
From Place | To Place | Distance in kms/Time in hr |
Rajpipla | Vishal Khadi Ecotourism | 25 km / 30 min |
Surat | Vishal Khadi Ecotourism | 120 km / 2 hr 30 min |
Ahmedabad | Vishal Khadi Campsite | 200 km / 3 hr 30 min |
Mumbai | Vishal Khadi Campsite | 370 km / 7 hr |
Vadodara | Vishal Khadi Campsite | 100 km / 2 hr |
Booking Details
I had implemented online booking functionality on the forest department website, however due to circumstances it couldn’t be enabled for production.
The booking can be done offline by calling the forest department at: +91 2640 220013. Alternative contact numbers are provided below. They are crowd-sourced and aren’t guaranteed to work.
Campsite Contacts
Vishal Khadi Campsite: +91 2640 220330
Zarwani, Junaraj and Sagai Campsite: +91 2640 โ 220013, 220343.
Contact Vijaybhai Directly for Zarwani, Junaraj, Sagai or Kunbar Campsite. His Mobile number: +91 7016861567
Above contact details are published in best faith and might not work in future.
Accommodation and Facilities
Facility | Count |
Rooms | 4 |
Kitchen | 1 |
Dining Shed | 1 |
Boating is also available on request. The Karjan reservoir remains full during most time of the year so boating can be availed throughout the year.
Cost of Accomodation
It’s always an good idea to call the Narmada Forest Department to get accurate pricing details. This is estimated cost.
Booking Type | Cost |
Room | Rs. 1000 / night |
Activities
The forest department/campsite managing team has published list of all *possible* activities. If you’re school or an organization, you may be able to organize custom activities with the help of campsite management.
It is important to note that the list of activities is just an indicator of possibility and doesn’t guarantee its availability.
- Boating
- Trekking
- Local dance
- Bird watching
- Star gazing
- Medicinal garden
- Night walk
- Cultural program
- Games
- Agriculture field visit
- Adventure activity
- Local adivasi food
- Wildlife movie
- Painting kits for children
- Digital detox
- Meeting
- Local tribal dance
- Film show
Closing Note
I loved the location of Vishal Khadi campsite.
It is highly accessible yet gives secluded and “into-the-nature” feeling. A left turn from the highway and 1000 meters forward gets you to the parking lot of the campsite. In my visit to the campsites of Rajpipla, I found only this campsite to be bulging with tourists. GSRTC – State Transport buses can be leveraged to reach to this campsite. Any local bus going from Rajpipla to Netrang would work.
Visalkhadi is surrounded by hills, scenic jungle and backwaters of Karjan Reservoir. It is due to the backwaters that the campsite inherited it’s name of “khadi”. In Gujarati, one would call a relatively small stream of water as “khadi”.
I hope this post has been helpful to plan your visit.
If you have any additional information or feedback, please drop a comment down the post. Happy journey!
Other Narmada Campsites
- Dev Mogra Eco Tourism Campsite
- Junaraj Eco Tourism Campsite
- Kunbar Eco Tourism Campsite
- Sagai Malsamot Eco Tourism Campsite
- Vishal Khadi Eco Tourism Campsite
- Zarvani Eco Tourism Campsite
Did you know that all campsites of Narmada are managed by a committee consisting of locals? The local village committee is responsible for maintenance of the campsite. As far I know, revenue coming from tourist accommodation bookings also goes into their account.
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