Vijay Vilas Palace of Kutch, Gujarat – Complete Guide

Location: Vijay Vilas Palace is located in Mandvi of Kutch District. Mandvi Beach is very near to this palace. So you can do both places on same day (but visit Vijay Vilas Palace first, next Mandvi Beach).

Best time to visit: Best time to visit Vijay Vilas Palace is during winter (November to February) to save yourself from the scorching sun.

How to Reach: We visited Vijay Vilas Palace by booking a private cab from Bhuj. Charge varies from Rs.1500 to Rs. 2500/- depending on the type of car you choose. We burgained little bit with car rental agency and brought down the charge to Rs.1400/- for 10 hours (though we actually travelled less than 10 hours). We found Ola or Uber cab not available when we were there; so having a kid hiring cab through car rental company was the next best option for us! Bhuj airport is the nearest airport and Bhuj Railway station is the nearest railway station to Vijay Vilas Palace. Mandvi Bus stand is located at 8kms distance and from there you can hire an autorikshaw .

Ticket charge: 6 years to 11 years Rs.30/-, above 11 years Rs.70/-; Still Camera Rs.100/- and video camera Rs.200/-. Car parking Rs.10/- (parking space is located near to ticket counter). Allowed duration for the palace visit is 30 minutes. Marriage, engagement and other function’s photography and videography charge Rs.5000/- per hour. From 8am to 6pm the palace remains open to the public.

Where to stay: Vijay Vilas Palace can be covered in a day trip from Bhuj. But if you wish to stay near the palace then Vijay Vilas Heritage Resort is the best place to stay.

After parking the vehicle we got our tickets from the ticket counter and walked through bush shaded path to reach Vijay Vilas Palace (approximately half kilometer walking distance from the parking ground). Located very near to Mandvi beach Vijay Vilas Palace is truly breathtaking. As I came closer to the palace saw a writing hanging on the palace wall ” Tides come and go but the legend here of shear enchantment continues unabated”. Charismatic yet modern Vijay Vilas Palace sheds beams of brilliant architecture!

Remove your shoes before entering the palace. There are rooms for pantry, armoury, reception lounge and a special room for Aide de Camp. These rooms are in one row located on the right side of the main palace.

During my family trip to Bangladesh in the year 1999 I was astonished to find Superhit movie “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” songs being played on the television. Ashutosh Gowariker’s blockbuster movie was shot in this palace partially and also beautiful actor Aishwariya Rai actually stayed inside this palace during shooting of this movie. Another hit movie of actor Amir Khan “Lagaan” was also shot in this palace. So you can imagine it’s real beauty!

Vijay Vilas Palace was the summer palace of Jadeja Maharaja and their family of Kutch. It was built during the period of Maharao Shri Khengarji III in 1929AD (construction started in 1920AD) for his son prince Vijayaraj ji and the palace is made of red sandstone. Hence this palace is named Vijaya Vilas Palace (name is curved on both front and rear side of the palace).

At present ground floor is for exhibition of furniture, paintings etc. A portion of the palace is open to the public and another portion is used by the royal family members.

Climb spiral marble stairs to reach the upper floor. Then climb spiral iron stairs for the view of the whole complex. Arched balcony on the topmost floor gives 360 degree view of the area.

The palace was built by the craftsmen from Rajasthan, Bengal and Saurashtra. You will notice influence of these regions when you carefully observe the palace. Also if you visit the palace after visiting Prag Mahal you will notice architectural similarity between Prag Mahal and Vijay Vilas Palace.

The palace is surrounded by lush greenery which keeps the area cool and also houses many birds and animals.

We had Gujarati dish at many locations and had purchased Gujarati craft items but not at Mandvi. But you can do so if you wish from many craft stores at Mandvi. Finally let me quote this (which I found at Vijay Vilas Palace): ” Where form follows function and the function is to serve mankind, architecture is an expression of joy”