NH 41
Samakhiyali–Narayan Sarovar Highway
290 km
Open
Gujarat
National Highway
Route
NH 41 runs 290 km from Samakhiyali, Gujarat to Narayan Sarovar, Gujarat.
Crosses Gujarat.
Through Samakhiyali, Gandhidham, Mundra, Mandvi, Naliya and Narayan Sarovar.
Why it matters
This is the road that serves two of India's busiest ports. Containers, coal and fertiliser move between Deendayal (Kandla), Mundra and the national highway network along NH 41, and for the scattered villages of western Kutch it is the only proper road out. Its far end reaches the country's western edge, close to the sea border with Pakistan.
History
NH 41 runs along the southern side of Kutch in Gujarat, from Samakhiyali in the east to Narayan Sarovar near India's western tip. On the way it passes Gandhidham, next to the big Deendayal (Kandla) port, the port town of Mundra and the beach town of Mandvi. Beyond Naliya the land grows dry and empty, and the road ends near the holy lake of Narayan Sarovar. Its far end lies close to the country's western tip, making it one of India's westernmost national highways. Its eastern end runs through Bhachau and Samakhiyali, towns badly damaged by the 2001 Bhuj earthquake and rebuilt afterwards, and today it carries a steady stream of container lorries between two of India's busiest ports and the rest of the country.
Good to know
- One of India's westernmost national highways — it ends near Narayan Sarovar, close to the country's western tip.
- Serves two of India's busiest ports: Deendayal (Kandla) and Mundra.
- About 290 km long, lying entirely within the Kutch region of Gujarat.
- Mandvi, on the route, is famous for its beach and its centuries-old wooden shipbuilding yards.
- Narayan Sarovar, at the western end, is counted among the five holy lakes of Hinduism.
- Mundra is India's largest commercial port, handling more cargo than any other.
- It begins at Samakhiyali on NH 27, the long Porbandar–Silchar East–West Corridor.
- Naliya, near the western end, has an Indian Air Force station.
Key junctions
- Samakhiyali — east end — the highway starts on NH 27, the Porbandar–Silchar East–West Corridor
- Gandhidham — meets NH 141, and the approach roads to Deendayal (Kandla) port
- Mundra — the turn-off for Mundra port, India's largest commercial port
On the road
Samakhiyali to Narayan Sarovar takes about six hours. The roads are wide and often empty, but west of Naliya fuel pumps, food and mobile signal all get scarce, so top up before that. November to February is the comfortable season and also when the Rann Utsav brings visitors to Kutch; summer here is fiercely hot and the wind off the salt flats carries dust.