For fossil and history enthusiasts, planning a half day excursion to the Bhimsar village of Anjar Taluka in Kutch, to visit the Kutch Fossil Museum could be an experience in itself. The village is located around 65 km from Kutch. Bhimsar has barely 25-30 houses, situated on both sides of the road. The houses are traditional, mostly made out of mud and dung. The village is mostly inhabited by the tribals, and entering into the village, you will be greeted by quite a few tribal children playing around, who would be more than happy to pose for the camera. Bhimsar was one of the first villages to get a radio tower in their vicinity, and the kids will make sure you get to know that. A short ten minute walk from the Bhimsar village is he Kutch Fossil Park, which is perhaps the major reason why this tiny village gets any visitors.
Since about the nineteenth century, Kutch attracted a large number of British officers with its varied landscape, ethnic variation, wealth, barren hills and unique rocks. It was after the great triangulation survey by British administration in Kutch that they realized that unique fossil contents in the rocks of Kutch. They appointed several surveyors and researchers who did arduous field work and extensive study on the rocks, minerals and fossils of Kutch. A similar study was taken over by many Indian experts who were trainde in this subject. After identification of number of Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary fossils of Kutch, the region became famous all over India and the entire world especially in various Geology Department.
Kutch was then accredited as famous fossil site in the world being a small geological basin, where numerous species of invertebrates and vertebrates fossils are found in a limited geographical area. Most of the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary fossils have been identified by various research groups from Banaras Hindu University, Jadavpur University, Lucknow University, Rajasthan University, Sukhdiya University and many other groups from south and north Indian Universities.
Way back in the early seventies, as an army personnel, Mohansinh Sodha observed unusual form of rocks while wandering the barren hills of Kutch. Mohansinh Sodha had migrated from the Sindh province of Pakistan to Kutch, leaving behind his family back during the Indo-Pak war of 1971, and joined the Indian Army. Since then, he has been studying and collecting fossils in Kutch. Today, his collection holds fossils that tell tales of more than 150 million years into the past.
In 2002, Mohansinh formed a society known as the Kutch Fossils Park. Shortly after that, a new species of vertebrates was found in Western Kutch by researchers from Roorki Institute of Technology, which got named after Mohansinh Sodha as Dommingia Sodhae. When you visit the Fossil Park, Mr. Sodha will himself give you a guided tour of the park.
There are no options of accommodation of dining in or in the vicinity of the village. So, generally it is better to either stay in Bhuj and travel down to Bhimsar to visit the Fossil Park. OR you can add it as a half day excursion on your way to the Rann of Kutch or Nakhatrana or Mandvi. The best time to visit would be the winter months from November to February.