The bets and open flats hold the khur — the Indian wild ass — which exists in the wild only here. Herds run across the salt in a way that is genuinely spectacular, and they are easy to find and approach by vehicle.

The seasonal wetlands and freshwater pools hold both greater and lesser flamingos in thousands, along with pelicans, cranes and a huge diversity of waders. The birding here in winter is on a scale few Indian sites match.

The scrub and grass margins hold desert and Indian foxes, jackals, nilgai, chinkara and the wolves that hunt them — the Rann is one of the better places in India for Indian wolf.

The agricultural edges are where the raptors concentrate: harriers roosting communally in grassland, along with eagles and the occasional houbara bustard.

The salt pans worked by the Agariya salt farmers are part of the landscape and its economy, and their families live out on the flats through the working season.

October to March is the season, with the birds present and temperatures manageable. Summer is brutally hot and the monsoon floods the flats entirely.

Practicalities

The usual bases are the small resorts around Dasada and Bajana, a few hours from Ahmedabad. Safaris are by open 4x4 with local guides who know where the herds and the flamingo flocks are that week.

The Little Rann pairs naturally with Gir to the south and with the Greater Rann to the north, where the Banni grasslands hold a different set of species again.