Many people have added the Statue of Unity to their must-visit places. Well, if you want to be overwhelmed by the sheer size of the world's largest statue. Then there were other amazing Statue of Unity facts that added to the allure of this Sardar Patel Statue in Gujarat. Many people are drawn to the area around the Statue of Unity because of the themed gardens, the Sardar Sarovar Dam, and the eco-town of Ekta Nagar. If you are one of those curious tourists, this Statue of Unity guide will provide you with everything you need to organise your trip here.
What is the Statue of Unity?
The Statue of Unity is located 3.5 kilometres from Ekta Nagar, a small town in Gujarat, India. It is around 25 kilometres from the nearest city, Rajpipla, 90 kilometres from Vadodara, 150 kilometres from Surat, and 200 kilometres from Ahmedabad.
The nearest bus stop to the Statue of Unity is in Ekta Nagar, from whence local cars and buses may be taken to the Statue of Unity.
Ekta Nagar (EKNR) has the closest railway station to the Statue of Unity, followed by Vadodara (BRC). Vadodara has the closest airport to the Statue of Unity (BDQ).
One may also visit the Statue of Unity while staying in Ahmedabad or Surat, both of which are 3 hours away.
The Architecture of the Statue of Unity
The Indian artist Ram V. Sutar's design was chosen to create the Statue of Unity. The design is a massive duplicate of the statue at the Ahmedabad airport. It embodies Sardar Patel's steely determination while still displaying a certain gentleness and kindness in his eyes.
SOU's construction began on Sadhu Bet, a tiny island in the Narmada River. The location was between the Satpura and Vindhya hills. The island was chiselled down to a level of 55m from a high of 70m to establish a stable basis. Following that, scrap iron collected from several towns was utilised to create the strengthened and structural steel for the statue's core. This work required around 210,000 cubic metres of cement, 6500 tonnes of reinforced steel, and 18,500 tonnes of structural steel. The monument was then surrounded by several bronze plates in the shape of a Chinese border - Jiangxi Tongqing Metal Handicrafts Co. Ltd.
Statue of Unity Tour
This Statue of Unity Gujarat is divided into five zones. The first three are open to the public, but the upper two are off-limits. These five zones are as follows:
- Zone One consists of the ground floor up to Sardar Patel's feet. There is a memorial garden as well as a museum here.
- Zone Two consists of his feet to his thighs. This is located at a height of 149 metres.
- Zone Three includes the Viewing Gallery at 153 m. This extends from his thighs to his chest.
- Zone Four is located at a height of 200 metres and is defined as the area between his chest and shoulders. This is the section for maintenance.
- Zone Five is the remainder of the statue, which includes his head and shoulders.
When you enter the Statue of Unity, zones one and three are the most essential. Zone Two is mostly made up of high-speed elevators that carry you from the bottom level to the viewing gallery in around 30 seconds. Each leg has two elevators that can hold approximately 26 passengers each.
There are many other things in this tour which are included in the ticket itself like:
- The Statue of Unity Museum in Zone One
- The Statue of Unity Memorial Garden in Zone One
- The viewing gallery inside the Statue of Unity in Zone three
- Ekta Cruise – A 180-degree tour of the Statue of Unity
- Statue of Unity Laser Show – an unmissable part of the SOU Tour
Tickets for the Statue of Unity tour
Currently, tickets for the Statue of Unity may only be purchased online through their website. There are offline ticket desks near the Statue of Unity, however, they only offer tickets for the day of purchase. Because there are fixed quotas, ticket availability at these offline counters cannot be guaranteed.
There are three types of tickets available:
1. Statue of Unity Basic entry ticket: This ticket costs INR 150 per adult and includes admission to the monument, museum, Statue of Unity Laser Show, Valley of Flowers, Sardar Sarovar vantage points, and shuttle bus. It does not contain the Statue of Unity viewing gallery. If you want to visit the Viewing Gallery, you will have to pay an additional INR 380 per adult.
2. Statue of Unity Basic Express entry ticket: This includes the viewing gallery, as well as all of the places and performances, indicated in the Basic ticket. Each adult pays INR 1030. The main benefit of this ticket is that it is a skip-the-line ticket, giving you faster access to the elevators leading to the viewing platform. With a standard Statue of Unity ticket, you may face a lengthy wait at these elevators.
3. Statue of Unity Foreign Express entry ticket: These are skip-the-line tickets for overseas guests, as the name implies. They cost INR 1530 for an adult.
You must use the same website to reserve your tickets for any other attractions near the Statue of Unity. You may also order your Ekta cruise tickets here.