Of snow-capped mountains and smokey lore, Himachal Pradesh is so much more than hill stations with colonial hangovers. There are legends to be followed through Shimla’s mall road and Old Manali’s cobbled streets, ancient lore to be listened to and nirvana to be attained. Tirthan valley with its trout-laden rivers and Narkanda’s snowy slopes draw...
Travelling through Spiti is the closest you could get to Shangri-La, albeit on some inspiring tarmac. While you’re certainly not going to be allowed forty winks on the Dalai Lama’s bed, used on his visits here, Spiti offers much more than monasteries and pristine glaciers. Impressive decorations signal the onset of festivals here in Spiti,...
Elusive beautiful indigo blue ink-spill patterned buildings make picture-perfect Jodhpur everything it’s made out to be, and a little more. Surrounded by legends that are closer to truth, the fabled city of Jodhpur, bathed in blue, is viewed at its spectacular best from the looming Mehrangarh Fort. Zip line across this medieval fort palace for...
Uttarakhand. Dev Bhoomi. The Land of Gods. This little corner of the enigma that is India exudes an enticing sense of spirituality and placidity from its every crevice. A spectacularly idyllic terrain smothered by some of the holiest mountains, lakes and rivers, Uttarakhand is found to be especially bountiful for those seeking hiking adventures, spiritual...
A jumbo box of different shades of blue crayons won’t be enough to draw the shades of the Pangong Tso Lake. Much more than just a spectacular lake at a mindboggling 13,900 feet above mean sea level, Pangong Tso’s serene blue waters were made more famous with Bollywood’s ‘Three Idiots’ movie, leading to a fairly...
Tadoba Tiger Reserve The Park Maharashtra’s oldest, and largest National Park, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve has changed with the times with pragmatic efficiency with the underlying rustic energy of the wild remaining constant throughout. This enticing park, named after the God Tadoba, a local tribal deity, and is divided into the Tadoba north range,...
un[travel] to the less explored Tso Moriri Lake at 4595 metres above MSL, away from crowded high-altitude lakes with blinding flashlights. Past green marshland with streams criss-crossing to the lake beyond. The eight hours it takes to get here from Leh are worth every minute as your vision clears to see the serene blue Tso...
From being a private hunting preserve of erstwhile rulers of Panna, Chhatarpur and Bijawar states to being declared a national park in 1981, Panna National Park is now a prominent Tiger Reserve and is the 22nd of its kind in India. Located a mere 25 kilometre away from the world heritage site of Khajuraho, Panna...
The picture on every postcard, the first image that pops up on a search engine for Gods Own Country, Alleppey is the hotbed for a huge network of backwater canals and those amazing houseboats. The ultimate tourist destination, Alleppey does tend to get rather crowded in season time with houseboat traffic causing lengthy queues along...
Over the mighty Khardung-La, on the edge of Shyok valley, lies India’s northernmost village. This is a road fairly less travelled, beyond Nubra Valley, longer perhaps, but with some of the best views ever. India’s last major settlement, Turtuk, is predominantly Muslim but does have a couple of gompas overlooking the Shyok river as well....
