Covering 150 km in just about 2 hours was not something we planned for. We didn’t expect our impromptu driving trip to Daman to be such a cool drive. The Mumbai –Ahmedabad highway has been made six-lane with flyovers at every possible junction. It’s almost 4 years since our last road trip through this road [...]
READ MORE »
A popular camping site, Sarchu lies at the border of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and belongs to HP. It is also the preferred overnight stopover between Manali and Leh. Lying between the snow-clad mountains and by the side of the Tsarap Chu river, the Mulkila campsite was spectacular, to say the least. We [...]
READ MORE »
Travelling around, seeing new places and people is certainly joyful. But it has another remarkable aspect as well as impact. At times, we are reminded of the mightiness of nature, the timelessness of the universe, and how insignificant we human beings are in this grand play. At other times, there are instances when we stood [...]
READ MORE »
If you choose to do one trip a month for the whole year, that is 12 short trips in an year. When Mid-day asked us to give us an all-year itinerary in Maharashtra for travel lovers to explore, we were only happy to do so. It was late January and so we came up with [...]
READ MORE »
The Dosa Effect is not as profound or complicated as those in the science—the Doppler Effect, Raman Effect, Faraday Effect and the like. The Dosa Effect is simply the impact Dosa lovers can create on your website traffic. We wrote about the Pai Thattukada of Cochin and its famous 36 varieties of dosas. Pai Thattukada [...]
READ MORE »
In the middle of nowhere in rural Karnataka is the remains of (perhaps) a glorious past. Where nicely chiseled stones and beautiful sculptures tell you million stories. Hundreds of unnamed craftsmen with their skillful hands and genius minds lived and died for their kings and queens, while building and leaving behind stupendous architectural marvels that [...]
READ MORE »
What excites us most in our trips is the last-minute additions or diversions in the plan. At Belgaum, through a common friend, we met a businessman who has interests in history and architecture. And he suggested that we check out Halashi and gave the directions to reach there. Obviously, not many people have heard about [...]
READ MORE »
An old Italian lady who speaks only Italian, a young Italian settled in Switzerland who could speak English and an Indian couple. All in a small town in Sicily, at an almost-deserted bus terminus. A rain-drenched evening that welcomed darkness without embracing twilight. We started experiencing the warmth of Italian hospitality right after we got [...]
READ MORE »
Ladakh and the Himalayas never cease to excite and surprise us. Bidding adieu to the Tso Moriri wetlands and its lovely cranes and bar-headed geese, we set out to Sarchu. Before Sarchu enthralls us, we find thrill and awe en route! A plateau at a height of 4,000 m, flanked by mountains. The road is [...]
READ MORE »
Happy to tell our readers that we were part of a team commissioned recently by India Today & Maharashtra Tourism to publish an Annual Volume on travel called India Today Maharashtra Tourism Guide. Our contribution was an essay on all Trekking options in Maharashtra which was covered under a section called Special Interests. The issue [...]
READ MORE »
Every trip has interesting unplanned detours. This time, for our 5-day Karnataka trip, we had kept the itinerary completely open. Only return tickets to Belgaum were booked. We had some broad idea of the places we want to visit, but ‘when’ and ‘how’ to visit were left to be decided during the trip. So, after [...]
READ MORE »
An ancient temple complex at about 15 km from Badami, Mahakuta is part of the travel circuit of Badami–Aihole–Pattadakkal. Surrounded by hills with bushy forests, the complex was built by the Chalukyas and is the seat of Shaivite faith. The complex has a large number of small- and medium-sized temples scattered around a pond (or [...]
READ MORE »
Some times the history, the geography, the weather and the people of a place adds to the dynamics of a travel experience, often enriching it. That’s what happened to us at Badami. After being to Ajanta, Ellora, Kanheri, Pandavleni and the Elephanta cave temples, we have remained overawed by the sheer ability of human beings [...]
READ MORE »
Elated after the rafting on the Indus, sad to leave Leh, but with vibrant anticipation of what lies ahead, we set out for further journey travel through the incredible landscape. Dry. Arid. Cold. And no habitation for miles and miles. Tso Moriri was the destination for the day. That meant getting back to Leh from [...]
READ MORE »
We woke up on day five of our Himalayan safari brimming with excitement. Rafting on the Indus was the highlight of the day. Sadly, our last day in Leh, too. We had been following the course of Indus and just got to dip our feet in the river on the way from Srinagar to Kargil. [...]
READ MORE »
The descent from Chang La reveals a stark landscape that brings awe and fear. Snow-clad mountains again turn dry and arid. The sandy river bed reminds of a desert. The long, winding roads are often breached by the brooks formed by melting snow. Camps of Changpa nomads are seen on the slopes. These nomads rear [...]
READ MORE »
Though we were on the lap of the mighty Himalayas for four days, snow was beyond our reach. We had longingly watched the glaciers from afar on our way from Srinagar to Leh. Our wish to play in snow was finally granted at Chang La or Chang Pass. At 17,586 ft, Chang La is the [...]
READ MORE »
Lashing rains. Howling wind. Western ghats can’t get better (and dangerous) than in the monsoons. We were on the Sirsi–Jog falls leg of our Western-Ghats-on-road exploration. Jog Falls is the highest waterfall in India. The Sharavathy river takes a roaring plunge over 250 meters to bottom without any breaks (hence untiered). The river splits into [...]
READ MORE »
It was William Dalrymple’s ‘The Last Mughal’ that triggered our curiosity about the history of Delhi. Not that we were not aware of Delhi’s historical significance. Unfortunately, Delhi brings to our mind all its negatives—lack of safety, extreme heat or cold and the like. When we did our first ever trip to Delhi as ‘travellers,’ [...]
READ MORE »
A beaming youth welcomes us to Purushwadi, applying red sindoor on our foreheads and adorning our heads with the typical Maharashtrian headgear, the Gandhi topi. Each gets a flower, too. We are at Purushwadi for the two-day Navratra celebration, a part of the rural tourism initiatives by Grassroutes. After the sleepy journey on the early [...]
READ MORE »
Recent Comments