A Trip to Ladakh Village

When we were planning our trip to Ladakh, what drew us to the idea of doing a homestay was the simple yet powerful concept behind it. The Snow Leopard Conservancy encourages and trains local families to welcome tourists into their houses for a very nominal fee. The money thus collected serves as an additional income for the local people. This additional income not only increases the communities’ stake in protecting wildlife, but also offsets the losses that these villagers incur due to livestock depredation by snow leopards.Completely sold on a homestay, we managed to combine it with our two-day trek in the Rumbak Valley. Although a relatively...

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Kashmir Beauty, Srinagar travel

When I landed at Srinagar airport, I expected to find the place crawling with security personnel considering it is known to be a sensitive zone and have a tense environment. But much to my delight I was totally wrong. It was bustling with tourists and extremely helpful ground staff. The crisp air and golden sunshine outside was exhilarating. Wide roads, open grounds with towering trees meet my eye as I drive along the Dal Lake en route to the hotel. Rows of houseboats anchored on the lake beckon visitors as also the beautifully decorated shikaras (boats) with their brilliant coloured seats. The distant mountains surrounding the valley are perfectly...

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Charm of Agra

Just when the sun god decided to give north India some respite from his onslaught, I decided to visit the mecca of romance and see the Taj for myself. I guess somewhere I was hoping that maybe the late Shah Jahan’s romantic act would inspire my husband into building a small home for me but alas! Agra, located in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, is about 200 km from Delhi and offers a plethora of travel options. While it takes less than an hour to reach Agra by air (from Delhi), travelling on the popular Shatabdi train is perhaps the most convenient, inexpensive and fascinating way to reach the destination. And thus my journey aboard the comfy...

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Yercaud - An Unusual holiday

Most of the tourists is that they are always looking for something to do. A holiday, to them, is like an expedition. They arm themselves with maps and brochures, survey the geography, imbibe the history, and return with a suitcase full of souvenirs and undeveloped film rolls. There are the adventure tourists who’re always climbing rocks, rafting rivers, and trekking like there’s no tomorrow. Little wonder, then, that if you recommend Yercaud to a vacationer, he’ll reply: “Oh, but there’s nothing to do, there.”Nothing to do. Isn’t that the point? If you’re looking for the biggest, the tallest, the greatest, the oldest, don’t go to Yercaud. If...

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Royal tracks of India

They say they’re going to put us on a train. They’re going to give us wine glasses and panoramic windows to peer through together. And controls to fix our room temperature. And lush beds to go with lush countryside. And cushions of every variety so we can mix and match them for comfort, or toss them aside and admire the mosaic on their cover. We’d better. They’re going to charge us a bomb.Today, the Orient Express, “the train against which all other luxury trains are measured” according to Vanity Fair, has reached its destinational metaphor. The Indian government’s permission to private companies to charter trains and organise extravagant tours...

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Mystic Mahabaleshwar

Mahabaleshwar is a beautiful hill station situated in the Western Ghats. It is at a altitude of 1353m above the sea level, so very cold during summer. This was the capital of Bombay Province during British rule. Mahabaleshwar is easily approachable from Mumbai, it is at a distance of 285 km from Mumbai.Mahabaleshwar has many beautiful places. These are called points, one can hire private taxis to go there. These points can be covered in one day. Some of the popular points are Arthur’s Seat, Tiger’s Spring, Wilson point, Sunset point which is also popularly known as Bombay point.Sunset point is very popular and there is lot of rush at this spot...

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