An Expedition

Everyone everywhere has heard about Hampi – the UNESCO World Heritage Site. But very less people know that there is one little town, as beautiful as Hampi itself which stands to tell its story. Often overshadowed by the fame of Hampi, this little town stand sin a corner like a child who stands in the corner waiting to be noticed. Located near the river Tungbhadra, it is the best place set up a camp with a history which is 5000 years older than the Hampis. It is said the Vijayanagar Kingdom was one of the richest empires in the world, even greater than the Roman Empire. And the ruins of Hampi are the foreloker of the same. But still a little far away from Hampi, in fact just 15 kms away stand the ruins of Anegundi. As elegant as Hampi, the architecture of Anegundi at places often surpasses the Hampis. A days trip will ensure that you get your fill of the Queens Bath, the Elephant Stable, the Virupaksha Temple and the musical pillars. There is also the Vittal Pillar. But what i...

Kaliash Mansarovar Tour After so much of description of the Mansarovar Kailash Yatra, a tour of the place is a must. Go on these lines and you will find the shortest route to Kailash Mansarovar. Here is the shortest route you will find in this itenary : Kathmandu – Mansarovar – Kailash – Kathmandu Day 1 : Arrive at Kathmandu. Here stay overnight in a pre booked hotel. Day 2 : See the beautiful land of Kathmandu. But don't walk much as there is a lot you have to cover in the coming days. Day 3 : Fly to Nepalganj by a charter plane or a normal plane. You can also cover this distance on the back of a mule, but it will take days to reach the place. Day 4 : Next morning after a heavy breakfast and packed lunch, take the route to Hilsa ( Nepal – Tibet Border). Cross the Friendship Bridge by foot and then walk a steep 700m uphill to the Chinese Check post called Shrey. ( Notice that photography at Shrey is strictly prohibited). After completing formalities, take an ...

Mt. Kailash, the adobe of Lord Shiva has a number of aspects which engrosses each traveler of his. Different people cover this tough terrain for reasons of their own. Some go for it as its one of the major four pilgrims of Hindus, some take it as a adventure trip and some just for the sake of it. Whatever the reason, but one thing is common – the guts which it takes to reach these heights. Think of it – the Shrey Border it at an altitue of 3725M, with temerature around 27 Deg Celsius at 11: 00 clock in the morning. Talakot at a height of 12600 ft and Mansarovar at an altitude of 4485M with the morning temperature of 13 Deg Celsius. The Base Camp of Mt. Kailash is at an Altitude of 4540M and the Dolma La Pass is at 5430M. These figures might not seem to be much but for the trekkers or the monks who cover this by foot, its a huge thing. Think again, these altitudes become much more tougher with the changing weather/ climate conditions. U never know when things change here, with the mearg...

Lying in the state of Mussoorie at a distance of 270 kms from New Delhi and at a height of 6578 ft, spread on a ridge of 34 kms, its a Hill Station which still reminds of the Britishers who used to live here. With the air still pure and invigorating, the place is next to heaven. The beauty of the mountain surpasses anything else. Its more than ones imagination can take you to. Once called the Queen of Hill Stations, the Hill Station still holds the beauty of Sal, Oak and Pine trees. More of the natural beauty can be seen in the Bhatia Village , about halfway up the ramp. One can see the panoramic view from here. Apart from the Mussoories natural beauty, what attracts its people is the Promenade or the Mall. Extending to a tremendous length, its lessens in is width. With thousands of souvenirs lined up and hundreds of eateries, it has the major clan of crow moving in the evening. Local people, tourists, common folk take a walk in the clouds as they do shopping here. Extending ...

Located in the Great Himalayan Divide, lies the trekking Valley of India called Zanskar. Literally meaning Land of White Copper, it has for decades exerted the allure of Shangri La. The nucleus of the region is a Y shaped glacial valley drained by three main rivers – Stod, Tsarap and Zanskar. Here, even the lowest passes remain closed for seven to eight months in a year with the mid winter temperatures dipping to a bone numbing minus 40 Deg C. Most of the people come to Zanskar either for trekking or for river rafting. Numerous trails wind their way towards north from Padium to Central Ladakh, west to Kishtwar and South to neighbouring Lahaul. The river flows down from Zanskar Valley to Lahaul and Spiti or the either way round. If you are travelling here, then you will be disappointed looking for a comfortable place. It is always better to go through a trekking tourist agent, so that all the accommodation can be taken care of by them. Near to the Zanskar ...

South of Kolkata, the Hooghly fringes one of the worlds largest estuarine deltas, the Sunderbans. Sunderbans mean beautiful forests. These forests are beautiful indeed. The 10,000 square kilometer expanse of marsh land, mangrove swamp and islets formed by silt swept down from the Himalayas. Its remote nature has been so designed as to make place for reserving the regions abundant wildlife which include saltwater crocodiles, gangetic dolphins, otters and the worlds largest population of tigers. This beautiful forest lies in the Ganges Delta, stretching east from the mouth of Hooghly to Bangladesh. The Sunderbans are home to legendary Royal Bengal Tiger, a ferocious man eater. This man eater has adaptive well to this watery environment, and swims from one island to another covering at least 40 kms per day. Other wildlife which love this place are sea turtles, wild boar, spotted deer, olive ridley, sharks. Mingling with these purely wild animals is a population of half a million hu...

Karnataka, the land of one of the most Kings of India – Tipu Sultan, is a land filled with stories of bravery and heroic deeds. Valour and grandeur are the twin roses of the land. Here in this beautiful land lie the beautiful temples of Halebid. Also known as the Holyasar Temples, these are one of the most beautiful temples in entire Karnataka. Halebid was once the Capital of Hoysala Dynasty located 32 kms northwest of Hassan. Once known as Dora Samudra, it was renamed as Hale – bidu or the dead city when Delhi Sultanate forces of Ala-ud-din-khalji swept through and reduced it to rubble. Despite this, the two main temples of the city – Hoysaleshvara and Kedareshvara are in superb in form, art, design and architecture. It is for these temples that the beautiful city of Halebid is still known. It is not known which dieties were originally worshipped, though the double shrine inside the temple are supposed to be devoted to Lord Shiva. Both the shrines contain shivlin...