Shoghi, a nature walk

This weekend I visited Shoghi in Himachal Pradesh is a cheap alternative to Shimla which is just 25 minutes away and is an idea place to get away from it all. I turned off my mobile and listed to the sounds of the forest with my friends. There are ample trekking grounds and clear streams.

One of the significant temples of the area is the Tara Devi temple which we visited on our first day; it stood higher at 6,073ft. It is on the right side of the Shoghi, at the end of the town across from the Minchy’s fruit products stand. The road was thankfully new. The temple was beautiful and the view from the top was awesome. The upkeep of the temple is a personal project of one of the rains. In two main festival months .i.e. October and November the temple is overcrowded. I couldn’t take the pics here as photography was not allowed, however I could take the 360 degrees views from the top.

The landscape around Shoghi is dotted with temples. Virtually every village in the region has one. Approx 6km southwest of Shoghi nestling in a valley of green trees and fields is the village of Anji. And I visited the recently renovated Hanuman temple.

We stayed at Sunrise Villa which is owned by Mr. Romesh C. Aggarwal and his wife who offer the ambience of a private home at reasonable prices on the road of the Tara Devi temple. We chose the room with balcony.

Our motto was to relax this weekend so we chose Shoghi as our weekend destination from Delhi, it was a quiet place and the town is at most a 2km stretch of road whose highlights are the people their hospitality and the natural beauty they are surrounded by. The only problem which we faced were the roads, which are not made to withstand the rains, they are in constant danger of being washed away. We enjoyed our nature walks and especially the bird watching. There were many trekkers in the morning who were going to start their treks while we enjoyed our walks.

Coonoor weekend destination from Cochin

Coonoor in Tamil Nadu is famous for its blue kurinji flower, which is said to bloom once every 12 years, giving the Blue Mountains its colour and moniker. But according to the locals the kurinji hasn’t bloomed for a year now. The perfect weekend destination from Cochin, Coonoor is famous for leisurely trips to the nearby tourist spots, trek in the shoal forests of the blue mountains and of course, down endless cups of Nilgiri grown tea or coffee.

Coonoor has the Sim’s Park which was laid back in 1874 in a deep ravine, with winding footpaths, pergolas, gazebos, a lily pond and a dense shoal skirting it. It has marvelous thousand species of trees like mahogany, birch, rudraksh and were brought from Mexico, Chile, China and Venezuela. It is a tree park however its rose garden is beautiful at the tome of season. In May a fruit and vegetable show is held. Opposite to the Sim’s Park there is the Pasteur Institute which is known for its path breaking research work on rabies. There are guided tours where one can watch the pasteurization of milk and experiments underway.

The Droog Fort was once used by Tipu Sultan which is 15km from Coonoor. Droog is also called Bakasura Malai as it is linked to the tale of a local demon, Bakasura. However the fort only has a wall which has survived but it is 6,000 ft above the plains so it gives the offers an awesome view.

About 8km from Coonoor is Lamb’s Rock which gives the view of Coimbatore plains. People take food and drinks and just rome and enjoy the picnic with their family and friends. Then there is the Dolphin’s Nose is huge a rock that resembles a dolphin’s nose. About 10km from Coonoor, this is a popular spot despite the bad road. On a clear day one can glimpse Catherine Falls from a top the nose. Law’s falls is another popular picnic spot.

Wellington is an army township to one side of Coonoor. Wellington golf course is hugely popular, not just with those who wander around its manicured greens wielding their irons, hordes of South Indian film crews also descend periodically to shoot song sequences. Also beyond the golf course lies the Hidden Valley which is a great trekking route.

Coonoor is famous for its Irish and Belgian table sets, handkerchiefs plus for its tea and coffee

Find Driving Directions from Cochin to Coonoor here..

Ranikhet, a perfect getaway of Himalayas

Ranikhet is in Uttaranchal and a perfect hill station to visit. Ranikhet is a very silent and beautiful weekend getaway from Delhi. It is 58 km away from Nainital. Its story goes like this; many years ago, a beautiful Kumaoni queen Rani Padmini fell so deeply in love with the green glades and meadows of a tiny hill paradise that her king, Raja Sukherdev, built her grand palace there and named the place Ranikhet, or queen’s meadow. My dad have always talked about Ranikhet as a paradise on earth, but today when I see it I understand why dad liked Ranikhet and still now wants to visit it. As I approached to Ranikhet my eyes were watching the best views of all to the left, the ancient, snow clad Himalayas. I wanted to relax under a pleasant sun and gaze leisurely at the beautiful Himalayas with sipping my cup of tea.

There are government orchards at Chaubatia, 10km to the south of Ranikhet. We went with a picnic basket and buy some seasonal fruits from the orchids. Then there was Bhalu Dam which supplies water to the Ranikhet and is also famous for fishing.

From the bus stop there is an Army Golf course at Upat which offers golfing at high attitudes. Also there is an old temple dedicated to goddess Kali from where the town of Kalika gets its name lies just a kilometer away from Upat.

Another 13km down the Almora road this village had many beautiful picnic spots. We wanted to take a walk in the forest so we strolled down Ranikhet from behind the Army Holiday home to the AMU guest house. We liked the walk from the Mall towards this same guest house as we saw many old British bungalows here.

Then a little path took us towards the Kumaon Regimental Centre. The KRC Museum displayed memories of wars that the regiment had fought.

I picked up some woolen fabrics and few small things from the Mall. Ranikhet comprises of two main areas of tourist interests; the Mall and the Sadar Bazzar. The Sadar is full of hotels and guest houses, the crowded ones and the Mall is peaceful place.

Find Driving Direction from Delhi to Ranikhet here..

Jubbal a weekend getaway

Jubbal is a princely state which is in the east of Shimla and near the valley of the Pabbal River. It has the newest refurbished palace turned heritage property. It is in the midst of a rural outpost hidden from the world. It is the place for apple orchids on the slope and the river nearby. And then there is the temple of Durga and Shiva.
This Fairy tale palace is perched in a little hollow amid the hills, and it looks like ginger bread enough to eat and is remarkable for the enormous masses of deodar timber used in its construction. The modern wing, where guests are put up was built in the 1930’s older section dates back centuries. The timber frame proved perilous when a fire in the 1960’s destroyed a large part of the original structure, but its being slowly restored. The modern wing is however well preserved. The elaborate wooden ceilings are stunning. It also has all the ancient weapons, ranging from cannons and swords to muskets and shields. It has just started giving out rooms to tourists.

Then there is Hatkoti were there are few temples and is named after the goddess Hatkeshwari also one of the Lord Shiva’s names. The Pabbal River is a perennial river arising in the Chansal Range just south of Kinnaur and is born of snow and spring fed lake called Chander Nahan or Chandar Naun. There are various smaller streams joining it on its short journey to Hatkoti where it meets the rivulet Bishkulti and the Rai Nala.
The cuisine here is Indian and to its way if you stop at Chhaila you will get the excellent snack of fish, caught fresh from the river and batter fried whole on the spot.
This place is still to wander and especially the Jubbal Palace which has been recently open to the tourists.

Find driving directions from Delhi to Jubbal here

Kasauli, weekend getaway

There is nothing practically to do in Kasauli, just to lie down, trudge the surrounding hills, comfortable walks in the nature. It is a perfect weekend destination from Delhi people. It has not been exploited as Shimla; it still lives with its charm. Stroll down through Upper to Lower Mall and around the Sanatorium. We followed the upper mall and wandered up to the Monkey Point near the Air Force base. The 4 km hike to the Shri Baba Nath Temple on the top is a bit stiff. People praying for the blessing of children visit the shrine. We didn’t have such issues so we enjoyed the splendid vistas from this vantage point. Across the forested hills and deep ravines is the sleepy town of Dagshai. We also catch the sparkle of the Sutluj River curving lazily along the plains in the far distance views of the snow clad Dhauladhar Range and in the north east, the choor Chandni Peak.

We went for a picnic in the virgin Woodlands; it was for the town’s British residents over 50 years ago. We were able to view the humming birds, flycatchers, minuets and many, one of my friends got lucky and spot a deer and hyena too loping through the undergrowth. But we were not able to see them. The locals told us that there are leopards too.
The overall stay was just to relax and chill out with friends. Everything was naturist. And like all the hill station malls it also sell things like Kullu caps and some wooden work things.

Find driving directions from Delhi to Kasauli here.

Shimla favourite weekend getaway from Delhi

I have visited Shimla 4 or 5 times with my family. I have written about so many places but never wrote about the place where I have been in my childhood, teenage and youth. Shimla is the best weekend destination from Delhi, people visit it often. I was in 12^th standard when I last visited it. Still remember those lovely valleys and hills. We had stayed in I do not remember the name of my hotel but I do remember that it was on the end of the mall. SO there was not too much of noise and crowd which can disturb us. To enter the Mall Road from the city when cannot take the car inside as there is the huge lift which finishes at the Mall starting from the Shimla Road, along with a huge parking lot where tourist can park their cars.

The famous Mall Road of Shimla comprises of so many shops which sells all types of wooden work things, I still have that bangle wooden stand with me which I purchased there. The mall road is very vast and comprises of the upper mall road and the lower mall road. The lower mall road had many shops selling cassettes, clothes and all those things which you can find in Delhi. The upper Mall consists of shops which sell wooden things, and then there is the famous Christ Church at one end and the Tudor façade of the Municipal Corporation building at the other. Scandal point on the upper mall is the place where every tourist sits on the benches made there for rest and the kids enjoy the pony rides. Me and my sister also had enjoyed the pony ride. After our pony ride we went to the scatting club which is next to the church on the first floor. I hope its still there. Our session was for 1 hour and I enjoyed it, there were all type of people with young kids, teenage, youth and the old ones. The floor was wooden so the scatting done was amazing.

After that we roam in the mall for hours. Yes I remember the rose garden on the upper mall with a restaurant where we had snacks many times, sorry people my golden days were so amazing that I hardly bother to remember the name of the restaurant. But my best restaurant there is the United Coffee House in the end of the upper mall. It offered the best coffee in the World I still can taste it. My sister and I had played many video games which were close to our hotel.

Next day again after roaming in the Mall road we went to the Jakhu Mandir whose stairs starts along with the famous ghanta ghar on the upper mall on its right side. We started for the temple and to my surprise there were langurs all around. People were offering them food and from the trees they were roaming on the stairs. My mom strongly was offering them the channa but I was scared of them. After climbing so many steps we were tired and finally reached our destination. The temple offers prayer to the Hanuman that’s why it was all filled with the monkeys and langurs. After praying and little bit of eating we came down through steps and realized that it was night. Shimla looks more beautiful in the night with lights all around.

Well I would like to go again and now would like to see it in a different way. Some memories are never to be forgotten.

Find Driving Directions from Delhi to Shimla here

The Chalets Naldehra, offbeat destination from Delhi

This weekend we went to an offbeat weekend destination from Delhi near to Shimla 20km, the Chalets of Naldehra with my family for a break from regular routine. The place was 343 km from Delhi so we started on Friday evening so that we can enjoy the weekend in resting and not in traveling. So we started around 7 in the evening and reached there around 2, do not worry we had hired a driver to drive the car especially in the night. We had already made are booking before reaching there so we just had to check in the cottage. In the night we were not able to view the scenic beauty of the place, we were just waiting for the reception man to give the keys and we can go to sleep. Our apartment was pretty good with all amenities and facilities. There are rooms and cottages available also but we were only four so we chose the apartment.

Next day I woke up early morning to enjoy the beauty of the place, and to my amaze it was awesome experience. I was standing in the lobby of my apartment with a cup of tea and enjoying the views of the hills and forest nearby with beautiful cottages close to my apartment. There was a chill breeze all over the place with little fog covering the terrace of the cottages, park and the forest plus the golf park. Yes it also offers the golf course however im not a golf player neither im attracted by the game. After enjoying the tea we planned to take a venture into the forest for jungle walk. We were provided with a guide who helped us out with the way in the jungle. The whole view was breath taking. The jungle was covered with many types of trees and with the clouds covering them and the chill breeze all around the place we could not have asked for anything much better than this. We were able to view many species of birds. While my dad and mom decided to go back to the apartment for rest I and my sisters planned for a trek. The trek was also good but I got little rashes. We had lots of fun with water rafting to horse ride everything was available here. Even it provided us with heated pool, spa, in house art gallery, croquet, billiards, golf, and yoga and evening bonfires. So now you can also understand that there was so much to do that we even realized that it was Sunday afternoon and we have to leave the place. But we decided to make another trip for Naldehra with the family and this time for a week.

Mount Abu, sitting pretty on a Plateau

Mount Abu was beautiful when I visited it with my family around 6-7 years ago. However to be said it is a hill station of Rajasthan and when we arrived there in the month of June the temperature was around 42 degree and according to the locals the fluctuation in temperature is always between 30-45 degree Celsius, that was strange to us but then what can except from a hill station in Rajasthan. We started our search for a good hotel and we found Hotel Mount view which offered us cottages along with all the amenities and games plus a swimming pool and the positive point was it was on the famous Mall road which was enough for us.

Next day we had breakfast at the hotel and decided to view the Dilwara Temple. We had our own car so after understanding the route to the temple we started for it and hardly from our hotel it was 20 minutes run and we reached the temple. The temple was amazing and for few seconds I was astonished to see the architecture of it, the carvings on the pillar of the temples and its doom was mind blowing. I mean in my history lessons I had only heard about the carvings of Ajanta and Ellora or Taj but no where was this Dilwara Temple mentioned. It is a Jain temple and according to me it has the most astonishing carvings, ceilings and pillars. After offering our prayer and having something to eat we started for our next step which was Bharamakumari Ashram, the famous Ashram for the old people. When we reached there I could see the white building with beautiful gardens and the neatness of the road and the surrounding looked liked we have reached some foreign city. The building included a museum which showed some of their programs brochures, paintings etc. Then they also showed us small documentary about the ashram as in what all they do and how it was started. On a brief note our visit to the ashram was little soothing. So after the tiring day we decided to go back to our hotel and swim and relax for the day.

Next day we went to boating at the famous Nakki Lake which is on the mall and in our history it is told that it was scraped by God from the ground using their nails. There were various boats for ride and the paddle one. The next one hour we enjoyed the boating. After that we were in no mood to visit sunset point so we started roaming at the mall exploring shops. The shops here offered the famous Kullu caps, shawls, and more decorated things for households. My mom purchased a chess which was made in a big stone and had beautiful carvings on its chess man. And after shopping we had went back to the hotel and enjoyed our game of table tennis and swimming. Next day we checked out from the hotel to drive back home. In a short brief I still enjoy memorizing my trip with my family to Mount Abu.

Apart from Mount View there are many hotels available like Jaipur House and the Rajputana Club.

Find Travel Directions to Mount Abu Here …….

Dharamshala, home to Dalai Lama

Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh is surrounded by a stretch of the Dhauladhar Mountains, overlooking the Kangra Valley. I went to meet Dalai Lama because of whom Dharamshala was put on the world map. The famous Kotwali Bazaar is in Lower Dharamshala and the Upper Dharamshala is more residential with the elegant bungalows and the cantonment. Only a distance of 10kms separated these two communities. And a short walk away was the Mcleodganj.

Kotwali bazaar consisted of a number of shops selling woolens including the locally woven Kullu and Kinnauri shawls on both the sides of the roads, with little cafes where I had a cup of hot tea with my friends and went shopping. Then we went to see the Kangra Art Museum but our bad luck it is closed on Sundays and Mondays so we were not able to see its wonderful collection of miniatures. So we went to see the Yol Camp where Italian prisoners of war were lodged during World War II, and also the War Memorial nearby, which commemorates the sacrifice of Himachal war heroes. Next day we went to a walk in Upper Dharamshala which was the most amazing part of our journey. The road passes through the deeply wooded Forsytheganj with bungalows set back from the road. And just ahead was the St. John’s Church which was a pretty stone building that holds Viceroy Lord Elgin’s Memorial, who had died here in some 1860’s.

And a couple of turns brought us to the main chowk of Mcleodganj. The Dalai Lama’s Tibetan settlement was full of colour and life. I found everything from monks to feisty restaurants, shop owners and hippies. As I took the wooden trail the prayer wheels and carpet shops fade into the distance to Gelugpa Monastery, where Dalai Lama residence is. However the monastery to me was little disappointing at first as was built in a government building but inside it the great statue of Buddha, the thankas and other ritual and votive objects soon distract from its severe symmetry.

At sidhpur on the Yol road was Norbulingka which is a center devoted to the preservation of Tibetan arts and crafts and was set in a Japanese style garden, Norbulingka had a temple, shops, the Losel Dolls museum, thanka painting centre, tailoring section and a café. I enjoyed shopping at Mcleodganj more as there were Tibetan carpets, thankas, wooden masks, metal votive objects, paper drawings, beads and many interesting things. I stayed at Chonor House where the celebrity such as the Hollywood Star Richard Gere stays most often. And then there is Hotel Bhagsu and Clouds End Villa.

Saputara, dispatch from the dangs

Saputara is the only hill station in Gujarat. Saputara was names by the Dangs tribal of the Gujarat districts for they came here during festivals like Holi and Nag Panchmi worship the snake on the bank of nearby Sarpganga River. The air is chilly and the mists fall over the town in the evenings. Plenty of walking is possible and if it’s just a quite getaway one is looking for, Saputara is ideal, and streets ahead of the Lonavalas, Igatpuris that populate Mumbai’s imagination. Saputara overlooks the green valley as there are no auto rickshaws or taxis here as it is so small.

It is a vacation spot for trekking or taking leisurely walks around the lake and the hills. There are quite a few gardens like Rose garden, Step garden and Lake Garden if walking gets too much. There are also few points worth a visit like Echo point and Town view point if you want to gaze at hills. Then there are tribal villages of Bhils, Warlis and Gamits close enough to trek to. Then there are also Hatgadh fort and Pandava Caves to explore all on foot. And the legend goes that Ram spent his 11 years of his 14 years in exile walking about in the forests here. You can also go through the rope way if you are not interested in the treks which will give you the rides and the views. The placid lake is one of the Saputara main attractions and the paddleboats here operate throughout the year.

The Saputara Museum is small, just a couple of rooms which showcase the life and arts of the Dangs tribal. Then we also have the Brahma Kumari establishment here. The local Dang tribal are famous for bamboo handicrafts like pen stands, key chains, jewellery and masks. The town also has an artist’s village and a centre for honey.

Saputara has plenty of places to stay in like Toran Hill resort, Vaity ropeway Resort, Hotel Anando and many more.

Pachmarhi, Primeval Wilderness

Pachmarhi is India’s unusual getaways little hill station. It is the highest point in Madhya Pradesh, and nestles in a small saucer shaped plateau. It enclosed a primeval landscape of lush sal and bamboo forest. When I went there the town according to me consists of small bazaar, an army station and a sprawling civil area that retained a distinct colonial ambience. Pachmarhi was the summer capital of the former Central provinces and used to host a major golf tournament.

I went on a jeep tour to view the famous sunset from Dhupgarh, Bee falls and the Jatashankar and Mahadeo shrines. However I walked to Fairy Pool and the for the specular view of all these falls I climbed up the Chauragarh Peak, which according to a local springs to life during the annual Shivratri mela, with lakhs of trishul- carrying yatris snaking up from the neighboring Chindwara District. Within the civil area was the Buddhist period, rock – hewn Pandav Caves, the government gardens and Bison Lodge, a museum. I enjoyed the ideal mode of transport bicycle in Pachmarhi. Then a scenic two hour walk is the bridle path around Astachal rejoining the road near the cave of Reechgarh, and passing by the Dorothy Deep rock shelter.

Then I went to Satpura National Park, to the west and north of Pachmarhi. It offered spectacular scenery and varied wildlife like bison, sambhar and the occasional cat. I visited the park by jeep from the Neemgham entrance.

I stayed at Rock End Manor which is a bungalow situated on a hillock. Then there is Saptura Retreat, Evelyn’s Own, Panchvati cottages and many to go.