Travel Blog

Mumbai to Madikeri in Monsoon

2009-12-13T21:55:00.023+05:30

Its all good to hear about the golden quadrilateral and the infrastructure spend in India but even better if you can experience (some of) it – as i did on my drive from Mumbai to Mangalore to Coorg this monsoon . Especially the Bangalore highway on which i drove from Pune till close to Hubli was a very comfortable drive. I started from Pune after breakfast – around 10am and reached Hubli around 5 pm.

Hubli is the most convenient stop for a two day drive from Mumbai to Mangalore. Its almost exactly mid-way. There aren’t many good hotels – my friends recommended Naveen Hotel and it was decent enough for a good night’s rest – it might even be good enough to spend some more time amidst lot of greenery and rooms facing a quiet lake.

Next day i left Hubli after breakfast and cut across from Hubli to join the Goa Mangalore highway. This part is a smaller road (state highway) – an ok drive for most part except for some crowded villages on the way which slow you down. After reaching the Mangalore highway took a break at Murudeshwar – famous for a Shiva temple and a nice beach.

Reached Mangalore around 6pm checked into a hotel and left for Coorg next morning. The drive to Coorg is a 3-4 hour drive with the second half of the journey being a picturesque drive through a forest area which gets you ready for the hill station ! Reached Madikeri (Capital of Coorg) and checked into Club Mahindra – courtesy a friend’s membership (and he not having used any of his three weeks for the three years since he took membership). The property is quite nice and well maintained and a fairly large one with more than 200 apartments spread over some 30 acres.

Next morning had lunch at a beautiful resort nearby called Heritage Resort... would likely stay here my next visit. Its spread out on top of a hill, with the restaurant and a small swimming pool on the top of the hill... the view from here were fantastic and the pandi curry (pork curry – speciality of the region) as well as chicken pepper preparations were amazing.

Next morning we visited the Golden Temple – or the Namdrolling monastery located about an hours drive from Madikeri. It is also the second largest Tibetan settlement in India. Nice peaceful experience, impressive gold plated idols of Buddha and co. -though i will not forget this place for a bee sting i got which pained like crazy for the rest of the day despite all medicines and injection to get rid of the pain and irritation.

The bee sting didn’t stop me however from visiting an apiary and knowing a bit about the honey making process... staying as far from bees as possible.... The apiary and the apiculture training institute are located at Bhagamandala – on way to Talakaveri. Talakaveri is the birth place of Kaveri river and an important pilgrim centre. A Brahma Kundike or a small pond is where the river emerges atop a hill. We reached here on a rainy and windy morning so stayed for a little while and watched some pilgrims cross the ‘sacred’ pond fully clothed to receive blessings from the priest on the other side. Was too cold to even contemplate going into water !

On the way back took a little detour to check out the Neemrana property – about 30 kms from Madikeri. We had made reservation for lunch at the hotel – lunch was ok – but the trip to the property was worth it just because of its location in the middle of a coffee and pepper estate.

Next morning we did the more standard touristy destinations – starting with Abby falls which is 20 minute drive from Madikeri.

Next stop was Raja’s seat – which is a beautiful garden overlooking a valley where Kings of Kodagu (Coorg) spent their evenings and watched sunset. After our last peppery lunch in hotel coorg international – we were off to Mangalore.

Next morning we started our journey back from Mangalore to Goa.... best part was to leave early and stop at Udipi for breakfast – not too surprising that i had some best udipi food at udipi !!

Drove all day with stops at Murudeshwar (for coconut water and food) and at Karwar.... reached Palolem (south south Goa) around 3 pm. Some butter calamari and prawns on a shack quenched all hunger and tiredness and i was ready to drive further.

No better way to end a long driving vacation than spending couple of days in North Goa. So replenished our depleted energy levels before driving back to Mumbai !

Gir National Park, Gujarat

2009-05-07T13:06:00.033+05:30

I will remember 1st of May 2009 as a day spent with Asiatic lions – eight of them in all – in three different sightings. I guess its not too difficult to spot a lion resting or sleeping at Gir National Park, but to find them with a kill, or drinking water needs some patience and lots of luck !

We spent two days at Gir National Park in Gujarat – and had three lion sightings on the first day and none on the second day. I wonder if it was plain chance or it had something to do with the park being much more crowded on the second day (being a Saturday) with lots of jeep safaris everywhere (including some noisy ones who looked like they were on a picnic, rather than a jungle safari).

The sightings on the first day were worth all the effort to get to Gir and brave the heat and the sun into the park. We drove from Mumbai to Gir (Mumbai – Surat – Vadodara – Rajkot – Junagadh – Gir) on 30th of April – a drive of almost 800 kms. Thanks to voting starting at 7am, we were on our way by 8am and reached Gir close to midnight. Next morning we left our hotel at 630am into the park and were soon clicking two male lions.

While one of the males (recognizable by their mane) was asleep, the second one moved a bit to go into the shade and then slept as well. With no more movement here, our guide suggested we move on for the lookout of some others who were seen in that area the previous day. Soon we were able to locate this group of two lionesses with with two cubs not too far from the earlier sighting.

The two lionesses and one cub sat there and stared at us, while the second cub moved around as we clicked pictures.

Asiatic lion survives today only in the Gir National Park and as per last census there were 359 lions in 2005, spread over 1412 sq. kms area of the national park. Next census is planned in 2010. Gir is also home to leopards (which we did not get to see on this trip), sambar, cheetal, nilgai (blue bull antelope) and wild boar. We spotted a nilgai on our way back from the park.

I thought the bird sightings at Gir were really good as well. In between our lion searches we got to see many birds including a common kingfisher, a plum headed parakeet (male on the higher branch and female on the lower branch in second picture below) amongst others.

We also got to see a few different kinds of owls/owlets. I cant remember the exact names of the different types, but this one looked more interesting than the others.

Peacocks are common in national parks but to spot one with its fan like plumage (trying to wow potential mates) is quite a sight !

We were all enthu for the afternoon safari as the guide took us to a different part of the park, in search of two different adult male lions. Our guide stopped on the way at a water body, and sighted the lion far away drinking water. The lion was at quite a distance so we decided to find a convenient spot ahead. Our guide told us the lion would drink water for at-least 15 minutes, so we had a good chance of seeing him again. We did see him from a little ahead while he drank water and in between looked at us and then got back to drinking water.

After quenching his thirst, the lion started to move on the road and we followed quietly behind. Soon it found a nice shade and sat down to rest. We stood nearby watching.

A few minutes later another male lion (our guide had told us these two brothers ‘hang out’ together) came to the same spot and the two hugged. Lions are social animals (unlike tigers which are solitary) and usually hang around in groups called prides.

Both the lions rested for a while and we stood nearby and waited for any movement. We did get some movement after a while. One of the lions got up and moved towards what seemed like a kill it had made earlier. It moved towards the kill, picked it up and took it back with him to where they were resting.

Satisfied with having spent enough time with the lions (wouldn’t mind spending some more but then we have to adhere to park timings), we went back to the hotel to rest and get ready for the next day.

Next morning our guide took us to yet another part of the park to look out for another pride. The guides in the park keep checking with the tribals who live in the park (called maldharis) about the exact location and where they saw the lions last. While we waited close to a water body where the lions were likely to come to drink water, our guide helped us spot a few birds including a yellow footed green pigeon and a cormorant.

On our way back out of the park, my friend saw a leopard cross the road ahead of us but was too fast for us to track it down. The maldharis around confirmed that one had just crossed the road. We stopped at a couple of places clicking a few more birds – like the red wattled lapwing close to a water pond.

Later in the afternoon safari we also spotted a yellow wattled lapwing near another pond, along with another red wattled lapwing.

The afternoon safari on second day was more deers, jungle dogs, sambar, nilgai and many more birds. Some of them repeated by choice – e.g. we went again to the tree we had spotted parakeets the previous day to get some more pictures of these colourful birds.

We also spotted some other interesting birds with long tails – the Asian paradise flycatcher and the Asian brown flycatcher but they moved too fast for me to get a good click. I did get a few snaps of a Eurasian thick-knee.

Next morning was our drive back to Mumbai. Ideally i would have liked to make a few more visits to the park – hopefully another time.

Lotus backwater resort, Aronda, Maharashtra-Goa border

2009-01-27T18:24:00.013+05:30

On my way back from Goa after the new year, i booked myself in this interesting new resort (about a year old in its current format) run by Lotus Suites (Kamat Hotels Group) at Aronda.

The resort is located about 30 kms from Sawantwadi, a convenient stop enroute road trip to Goa. We actually drove to Aronda on our way back from Goa – drove north to Sawantwadi and then south again towards Aronda – a drive of almost 100kms.

On reaching we were told that North Goa (Kiranpani) is not even a 100 meters ferry ride from Aronda. The ferry which operates with a half hour frequency is a convenient drive-in ferry - you can take your car on to the ferry and drive off on Goa side. Once in Goa with your vehicle, north Goa beaches are a easy drive – 5 km to Kerim beach, 9 kms to Morjim beach and 25 kms to Calangute.

We decided to leave the car at the hotel but take a ferry ride anyway. We saw all kind of local vehicles – few small cars, a tempo and a small truck drive on to the ferry and drive off the other side. What surprised us was the constant flow of bikes and scooters (largely foreigners) with Goa number plates – tourists from Goa who hire two wheelers and take the ferry to Maharashtra in the morning and return to Goa by the evening ferry.

We got an extremely warm reception from Mr Avinash Malvade, in-charge of the Lotus backwater Aronda resort. The resort itself is work in progress. While about 17 rooms are operational (including 4 floating cottages) – some more rooms and other facilities like swimming pool etc. are in planning stage.

So if you want lots of usual activities – the resort is not fully ready yet! However the location of the resort - on the river Terecol and amidst mangroves and dense coconut trees provides a great experience nevertheless. The resort also arranges boat ride in the usually calm Terecol river.

Among the room options – the floating cottages clearly stood out. They stand on independent platforms at the river shore; what stands out is the construction (using local matured wood) and the way various modern amenities have been arranged for in each of these cottages.

The service levels (room service, other requirements) were excellent, – though floating cottages are farthest from the service area so it takes more time. Food was great especially if you like the malvani preparation; one can also order fresh catch (fish like red snapper) prepared as per one’s liking.

I say a nice place to chill and (experience) tranquil.....

US National Parks Circuit

2008-10-14T18:00:00.040+05:30

It has taken me a long time to write about this trip i did in June 2008. Reason for this delay (besides me being lazy and the markets being crazy) was that i needed help to make a map of this trip – to easily describe what i mean by US National Parks circuit. The route actually offers lot more than just the national parks but i call it that as it goes through many of the well known and large national parks in US. Now that i have the map ready, here goes

To do justice to this trip and appreciate the incredible splendour that some of these national parks and other places offer – i would suggest a minimum of two weeks (three is better) time at hand for the drive. It’s a total drive of almost 4000 miles so more than one person driving would help! We started the road trip at Denver, Colorado – one could do it as easily from Las Vegas or from Salt Lake City.

Just to the east of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains, Denver and its neighbouring areas provide lots of adventure activities (white-water rafting, mountain biking, trekking) and sightseeing options. Our first trip was to Mount Evans – in the front range region of Rocky Mountains. One of the highest paved roads in North America, it was a scenic drive with some beautiful lakes and snow-capped peaks all around.

We spent couple of days in Denver, did some adventure equipment shopping (Denver has some of the largest stores specialising in adventure equipment – for mountaineering, white-water rafting, kayaking, biking etc. etc.) and then started our circuit drive moving westwards towards Vail .

Famous as a skiing destination, we were happy to be in Vail in off-season climate and enjoy the surroundings. The city also offers many outdoor activities in off-season like guided hikes, mountain biking, horseback riding etc.

Our next stop was Aspen (so named because of abundance of aspen trees in the area) – also a ski resort. The core area of Aspen is a nice mix of historic character, as well as some glitz of the rich and famous. Aspen has amongst the highest per capita in US, and has attracted many celebrities – but also has lots to offer to a tourist in terms of cultural activities, adventure as well as sightseeing!

From Aspen we were driving towards closeby Maroon Bells, when we had a chance encounter with a bear –crossing the road. It was completely unexpected and by the time i could take out the camera, he was ready to go back into the woods – though i was able to click one picture!!

Maroon bells was simply spectacular. We had seen many pictures in brochures and thought they were the kinds taken on a special day with a special camera – those doubts got cleared when we took some similar pictures with our own camera!!

We drove back towards Vail, this time taking the route via the Independence Pass (at a height of 12095 ft, between Aspen and Leadville). We crossed the pass after dark and even though the pictures were not as bright and clear, driving through the cold in the night with snow all around was an amazing experience!

Next morning we bid adieu to Vail and drove towards Moab to visit Arches National Park. Just as we entered Utah we visited couple of small vineyards and wineries trying out some local wines and buying some for the trip!

We reached Arches National Park by late afternoon. Long long days of June (doesn’t get dark till 9PM) were a real help in terms of sightseeing despite long hours of driving almost daily!! Spread over 119 square miles, Arches National Park is filled with stunning sandstone formations.

Most large formations visible in the park today are either the salmon-coloured Entrada sandstone – in which most of the arches formed. Some of the notable ones are Balanced Rock (picture above), Double Arch, Devil’s Garden, Courthouse towers and the most famous – Delicate Arch (picture below)

Our next stop was Natural Bridges National Monument in Southeast Utah – which contains three large natural bridges eroded into Cedar mesa sandstone. These bridges are formed when meandering streams of water slowly cut through the canyons; and are much rarer compared to arches which result from other erosional forces.

The three large natural bridges are named Kachina, Owachomo (in the picture below) and Sipapu – which are all Hopi (Native American) names. These are accessible from the Bridge View drive which winds along the park and goes through all three bridges – with hiking trails at each viewpoint leading down to the base of the bridges.

The drive from Natural bridges towards Monument Valley was an extremely scenic one; leading through what is known as the Valley of the Gods – with many tall, red sandstone mesas and cliffs. As one descends towards the valley – the view is breathtaking with almost a 270 degree panorama of different red sandstone formations in the distance and close-by. In any one frame (like in the picture below) the camera could only capture perhaps one fourth of the span!

Little ahead on our way to Monument Valley, we crossed the small town of ‘Mexican Hat’ named after a curious formation nearby of a large flat rock 60 ft in diameter perched precariously on a much smaller base at the top of a small hill.

Few miles ahead of Mexican Hat was the monument valley – some of the formations can be seen for many miles even before reaching the valley. The valley is not a valley in the conventional sense, but a wide flat, sometimes desolate landscape, interrupted by the crumbling formations rising hundreds of feet into the air, the last remnants of the sandstone layers that once covered the entire region.

Monument valley area lies entirely within the Navajo Indian reservation on the Utah/Arizona border – and the entrance of the Monument valley Navajo Tribal Park is managed by the natives and not covered under the US National Parks Entrance Card. While the view from the lookout point is quite spectacular – one must do the 17 mile valley drive (see car in picture below) to get a closer look at the monuments.

The 17mile valley drive takes one through 11 observation points, giving a closer look at some of the mesas – like the rain god mesa, elephant butte, camel butte, spearhead mesa and the three sisters amongst others.

Tired from the drive to and through monument valley, we headed to our resting station for the night - the Cameron Trading Post. Just about 30 miles from the entrance to Grand Canyon National park, the post run by Native American Indians provides an insight into the their food, their culture, and also hosts a large collection of the Native American Art.

The most popular amongst tourists, Grand Canyon overwhelms the senses by its immense size (277 miles by 18 miles and 1 mile deep) and the amazing landscape. We had been to Grand Canyon before (years ago) so decided to spend only a day here and get back to the road less travelled!

But before we got back to our National Parks circuit, we took a break in Las Vegas. There is not much i have to add about Vegas, to what many of you would already know. One recommendation though – if you are willing to spend a little extra, stay at the Bellagio in a room facing the fountains - they charge extra for the fountain facing rooms but it’s worth the spend !

Thanks to the break in Vegas, we were all re-energised to explore some more sandstone formations that Zion National Park promised. The colour of the sandstone cliffs here varied from cream, to pink, to red giving them a unique look!

With some of the internal roads being done up, and private vehicles not allowed in all parts of the park, we took the free shuttle service which goes through the various observation points. One can see many of the marked formations from the bus itself – the great white throne, the checkerboard mesa and the three patriarchs being some that i can remember! However there are trails at most of these points which one can take to get a closer look at the formations.

Not too far (about 80 miles) from Zion National Park is Bryce Canyon National Park. Personally i thought it was the most spectacular amongst everything we had seen so far, surreal – looked like it was a different planet! I really don’t believe the pictures can do justice to the magnificence of the place.

The thin spires formed in sedimentary rock are known as hoodoos – and vary in height from 5 ft to almost 200 ft. The shape of these hoodos is affected by the erosional patterns of alternating hard and soft rock layers. Minerals deposited within different rock types cause them to have different colours throughout their height.

Bryce Canyon is vast and has multiple observation points, spread out over a 20 mile area – you probably need couple of days to go through all of them. Paria view, Bryce point, Inspiration point and Sunset point are some of the names i remember.

Next day was a long drive – to cross most of Utah and much of Wyoming to reach our next destination(s). We took a brief stop at the Salt Lake City – driving through the university and taking a quick stop at the Mormon Temple and the LDS Church (Church of the Jesus Christ of Latter day saints) located at the city’s centre block (also called Temple square).

Next morning we drove towards Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park. Jackson Hole is the name given to the entire valley as mountain men entering the area had to descend along relatively steep slopes – though sometimes the town of Jackson itself is mistakenly called Jackson Hole.

A popular tourist attraction of Jackson are the Elk Antler Arches – constructed at the four entrances of the town square. The Arches were constructed in 1968 from shed elk antlers and are particularly appropriate as Jackson lies at the perimeter of the Elk refuge.

Less than an hour from Jackson is the Grand Teton National Park. Grand Teton preserves a spectacular landscape with majestic mountains and pristine lakes and some wildlife.

About 30 miles north of Grand Teton National Park is the South entrance of Yellowstone National Park – one of the five entrances of the park. This park spans over a vast area by any standards– almost 3500 sq miles across three states – Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Yellowstone National Park has lots to offer – mountain peaks, lakes, waterfalls, lots of wildlife and what the park is best known for - the hot water geysers and springs.

One of the most popular areas in the park is the ‘Old Faithful’ geyser. As the name suggests – this is the faithful large geyser which erupts at regular intervals (between 70 to 90 minutes interval). Average height of the eruption is almost 145 ft and lasts for about couple of minutes. Visitors gather around the geyser in large numbers before the estimated eruption time!!

There are atleast a dozen other large geysers of different sizes and characteristics – to cover each of them would make this blog post more painfully long than it already is. Besides hot water geysers and springs, there are mud pots (like Fountain Paint Pot) and fumaroles – many of them resulting in unique colour formations based on deposits around and within them.

Mountain peaks and lakes towards the east gate offer some amazing views. For waterfalls one has to travel up north to Tower falls (Yellowstone map at http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/interactivemap/index.htm). Most exciting part about Yellowstone for me was the bear sightings. With luck favouring us we had four bear sightings in two days – and some of them at fairly close quarters! Wildlife at Yellowstone includes Grizzly bears, black bears, bison, elk, coyote, moose and bighorn sheep.

We decided to take the northeast gate out of the park to go via Montana. It was a scenic route climbing to a height of over 10000 ft, with lots of snow covered mountains for miles before we entered Montana.

Our penultimate stop was Mount Rushmore National Memorial – a large sculpture of four US Presidents – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln (left to right in picture below). Sculptor Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers sculpted the 60 ft carvings between 1927 and 1941 to represent the first 150 years of American History.

About 8 miles from Mount Rushmore is the Crazy Horse Memorial. Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski (who worked under Sculptor Gutzon Borglum earlier at Mount Rushmore) and the Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear started the Memorial in 1948 to honour the culture, tradition and heritage of North American Indians. The sculpture’s final dimensions are planned at 641 ft by 563 ft, with the head of crazy horse at 87 ft and will be the world’s largest sculpture when finished. Started in 1948, the sculpture is far from complete – for reasons relating to funding and some other controversies.

Rafting at Rishikesh, Uttaranchal

2008-06-02T20:44:00.010+05:30

Weekend before last i went for my n-th rafting trip to Rishikesh (n>10) and the first thought when our raft hit the rapid was – why haven’t i been doing this more often? Of all my travel experiences, the thrill of being in the middle of a rapid (the third mice or the roller coaster) and a huge wave hitting from the front is unmatched – better than even sighting a tiger !!

If you are driving down from Delhi, i recommend starting very early say by 5 am as one saves lot of time getting out of Delhi and crossing Ghaziabad, Mohannagar, Meerut etc. where the traffic gets slow at later hours. For food it is best to stop at the tried and tested ‘Cheetal Grand’ at Khatauli which is exactly halfway between Delhi and Rishikesh. Other decent alternatives are Moolchand resorts just before the Muzaffarnagar bypass and Polaris in Roorkee.

It takes about 5 hours to get to Hardwar if one leaves at an early hour. From the road one can see Har ki Pauri and also the Chandi Devi temple (on top of a hill). There is an aarti at Har ki Pauri in the evenings and many who visit Rishikesh make it a point to attend this aarti one of the evenings.

Rishikesh is about 25 kms ahead of Hardwar. Our destination was Logout Camp@Ganges which is about 26 kms ahead of Rishikesh on the Badrinath route. In Rishikesh one crosses the famour Ram Jhula and the even more famous Laxman Jhula on the right.

If you reach in day time you will see some of the rafts ending their rafting journey at Rishikesh. From Rishikesh onwards the road gets winding as one starts climbing up towards Badrinath. The route offers some spectacular views of the river Ganges flowing below and the hills on both sides.

From Rishikesh to Tapovan Chauki to Shivpuri to Malakunti took us about an hour to reach Logout Camp@Ganges. The team was ready to welcome us with chai and snacks.

There were a few groups already at the camp – some of them had finished their rafting and were doing rappelling and rock climbing, while some others were playing volleyball on the beach.

We were allocated tents we would be staying in (at a slightly higher platform) – each tent had two cots with beddings etc. – so fairly comfortable for a camp setting (the loos are not so comfortable though, as forest only allows dry pit loos). We had snacks in the evening with some music for company, had early dinner and went to bed.

Next morning was the rafting day. We had an early breakfast as we watched the Logout team ready six rafts for different groups who were going rafting that morning. While others were being given safety instructions, we got ready with the life jacket etc. and got going !!

Next three hours were exhilarating ! The thrill of negotiating the rapids especially the higher grade rapids (rapids are given grades depending on how violent they are and chances of a raft turning over, the ones with grade 3 and above are the most enjoyable – watch out for Three blind mice, Roller coaster, Golf course and The wall) is unmatched !

The cold water splashing on your face, the guide shouting instructions (All forward, faster faster) to paddle faster and the fear deep inside of falling into the ice-cold water if the raft was to turn – all adds to the chill ! Difficult to describe in words, here are some pictures taken of other rafts as they crossed the rapid right behind us !!

We rafted from the Logout Camp (near Marine drive, where most rafting trips start) down till Rishikesh. We were way tired to attempt anything more – though we found some more energetic ones preparing for rappelling and others for an activity called bridge slithering !

Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh

2008-04-08T09:41:00.001+05:30

Over the years i made trips to many National Parks in India - Jim Corbett, Nagarhole, Ranthambore – each time hoping to see a tiger but alas ! I know some people who have seen tigers at these national parks but i know many more (including myself) who came back disappointed. My experience at Kanha National Park was markedly different. A friend of mine introduced me to Kanha – he’s been going there for more than a decade and i went with him first in November 2005 and i had not one or two, but three tiger sightings in three days.

Same was the case in my more recent visit in March 2008 – four sightings in three days !

Our first sighting was on the very first evening from a jeep. We heard the alarm calls (sounds made by deers, monkeys, barasingha when they see the tiger), and saw a few jeeps standing little ahead – so we closed in and stopped behind the jeeps. Everyone was busy trying to find the tiger, and make sense of noises made by the other animals. And then the tiger (actually tigress) appeared to our left and cameras on all the jeeps got into action.

The tigress started walking towards the road where the jeeps were lined and crossed the road two jeeps ahead of ours. Every eye (animals and humans present at the site) followed the tigress till she disappeared on our right.

We waited for the other jeeps to move, and our guide told us which way the tigress could have gone. Having reached there we again started looking for the tigress, the driver and the guide giving possible explanation of where she could be. And then someone pointed towards her, she was standing in the grass looking straight at us; reminded me of the saying “For every time that you see a tiger, the tiger sees you thousand times”

It was us and the tigress for next fifteen minutes. She came to cross the road a few meters ahead of where our jeep was, and then decided to take rest.

We got enough pictures of the tigress walking a few meters ahead, then while she went back to the greens we got a chance to move ahead and then got pictures of her walking right behind the jeep.

Earlier in the day, we also got to see some wild dogs.

Kanha is about 1130 kms drive from Mumbai. One can fly into Nagpur (Nagpur to Kanha is about 250 kms) or Jabalpur (Jabalpur to Kanha is about 165 kms) and then hire a vehicle to get to Kanha National Park. There are two main entrance gates to the National Park area – Kisli and Mukki. Most park safaris start at Kisli and majority of the resorts are also located at Khatia outside the Kisli gate; Tuli Tiger Resort (http://www.tuligroup.com/, Tel: +91-712-2534784-88), Kipling Camp and the more recent Celebrations resort are among the popular ones.

The only option of accommodation available inside the first gate and at the periphery of National Park is Baghira Log Huts (http://www.mptourism.com/dest/kanha.html) run by MP Tourism. If you do choose to stay at Baghira Log Huts, be prepared to see a bison or cheetal and if you are lucky even a tiger right outside your room.

Next morning we decided to take an elephant safari and go searching for a tiger. It took our Mahawat (elephant driver) an hour or so to figure our the approx. location of the tiger.

But we could not find the tiger till we heard a roar and directed the elephant towards it. When we reached – there were not one, but two tigers fighting. The elephant stayed at a safe distance till the two calmed down and sat at some distance from each other.

When we came back we heard of a tiger-show nearby (where-in, an elephant mahawat spots a tiger and informs the co-ordinating unit and then tourist jeeps are sent to the nearest point and tourists taken on elephant from there to see the tiger), so we went and paid our visit to this male tiger as well.

In the afternoon we took a jeep safari and saw bisons crossing the road.

Inspired by the previous morning experience, we decided to take the elephant safari again the next morning. We told our Mahawat that we really would like to see a full grown male tiger. He was quick to inform us that there is one male tiger seen around here in last few days so if we were lucky, we could have a good sighting. Soon enough our Mahawat was able to confirm pugmarks of a male tiger and we followed those to the next water body but didn’t find the tiger.

We searched around further and finally did spot the tiger but he was in no mood to sit down. We chased the tiger for next 15-20 minutes, at times fearing we would lose him, before he actually decided to sit down for some time.

It was a large male tiger, looking distinctly larger and more fierce than the ones we had seen so far. Our Mahawat told us that the place we ended up seeing the tiger is actually not even 100 meters away from Baghira Log Huts – the place we were staying at.

Leh Ladakh, J&K

2008-03-20T12:42:00.000+05:30

A trip to Leh/ Ladakh is special, much more so if one travels by road and not by air. Starting from New Delhi there are two ways to get to Leh - one via Manali and the other one via Srinagar and Kargil. We reached Manali the first evening and set out Lehwards the next morning.

Few kms from Manali, we stopped for a bhutta at Rohtang Pass. A popular point for tourists to Manali, Rohtang is usually the highest point of their journey.... for us it was the beginning point.

While the total distance from Manali to Leh is little under 500 kms, it takes atleast twice the time the same distance will take on plains. The roads are winding, climbing, not in a very good condition resulting in a fairly slow drive.

We drove for most of the day to reach Sarchu where we were to rest for the night in tented accommodation.

Sarchu camp is situated at a height of over 16000 ft, almost 4000 ft more than height of Leh – so the drive actually takes you much higher and then descend into Leh. It was easily the coldest and most difficult night ever for most of us – mainly due to the thin air which along with the cold made any activity extremely difficult.

Next morning we bid farewell to the friendly staff at the Sarchu camp and got back on the road – the road winding even more than the previous day.

Crossing some other high altitude passes (Lachulungla at 16616 ft and Tanglangla at 17582 ft), we reached Leh in the evening. The landscape at Leh is very striking – barren yet very beautiful with rocky mountains devoid of any vegetation enclosing a perfectly green valley.

Shanti Stupa and Buddhist monasteries nearby are some of the main tourist destinations in Leh.

Pangong Tso (Tso meaning Lake) is the other attraction – and about a four hour mountain drive from Leh proper traversing through the third highest pass in the world Changla Pass at 17800 ft . The Lake itself is at a height of 14250 ft and has a length of 134kms – one third of which is in India and the rest in China.

A two hours drive to the north of Leh is the Khardungla (La means pass), famous as the highest motorable road in the world. The Pass is also the gateway to Nubra Valley and is at a height of 18380 ft.

We decided to take the Kargil – Drass – Srinagar route to return to Delhi. We spent the first night in Kargil and then moved on through the town next morning.

This route was a little easier for the drive part, as the overall altitudes are much lower than the Manali – Sarchu route (highest pass on Srinagar Leh route is Fotula top at 13479 ft) but signs by the army warn you of dangers of a different kind !

We passed Kargil and stayed the night at Drass and reached Srinagar in the morning. The change in landscape was refreshing. We spent the day in Srinagar visiting the Shalimar Bagh and Dal Lake.

In Dal lake we took the shikara ride before we bid adieu to Srinagar and drove back to Delhi.

Ganapatipule, Maharashtra

2008-03-08T22:36:00.000+05:30

A seven hour drive (around 350 kms) from Mumbai, Ganapatipule is well known for its serene beach as well as for the 'Swayambhu Ganapati' temple there.

About two kms to the south of Ganapatipule beach is the secluded Bandarpule beach and Krishnali beach resort right on the beach (The resort got into legal battle for violating the ministry of Environment's bar on construction within 200m of high tide line). While the resort is at-best average in terms of its accomodation and food, its location right on this amazing beach makes the place special.

Besides lying in a hammock and reading a book, the hills right behind the resort offer good trekking options, depending on the season. The facilities in the resort (swimming pool, indoor games) were not well maintained the few times i visited. A camera could be useful, though !