Travel

Venice to me is the most beautiful place I have seen.

I was for my company's work in Luxembourg (another beautiful country in Europe) in 2011-2012. We visited many places in Europe. However, the bliss of travelling was felt the most when I was in Venice.

90% of local travel in this city is via the gondola (boats) rides on water. Those Gondola rides on the lanes of water in the city give a great feeling and awe of this heaven on earth!

P.S.: The Italian Pasta was awesome. The Chef made Chicken pasta as a custom addition (of Chicken) on my request.

We can get there via bullet trains from Rome or any other Schengen cities in Europe. Also Venice has its own airport. A cheap fare airline called Ryan Air also operates to Venice from other countries in Europe. Ticket fare was about 35 Euros (in 2012).

Awesome weekend trek and kojagiri celebration at Rajgad fort. This time we had trek with friends as well as spouses and kids.

This is the first time, we were taking our kids for the trekking with overnight camping. Hence selected the easier route (than the one we take regularly) to climb i.e. from Pali darwaja. All the 4 kids managed to hike it well without any trouble to their parents.

Kids (Mrunmayee Masurkar - 7 yrs, Atharva Kolhe - 6 yrs, Siddhiksha Nimbalkar - 5 yrs and Shlok Kolhe - 3 yrs) enjoyed the trek, camping in tents, morning fun and food as well.

Dinner menu (Veg sweet corn soup with papad, methi paratha and khichadi) was awesome and we let Viraj and Bhagyashree handle the cooking fortress while we remain in supporting role. Post dinner, kids (except Mru) went to sleep quickly. We played card games for an hour and then enjoyed the badam keshar milk, special menu for Kojagiri Pournima

Nehru Institute of Mountaineering is the best mountaineering institute of India right now, ahead of HMI when it comes to physical training, providing efficient equipment, proper accommodation facilities. NIM is situated a little above the town of Uttarkashi.

The campus is great with all the facilities you will need in an Institute. The hostels are clean and the food is great! Our course had 106 people to start with and by the time we finished we were 92 with people from Armed Forces and NCC also. We were divided into 14 ropes (groups) each with an Instructor.

First couple of days of the course will have briefing from the Principal, taking you around the campus, medical inspection, introduction and issue of equipment etc. Make sure you get the right equipment or else you will be in big trouble later in the mountains.

Then you will have a short trek for about an hour and a half just above the campus through the woods with half the load you carry in the mountains – may be 10+kgs – and you get good views of BanderPoonch range. And every afternoon you will have theory classes be it in campus or in Tekhla. The course as most of them know is divided into Rock Craft, Snow Craft and Ice Craft. During Rock Craft days you trek every day for 8kms till Tekhla Rock Climbing Area, mostly on road.

You will carry all equipment given by NIM, which ends up more than 10kgs for sure. But on the way back you come in the bus to save time. Lectures will happen in Tekhla in the afternoon and inside the campus during evenings which will be followed by a movie.

In snow craft though you are thought different types of Ascending and Descending on snow. For Ice craft you hike for an hour and a half to Dokrani Glacier passing the moraines near the Ice walls. Those were my first steps on a glacier and also got to see huge crevasses just next to the training area. Walls aren’t just there, there was a lot of snow again and we had to shovel out the snow till we found hard ice. We had lectures up there next to the walls and sitting on the glaciers had our bums numb! Last day at Base Camp you will have a Navigation test where you’ll have to run around a little and a Theory test which will be really simple. And finally the course was over and undoubtedly I had an awesome time and more importantly learnt a whole lot of stuff.

The only problem with any holiday is that like all good things it eventually comes to an end. All the happiness and sense of peace that was kicking within us throughout our holiday starts fading slowly as we leave back for our homes. BUT when it comes to holidaying among Mountains we always bring back something that stays within us throughout our life. Mountains speak to us, Mountains teach us the highs and lows of life, Mountains show us there are no limits of heights, Mountains give us a chance to touch the clouds, Mountains helps us listen to the music of the winds, Mountains makes us feel so small and at the same time make us feel on top of the world.

Lohagadh The Iron Fort is one of the many hill forts of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. Situated close to the hill station Lonavala and around 55 kms from Pune, Lohagad rises to an elevation of about 3400ft above sea level. The nearest railway station is Malavali which is around 7kms from the fort and 10kms from Lonavala. The fort walls till date stand tall and the fortification stands strong to its name “The Iron Fort”. I won’t write much about the history of the place for you can anytime Google and check it.

I want to talk about this lovely monsoon trek. This was the longest trek I have done till date. Trekking for about 25kms in this beautiful region was simply an amazing experience. I and my cousin never felt tired trekking such a long distance in one day. The mountains all around gave us the strength; the lovely clouds kept energising us with mild rains, the cool weather throughout the day never made us look back. We started off from Pune boarding the early morning local train to Malavali which is around 55kms and it took us a nice 1hr journey. Getting down at Malavali railway station and looking at mountains covered with mist and clouds was just the beginning and it gave us trailer of what lies ahead. It was 5.45am and time for me to use the Loo.

The station washroom was locked and after giving my train ticket and my ID card the station master gave me the keys to the creepiest washroom I have ever used in my life. The funniest thing is giving my ID card as a security for the creepiest washroom with no lights and the worst fear of my life “Lizards” waiting for me inside.

Huh after all that shit we went to a small hotel outside the station. Having a nice cup of tea outside the station we met two gay couples in that small hotel. Those gays had partied hard the previous night at a gay party which was held at a private farm house in Malavali. They asked us if we too were gays and told us that the party was over. I was like Lolz and told them No and they apologized. It was not at all offensive for me and I continued talking to them more about their party and asked them if they wanted to join us for the trek. They nicely said No as they were tired of partying all night. After all that we bid them bye and started our trek. We had to trek around 7kms from Malavali station to reach the base of the Lohagadh fort. Nature at its best at this time of the year, numerous waterfalls all around and the mountains covered with lovely mist and clouds makes you feel just out of this world. The urge to capture the nature at every step we trekked slow and I clicked some real amazing pics.

The beauty of the mountains covered with clouds, the waterfalls and nature of this region can never be penned down. You just sulk in the beauty and aura of this place and it will stay within you forever. Enjoying this heavenly region we trekked for around 2hrs to reach the base of the fort. After reaching the base we had our breakfast and the sweetest corn we ever had. We started to climb up the fort and it was quite an easy hike at the start but started getting a bit riskier as we climbed high. Because of rains there was water running down the uneven and broken steps and was very slippery. Carefully climbing the slippery path and clicking pics at every awesome point in the way we reached the top of the Iron fort. There was very less visibility at the top for a few minutes due to mist and clouds. Slowly the clouds moved away and the majestic mountain top was clearly visible on all sides. It was an exhilarating feeling on being at the top and exploring each and every corner of the mountain. There was a tomb, a temple and a couple of other structures on the top. The mountain is vast and the walls of the fort stand tall till date. One side of the mountain will lead you to “Vinchukata” which means scorpions tail. It’s a spectacular point and one should not forget to trek this extra 1km stretch. During monsoon the mountain is wonderfully covered with nature’s different shades of greens.

The contrast of the black walls and the greenery looks simply astounding. Spending a good time on the top and exploring every corner of the mountain, losing our way a few times, sitting at peace and quietly listening to the sounds of the wind, looking at the flow of the clouds, I just did not want to leave such a heavenly place. But it was time to bid bye to the majestic Lohagadh Fort and climb down back to the base. There a quite a few good small dhabas at the base. We had our lunch at one of the dhaba, the taste of the food we ordered was very nice and tastiest was missal pav. After having our lunch we had two options either trek back 7kms to Malavali station and take a local train to Lonavala from there or trek all the way to Lonavala which was about 12-15kms from Lohagadh. Looking at the beautiful weather we decided why to go back to Malavali and instead explore more of this region on foot. So we choose the longer path and started trekking towards Lonavala. The dhaba owner told us about Pavana dam which was on our way to Lonavala. Pavana dam is a very pristine clear clean water dam about 6kms from Lohagadh. The Dam is actually visible from the top of Lohagadh and anyone who visits Lohagadh will definitely visit Pavana dam too. We were blessed with drizzling rains and the amazing weather which never made us feel tired. As we were close to Pavana dam we found a village guy who became our friend and gave us lift on his bike to Pavana dam. Pavana dam is barricaded on all sides and tourists are not allowed to venture into the dam but lucky we this local village guy took us into the dam via a route only the locals know. The view of the dam was spectacular and the clear water was inviting us to take a super dip.

We relaxed and took a dip into the wonderful clear water of Pavana dam. We chit chatted with the guy and thanked him and left towards Lonavala which was still close to 8-10kms away. We had no plans of visiting any place in Lonavala but just reach the railway station and catch our train back to Pune. We had enough time left so we walked slow and talked on every random topic. The best was remembering and talking about our ex-girlfriends, cracking jokes on each other and enjoying the trek. We made multiple stops in between had mast masala chai, vada pav, corn, steamed peanuts etc. After walking a good 8kms we finally entered Lonavala and found that the railway station is another 4kms away...LOL. This was the first time we started feeling tired but decided to continue walking and explore the markets of Lonavala and eat whatever tempts us on the way. Finally after around a good 25kms trek for the day we reached Lonavala railway station. It was time to head back to Pune and also time for our legs to curse us and punish us for making them walk so so long.

About Author:
Fascinated about & trying to Decipher the Enigma of the two most Mysterious things on this Earth - Mountains & Women's...!!!
Entrepreneur, traveler, explorer, artist, foodie, free adviser, storyteller, philosopher(at times) etc etc.
I want to travel, trek, hike, explore, adventure, eat, drink, click, draw, paint, talk, write, make new friends, preach love and humanity, live my dreams and keep repeating all over again & again till I Live.

It all started as a day’s fun and everyone came up with options like Goa, Mahabaleshwar, Matheran etc. We had to go for an outing together. Soon, we realized that we have hardly 1 night and 2 days stay and should plan accordingly.

It had to be some sort of adventure sports and hence all agreed upon DANDELI, Karnataka. I always had on mind to go to Dandeli for water rafting and was so excited to hear this name!! Yes that’s the place and we all started working on the accommodation and travel plans.

Dandeli in Karnataka is known for its White water rafting through the river Kali. We booked Tempo Traveler for 12 and soon we were on our way. We started at around 10 P.M. on a Friday night. No one was in a mood to sleep. Hence, we started playing Games and Antakshari and by 3 A.M. we were all down. Let me tell you, having smoking Chai at roadside dhabas while travelling is so much fun especially in the night. Finally slept for few hours and when opened my eyes, I saw we are halted at some dhabaa. I looked at the watch. It was 6:30 A.M. This was our 4th or 5th tea of the night.

After around 360 kilometers, we left NH4 and took the State highway-1 towards Dandeli. Since then the road was getting narrower and could hardly find any shops around. We reached Dandeli resort at around 9:30 Morning. It was quite a long travel and with no sleep. But the resort brought the excitement back and we rushed in and out of our rooms within no time. Tasty parathas were waiting for us and some chai again.

Adventure sports at Dandeli:

The Resort had so many options for outdoor activities and we were thrilled, wanting to do each one of them. As we know Lot of minds end up in mess. We almost did something similar. But then decided to take it easy and instead of all of them we will do few activities but spend time and enjoy it!

Kayaking in Dandeli -

Kayaking is use of Kayak for moving across water :-) wowww wikipedia gives such dumb definition sometimes: although It was great fun. We were waiting for our turn and the person in front of us lost his balance while getting into his Kayak. That made me think a bit but all was comfortable from then on. We managed to get on to the Kayak and since then we just enjoyed the sport! Few in our team even compete against each other. It was fun to watch them.

Natural Jacuzzi in Dandeli -

This is nothing but some stylish name to sitting in river water and enjoying the light stream of water flowing around you. We spent most of our time in water. It was so relaxing; we could spend hours in there. Splashing water over each other, clicking photos, playing truth and dare, it was fun time!

Supa Dam visit in Dandeli -

Supa dam being the second largest dam in the state is built on the river Kali. It was nearby from our resort and also with some influence available, we could not miss visiting the dam. It was awesome and one of the highlight of our trips. Have never seen a dam from the top. Could manage it this time thanks to my friends.

The most exciting part of the trip, fresh water rafting. It starts from a place called Ganesh Gudi, 20 km from Dandeli. On the way we saw Supa dam, the biggest dam among the series of dams built on Kali River.

We were introduced to the rules of the rafting and after wearing the life jackets and helmet, we were on the raft.

Very soon, we were at the first rapid and also the biggest one. We could feel the rush of adrenaline as the raft slid into the rapid. Bad part was that i could capture these events in my camera. All along the rafting, we just needed to follow the instructions by the trainer. We passed through some nine rapids and in some places where the water was placid, we jumped into the river. The rafting lasted for about 1.5 hours and it was an experience to remember.

Everyone was kind of exhausted and journey was bit hectic and extensive considering that we took almost 12 hours to reach back home.

Dandeli is well known for Adventure sports and especially White river water rafting.

Best time to visit - Ask the locals about the water levels. Entire trip depends on it.

Stay in Dandeli - Bison River Resort Bison river resort Feedback - Activities availability - Yes and good. Experience with activities - We tried Kayaking and natural Jacuzzi. Thoroughly enjoyed it! Resort quality and service - Good. Food Quality - Bad Price - Expensive food. Stay is fine. But we don't have other food options. So overall EXPENSIVE Would I refer anyone for it - Try out other resort. Hopefully it would turn out better and cheaper.

About Author: I work as a software engineer in British Telecom. I am passionate about traveling and long drives.

Seven days of bliss, adventure & vigor...1575 kilometers of life at its best.

What a ride it has been! Dense forests, malignant roads, curious curves, fierce rivers, mighty peaks & remotest hill stations. I lived by the TW3 tag line aptly, free to wander but never lost. I had planned for the most isolated places in Uttarakhand, but the outcome is even more enthralling. In spite of the loneliness in the air, I wandered into the most untouched places of the dynamic valleys.

Greetings to everyone there!! Kudos to the initiative by Wrangler & xBhp to bring forth the vigor & love for motorcycling to the nationwide platform!! I would like to devote my sincere thanks to the organizers, the judges and my friends & family who voted for my travelogue in the prelims. I have come to believe that love for something so materialistic yet profound, shall go in vain unless gone too far.

Day 0 | 24th April’14: Preparation, Planning & Curiosity:

The moment I had been waiting for finally arrived. I prepared a vulnerable itinerary that captures some of the most untouched parts of Uttarakhand. Major chunk of preparation involved compiling enough knowledge about the destination as well as the road conditions. A special thanks to my friends & family who have been there by my side every time I headed out to a new direction. I presume this ride to be one of a kind. I’ll be wandering in the thickest of the forests & eyeing down from the highest of the peaks in Uttarakhand. The itinerary is in place, everything else will be dealt on the road.

Day 1 | 25th April’14: Bon Voyage | Delhi-Haldwani:

The day arrived. The most satisfying fact about the flag-off was that my parents & my friend joined me there. It was great to meet the Wrangler as well as xBhp officials. Onlookers stared as we clicked a dozen photographs, with Wrangler staff, xBhp members & my family of course.

Beholding warm wishes from everyone, I kicked off the ride of a lifetime. I got myself on NH-24 within an hour. And from there, it was just me & the highway. Roads were in fine condition. Especially, the one joining Moradabad Bypass-Rampur is a gem of a tarmac. But not for long; it took me hours to get past the pot-hole ridden roads of the countryside. Hence, I had to cut short the day’s ride to Haldwani instead of Nainital as initially planned. I reached Haldwani at 08:45PM, had a nice dinner & decided to call it a day.

Day 2 | 26th April’14: Into the hills | Haldwani-Chaukori:

The uphill ride from Haldwani started with some broken roads, but soon the road conditions improved. I was riding through some curvy roads & all of a sudden the Naini Lake appeared. I clicked some photographs around the Naini Lake & the mall road, quickly headed for the Snow View Point situated 6 kms uphill from the town. It’s situated at a height of 7460ft. above sea level & offers panoramic views of Himalayas. Next up on the list was Sattal, a cluster of seven freshwater lakes located 22 kms from Nainital. Oak & Pine trees filled the environs & it was lush green all around. Tourists enjoyed boating in the green colored lake while kids tried their hands at rappelling.

It was 01:00 PM; I saddled up & headed towards Almora. Going forward, I was past the townships of Seraghat & Berinag by 06:30PM. I managed to arrive at Chaukori at 07:15PM. The tiny hamlet turned out to be exactly as I thought, if not immensely silent & remote. It’s a small hamlet; luckily I got hold of a fine place to stay. I had dinner and hit the bed hoping for a mild encounter with the sun the next morning.

Day3 | 27th April’14: A mix of good-n-bad | Chaukori-Munsyari:

Good-n-bad seemed just an apt title for the day’s ride. Good because I laid my sight on the humble Himalayan peaks for the first time on the ride & bad because the roads that I chose turned out to be terrible.

I left Chaukori at 09:30AM with my next halt set at Thal. And the roads to Thal were amazingly good. Accompanied with the oak & pine trees throughout the length of the road, I reached Thal at 11:00AM. Further, making my way through some really bad tarmac, I reached Munsyari at 04:00PM. Perched at a height of 7500 ft. above sea level in the Johar Valley, Munsyari offers panoramic views of the cluster of Panchchuli Himalayan range. I felt sanctified to be surrounded by the mighty Himalayan ranges clothed in snow touching the skies.

Day4 | 28th April’14: The appealing quaintness | Munsyari-Kausani:

At dawn, the crimson light from behind the sky-shattering mountains filled the air with serenity. The sun peeked out from the cracks & conceded life to the world. The cluster of five peaks appeared ravishing. As the sun scaled up, the secretive Nanda Devi started to appear & surrendered to the crimson love.I had a light breakfast, suited up & kicked off towards my journey towards Birthi Waterfalls, Girgaon. The roads from Munsyari to Girgaon are well-laid but the valley is seemingly dangerous. Vertical hills make up for a thrilling vista. Birthi Waterfalls, falling from a height of 126 meters, looked quite humble. I moved forth & making my way through Tejam & Sama village, I reached Bageshwar at 03:00PM.Moving ahead, I could easily reach Kausani by 05:20PM & the sun was still up. But I was little disheartened as there was no view of the Himalayas from the hotel, just clouds. Well, there was nothing I could do about the clouds, but the hotel interiors appealed to me. It was all carved out of wood, the furniture & the corridors were nicely pared. There was a long corridor with a balcony facing the valley over which the snow-clad peaks of Himalayas rest. Next was a fine dinner & I was off to bed.

Day5 | 29th April’14: Wander into isolation | Kausani-Chopta:

While the Himalayas did not quite interact when I arrived in Kausani, they made it up to me at dawn. As I woke up to the crimson colored skies, the Himalayas looked placid. The creeks bubbled in the silence of the quaint morning & the chirruping of the birds filled the air. Looking at the need of the hour, I quickly wrapped up my stuff & left for my next destination. The hotel owner told me, “Sir, it’s not easy what you are doing! It takes a lot of heart to do so.” I smiled at the kind accolade & waved him goodbye.

I blazed through the townships of Karanprayag & Gopeshwar while the sun was still fierce. The roads were absolute pleasure to ride on. Once I crossed Mandal, the last station before Chopta, the roads almost disappeared. Broken at almost all places, the roads took me into the thick forests of pine, deodar & rhododendrons. It was 06:00PM already & the sun almost disappeared. I lost hope of catching the sunset from the hilltop.

I steadily moved on but it was boundless pain for my bike to climb those heights in those conditions. At last when the 2 km-stone arrived, a sharp hairpin turn got me face to face with the dipping sun. After all the pain I & my bike suffered, I was finally glad to have chased down the sun. Chopta turned out to be the smallest hill station I’d ever seen. The accommodation was cheap & very basic. It’s an ordinary hamlet perched at an astounding height of 8790 ft. asl, but is rich in flora & fauna. Plus, the view is jubilant. There are thousands of reasons why one should avoid visiting Chopta for its lack of basic amenities, but the serenity of the place is unmatched.

Day6 | 30th April’14: Down to the woods | Chopta-Lansdowne:

As I already knew that there won’t be a sunrise to witness in Chopta as it faced the sunset side, I had a fairly sufficient sleep & woke up at 06:30AM. I ordered a morning tea while I packed my stuff & got ready for the big ride ahead. It was a long day on the road. I passed some of the flood affected zones of Uttarakhand & it’s good to see that things are steadily coming back on track. The roads were smooth at almost all the parts except for Augustyamuni where the landslides were frequent & disrupted the construction process.I set course towards Rudraprayag some 70 kms down the road. Within in an hour, I was in Ukhimath from where the road to Kedarnath diverts. The place experienced some share of destruction in the floods of 2013 & seemed like coming back to life with average roads & rebuilt civilization.Making my way through Rudraprayag & Pauri, I reached Lansdowne at 03:30PM. As soon as I entered Lansdowne, the scene changed drastically. There were no broken roads & well-kept neighborhoods welcomed me. Lansdowne is a Cantonment area & is home to Garhwal Rifles regiment. I settled in a cottage at the Tip-n-Top point that faced the sunrise side of the valley aptly. It was a graceful forest, opening up to a wide cliffside. While the birds chirruped distinctly, the mighty sun dipped in camouflage. I managed to capture the scene in all conscience.

Day7 | 1st May’14: The homecoming ride | Lansdowne-Delhi:

As speculated, the modest sun gave a bright start to the day as it came out of the blues & enlightened the entire valley. I packed my bags & saddled up. I left the idyllic town of Lansdowne & headed to Tarkeshwar Temple situated 35 kms outside the town.Perched at a height of 5900 ft. above sea level, the Tarkeshwar Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is situated amidst a dense cover of cedar & pine trees. Around the temple, thousands of bells have been hung in order & when resonated in unison fill the place with tranquility. I took blessings from Lord Shiva & did my prayers. I did not miss out on thanking God for this opportunity of a lifetime to go for a dream ride. With the heart filled & spirits crowned, I made my way back to the exit.I reached Kotdwar at 01:30PM & the sun was at peak. I stopped for lunch & tossed away the heat. I reached Meerut bypass at around 04:00PM. It took me an hour just to cross Meerut. Soon after I picked up pace, the roads seemed to converge on me & the moments from the ride flashed past me. Making my way through Ghaziabad, I reached the finish line, my home at 06:45PM. My father was already out in the balcony waiting for me to arrive. It felt great to meet my parents after a week-long ride. They sure are proud & that’s the most rewarding fact for me.

A journey ended, only to leverage the moments spent wandering into the almighty nature. It was great to be a part of the captivating journey of a lifetime with Wrangler & xBhp. It’s a superlative fact that I lived the moments with sheer love & passion. I’m heart-filled at the vehemence that I’ve felt throughout this ride & I aspire to share this with others. I wander for essence & this may never change. Cheers to those who love to wander!

Live!! Ride!! Smile!! Find Yourself!!

About Author:

Rahul Arora

I get startled when someone asks me if I’ve left my full time job. To my surprise, some of my friends believe that this is a part of my job, which I think is very thoughtful & I aspire so. My name is Rahul Arora and I’m from Delhi. I’m a mechanical engineer by profession, a writer-photographer-blogger by expression, a music lover by nature & a fervent biker by obsession.

Tired of the noise and pollution of Delhi, we were looking to spend a long weekend in hills. We decided to make a trip to our favorite weekend getaway - Nainital. Since it was a spontaneous plan and it being the Christmas weekend, all the good hotels were already booked. Moreover, we were looking to try something off the beaten path. So I started searching for holiday rental properties in and around Nainital. During my search, I came across a colonial time house by the name “Vienna Lodge, The Cottage by the Woods”.

The cottage looked beautiful in pictures and had excellent reviews online. I immediately called the owner and made a reservation for two nights. It was a family holiday and we were a gang of eight adults. We took the early morning Shatabdi train from Delhi to Kathgodam station. By noon we were at Kathgodam station, which is the closest rail head to Nainital. From there it was a 90 minute hilly drive to our cottage. The moment we arrived, I was in love with the cottage. It is a beautiful heritage property situated in the Ayarpatta Hill of Nainital.

The location is very tranquil and just a five minutes drive up the hill from the mall road. At the same time the cottage has the advantage of proximity to the town. Mall road is a nice 15 minute downhill walk from the cottage. The Cottage has three beautifully decorated Bedrooms with attached Bathrooms enough to house eight adults along with a cozy dining room and a Living Room. There is plenty of outdoor sitting space in the form of a Veranda and a Garden. We spent hours in the garden. The winter was perfect season to enjoy a bonfire for hours at a stretch. The cottage also has a fully equipped Kitchen in case one likes to cook during the holiday. Most surprisingly, even a cook was also available for hire for Rs 500/- per day (excluding cost of raw material).

We hired the cook and that proved to be an excellent decision as the cook was very good and prepared delicious breakfast and dinner for us, not to forget the delicious snacks during the evening bonfire. The staff is very nice and courteous at taking care of our needs. We would spend the warmer part of the day near the lake. Although the mall road can get annoyingly crowded during the day, there are few options to enjoy your time nearby.

One of them is obviously boating in the Naini lake and should definitely not be missed. Row boats are available for hire at reasonable prices. One of the days, we rented the paddle boat. Since the boat does not come with a rower, was bit tiring to operate yet a pleasant experience. Sailing boats are also available when the conditions are right. I also recommend spending an afternoon at the lake side boat club for its colonial charm. It is a lake side restaurant and bar with both open and covered seating with a breathtaking view to die for.

Back at the cottage, we were looking for easy hiking trails and short morning treks. The owner Vidyun is very knowledgeable about hiking trails in Nainital and guided us to the small forest behind the cottage, through which passes a small trail up the hill to the famous Dorothy's seat peak. We tried to trek to the peak in the morning; however had to return back halfway as the older folks felt exhausted. Nonetheless, it was a fun experience. I would recommend the cottage for nature lovers because of its scenic grandeur. There is an extra room outside the cottage available in case guests are travelling with personal drivers or other staff. The cottage also has a Wi-Fi but the coverage inside the cottage was sketchy.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience staying at the cottage. I highly recommend spending family holidays at Cottage by the Woods.

About Author:

Profession: Quantitative Researcher at TCS Innovation Labs

Passionate about: Passionate about travelling. I love all kinds of travelling experiences, be it adventures like trekking in the mountains, budget backpacking or luxury travel. I spend a lot of my time looking for my next travel escapade.

Coming to the Easter break, I decided that something had to be done with the ten days and spending the entire stretch inside my attic didn’t seem to be a good idea. It was decided to check out the Northern lakes of Italy. There were two of them in the list, Como and Maggiore. The deciding factors were ticket prices and weather forecast.

It was sulky weather everywhere in Italy that weekend. The only hopeful one seemed to be places surrounding Lake Maggiore where weather websites foretold the probability of precipitation to be just 20% which was better compared to 40-60% in Como.

Saturday morning. Turin was drenched in a steady drizzle from the previous day. Fine mist of a rain it was. Cars sped past with headlights peering into the fading misty darkness, a hesitant dawn. With merely an hour or so of sleep the night before, I doubted whether I would stay away during the journey. So we started off, 3 with one trailing behind from Porta Nuova at about 7 in the morning.

At Novara, where we had to change the train, rain displayed no signs of receding. Everything was damp, cold and gloomy. The journey from Novara to Arona was humdrum, with the sights of the northern villages and patches of desolate deciduous woods, which assume a depressing appearance in winter.

I must confess that despite my often declared dislike for the country, south of India still lives somewhere inside me, making me acutely aware of its influence on occasions like these. The train journeys back home, lashing merciless rains that seep in through the imperfect pull down shutters of rail coaches, one glass shutter and one metal shutter, the sight of swaying dark green foliage desperately fighting rain and thunderstorm. A bedlam of sounds from hawking cries of tea, raindrops pelleting train’s roof to the steady rhythm of sound made by metal wheels on metal rail.

A friend had commented long back, “It’s the inherent craving for chaos that lives inside Indians”. The lake started being visible by the time our train reached Arona. Blanketed with a heavy mist and the steady rain, it was just a part of the shore that we could figure out through the blurry windows.

It was not a crowded station. We ventured out braving the rain. Lake stretched before us, mild mist letting only a hazy view of its banks on the other side. There was a friendly girl at the local tourism office near the train station who suggested us to try the place Stressa if we wanted more stay options. Stresa too was on the shores of Lake Maggiore, and was about 20 minutes drive from Arona. She suggested that we take the bus instead of the train, which offered a better view and cost just about €2.5.

Wandering around Arona in the rain to pass time till our bus to Stresa started, froze the last bit of warmth out of me and that’s when I discovered the Italian magic portion that goes by the name of “Café Correto”. It is a normal espresso coffee spiced up with a shot of a grape based pomace brandy called grappa. As far as my taste was concerned, it was an agonizing drink to consume, but the moment it gets inside, you start thanking your stars for having discovered it. Strong coffee kills sleep, perking you up and grappa shoots heat into every cell of the body.

Journey in the bus was fascinating especially with just three of us as passengers. Meandering roads traced the shoreline of Maggiore which was still enveloped by mist. Bus sped past buildings along the shore most of which had piers and a couple of boats tied to them. It dropped us at the ferry point of Stresa. There was a trackless sightseeing train that took people on a city tour which I wanted to try out but had to give in to the group plan to go to the islands first by boat.

As we walked to the boats, a tall guy in a uniform (with a fancy naval cap) approached us and sternly asked us whether we were planning to go to the islands as there was a boat leaving in five minutes. Before we could agree upon it, he hurried off and directed us to follow him which we did, like a bunch of school kids. From a desk placed in a hole in the wall type structure, he tore down three tickets and demanded €60 (€20 each) for two islands. We obediently complied and he set us scuttling off to a boat which we promptly boarded. All this happened in about 5 minutes and by the time we realized that he made jackasses out of us, our boat was already on its way to the islands.

There were many operators and this boat was just one of them. It was not like the last boat to the islands. And cost of the ride was €18 but the guy had impressively managed to beat us off €2 each. I did, however, admire the way he did it. Maybe he had a whole repertoire of strategies from which he picked up one titled “authoritarian” and tried on us. And it worked.

The gloom of this setback was somewhat subdued with sight of our first island. Apparently, these islands, referred together as Borromean Islands, comprises of three small ones and two islets. Among these, we were to visit only Isola dei Pescatoriand Isola Bella as our €20 only covered them.

Isola dei Pescatori, which we stepped on first was a fishing island with a permanent population. It had beautiful narrow cobbled streets albeit being sandwiched by too many stalls selling fancy stuff to tourists. By dusk, we returned to Stresa and having nothing much to do, hunted around for a reasonable Bread and Breakfast place. We finally fixed on one run by an old lady somewhat a bit away from the main road and got out after a much needed nap to roam around the place in the night.

It was here that I saw the moon in its most outrageous size. Huge, yellow and spotted, it resembled a roughly cut lump of cheese illuminated by a dim bulb. But that was really a great night, walking aimlessly though the shores of Maggiorewith that huge yellow moon above, the sprawling lake beside and the snow capped Alps beyond.

About Author:

I am a lawyer by profession who has quit practicing law and presently engaged in teaching. Being a rolling stone, I keep drifting around focusing more on travelling and less on being riveted to any place. I save enough money every year to do a bit of mountaineering in the summer. I am passionate about mountaineering. I do a lot of climbing around Gharwal Himalayas. Love testing hi altitude gear. Last year, I tested a basic 2K Quechua tent high on Gharwal Himalayas in blizzard. I travel a lot. I also do a little bit of mountain biking. I have explored Ketam Mountain Biking Park (Singapore) just a month back. I am also a mechanical gadget freak. I love fixing mechanical things. This includes a long list of things from alarm clocks to cars. I collect outdated gadgets, mechanical and electronic. I read a lot, especially surreal stuff like Murakami.

Har Ki Dun Valley is a cradle shaped hanging valley in the Garhwal Himalayas. It is surrounded by snow-covered peaks and alpine vegetation. It is connected to Baspa Valley by the Borasu Pass This valley is at an altitude of approx 3500 m above mean sea level and is snow-covered during October to March.

The valley is around 25 km from Taluka. The trek to the valley starts from Taluka village and passes through Gangaad, Osala, and Seema. It is a 2-day trek usually done in two stages. First stage is from Taluka to Seema/Osla, and second stage is from Seema/Osla to Har Ki Dun. Return route is the same. It is also possible to complete return journey in a single day, however it can physically demanding. There is a shop and a small restaurant at Taluka, where trekkers can buy eatables like biscuits and wafers etc.

Authors Take:

Har ki Dun also refereed as Tons valley by British who discovered its route back in the 19th century was my first Himalayan Trek. It is a popular Beginners trek for the Himalayan trekkers. The valley of Har-Ki-Dun falls in the Western Garwal Himalayas bordering Himachal Pradesh. The trek is a wonder in itself with lust greenery, ice caped legendry peaks, vibrancy of colors all around with flowers blooming and serenity of the mind, glancing at the views, snowy mountains, peaks, dense forest, waterfalls, bugyals (high altitude meadows), wildlife and rare Himalayan birds.

You can view the majestic peaks of Swargarohni, Bandarpoonch and Kala Nag from a close range. For ages, the land has been known for temples and shrines with sacred mythological attachments, Duryodhna, the eldest of Kaurvas, is worshipped here, This trek route is virtually a paradise for the botanists, bird watchers, photographers, nature lovers, foot loose trekkers and anyone interested in exploring and learning in an unconventional way, in short, the more you trek in this area, the more curious you get to know more which has not yet been written and only found in tales and lories.

A single route trek, you go up and come down from the same trail and an all year round trek too…U can hop on for an adventure anytime of the year …Summers or winters always open for you to visit. The purpose of the trek is to expose the great adventure and to rough out the rigors of plodding through snow with a sense of love for nature and outdoor recreational activity. So trek, explore, learn and excite others who listen to your pep talk.

I have learned a lot on this journey of Himalayan Trek…there is still lots to learn & explore in life….These following lines by Edmond Hillary which he wrote after failing twice (looking at Mt. Everest.) inspires me:

“I’ll come again & conquer you… because, as a mountain you cannot grow… But as a Human I can…”

Thank you Mountains for teaching the best lessons of life…be bold, be thoughtful yet beautiful….!!

About Author:

Hi I am Shila Kunji, Architect by profession. I am passionate about Traveling, photography, gardening, reading. I love doing it. I am very passionate about trekking too… I am a life member of youth hostel association of India & I most go trekking with them.

My family took a short trip to Jim Corbett national park between 12th November and 15th November this year. It was a very pleasant experience and we had a really good time relaxing in midst of nature. We stayed at a very comfortable and luxury resort called “the golden tusk”. It is situated in midst of the Jim Corbett national park and the jungle safari starts just 15minutes away from the resort, convenience coupled with luxury.

The resort has very comfortable suites/rooms which are beautifully spread in the resort's main compound dominated by a huge garden that has some rare plants, vegetable gardens, swings and a simply adorable swimming pool with the view of mountain. The resort itself offers a good amount of activities to keep one busy or entertained.

The swimming pool area is very well maintained and there is separate pool for kids and also a Jacuzzi. So our morning started with swimming and some water games followed by a refreshing breakfast. The menu for all the three meals was quite extensive.

The buffet system is well organised and the waiters serve you on table as well. After a stomach full of breakfast we played some indoor games like table tennis, carom and chess. The games room is very well equipped with options for kids as well as youngsters and old age people. We also played badminton, the court is big and they have enough equipment. They have a small activity zone which includes a burma bridge for kids, a rappling wall and few other adventure installations for kids.

As our resort was just 15 mins away from jungle safari spot, the resort organised a jeep for us and we spent couple of hours inside jungle full of wild animals. Make sure you take a prior permit for jungle safari. On our way back we enjoyed some local samosas with tea. The resort was beautifully lit during night and they organized bonfire and musical chair for the guests.

Jim corbett is a very prime location, Nainital is 2-3 hours drive away and can be covered in one day. We did so the next day and it also went smooth and joyous. The following night the resort organised music show and tam-bola for the guests, we made most of these group activities and spent some memorable time with each other.

One of the most interesting things about living in middle of the jungle is that we get to hear all kinds of noises of the wild animals especially in the night time. The howling of jackals are one of the constant sounds in the night sky and gave a very interesting elements to the nature stay.

Overall it is a must have trip for anyone especially for people living in Delhi NCR, it is one of the best week end get aways. A family trip can bring a lot of love and affections among themselves. And it is one such family trip which every family should take.

About Author: I am a media professional I am passionate about travelling and exploring various untouched places.