Skywatch Friday - Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

The Indian Desert State of Rajasthan is dotted with numerous Forts and palaces. Jodhpur is one of the important destinations in Rajasthan.

It is a small town - known as "Blue city" - with a wonderful hillock fort - palace. 

It takes at least two hours to complete the tour of the fort. The fort-palace is managed by Jodhpur royal family and they have done an excellent job in maintenance of the fort-palace and display of the royal artefacts. There are options of audio guide as well as human guides. It is recommended  to opt for either of the two which will help to understand the details of architectural heritage and stories behind the artefacts displayed in the fort-palace.

We were in Jodhpur during our long trip to Rajasthan in 2009.

Chhattisgarh Chronicles VI - Kanker Palace

We never knew that Chhattisgarh boasted palaces before we started planning this road trip. When we started doing some research on stay options, i stumbled upon some real gems – Kanker, Kanwardha and Chiukadan palaces. We decided to stay at least in one of the palaces and Chiukadan was the chosen one. Thanks to Outlook traveller, we were able to get some information about this place and planned our routes to make sure we spend a night in this palace. But we did not want to miss visiting others either. So I called up Jai, the Yuvaraja of Kanker – who also runs Bastar jungle resort where we stayed in Jagdalpur - to tell him that we will have lunch in his palace on the way to Chiukadan.

We left Jagdalpur after breakfast and reached Kanker comfortably by 1 PM. The road was excellent and had a row of trees on either side. It was virtually like going through a green tunnel. It was nice to see that majority of them were mango tress which had just bloomed. We kept our windows open to savour the aroma of these flowers. The road took us through beautiful views of Kanker ghat as well.

Kanker Ghat

Kanker town is the headquarters of Kanker district. It is a small quaint town. This must have been a small principality during British days. The Kanker palace is a huge British Bungalow built for British resident commissioner. It had all trademarks of a good old British bungalows – long corridors, large living room spanked by large bed rooms on either side. The high ceiling kept the interiors cool. 

Ravi standing next to tiger and yours truly on the sofa

Notice the hunting trophies on the wall

As per Jai, the Yuvaraja of Kanker, the original palace which was bigger was donated by his grand father to government and is now the Government office. The living room was decorated with hunting trophies of bison’s horns, tiger heads, stuffed tiger, old crystals, weaponry etc. Jai said that the forests of Kanker had many tigers and his grandfather was a good hunter. We could now fathom the reason for dwindling tiger population in these forests!

The rooms were big and elegant. The rooms sported the charming “Pankha” or “Fan” which was being pulled by servants to generate air in the room in good old days. 

The lunch was good and the "mutter paneer" was god sent. The “Pankha” in the dining hall gave  the room a subdued elegance.

As we left Kanker, we were bidding good bye to Bastar and entering the western Chattisgarh area of Rajnandgaon. Just outside the palace on the highway we saw this small lake with Shiva statue in the middle which was glowing in afternoon sun.

We were now heading to the interesting palace at Chiukadan and looking forward for our stay there.

India Travel Stories from Others - Rakesh Holla explores Udupi coast

Rakesh Holla is based in the temple town of Udupi in South India. 

He and his friends are always on the move during weekends exploring little gems of Western Ghats. When they have more time they venture out to other lovely places in the country. He documents his exploits in the nice blog which he calls as "Voice of Greenery".

Rakesh was exploring the unknown islands off Udupi coast last month before the monsoons set in. These islands look lovely and serene. Good part of the story is that they continue to be away from the glare of mass tourism. Hope they remain likewise for some more days to come.

Till then, enjoy the trip to "Light House Island" and "Kotepare Islands" here

Exploring Udupi Coast -Light House Island

Exploring Udupi coast - Kotepare Island

If you want to know more about Udupi or plan to travel there please look at the following posts in this blog.

Driving Holidays from Bangalore - Karavali and Koffee Kombo

Karavali Vistas II - Udupi, Mangalore and Bekal

Skywatch Friday - Himalayan Peaks, Badrinath

All of us have read about the horrible floods that has hit the state of Uttarakhand in North India resulting in death of thousands of people. We pray for the souls of those who perished in these floods and hope the missing ones are traced. 

Uttarkhand and Himalayas is a mesmerising place. It is called "Dev Bhoomi" or "Abode of Gods" for no small reason. You get humbled in front of the nature, in front these mighty mountains. These are the mountains which sustain life in this great country.

These peaks were just opposite the hotel we were staying during our detour to Badrinath - one of the four holiest shrines for Hindus - when we did Valley Of Flowers trek last year. The weather was playing hide and seek and the sky was over cast with slight drizzle. Suddenly, when the envelope of mist disappeared we clicked the peak glittering in the afternoon sun. 

On a clear day one can see the famous Nilkant peak from Badrinath 

If you want to know more about our trek to Valley of Flowers, you may click on this link below.

Valley of Flowers

Monsoon Magic

Monsoon in Malnad is fun. Of course, if you like the rains..........

Driving through the mist filled roads with droplets of water splashing on your windscreen is an experience. It is green everywhere. The rivulets and streams are full. Small water falls cascade from the hill sides all along the drive........

We were driving through Malnad last week and here are three pictures which should encourage to hit the road and drive in Western ghats.

If you are planning to experience Monsoon in Western Ghats, you can look at the following posts in this blog which may be helpful.

Monsoon Magic in Malnad - An itinerary to experience it

Mesmerised in Malnad in Monsoon!

Monsoon drive in western Ghats

Sakleshpur - Getting mesmerised in Monsoon!

Driving Holidays from Bangalore - Enchanting Uttara Kannada

Driving Holidays from Bangalore - Karavali and Koffee combo!!

Road trip Vignettes - Sharavathi Valley view

Plusses of a road trip is the freedom it gives to enjoy the journey at your own pace. Many times we have noticed that journeys are more interesting than the actual destination itself. When these vignettes are captured on the lens, they remain cherished memories forever. We will share some of these in our blog and hope you like it.

Driving in Western ghats is always a memorable experience. Whether you are driving during the monsoon or immediately after it, you will greeted by geerenery all around.

One of the lovely drives is from Bangalore to Goa is via Shivamogga and Jog Falls. The roads are good. The drive will give an opportunity to see magnificent Jog falls. Monsoon is the right time to visit Jog falls which will be at its glorious best. 

When you depart Jog falls and drive towards Honnavar, you will drive through Sharavathi wild life sanctuary. The road is through thick forest. As you drive listening to the sounds of Cicada, smelling the fresh air, you will be greeted with a fabulous valley of Sharavthi. The forest department has built a small watch tower which can be climbed easily to get a nice view of the valley. Here are few pictures of the valley we had clicked on the way to Goa in December last year.

The Sharavathi Valley

The power station in the background

Next time when you decide to drive on this road, look out for this spot and enjoy the lovely valley view.

Skywatch Friday - Eight stupas in Leh, Ladakh

These stupas - eight of them - strike you when you drive around in Leh.

They are consecrated and dedicated by His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

The contrasting colours of white and golden yellow, colourful fluttering prayer flags with Himalayas and over cast sky in the background makes this a lovely picture.

If you want to know more about visiting Leh or Ldakh, you may look at the fseries of posts on Ladakh in this blog here :- Ladakh Diaries