Jodhpur

Jodhpur

The magnificent Jodhpur

 

What is special about Jodhpur?

Jodhpur or as some call it ‘Blue City’ is the second largest city in Rajasthan. Apart from having historically rich background, this city has many beautiful palaces and forts. Jodhpur, always bustling with tourists, is also famous for its colorful shopping. It’s a city which gives a feel of true culturally strong India. If you are planning to visit Rajasthan, then you should definitely visit Jodhpur. Mehrangarh fort which is the main fort in Jodhpur is amazing.

Mehrangarh fort – a beauty

The sunny bright day at the Mehrangarh

 

Voice guided tour and voice is not of your wife’s .. 😛

Indigo colored houses – that is why the blue city

The Mehrangarh fort view from our hotel. The place we started walking from.

When to visit Jodhpur?

Rajasthan being one of the hottest state in India, should be visited during winters. October – February is the best time to visit Rajasthan, hence Jodhpur.

Resting after the arduous walk to the palace

The history written by bullet marks on the wall

The magnanimous view of the fort from inside the fort

Forts in Rajasthan rise above the city area to protect the city from invasion

The queen’s museum area inside the fort

How to reach Jodhpur?

Jodhpur is a well-connected city. Jodhpur can be reached in the following ways:

Air– Jodhpur Airport is 5 km from the city . Flight services connect the city with other major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur

Train: . Trains to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata are easily available. The ‘Palace on Wheels‘ also visits this city of royal splendor.

Bus : Buses from Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad are also easily available.

How to travel within Jodhpur?

Best thing about Jodhpur is that, you can hire car, two – wheeler or a bicycle and travel the whole city. Though rickshaws are also available (bargaining is a must). We however choose to walk around the city and we loved it.

The queen used to look from the window above to the ongoing proceedings

The queen has extensive networks of windows to look at the proceedings and still not be seen by lesser mortals

The royal travel vehicle for the queen

Where to stay in Jodhpur?

There are billion places to stay in Jodhpur. You can have cheap, budget or luxurious stay in Jodhpur. For cheap and budget stay you don’t need to book in advance during the winter season as that is the tourist season. You can reach Jodhpur and look for accommodation ( many agents flock near bus and railway station to provide you with options). For other options check booking.com for hotel bookings.

There are many small palaces which have been converted to hotels, they range from INR 1000 to INR 100,000 or so. And from most of the hotel terraces you will be able to have the view of the magnificent Mehrangarh fort.

What places to visit in Jodhpur?

First and foremost Mehrangarh fort. Mehrangarh fort is a majestic fort in the middle of the city. You can hire a cab to reach Mehrangarh fort, or you can walk to the fort passing through small and narrow Jodhpur roads. We opted to walk to Mehrangarh, a 20 mins walk from Ghanta Ghar(central place in any Rajasthan city, it is basically a big clock in the center of the city), a very interesting walk. You can enjoy the city while taking this walk. At Mehrangarh fort you can take a voice guided tour which is available in different language options (Hindi, English, German, Spanish), this is must do as without this you won’t get to understand the importance of places inside the fort. You can enjoy the city view, fort  and various Art galleries inside the fort. There are small kiosks for food and souvenir shop too.

Umaid bhawan palace – providing royal experience like a boss

 

Front view of the palace from the beautiful garden

Umaid Bhavan: This palace is taken by Taj group and a part of the palace is converted to palace hotel (rooms are very expensive), and the other half is open to tourist as a museum. It’s a very well kept palace, but somehow its not magnificent as Mehrangarh fort. Though the kulfi in the rest area of Umaid Bhavan is amazing. You take auto or cab to Umaid Bhavan.

You can also visit Balsamand lake and Kaylana lake, though we were not able to visit it but then Balasamand seemed to be a nice place to visit.

What was our experience at Jodhpur?

We had made two day visit to Jodhpur and had an amazing time there. Though the place is very crowded but it had its own charm. The indigo city looks very beautiful from Mehrangarh fort .Rajasthan is a place where you can have a very luxurious trip or a very low budget trip but then at the end you enjoy every bit of it. One can stay as along as 6 months and as short as 2 days depending upon the time you have. But keep at least 2 days of Jodhpur to have a good experience.

Gangtok

Gangtok/Sikkim

What is there in Gangtok/ Sikkim?

The view from our hotel

Best place to have b’fast…Don’t you agree..??

Gangtok , at an elevation of 5,410 ft is  one of the most beautiful cities in India and is the capital of Sikkim. India’s highest peak Khangchendzonga of a height of 28,169ft (3rd highest in the world) is here and there is an amazing trek in Khangchendzonga National Park, which starts from Yuksom , 125km away from Gangtok. Gangtok is the base point of many beautiful places in Sikkim such as Nathula Pass, Gurudongmar Lake, Lachen, Lachung, Yumthang and many more. It has both the natural beauty and city appeal to it. MG road which is always full of people, has clubs, restaurants (it has some very beautiful cafes) and shopping stores. Sikkim has so much to offer, if you are interested in trekking or paragliding , or you just want to sit and relax or you want to visit second highest lake in India , this is the place to be. It is the place for solo travelers, family vacations, honeymooners, or a trip with friends.

The place for walking…I have not seen that in cities like Delhi..Gangtok seems to be way ahead

We noticed two amazing things in Gangtok ,one, they have a small walking trail which is fenced on both sides, hence very safe for children to walk around the city (mountains) and two, they actually have a very operable government tourism centre on MG road. If you are going then do check this place to know more about trekking trips.

When to visit Gangtok?

The view of from Gangtok

It was cold in April also…

The beautiful flags in Sikkim

Moving out of Sikkim to Gurudongmar

Crossing the bridges

Gangtok’s temperature varies from 22 degree C in summers to 4 degree C in winters. It does not get any snowfall but it does rain a lot there. We had visited Gangtok in April, and it was very pleasant. Summer(May-June) is the peak season hence prices are high and during monsoon(July –September) it rains a lot , so it is bit risky to travel in this season. The best times to visit Gangtok is October to December. During this time you can visit nearby places, but in Jan and Feb (depending on the snowfall), some routes might remain close. So if you are planning to travel then make a few calls to the hotels or information centres and then only book for vacation. Route to Gurudongmar closes in Jan and opens in March/ April depending on that year.

Where to stay in Gangtok?

Gangtok has many hotels, lodges and inns. So you can have a luxurious stay at Welcome Heritage Denzong Residency or a budget stay in Shilton Lodge. Check booking.com to book your stay.

How to reach Gangtok?

One of the Seven waterfalls near Gangtok

• By Train : The nearest railway station to Gangtok is about 148 kilometres away at New Jalpaiguri in Siliguri. From here you can take a private cab (they charge around 2k) or you can take shared cab (200 Rs pp).
• By Air : The airport nearest to Gangtok is about 124 kilometres away in Bagdogra, West Bengal. You have to take a taxi to reach the city.

What to visit near or in Gangtok?

You can’t cover all the places near to Gangtok in a short trip. So depending on the time you have in hand, you can plan which places you would like to visit. Below are few such places:

1. Gurudongmar : Second highest lake of India. Only Indians are allowed here, foreigners are only allowed till Chopta valley.  Lachen is the nearest place where nigh stay is possible. If going via Gangtok then night stay is necessary at Lachen, leave for this early morning.

   

   Gurudongmar Lake

   

   The beautiful way to the second highest lake in India

   

   En route to Gurudongmar lake

    

2. Chopta Valley: Foreigners are allowed till this point only, it is also a very great valley and trekking in Chopta valley is an experience in itself. The trekking is easy and for a day only.

   

   Chopta Valley

3. Yumthang Valley : A beautiful valley or wind tunnel. Lachung is the nearest place where nigh stay is possible. It is a three 3 day trip

   

   The Yumthang valley

   

4. Zero Point : A complete snow ridden area with natural geysers and breathtaking views. It is above Yumthang valley and this can be completed along with the trip to Yumthang valley. It is a must go place

   

   Majestic view at Zero Point

5. Nathula Pass : A  mountain pass that connects India to China. A beautiful destination. It’s a day trip. It requires permit so get the work done a day before (Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays are only visit able days)

   

   Gangtok main city

   

6. Lake Tsomgo : Is one of the magnificient lake at height of 12310ft. It’s a day trip. Permissions are needed to visit this lake.
7. Pelling : A small town near Gangtok with beautiful view. There are hotels available here.
8. Darjeeling : Hill station in West Bengal.

There are many such beautiful places near Gangtok which are must visits.

How to travel within Gangtok?

Travelling in Gangtok

The grandeur of nature

Near MG road there is a taxi stand from where you can get shared taxi or private taxi to move around Gangtok. For longer journeys check tourist information centre on MG road.

What are must carry things to Gangtok?

The beautiful eastern Himalayas

 Umbrella, sunglasses, woollen wear and good camera. Though everything is available in Gangtok.

What was our experience at Gangtok?

The best thing about Gangtok is the people of Gangtok. They are all well dressed and very good in etiquette . We never felt that we are being cheated and most of the people were polite. We had really awesome experience at Gangtok. The journey to Sikkim was quite tiresome as we took the train and then shared taxi, There was too much dust on the way as there was construction of road going on but other than that It was good and we enjoyed our stay.

The food of sikkm was also very great, we tried once and we fell in love with it. If you are going there then do try their traditional food it is nice and different.

Also, a short trip wont do justice to Sikkim, we had gone to Sikkim for 9days and we still haven’t seen 10% of it. But we had prioritized the places we wanted to visit, hence we choose Gurudongmar (Cholamu is the highest lake of India, 1km ahead of Gurudongmar but civilians are not allowed to visit it).

Gurudongmar Lake

Gurudongmar Lake

 

Gurudongmar – The Frozen beauty

What is special about Gurudongmar Lake?

Whats so special you say – A picture speaks more than 1000 words

The board at the Lake

Gurudongmar lake is second highest lake of India (15th or 16th highest of the world), with the height of about 17,000 ft (5210 m) above sea level. The highest lake of India, Cholamu, is around a kilometre away from Gurudongmar but its not open to civilians at it lies near China border ( both are in Sikkim). Hence Gurudongmar is highest visit-able lake of India. Its impossible to explain how beautiful the lake is.

When to visit Gurudongmar Lake?

En route to India’s highest visit-able lake

Around April start ( depends on the winter ) the route to the lake gets open and it remains open till late October (again depends on the winter that year). So do check before hand.

How to reach Gurudongmar Lake?

One always walk alone on the roads less travelled

One tends to lose the way if he/she doesn’t see the destination but keep going my friend you will find the way

The Flora must have abandon
leaving one side ice and other side barren

Once you reach Gangtok, book a cab for Gurudongmar lake a day in advance. There are many travel agents, most reliable is Sikkim Tourism house which is on the Gangtok MG road. Don’t think of driving as the terrain is very rough and requires a lot of skill to drive on those roads.

Any health issues we should be concerned with?

The lake is at a very good height so expect the air to be thin so it gets difficult to breath. Since you will be in a vehicle and not walking much, so there should not be any problem. We had headache when we reached the lake. One of the family came with a kid, so there should not be any issue while travelling with kids.

Note: carry lot of water and keep sipping on it to nullify the altitude health issues.

What does the Gurudongmar package include?

One just cannot put price on such thing – the ice, the river and the desert all at once

The grandeur of nature makes you realize how insignificant you are

The whole trip is usually for 3 days and costs about 14000 Rs ( you can customize it according to your needs), which includes travelling cost , breakfast, lunch, dinner, accommodation.

Accommodation is usually a mediocre hotel ( don’t expect anything in decor). Night stays will be in two small villages: Lachen and Lachung and nothing much is present there except natural beauty.

What Itinerary should be followed for Gurudongmar lake?

Itinerary is hardest part you say – try taking a bath in the lake at 0 degree temp

If you have booked a cab then you don’t need to worry about anything but then you can customize a few places in the itinerary.

The travel route is Gangtok – Lachen – Gurudongmar lake – Lachung – Yumthang Valley – Zero Point – Chopta Valley – Gangtok.

• Leave Gangtok around 9 am.
• Reach Lachen (110 km from Gangtok), takes almost 6 hrs as you will make many pit stops on the way.
• Stay overnight in Lachen.
• Leave at 3 am for Gurudongmar Lake.
• Reach Gurudongmar Lake around 8 am ( takes 4 hrs from Lachen)
• Spend an hour or two at the Lake ( you wont be able to stay there for long roads to the lake are very bad and in Mountains at 17000 ft it might rain anytime, making it impossible to travel.
• Go back to Lachen, have lunch and leave for Lachung ( it takes around 2-3 hrs depending on the weather)
• Stay overnight in Lachung.
• Leave for Yumthang Valley ( hour or two drive). Stay there for hour or two.
• Leave for Zero point. Spend sometime ( depending on your stamina) in snow.
• Leave for Chopta valley( stayed there for 5mins, because of the wind). Stay there for sometime.
• Leave for Gangtok. Reach around 8 pm.

What is must for Gurudongmar Lake?

We are confused whether the road to destination was better or the destination itself

• You need to provide identity documents ( passport, driving licence) to the travel agent a day before the trip as its a must
• Take warm clothes (hooded jackets or cap and woollen wear)
• Take some packed food (though the agents usually provide breakfast, lunch and dinner but then you will require something to munch on) as you will not find shops on the way
• A good camera

PS: Pan cards are not considered as valid Identification proof in Sikkim

What was our experience of Gurudongmar Lake?

Because of the weather we weren’t able to stay at the lake for long but then its worth the travel and money to stay there for even an hour. Its a magnificent place. If you are planning a trip to Sikkim then make sure you keep minimum 3 days for this whole experience.

 

 

Lansdowne

Lansdowne

What is there in Lansdowne?

Lansdowne – the sun in the forest

It is one of the hill station in Uttrakhand, Lansdowne has mountains, lake, trees, good weather, fresh air. But the important question is what is not there in Lansdowne –  no crowd, no car honking, no traffic, no pollution. There are hardly 3-4 good hotels to stay. Lansdowne is also a cantonment area, hence it is very clean.

When to visit Lansdowne?

Lansdowne is relatively not at high altitude hence there is no issue in travelling to Lansdowne during peak winters (no snow). The roads are good so one can visit during the monsoon season also.

How to reach Lansdowne?

Enroute to Lansdowne – passing the unknown village

The place where sky meets the earth

If you are planning to travel from Delhi then you can drive or rent a car, as Lansdowne is 260km away from Delhi, 5-6hrs drive (GPS will guide you). Kotdwara ( 1 hr drive) is the closest railway station to Lansdowne. From Kotdwara taxis are available for Lansdowne.

Where to stay in Lansdowne?

The nesting place at highest point in Lansdowne

Overlooking the valley at Sunrise

Kasang Regency and Blue Pine Resort are few good hotels in Lansdowne. Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) has beautiful villas and tree houses at “Tip and Top ” ( the top most point in Lansdowne). If you are travelling in winters then try to get a hotel booked in advance as people around Delhi tend to go to Lansdowne for weekend.

What places to visit in Lansdowne?

The sunset at Bhullar lake

When you reach the place from where you just look down – remember the place is always called The Zero Point

A walk into the forest will rejuvenate you

A small walk to the river

Just a few but overall the whole place is beautiful.

• There is a very peaceful lake Bhullar Lake, there is small restaurant and souvenir shop near it. Its not something out of the world, its just a place to relax.
• Tip and Top point. Its the highest point in Lansdowne from which Himalayan ranges are visible.
• Military training area.
• You can do trekking anywhere in Lansdowne.

Where to eat in Lansdowne?

There are many dhabas in main Lansdowne, nothing fancy though. You can find places to fill your tummy.

What was our experience?

When you look back – you will realize what you will miss

We had visited Lansdowne in December. We walked in forests near by our hotel. But we spent most of our time at random places in Lansdowne. Wherever we found a good view, we would sit there and spend hours. The most memorable thing was looking at the sunset ( not from any particular place).

Why to be careful on the way to Lansdowne?

Car down at Lansdowne: hit by 280kg Nilgai- Please be cautious

Near Kotdwara there is a major problem of Nilgai, they come running on the road( national highway) from the jungle. They weigh around 280 kg and if somehow they bang in your car then they can damage the car (happened with us) and the accident can be fatal too.

There is warning board on the road but you are likely to miss it if you are driving very fast. Its a common occurrence there, so it would be sensible to drive slowly as you will never know when the Nilgai will come.

Bye Bye Lansdowne