Tag Archives: india travel

post

Travel Tips: Preparing for a Himalayan trek

Posted on by

Everyone dreams of being in the Himalayas, among the green meadow, snow caps, fir trees and the clean air. While several people get the wish granted in the form of road trips through the highways of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir, Sikkim or Arunachal Pradesh, many of them are not satisfied with experiencing Himalayas through a windshield and the windows of a vehicle or with the limited time in which they get to play in the lap of nature. Thousands of people enroll for treks over the trails of Himalayas every year. While the list of treks is countless, only between 50 – 100 trails are trekked on every year, the majority of them conducted by organisations like YHAI or IndiaHikes. There are independent trekkers who plan their own routes and do not depend on trekking organisations. Regardless of the method you follow, the checklist for what to wear for such treks, what to carry and how to maintain fitness and hygiene do not change.

Here are the broad categories that you should take care of in a Himalayan trek. Consider this to be a checklist of things essential to enjoy a trek safely and in good health.

Continue reading →

post

Natural wonders: Naida caves, Diu

Posted on by

The island of Diu is one part of Daman and Diu union territory. It is about 60km from the temple city of Somnath in Gujarat. At Diu, There are some historic places from the Portuguese rule, such as the Diu fort. Diu is also known for its tranquil and not very touristy beaches. Since Diu is quite far from the major and most populated cities of India, not many Indians make it a destination. So Diu never overflows with tourists. But of all the destinations in Diu, there is one that stands out. A cluster of caves formed by uniquely coloured reddish brown rocks stand in a secluded corner of Diu city. The caves are called Naida caves. Tourist packages often miss the caves for reasons unknown to me. But that makes it a perfect destination for those who seek a quiet afternoon, walking through caves of multi-coloured rocks and watching the effects of light filter through them.

Continue reading →

post

Travel Tips: Choosing your mode of transport

Posted on by

When travelling across a country as vast as India, you can use one of many modes of transport. You can use the local buses, share taxis, railways and aeroplanes. Why, you can even hitchhike and find yourself in the back of a tractor. Or you can take you own or a rented car around the country. To make things adventurous and nimble, you can take your motorbike. For an epic workout, you can even use a bicycle for certain routes. In India 360, we used all the listed forms of transport. However in this post, we are going to talk about the most common and sustainable modes of transport that we used and tested extensively throughout the trip: public transport, self-driven car and self-driven motorbike. Continue reading →

post

Listicle: 10 sea-side temples we covered

Posted on by

India is a beautiful country. It is also a religious country. Places of beauty are also Kshetras with major temples. Things look especially beautiful if a major temple is on a beach. The sound of temple bells on one side is matched by the rhythm of waves on another. The smell of camphor mixes well with the fresh salty smell of sea water. Here are some sea-side temples from India. This is not an exhaustive list. It is just some temples we have covered during India 360 or other trips.

Continue reading →

post

How we covered it: Maharashtra Ghats

Posted on by

Maharashtra is not a particularly appealing destination during summer. But during the other two seasons, travellers have abundant options in all corners of the state. The effects of monsoon and winter on Maharashtra are worlds apart. Between June to September, the monsoon magic casts its spell on the state, but the best effects are towards the west. The cool and pleasant winters are great for visiting interior Maharashtra districts like Aurangabad, Solapur, Nagpur and Chandrapur. it is also the best time to stick to the coast for all the secluded and gorgeous beaches. Continue reading →

post

City Focus: Chandigarh

Posted on by

Several cities in India are named after a powerful Goddess, have a beautiful lake with a promenade, have tree-lined roads, are hosts to unique museums, have been developed with a plan and are very close to hill stations and getaways. But there is only ONE city that has some unique features apart from the ones mentioned above. This city is the capital of two states. This is the only city with its own unique hand gesture. This is the only city where you’ll find areas with no names like Mahatma Gandhi road or Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg or Akbar street or D’Souza lane. No, this city uses only numbers, like sector 17, sector 25, sector 42 and so on. All roads are laid out in neat and straight lines, intersecting at right angles at traffic islands, none of which have statues of politicians, sportsmen and freedom fighters. The city has a unique garden made by a government official who gathered waste material and scrap and turned them into something beautiful. A school in this city has a unique collection of dolls from all over the world and prides itself as the International Doll Museum. The city was built by the French designer Charles-Edouard Jeanneret or Le Corbusier (‘raven’ in French), a nickname apt for the man with a far-sighted vision, a vision well into the future.

Can you guess which city this is? It is the first city that India developed with a city plan after independence (so not counting ancient towns like Harappa or Hampi). It is Chandigarh, a union territory, which is also the capital of both Punjab and Haryana states. We say this with Chandigarh’s unique hand gesture: ‘We Love Chandigarh’. Continue reading →

post

Thematic trips: Following the footsteps of Mahatma

Posted on by

In trip India 360, we didn’t plan to travel by any theme. We simply covered as much of India as we could in one year, seeing each region during its best weather. After completing the trip, we could identify patterns among some of the places we visited. One such pattern is a Mahatma Gandhi trail. On review, we found that we covered a lot of cities important to the life of Gandhiji. A thematic tour around those cities, that we can call the Mahatma Gandhi trail, forms an interesting trip.

Continue reading →

post

How we covered it: Kerala

Posted on by

Today, we are starting a new series called ‘How we covered it’. In this series, we will see how we at India 360 travelled across the states we covered. India is a huge country and there are more than a million ways to plan your trip. In this series, we hope to give you ideas on how to travel each state. Please feel free to follow the same part of or the entire path as we did or, of course, modify the route as it suits you.

We start with God’s own country, Kerala. Continue reading →

post

Anecdotes: How a barber gave us shelter in a very remote village

Posted on by

India 360 made us travel to some really remote places. So remote that there were no tar roads, day-long electricity or phone connections. Travelling so remote can often lead to home sickness or apprehension. However, some wonderful-natured locals can go the extra mile, making you feel at home, however remote that place is from your own home. One such example was experienced by us at Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh.

Continue reading →

post

Geography: Understanding Garhwal and Kumaon regions of Uttarakhand

Posted on by

Uttarakhand is a large state, despite being carved out of Uttar Pradesh. It required us 50 days to see each of the its important destinations. This is because, the state is mountainous and it requires a lot of time to commute from one place to another. Also, there is something of importance at an average distance of every 40 – 50 km. To plan a trip around the state is mind-boggling. But we used a simple rule to plan our route. By the time we reached Rishikesh from Delhi, we had a solid plan for exploring the home state of Ganga river. While there are hundreds of places to see in the 13 districts of Uttarakhand, at the most elementary level, the state has just two divisions: Garhwal and Kumaon. Planning a trip where you cover one division followed by the other makes the task less overwhelming. Continue reading →