The sprawling lawns of the Khajuraho Temple complex are abundant with local birds. As we walked from the Lakshmana Temple to the Kandariya Mahadev Temple we saw a red-wattled lapwing, an Indian Roller, and parakeets. Pecking for insects, strutting on the carpet of green lawns or causing a cacophony of high pitched sounds; the birds surely…
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The central state of India, Madhya Pradesh, is known for its thick forest reserves and UNESCO World Heritage temples at Khajuraho. With six days in hand, we had to make a tough choice between 3 national parks, quaint towns, and iconic sights. Culture, wildlife, and a taste of rural India dominated our trip plan. On…
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The Kandariya Art & Cultural Centre, in Khajuraho, doubles up as a museum and performance venue. The first room displays furniture and woodwork objects crafted by local artisans. Intricate carvings on wood and stone adorn different everyday objects such as doors, statues, trunks, and beds. The craftsmanship of the local artisans is truly remarkable. At…
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A trip to Bandhavgarh National Park gives you a fair idea of what might have inspired Rudyard Kipling to write, ‘The Jungle Book’. Although, it is believed, the Pench National Park or Kanha National Park might have provided the background for his iconic work. We didn’t see Sher khan (tiger), Bagheera (black panther) or…
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The ‘Trans Himalayan Safari’ takes you through four lofty, snow-clad mountain passes, each averaging about 4000 m (approx 13,000 ft). The route starting from Manali (Himachal Pradesh), ends in Leh (Jammu & Kashmir) and is covered in a period of two days. I spent three sleepless nights, prior to our trip, having nightmares of what…
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1. Two can play the game. 2. Children and the elderly will beat you hands down. Accept defeat early. 3. Monkey faces don’t work. 4. Smile. Strike a conversation. Ask for directions. It might just break the stare-spell. 5. If nothing works, request to click a picture.
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I’m not too good with water (hate it) and that’s why I wasn’t looking forward to rafting. But I put on a brave face. We left at 9 am. A vehicle picked us from the camp and dropped us at the starting point. Our raft was more of a buoy. Before us, there were was…
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The journey to Nameri National Park was two hours long. We passed through a familiar terrain of fields and forests. We had managed to make a booking at Jia Bhorelli Wild Resort. The journey, from the main gate of Nameri National Park to the village, is a long one. It’s best to come to come with a…
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We hadn’t hired transport to go to Tezpur. So the next day, we asked one of the helpers of the camp to help us take a bus that stops at Tezpur. We reached the highway at 9:00 am. But there wasn’t a single bus that stopped for us. After a while, an Assam State Tourism…
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Day 6 -7: Kaziranga National Park Almost a week on the road and we still had a week more to go. After Kaziranga, we didn’t know where we were headed (probably not the wisest thing to do in the NE). We left Shillong at around 7 or 8 in the morning. This time, as we…
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