Ramble around the World of Serenity with Rishikesh Travel

Going on vacations with friends is like having a gala time! After a hectic routine, I along with my two friends, Amer and David decided to go on a Rishikesh tour to break the monotony. Rishikesh is considered as the ideal site for river rafting and has temples, lying amidst the serene surroundings. The idea made us excited and after packing all our necessities, we started off our journey from Delhi.

Triveni Ghat Rishikesh

To add more fun to our Rishikesh trip, we decided to go by car and David contributed the idea by offering his car for the same. We were busy in planning what to explore on our travel to Rishikesh, which made our road trip really fruitful.

After few hours, we landed into the dream world. As we reached Rishikesh, all we could view was the amazing serenity and natural beauty all around. We moved on to our hotel to refresh ourselves. After having our food, we took rest.

Next day, we went on to enjoy river rafting, the highlighting attraction of Rishikesh tourism. All three of us wore life jackets and our adventure of river rafting began. As we went on Rishikesh visit in October, we were able to enjoy this water sport adventure. It was the time when water level of Ganges was not very high and the rapids were full blown.

Surprisingly, I was not scared after entering the water. All I was experiencing the excitement, fun and thrill. Sitting on a big raft and experiencing the gushing water made us shiver at first but everything went smooth afterwards. In the evening, we enjoyed bonfire dance near a camping site.

Kailash Niketan Temple

Then, it was our turn to explore the pilgrimage sites in Rishikesh. We visited Triveni Ghat in Rishikesh, where many pilgrims were taking a holy dip. We also offered our prayers to Mother Ganga. Rishikesh also serves as one of the important destinations of Golden triangle in the tour extension. Visiting Laxman Jhoola was another interesting experience. The famous 450-ft long iron suspension bridge lies over the Ganga River. According to legends, Lord Ram's brother Lakshman had overpassed the River on a jute rope from here.

While crossing the Lakshman Jhula, we came across the Kailash Niketan Temple. It is a 13 storey structure that houses the deities of different Gods and Goddesses. We ended our Rishikesh tour with a visit to Bharat Mandir, another prominent attraction of Rishikesh. Lying near the Jhanda Chowk, it is a penance site for the sages.

With a planning to visit Ashrams in Rishikesh next time, we bid goodbye to the amazing destination.

Admire the Pristine Face of Nature with Beaches in South India

The land of South India boasts of a wide plethora of tourist attractions. Beaches in South India add popularity to its tourism. These waterways serve as the prominent attractions of the place. These beaches are known for the ideal amalgamation of sun, sand, surf and sea-food. A rich blend of crystal clear water and rocky seashore, the beaches beckon you for a refreshing experience on India tour.

Some of the most prominent South India beaches are located at the following destinations:

Karnataka

If you wish to enjoy the whispering of the sea, then heading to the tranquil seafronts in Karnataka will be an exciting opportunity. Offering you a relaxed vacation, Karnataka beaches are isolated and away from the hustle and bustle of the city. You can also enjoy the delicious Mangalorean cuisine while embarking on South India beach tours. The 320 km long coastline of Karnataka is sprouted with gorgeous palm-fringed beaches. The pristine beauty of beaches makes them must-visit tourist destinations of the state.

Talking about the popular beaches of Karnataka, following names deserve a mention:

·         Malpe

·         Karwar

·         Surathkal

·         Ullal

·         Mangalore

·         Bhatkal

·         Murudeshwara

Kerala

The palm and coconut dotted Kerala beaches invite you to enjoy a memorable South India beach holiday. Tourists can take delight in spending a day under the sun on a Kerala seaside with refreshing coconut juice. To rejuvenate you, Ayurvedic massage is available at various beach resorts in Kerala.

Some of the popular beaches of Kerala include:

·         Cherai

·         Kappad

·         Kovalam

·         Beypore

·         Thangasseri

·         Bekal

·         Kappad

·         Varkala

Tamil Nadu

The state of Tamilnadu sports various spectacular beaches in South India. The long golden sand and the endless sea stretches make beaches the prominent tourist attractions of the state. Lying on the southern trip, Tamilnadu enjoys a vast coastline. These seashores are ideal to indulge in relaxation, sun bathing and water sports.

The list of beaches in Tamilnadu encompasses the following names:

·         Elliot's

·         Covelong

·         Marina

·         Kanyakumari

·         Rameshwaram

·         Mahabalipuram

Pondicherry

With the finest of azure beaches, Pondicherry attracts all. Tourists throng to the destination to enjoy serenity and tranquillity. These amazing seafronts facilitate tourists to have a memorable experience at cafes, cottages and resorts. If you are fond of adventure, then enjoy the fun-filled water sports at these beaches.

Some of the must-visit beaches of Pondicherry are:

·         Serenity

·         Mahe

·         Auroville

·         Promenade

·         Karaikal

South India beaches have the charm to allure tourists embarking on India beach tour. Among them, the beaches of Kerala are the most popular with a plethora of tourist attractions.

Savour Beauty and Adventure in Kufri Himachal Pradesh

Kufri is a small yet spectacular hill station, lying at the foothills of Himalayas. Known for its scenic beauty, the place beckons hordes of tourists from all across the world. It is perched on a height of 2,510 m above the sea level. Its proximity to the famous hill station of Shimla makes it an important place to visit.

Kufri Hill Station Tour

Some of the most popular attractions of Kufri include:

The Himalayan National Park

It is among the most favourite tourist attractions in Himachal Pradesh. This great national park houses more than 180 species of birds and rare mammals. It is a wonderful bio-diversity and eco-tourism hub. Travellers can spot snow leopards, musk deer, pheasants and rare animals. Adventure enthusiasts can indulge in trekking, organized by the park rangers at Sai Ropa Tourist Centre. Other attractions include some locals’ fairs and festivals that are organized nearby.

Mahasu Peak

On your Kufri hill station travel, tourists can visit Mahasu Peak. It boasts of being the highest peak in the region of Kufri. From here, visitors can also enjoy bird's eye view of the surroundings. The path that takes you to the peak is adventurous, enclosed by dense forests. Mahasu Ridge is also the best bet for people who are interested in skiing. The slopes at this peak are ideal for beginners. Dedicated to a Serpent God, The Nag Devta Temple is another attraction of the place. Tourists can enjoy a short hike from Kufri that takes you through forests of Himalayan cedars.

Indira Tourist Park

Lying near the Himalayan National Park, it boasts of the stunning views of the Himalayas. Peaceful ambiance, refreshing climate and a beautiful coffee shop are the other attractions of the place. The park is around 19 km from Shimla and 6 km from Fagu.

Yak and Horse Riding

While embarking on a Kufri hill station tour, do not miss out the Yak or Horse Riding at Kufri. This is another interesting way to explore this wonderful destination.

Visit Kufri

Adventure in Kufri

Kufri hills offer ample opportunities to enjoy adventure. Tourists can indulge in various adventure sport activities like skiing, trekking, paragliding and river rafting. Kufri adventure travel delights you with its trekking and hiking trials. Adventure-lovers visit Kufri in winters to enjoy skiing along its snow-covered slopes.

Winter Sports

Being a popular hill station, Kufri also invites tourists to indulge in fun of adventure sports. It holds the National Snow Statue Competition in January. Adventure buffs can also enjoy heli-skiing.

Kufri, Himachal Pradesh is an enchanting tourist destination to visit. Adding charm to Himachal Pradesh Tourism, Kufri is a great place to visit.

Witness the Vibrant Jaisalmer with Desert Festival

India is a culturally rich land, which can be best witnessed during its festivity. Each state of the country celebrates a plethora of festivals. Rajasthan is a state that celebrates a plethora of festivals. These include approaching of season, religious festivals and traditional events. Dancing, music, drama and singing attract all the travellers to Rajasthan tourism.

Desert-Festival-Jaisalmer

Desert Festival Jaisalmer

This is a majestic spectacle of music, colour and festivity, adding charm to Jaisalmer tourism. It befalls on the full moon in February when the cherished monuments of its rich past and colours of the festival are on display. Celebrated with great zest, the festival is organized once a year during winter and amidst the sands of the wonderful Thar Desert. The empty sands enveloping the Golden City become alive with the dazzling colours, music and laughter of the festival. The dates for Desert Festival 2013 are on 23 - 25 February.

Significance of the Festival

Jaislamer desert festival offers an opportunity to experience the richness of Rajasthani culture. Brilliantly dressed locals dance and sing the rhythmic saga of past affairs. Most of the performances are based on the tales of the heroes of the medieval era. The festival starts with a morning procession that exhibits the life and culture of the desert.

Activities of the Fair

The ship of the desert, Camel plays the pivotal role in the festival. During the Desert festival, Jaisalmer tourists can enjoy a number of traditional sport activities. These include camel dance, camel polo, camel race and various other competitions consisting of camels. Apart from camel competitions, travellers can also take delight in the other interesting competitions like the moustache and turban-lying competition. The competition of the best dressed camel and tug of war are the other highlights of the festival. Tourists can indulge in fun of traditional performances, snake charmers and puppeteers.

On Jaisalmer Desert Festival tour, visitors can capture the glimpse of colourful craft bazaars that are put up as make shifts. Tourists can buy delicately embroidered skirts, rugs, leather bags, hand-woven shawls, camel decorations, ethnic silver jewellery and wood carvings.

Jaisalmer Desert Festival

Another feature that makes this festival popular is the lip-smacking traditional Rajasthani cuisine. It enables tourists to enjoy a variety of ethnic and spicy treats.

End of the Festival

On the third and final day, the festival concludes with a gala Rajasthan folk concert under the stars in the Sam sand dunes. Tourists can also enjoy cricket match, parachuting, camel race and Air Force display in the dunes.

Desert Festival, Jaisalmer is a popular event of the place. Tourists can enjoy varied attractions of Jaisalmer Tourism while embarking on a tour to Rajasthan.

Source Ref: http://rajasthanindiatour.wordpress.com/?p=30

Discovering the mystical Delhi with Delhi tourism

I have always been fascinated reading and hearing about Delhi. So, I along with my family took a Delhi tour in November. Knowing about the extreme climatic conditions of Delhi, we went in November. We hired a cab at an affordable rate for our travel to Delhi.

Rang Mahal Fountain

We kicked off our Delhi tourism with the Red Fort in Old Delhi. On the first look itself from the entrance gate, this majestic monument captivated me. I was so excited to discover what’s in store. The Chhatta Chowk aka Meena Baazar on the entrance pavement took me to the time of Mughal era. I started imagining how this small market would be then. Built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, this fort made of red sandstone has many attractive spots inside. Rang Mahal or the Palace of Colours with marble pool is strikingly beautiful. The lavishly decorated private audience hall, Diwan-e-Khas and Diwan-e-am, the public hall are magnificently constructed.

From the Red Fort, we went to Jama Masjid, which is just the opposite of this fort. It is the largest mosque in India. Jama Masjid reflects a blend of Hindu and Mughal architectural styles. Constructed with red sandstone and white marble, the mosque has three gateways, four towers and two minarets.

After Jama Masjid, we went to the very famous bustling bazaar, Chandni Chowk. I heard a lot about this well-known parathe lane called Paranthe wali Gali and so was really keen to visit. And my god! There are endless eating joints selling varieties of parathas. We savoured paneer parathe, kaju, matar, badam paratha. We also purchased sarees with zari work, jewellery, shoes and some other stuff from Chandni Chowk.

Akshardham Temple Delhi

Our Delhi India tour package took us to some other great monuments of Mughal era like Humayun's Tomb, Safdarjung Tomb, Purana Quila, Qutub Minar, the tallest brick minaret in the world and Jantar Mantar, the astronomical observatory built by Raja Jai Singh II of Jaipur.

The next day we had planned to capture other tourist attractions of Delhi. We started off with Akshardham Temple. This huge temple complex located near the Nizamuddin Bridge is dedicated to Lord Swaminarayan. We spent more than 3 hours exploring the magnificence of this temple. From there on, our Delhi tour guide took us to Lotus Temple. This modern architecture in the shape of a lotus flower is a famous prayer hall of the Bahai faith. After that, we headed straight to India Gate, Parliament House and President House.

Knowing that Delhi is a shopper's delight, we went for shopping and picked up lots of things from Connought Place, Sarojini Nagar and Lajpat Nagar at affordable rates.

Our three-day Delhi tour was short but we managed to cover all the major attractions of Delhi. It was a memorable trip for all of us.

Sariska National Park where your Hunt for Wildlife ends

Being in a Jungle might sound strange but it is great when you are in a National Park. I am taking this opportunity to share with you my visit to Sariska National Park that I recently made. Lies on the Delhi-Alwar Jaipur Road, Sariska National Park is a renowned wildlife destination in India.

Sariska National Park

My trip to Sariska National Park was planned with my friend Joseph who had to back out at the last moment due to some unsuitable situation at business front. Though everything was well-planned and settled after searching a lot among India Wildlife Tour Packages, yet I was really going to miss my only travel buddy Joseph on this tour.

I reached by car and made myself comfortable in the Hotel Sariska Tiger Heaven. It was located at 108 km from the Jaipur Airport and 35 km from the Alwar Railway Station. That perfect accommodation facilitated me with good food and cosy bed, which refreshed me. Then, I was all set to explore the Sariska National Park.

Enveloped by the arid Aravalli hills, Sariska National Park in Alwar district is among the  popular wildlife destinations of the state. My joy knew no bounds when I entered the park where I could actually realize why it is mentioned to visit the park between October to June. This is the good time to spot the migratory birds.

Sprawling in a huge area, the park is a delight to set foot in with its soothing vistas of nature. Having heard a lot about the rich flora and fauna of the park, I was too excited to explore the same.

This wildlife reserve comes under the “Project Tiger”. It was established in 1955 and acknowledged as a National Park in 1979. I could see that the landscape of Sariska encompassed of narrow hills and valleys of the Aravalli. As I started exploring the park, varied animals like jackals, nilgai, sambar, hyena and monkeys came into my sight. Fortunately I could spot a tiger as well. All his majesty was adding fear to my excitement!

Not to mention there was a great variety of birds as well. The peafowl, spurfowl, green pigeon and the great Indian horned owls were to name a few. As I moved ahead, leaving the landscape behind, I could apparently see that why it is said to be amongst the best wildlife photography zones in India.

Hotel Sariska Tiger Heaven

My legs started aching and I decided to take a motor ride around the park to explore the dense forests. It was a Jeep safari I opted for. The ride was accompanied by the forest department guards, which made it rather safer for a nomad like me.

Contended with my experience of wildlife tour to Rajasthan, I headed on to visit the Kankwadi Fort. Lies amidst the historic landmarks inside the park, Kankwadi Fort is the spot where Emperor Aurangzeb once arrested Dara Shikoh, his brother.

Based on my experience, I can share that the Ancient Shiva Temple is another amazing site to visit. Dating back to the 6th-13th century AD, the site is now deformed but the ruins here capture the attention of the visitors.

That was my experience to visit the Sariska National Park. Hope you will have a great too!

Face the Fear by Spotting Tigers at Ranthambhore National Park

Ranthambhore National Park

It was in October when I visited Ranthambhore National Park. With the idea of getting some relief from exhausting schedule, I undertook the trip. Visiting India second time did not cause me much trouble as I was ready to go for a mindful journey to India. I along with my wife Jenny reached Delhi in an evening of weekend. Assured by our travel operator in Delhi for every arrangement, we went to the hotel and after relishing our dinner, we fall off to sleep. Our next day was dedicated to the visit to this national park.

We took a flight to reach Jaipur in Rajasthan and from there we headed towards Ranthambore Bagh Resort where our stay was already confirmed by our tour operator in Delhi. It took us around 4 hours to reach the Ranthambhore National Park.

That is how the excitement to see wildlife began! Jenny, my wife is truly a photography lover. She carried her camera and we left for Ranthambhore National Park, the popular wildlife destination in Rajasthan.

We had one gypsy booked so that we could enjoy photography as well. Entering that picturesque zone, we first came across the lakes and great bird life. Our first halt was at Padam Lake. The wildlife creatures we came across were egret, snake, bird and parakeets. Moving ahead, we captured the sights of spotted deers, owls, watching eagerly and grey heron.

Our excitement to see tigers made us to stop at the park for the time being. The guide suggested us to keep mum as our voice could be irritating to animals. Unfortunately, sighting tigers did not happen that day and we had to rush back to the resort as we were too hungry.

Ranthambore Bagh Resort

After reaching the resort, we filled our hungry stomachs with delicious food. The night spent with bonfires, folk music and sharing the first day's experience. Staying in a camp with all the amenities and surrounding greenery coupled with a homely feel relaxed us.

Choosing Ranthambore as our wildlife destination from various India wildlife tour packages brought reward to us as the next day, we spotted a tiger. The thrill was rising and we came to a standstill as soon as we felt the presence of tiger around us! While Jenny was concentrating on clicking to capture tigers without disturbing them, I was closely observing his activities. Roaming around majestically, the tiger seemed bit scary with his mighty built.

Well, we left back to the resort as we had to fly back for our country next morning. Our tour to Ranthambhore brought us a truly rewarding experience!