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Hotel Review: Hotel Sunshine, Sonamarg, Kashmir

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We were coming from Baltal on our way back from Amarnath Yatra. We crossed the Sonmarg town. It is a small town with string of shops on the Srinagar- Leh highway (NH-1D) spreads over a kilometre or so. We noticed some road side hotels there, but all looked very ordinary. We moved towards the direction of Srinagar and after travelling less than a kilometre we stopped at Hotel Sunshine which locates on the national highway and adjacent to Hotel Snow Land (a luxurious hotel).

The first look of the Hotel from outside was impressive! Location, marvellous! Sometimes we find it hard to get a hotel in a good location that fits into our pocket. Hotel Sunshine offered us the both.
Located in Sonamarg on the bank of river Indus (Sindh), Hotel Sunshine is surrounded by the lush green mountains with snow cape peaks. It offers respite to the visitors from the hustle and bustle of Sonamarg town. The hotel complex shares the same view at an affordable price with its costly neighbour ‘Hotel Snow Land’.

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A visit to Kalakund near Indore, the birth-place of legendary Indian sweet

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Then came the most awaited phase of the trip. The Patalpani – Kalakund ghat section. One could feel the extreme beauty of it complimented by the railways. The tunnels, viaducts and being surrounded by lush green mountain ranges mesmerised the passengers. I would recommend this place to creative minds. Such views have the potential to fill their minds up with optimistic thoughts and also to photographers. This rail route was laid about 150 years ago by the British rulers. Soon admiring these charming scenes we enter the Kalakund railway station.The locomotive honks make the ‘Kalakand’ vendors become active. Kalakand is a famous sweet dish with Kalakund as its origin, it is a fine treat for all the sweet tooths. On the right side, behind the railway station building river choral flows and on the left side, on a hill we have a building for scout guide, locally known as ‘Mahal’. After spending a few hours there, exploring Kalakund we returned home. But that tranquillity had took over my heart. I have fallen in love with that place. Human needs peace from the hectic life and the minds too need peace and such places serve the purpose.

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Chhitkul… The emerald green Valley!

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There are flowers blooming everywhere. There are huge swathes of beautiful yellow blooms, more captivating as they seem to be haphazardly flourishing without the predictability of a manicured garden. These are Evening Primrose I am told. They have a lovely mild fragrance… also known for their therapeutic properties. There are profusely flowering wild rose bowers and daisies and many other flowers I know not the names for!

The camp is surrounded by orchards of apples, pears and apricots. In fact, the entire valley seems to be one big orchard. In these idyllic surroundings I wander down to the river to find most of the group already there taking delight in the splendorous sights!

A delicious breakfast complete with a variety of homemade preserves and relishes later, we are all off to Chhitkul, the last village in this valley towards China border.

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हिमाचल से लौटते हुए………

हिमाचल से लौटते हुए………

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दोस्तों, घुमक्कड़ी की अपनी अतृप्त तथा अनियंत्रित तृष्णा को आभासी परिकल्पनाओं की उड़ान से शांत करने की गरज से गूगल पर घूमते घूमते कब…

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बिजली महादेव की यादगार पैदल यात्रा ……..

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सभी घुमक्कड साथियों को दशहरे की हार्दिक शुभकामनायें तथा आने वाली दिवाली की अग्रिम शुभकामनाएं. पिछली पोस्ट में मैने अपलोगों को हमारी रोहतांग की बर्फिली…

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Sonamarg, Golden Meadow of Kashmir

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We enjoyed the morning amidst the splendour around the hotel and decided to see the view points in the afternoon. Here, all the viewpoints come on the way to its main attraction ‘Thajiwas Glacier’. To reach the glacier, one may go either by riding pony from Sonamarg town or by a cab which drops near the spot “Ram Teri Ganga Maile”. A nice motorable road is available upto this spot and thereafter one has to hire pony or walk down to the base of Thajiwas Glacier. Walking from there is much preferable to riding pony because it is only a short distance to cover and walking is mainly through the plain roads.

Like most tourists places, pony rides as well as the cab rates are overpriced here and one has no other option but to accept an unreasonable price after much bargaining. How tough it was to agree with a price of Rs.2100/- for a ride of 6kms, to and fro! But did we have any option?

We started the journey and soon saw the beautiful Sonamarg Club, a popular staying option for the bollywood stars when they are here for shooting. Surrounded by the giant conifers and beautiful mountains it locates on a hillock by the side of the road to Thajwas Glacier.

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Rambha and Barkul – The flavours of Chilka

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A few were really very nice. Having spent our time at Kalijai we hopped back into the boat and returned to panthanivas. After lunch we took a Tata Iris van and moved on to take a llok at some local places of interest. First we went to Nirmaljhar temple 11 kms away. Inside the small gate there is a small pond in the centre, a small temple on the left and the main temple on the right. A stream flowing from the Easter Ghats has been directed here into a small kund, The sweet sound of flowing water was the only one that could be heard. There was no other living being inside. At the rear, there are small deities of ‘Dashabatara’. Though the temple has immense significance we hardly saw any signs of maintenance. We moved on to Narayani Mata temple 10 kms away. This temple is situated atop Valerry hill. After ascending the loopy road our car came to an abrupt halt. There were several cars and busses ahead of us caught in a fierce jam. Each was having its free run with restless crowd of people don’t know from where created a ruckus. The lone traffic police stood helplessly. After failed attempts by our driver to make a way through, he asked us to make the rest of the journey on foot and parked the car. We started walking past the vehicles and crowd and made our way up the steep road.

I could not understand what we so many people doing here. The area was surrounded by jungle with ‘saal’ and other trees. As we climbed further up the road we saw groups of people cooking food on giant pots. That’s it! These local people are having a picnic, and what a place to choose – a jungle. Never before I had seen so many people (thousands) picnicking in a forest. After walking further we came into a clearing with several steps. There were few shops selling puja items. Manu devotees were buying these for offering to the goddess. After climbing one more flight of stairs we reached the temple sitting amidst the forest with trees and boulders hanging over it. There were lots of monkeys prancing around and I had to be very careful with my cameras. My son was however very amused. The temple complex had a small ‘kund’ and one side there were a few fallen tree trunks (courtesy phailin).

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Delhi – Sangla … journey through the verdant valleys of Himachal

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As we go further, this road climbs higher till it reaches sheer cliffs of stark, unadorned rock where the road is but a scooped out C-shaped tunnel embedded in the vertical cliff side. While we enjoy the drive along the banks of the Sutlej in all its moods, I am almost willing the road to start climbing to this, one of the most celebrated and recognised sections of this route. And when we do hit that stretch, we are all spellbound! Such is the precarious nature of the road that there are precipitous drops on the only open side and encased in solid rock on the other three sides.

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रोहतांग की कठीन राह…..बर्फीले पहाड़ और प्राकृतिक सौन्दर्य से भरपूर सोलांग घाटी (भाग- 2)

रोहतांग की कठीन राह…..बर्फीले पहाड़ और प्राकृतिक सौन्दर्य से भरपूर सोलांग घाटी (भाग- 2)

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पिछली कड़ी में मैं आपसे जिक्र कर रहा था की किस तरह से मुसीबतों को पार करते हुए अंततः हम लोग रहाला फाल पहुंच ही गए, और फिर सिलसिला शुरू हुआ बर्फ में खेलने का, बर्फ में फिसलने का. उम्रदराज प्रौढ़ दम्पतियों को बच्चों की तरह बर्फ से खेलते हुए देखने में जो मज़ा आ रहा था उसका वर्णन करना मुश्किल है. लगभग सभी लोग बच्चे बने हुए थे, हर कोई इन यादगार पलों को जी लेना चाहता था. हम सब भी अपनी ही मस्ती में खोए हुए थे, किसी को किसी का होश नहीं था. बच्चे अपने तरीके से बर्फ से खेल रहे थे और बड़े अपने तरीके से, मकसद सबका एक था….आनंद आनंद और आनंद.

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Top 10 fun things to do in Dubai

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For the hardcore adventure seekers, Dubai brings to you the thrill of skydiving with one of the most jaw-dropping sceneries in the world. The Palm Dubai drop zone is considered as one of the most picturesque skydiving zones in the world.

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The City South of Dadar – The Real Mumbai

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A UNESCO World Heritage Site is just past a short boat ride from The Gateway of India itself. If you don’t already know, the Elephanta Caves were designed between the 5th and 8th centuries. The 7 caves (5 Hindu + 2 Buddhist) have survived centuries of turmoil. The 6-7 metre-tall Trimurthi sculpture is a remnant of unfading architecture. The resemblance to the Elora caves in terms of carvings is striking.

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Karni Mata temple – Not for the faint hearted

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Besides the religious significance, the Karni Mata Temple is also a significant piece of art. Built in the late 19th century and finished in the early 20th century, under the patronage of Maharaja Ganga Singh of Binaker, the temple architecture reflects the Mughal style of artistry.

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