Hills

Pachmarhi – In Heaven’s Abode (Part 1)

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It was the day before Vijay Dashmi (Dusherra) I along with my companion , butterflies in our stomach , an eject button that one calls ,far away from the hustle bustle of this metro polis,in order to embark on an escapade , boarded the Jabalpur bound train from Delhi in the evening of 5th October 2011 heading towards the thick meadows and lush green washed Satpura Ranges to feel the heavens abode in a place popularly known as the “Queen of The Satpura Mountains” — Pachmarhi.

The train was late by 45 minutes . It started staggering at a snail pace at Jhansi till Itarsi but gained momentum steadily towards the destination.The station had only two platforms occupied by almost all locals,many squatted relaxing & staring at the people ,hurriedly we moved out of the station to find a bunch of taxiwallas encircling us ….. I said we’ll return after visiting the town in a bid to get rid of them.

There was a mad chaos towards the streets with cows and bulls roaming in their most fashionable gait.One can push you very easily with an unapologetic face,throwing a sigh at you saying “bhaiya dekh ke chalo” with a dissenting and relentless tone on all your protests.

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Trip to Bhimtal, Naukuchiatal and Nainital.

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After a long and hard discussion we all are agreed for a small 2 day New Year celebration trip to the Lake District starting off with Bhimtal. We decided to book our tickets via train as it is the easiest and most comfortable means of transport. It was 29th December we three started our journey.
The entire night journey in train was extremely good.The whole night in the train was passed by playing cards and we three were too excited as our long time planning is now executed.

Till now we didn’t face any problem in reaching station and boarding on train everything was utter smooth. At morning we arrived at Kathgodam station at nearly 5:30 am and …

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A quick tour toTarkeshwar – तारकेश्वर महादेव

A quick tour toTarkeshwar – तारकेश्वर महादेव

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I always have two sets of Ghummakari. One is with my family, where we book good accommodation and with all gears ready and behaving like “अच्छा बच्चा” (or rather achha buddha now LOL). The other set of trip is with group of my childhood friends (Laxman, Awasthi, Vijay & Pradeep).

With friends, our trip is quick, without any hotel bookings or preparations for the way and with minimum budget . It is so quick that sometimes we decide at night that tomorrow morning we are going. I keep a small tent, purchased from Scotland, in the boot of car, , which houses two and can be fitted in 20 minutes… but like our trains we can 3 or 4 slip into that in emergency.

Our trip to Tarkeshwar Mahadev was such a quickie. A day before we decided to dash and lo…next morning 4 am we were on the road with petrol tank full. all five of us packed well in the car and crossed Meerut in one hour. Road from Meerut towards Kotdwar is not easily recognised during traffic hours as it looks like a small bazar, but in the wee hours it welcomed us with open lanes.

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Picturesque Manali

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Manali, a picturesque hill station situated at a height of 6308 ft lies at the northern end of Himachal Pradesh and is undoubtedly one of the best Hill stations India has. At a distance of 550 km from the capital city of Delhi, Manali is the most sought out holiday destination for travelers. The snow-clad hill tops and amazing scenic beauty captures every person’s heart and offers an immense yet an extraordinary experience, no matter how many times you visit the place….. For me, it’s my favorite destination to let loose and embrace what life has to offer…along with a calmness that soothes the soul… so last winter’s we set of for a wintry holiday to Manali to celebrate a white Christmas!!
Distance from Delhi: 550 Km

Travel Time: 12-14 hours with 2-3 breaks in between

Best Time to Visit: Anytime, however to view snow…Late Dec-early March

Driving Directions and Map: http://bit.ly/vq3jL9

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Trip to village(kirtinagar)

Trip to village(kirtinagar)

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The drive to Rankandiyal from Kirtinagar is around 8 kms along a small hill stream.In the month of June,the water was very clear and one could even drink it.I can vouch for its purity.The whole feeling was nostalgic since it was after 6-7 years that I was visiting the place.The sun was following with us and in no time,we reached the village.We went straight to the nani’s ancestral house where there was a big pandal and music was full on.The whole atmosphere was very divine and we were feeling very light after a long day of travel.We both were given a room in my uncle’s house.The room was small but quite cosy and we had to take blankets in the night.Soon we both were dead.

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Raven

Paradise on Earth- Jammu and Kashmir (Part 3)

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We passed the first town enroute – Ganderbal, within an hour. It was after Ganderbal that the real beauty of the drive commenced. After Ganderbal, the snow-capped Himalayas greeted us bang on. Every turn gave us panoramic new scenes, which always seemed to better than the previous one. Complimented by the untouched beauty of the Sindh River, the landscape was picture perfect.

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Road trip – Delhi to Mussoorie

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GPS showed an internal road near Modinagar – about 40-50 km till Khatauli. We followed that – it was single lane with farm on one side and some small river kind of on other side. I was kind of worried, visibility went even bad, it was dense fog at 7.00 am – after some 10-15 km, and we decided to take another turn connecting back to main road…

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कफनी ग्लेशियर यात्रा- पांचवां दिन (द्वाली-कफनी-द्वाली-खाती)

कफनी ग्लेशियर यात्रा- पांचवां दिन (द्वाली-कफनी-द्वाली-खाती)

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तभी सामने कुछ दूर सफेद सी आकृति दिखीं। सोचा गया कि वे तम्बू हैं। चलो, वहां तक चलते हैं। जाकर देखा तो तम्बू वम्बू कुछ नहीं था, बल्कि कुछ प्लास्टिक का मलबा सा पडा था। गौर से देखने पर पता चला कि यह फाइबर है यानी एक तरह का मजबूत प्लास्टिक। कम से कम सौ मीटर के घेरे में यहां वहां बिखरा पडा था यह मलबा। इसमें लकडी के दरवाजे भी थे जो आदमकद थे। दिमाग खूब चलाकर देख लिया कि यह बला क्या है। आखिरकार नतीजा निकला कि यहां कभी कोई हेलीकॉप्टर गिरा होगा, यह उसका मलबा है।

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पिण्डारी ग्लेशियर यात्रा- चौथा दिन (द्वाली-पिण्डारी-द्वाली)

पिण्डारी ग्लेशियर यात्रा- चौथा दिन (द्वाली-पिण्डारी-द्वाली)

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हिमालय की ऊंचाईयों पर एक खास बात है कि दोपहर बाद बादल आने लगते हैं। ये बादल कहीं बंगाल की खाडी या अरब सागर से नहीं आते बल्कि यही बनते हैं। होता यह है कि जैसे ही सुबह होती है तो मौसम बिल्कुल साफ-सुथरा होता है। जैसे जैसे दिन चढता है, वातावरण में गर्मी बढती है तो हवा भी चलने लगती है। बस यही गडबड हो जाती है। हवा चलती है तो पर्वत इसे मनचाही दिशा में नहीं चलने देते बल्कि नदी घाटियों में धकेल देते हैं जहां से हवा नदियों के साथ धीरे धीरे ऊपर चढती जाती है। जितनी ऊपर चढेगी, उतनी ही ठण्डी होगी और आखिरकार संघनित होकर धुंध का रूप ले लेती है और बादल बन जाती है। बादल बनते बनते दोपहर हो जाती है।

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