Nature

A Visit to the Mahazat As-Said Wildlife Reserve

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Time to tell you about the mammals that we saw They include the famous Arabian Oryx, the Reem Gazelle and the Idni Gazelle. The Oryx is a long-horned animal that is feared for its ability to kill with its horns. However, within the reserve, it is remarkably docile as it has been trained to expect food and water at appointed times. At the time of writing this, there are more than 650 of these animals in the As-said reserve. According to Mr. Moayyed, the reserve is already full to above its capacity to hold these animals, and it only because of the controlled conditions that the animals are able to survive, thrive and breed over here.

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नज़ारे भितरकनिका के : मैनग्रोव के जंगल, नौका विहार और पक्षियों की दुनिया !

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पेड़ की हर ऊँची शाख पर पक्षी यूँ बैठे थे मानों बाहरी आंगुतकों से जंगलवासियों को सचेत कर रहे हों। जंगलों के बीच ऐसी यात्रा करने में आपके पास अगर अच्छी जूम लेंस का कैमरा और उससे बेहतर SLR ना हो तो पक्षियों को पहचानने और कैमरे में क़ैद करना मुश्किल होता है क्यूँकि पास जाते वक़्त हलका सा खटका हुआ तो चिड़िया फुर्र।

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DEORIA TAL

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The welcome board put up at the entrance to Sari by the villager’s shows a detailed map of Deoria Tal and the peaks that surround it. The Sari village committee is responsible for the upkeep of the area.

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आइए चलें भुवनेश्वर से भितरकनिका के सफ़र पर…

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हमारा अगला पड़ाव राजनगर (Rajnagar) था जो कि भितरकनिका जाने का प्रवेशद्वार है। केन्द्रपाड़ा और राजनगर के बीच की दूरी करीब 70 किमी है। इन दोनों के बीच पतामुन्दई (Patamundai) का छोटा सा कस्बा आता है। ये पूरी सड़क एक लेन वाली है और फिर त्योहार की गहमागहमी अलग से थी इसलिए चाहकर भी अपने गंतव्य तक जल्दी नहीं पहुँचा जा सकता था। हर पाँच छः गाँवों को पार करते ही एक मेला नज़र आ जाता था। गाँव के मेलों की रौनक कुछ और ही होती है… थोड़ी सी जगह में तरह तरह की वस्तुएँ बेचते फुटकर विक्रेता और रंग बिरंगी पोशाकों में उमड़ा जन समुदाय जो शायद एक साल से इन मेलों की प्रतीक्षा में हो।

राँची और कटक की दुर्गापूजा से अलग जगह जगह दुर्गा के आलावा शिव पार्वती, लक्ष्मी और हनुमान जी की भी मूर्तियाँ मंडप में सजी दिखाई पड़ीं। बाद में पता चला कि इस इलाके का ये सबसे बड़ा त्योहार है और इसे यहाँ गजलक्ष्मी पूजा (Gajlakshmi Puja) कहा जाता है।

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Temple Trails of Karnataka-Part 2-MULLAYANNAGIRI PEAK

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We were now off to Mullayanagiri, the highest peak in Karnataka with a height of 1,930 metres(6,330 feet). It is said to be the highest peak between the Himalayas and the Nilgiris. The route from Chikmagalur town to the peak is a thrilling drive with fantastic views all along the way.

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Chambal Ki Ghati — Kota Gorge through the Hadoti Belt

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So far i had traversed to places having familiarity with the social mass but this time i thought of cherishing and exploring the obscurity of the Chambal Gorge, created by the mighty and the pristine Chambal River ,who oblivious of my encroachment is busy streaming and gushing.

December was the month back then two years ago ,when i thought of going down to the South Eastern frontier of Rajasthan surrounding Kota and Jhalawar, from Delhi. The region is situated on a tableland being a part of the Malwa Plateau which encapsulates the whole Northern Madhya Pradesh along with the Vindhyan Ranges and enscrapments.

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A Taste of Salt – Sambhar Lake

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Sambhar Lake is India’s larget inland salt lake. We keep moving on the road but dam was nowhere in picture. It should be around 5 km from the place we started and we have already crossed more than that. I check on map that we were moving far from lake so we decided to return. We realized that there was no connecting road to dam and we have to find a entry point. We found a dusty track which was going towards the lake. It must be used by tractors and other vehicles. Finally we were inside the lake and it was amazing to drive bike in the lake :).

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Niagara Falls & Grand Canyon – Grandeur of nature

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“I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.” This quote by the great African-American botanist and humanitarian, George Washington Carver, never ceases to inspire me whenever I’m travelling. So much so that my one-month long trip to the US seemed incomplete without a visit to two of the most spectacular natural wonders – the Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon.

Even though they’re both completely different works of nature and are situated on opposite coasts of the country, they strike a common cord due to their sheer enormity, beauty and the overwhelming experience they provide to visitors. And being intrepid explorers, neither my husband nor I wanted to miss either of these attractions.

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A Little peace and quiet…

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If one is resides in any of the blooming cities in India, one would realize the importance of peace and quiet. Whether it is the constant buzzing of the phone or of the doorbell, there is hardly any time in one’s existence which is peaceful and quiet.

I am a frequent traveler but my travels are generally part of the business tourism category, always rushing from the hotel to the conference Center and back. It is generally a day or two that I get to spend in the city that I am in. But this time I was hell bent to get a decent holiday even if I had to drive close to 600 KM for it.
A small village, by the name of Chafi is the Center stage of this travel. It is close to 10 km from Bhimtal, which is close to Kathgodam, the nearest rail head and also the pretty much, the starting point of Real Mountains, the Himalayas.

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Araku valley

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Araku is a picturesque tribal settlement in the Eastern Ghats, about 120 km to the north of the port city of Visakhapatnam a.k.a. Vizag, which also happens to be my hometown. For me, the drive is an end in itself, a mind-blowing experience as one navigates through umpteen hair-pin bends on a steep mountain road which snakes its way up the Eastern Ghats to an altitude of some 1200 metres above sea level. This is one of those road trips on which one does not feel like driving fast but prefer to gently cruise along the serpentine path, inhaling the pristine air and feasting on the visual candy being proffered so generously by Mother Nature.

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