Blogs from Uttarakhand, India, Asia - page 67

The Jilling Estate in the Uttaranchal region of the Himalaya Mountains is where Graham and I spent the last few days. It is a beautiful area, contrasted greatly by the chaos and pollution of Delhi. This mountaintop ranch is a haven for backpackers, nature lovers, and those who want to escape into the beautiful scenery. We were the only guests there at the time, and were welcomed in as family. This small village was the most sincere, genuine, loving community I have ever been a part of. They all loved serving and were so genuinely happy, despite living in poverty. We were invited to a Hindu naming ceremony for one of village family's baby. We hiked to a few beautiful peaks. We had tea 5 times a day, had snow ball fights, played with a friend's ... read more

hello everyone! christmas is right around the corner and i am sure you are all busy buying gifts and going to holiday parties :) what am i doing you ask? well i just arrived in rishikesh- yoga central of india as well as the world- and i plan to celebrate christmas and new year's in the most unique way possible...meditating and doing yoga on the ganges! before i get ahead of myself telling you about rishikesh let me let you know what i did in my last days in kurukshetra. i was fortunate enough to be in kurukshetra for gita jayanti! it is the celebration of the birthday of the bhagavad gita- at the birthplace of the bhagavad gita. as i said before- kurukshetra is a very historical place as it is where krishna is said ... read more

In May this year I decided to visit Kedarnath and Badrinath. On the way, I had to stay for a day in Dehradun because a friend who had promised to give me ride up to Rudraprayag – the place from where one gets vehicles for Kedarnath -- had some work there. Since I had a full day to roam around I decided to visit Sahastradhara, a popular picnic spot some six kilometers away from the city. Dehradun is capital of the newly-created hill state Uttaranchal. The city is known for its education institutes especially Doon School and Indian Military Academy. It used to be a cool city a few years ago. But since it became capital, its lungs seems to have got choked. The area around Ghanta Ghar (Clock Tower) is full of pollution created by ... read more

They call it India’s Lake District. And it’s really not an unfair reference because Nainital district of the Kumaon region in Uttaranchal is dotted with beautiful big and small lakes. Nainital city itself is situated around a beautiful lake called Naini jheel. It’s this pretty setting which makes Nainital a hot tourist spot especially for honeymooners who enjoy the view of the lovely lake and also try their hands at boating (There are plenty of them, of all colours and sizes), get themselves snapped to take sweet memories back home. Once you are done with sight seeing how about some shopping at the Mall Road. That specialty of all the hill stations established by the Britishers during their rule in India. Besides Naini jheel there is another lake near Nainital, Khurpatal. An excursion to this lake ... read more

Almora is not your usual hill station. While Shimla, Mussoorrie and Nainital have a fixed kind of travel menu, Almora has rich mix of culture, history and sightseeing to offer. "These mountains are associated with the best memories of our race: Here, therefore, must be one of centers, not merely of activity, but more of calmness of meditation, and of peace and I hope some one to realize it," said Swami Vivekananda replying to the address given to him by the people of Almora. If the great philosopher was so enchanted by these mountains then what to say about lesser mortals like me. For the uninitiated it was here in Almora at Kasar Devi Swami Vivekananda came to meditate. Though some of its old magic is gone but it still retains its charm for those looking ... read more