Hampi - Badami - Bijapur is an excellent travel circuit for a week end tour from Bangalore. These three places are hot favorite of the foreign tourists. Many temples and palaces at Hampi and Badami are now in the list of UNESCO Heritage sites. There is scarcity of hotels in Hampi and Badami, so it is better to book before hand before your journey, particularly in the winter.
The nearest railway station from Hampi is Hospet 14 kms. From Bangalore, it is 364 Km can be reached by bus, or hiring a cab. Even night service deluxe busses are also available from Bangalore to Hospet.
Carvings
At Hospet a place worth to see is the dam over the Tungabhadra river, also known as TB Dam by the local people. The picture of perfect villages in India with their farming, huts can be seen on both sides of the road on your way from Hospet to Hampi. Kamalapur is the major junction you will reach after 20 mins drive. From here two different roads are going inside the Hampi.
Carvings
Hampi is place with its unique scenic beauty. The rocks of different shapes, Tungabhadra river with the typical basket boat ( Hargol), ruins of palaces and temples here and there. After lunch we went to visit the Matanga Hill. This is a Hill made by the boulders of differentshapes stacked together, unique in its natural design. steps are there to climb to the top. It was a steep climb! At the top there is ruin of Matangeshwar Mahadev Temple. From the top the total view of Hampi is exceptional.
The Royal Ruins
Hampi was the capital of Vijaynagar Empire and was built on 1336 AD by the two kings of that time Harihar and Bukka. At that time Vijaynagar was vesry strong economically and wast the hub for trade for diamonds, pearls, silk, horses etc. Many palaces, forts temples were built at that time one by one. On 1565 AD Vijaynagar lose the Talikota battle and ruining started.
Carvings
Archeological Survey Of India tried hard to protect those heritage structures, the beauty of which will amaze you even today! At least two full days are required to visit the important sites at Hampi.
Virupakshya Temple
In the afternoon we decided to see the Virupakshya temple. This temple remain open from 6.30 am to 8.30 pm. Tall and huge 9 storey Gopuram, large temple compund with beautiful carvings on the wall, colorful frescos on the ceiling - really a wonder all
Fresco on the ceiling
together. In this temple regular puja and prayer is held till today. The Gods here are Mahadev and Pampadevi.
Tungabhadra River
From the temple we came to the river bank of Tungabhadara, adjacent to the temple. For dinner we went to roof top restaurant, a nice and unique environment to have dinner.
Carvings
The next morning after breakfast we started our journey to see the rest of the places. It took abouut 7 hours to cover the main sites. our first stop was Vithala temple. On the way to the temple we saw the ruins of Vithala market. Entry fee to the temple was INR 10. We witnessed and were stunned by the excellence of the architecture of ancient times! there are 56 intricately curved pillars in the main Rangmandap (Compound) which produce musical tunes when hit.
The King's Balance
The famous chariot made of curved stones is there in the compund here. King's balance, where the king use to donate gold and precious stones of his own weight! There are few ponds (Pushkarini ) inside the compound.
The Famous Chariot
Queen's bath was the bathroom for the queens. Though from outside it look so ordinary but the artistic craftworks in arches, pillars, fountains, balconies inside the palace is wonderful.
Hazar Ram Mandir
Hazar ram mandir is also in this area we saw. The story of Ramayana is curved on the walls of the two temples here. On the wall of main temple the pictorial story of Vishnu Avatar is engraved on the black ballast stone.
The Lotus Palace
From here our next spot was Janana Mahal Royal Complex. The same ticket of Vithala temple we hadto show here to enter. This was the place where queens used to stay in ancient times. The Lotus palace amidst of a beautiful garden was the main place. A museum of Archeological Survey Of india is also here.
Hatisala
Just outside the Janana Mahal is elephant's stable (Hati Sala) with many pillars and a beautiful tower.
Pataleshwar Shiva temple is little away from this palace. It is a temple underground and through the steps we reached inside (Garva Griha). Artistic work on the stones are beautiful even in this underground temple. Baravilinga Siva temple is another temple, where there is a three meter long Shiva linga surrounded by flowing water.
The Narasimha
The famous Lakshmi Narasimha Statue of Hampi is adjacent to this. It is an amazaing 7 meter tall statue made of stone with the fierce expression, under open sky.
After seeing many other temples we reached Acchyut Roy temple in the afternoon. The nearby river bank from here is very quite and secluded. We enjoyed the fun of basket boat (Hargol) ride on Tungabhadra river from here. This kind of boat is very typical of this place.
Tungbhadra Boat Ride
At last we reached the Hemkut hill near Virupakshya temple. Though not as high as Matunga, yet a beautiful view of Hampi is visible from here. We were all tired of the journey through out the day. Sitting on the hill top and observing the sunset over the Hampi - The Royal Ruins....is a memory to remain with us.
We visited almost whole of Sikkim in 2006 April. I will write in parts. This is about North Sikkim. While traveling through this area of Sikkim, the feeling was, there cannot be anything beautiful than this in this world. We were dumb stuck!
Yumthang:
Also known as Valley of flower of the East is a fabulous place to travel. In March and April the valley is full of different colors of Rhododendrons, Primula and in winter the valley is fully ice covered. We had a car with us to travel all the parts of Sikkim and was sponsored by one of my friends in Sikkim, he also arranged the accommodation for us :) But a car can also be hired from Gangtok on daily basis to travel Sikkim. Permits, where required will be arranged by the travel agents. See at the end of the post the package tariffs and other information.
Started early in the morning from Gangtok we crossed Fodong, Mangan, Singik to reach 135 Kms from Gangtok, Chungthang, where to streams Lachung chu from Lachung and Lachen chu from Lachen meets and make the famous Teesta. Chu means river streams in the local language. The scenic beauty of the route was awesome and the road is extemely well maintained. Usually tourists don't stop at Chungthang. They proceed further to Lachung to stay overnight before Yumthang. But my friend managed our accomodation at Chungthang, so we stayed there. Chungthang is a very small place with few shops and houses and some restaurants. From here two roads, one goes to Yumthang to Lachung and the other via Lachen to Gurudongmar Lake. Next day morning we start from Chungthang for Yumthang, our next destination. The first halt was Lachung. I fell in love at first sight! What a place to stay! A picturesque natural village having a river, snow peak mountains, A water falls, plenty of colorful
flowers...what more one can ask for a landscape! We had our lunch in a a local home. In fact most the residential houses there are convreted hotels and restaurants at one part of it. The lady and the daughters quickly cooked food for all of us. We relished the fresh hot rice and the egg curry they made. It is the warmth and affection that matters how the food will taste!
After lunch we proceeded for Yumthang 24 kms from Lachung at 11800 ft. It is very difficult to describe the beauty of Yumthang. The time we went It was full of flowers. Colorful flowers were there even in between the grasses. The valley, river, snowpeaks, flowers even a hot spring is there! Enjoy the photos of Yumthang here. Interested tourists can proceed further 24 Kms at 15300 Ft to Yumesemdong near Tibet Border.
24 Kms From Lachung, another place of interest is Katao at 12600 Ft, is famous for the glacier.
Gurudongmar Lake:
Again came back to Chungthang to go to our next destination Gurudongmar lake. We halted at Lachen 29 kms from Chungthang for the night. We had to start very early in the next morning, otherwise the driver told the weather will be bad. From Lachen in 3 hours we rached another beautiful village, the last village in this route, Thangu at 14400ft. Interested tourists can tek to Chopta valley from Thangu. The character of the mountains change abruptly to barren and rocky after Thangu. The whole road through the ice is mainatained by Indian Army. There are many check posts on the route.
The road ends at Gurudongmar Lake at 17800 Ft. This lake is very sacred for both hindus and Budhhists.We were mesmerized by the divine beauty! The whole lake is surrouded by icy mountains. The color of the water is turquish blue to greenish at places. The migratory birds floating here and there inthe lake...I don't have words to describe the place. Please visit it will be your lifetime memory.
Package Tours:
There are many travel agents in Gangtok to choose from.
The package cost includes food, stay and travel. There will be 8 to 10 tourists per car.
1 night 2 days package to Yumthang and Katao INR 1200 - 1500 per head.
2 nights 3 days package to Yumthang and Gurudongmar INR 2500 - 3000 per head.
Important points to note while you travel:
Take enough heavy woolen garments. These places are vey cold.
If babies are with you take their tinned milk from Gangtok.
Carry common medicines, antiemetics may be required any time.
Keep stock of enough mineral water in your car.
Though rare, high altitude sickness may occur. If someone develop breathing trouble don't panic just bring him down to lower altitude as fast as you can.
Electricity is absent or irregular in most of these places. keep the batteries of you gadgets properly charged.
At one go in Kumaon Himalayas we comfortably visited the famous lake of Nainital, awesome Himalayan beauty from Almora, Ranikhet, Choukori, and Binsar and the ancient cave of Patal-Bhubaneshwar. We enjoyed the busy and colorful Nainital, solitary Binsar with natural forest, Kaushani and chukaori with its stillness and himalayan splendour all in one trip.
The best time to travel Kumaon is from March to May and october to November. Better avoid this route in rainy season July and August.
Nainital:
Nainital is the center point of travel this circuit. It is 34 Km from the nearest Railway Station Kathgodam at an altitude of 1938 Mtrs. It can be reached either from Kathgodam or Haldwani 40 Kms. Haldwani is 8 Km from Lalkua, the nearest Railway station. From both these places cars, share cabs, buses are available. Road is also well maintained. The car from these place will cost INR 275 and the bus fare INR 50 - 70.
The main attraction of nainital is its beautiful natural lake, Tal, which is named Nainital because of the Naini mata, the temple of the devi mata is there in one side of the lake. All the hoels, markets are there around the lake, which look so beautiful with the lush green vegetations all around.
A British hunter P. Baron discoverd this place in 1839 AD and made a pilgrim cottage here on 1942. At one side of the lake there is the temple of Naini Devi. This is a sacred temple of Devi Durga.
Leisurely boating in Naini lake is wonderful experience, will cost INR 125 per hour.
From here walk uphill for 4 Km to reach Dorothy Seat, at 2320 Mtrs, from where the whole Naini lake is beautifully visible. Though pony is available for this short climb but it is better to walk to enjoy the nature to its fullest extant. Snow View Peak at 2287 Mtrs is another point which can be reached by pony, or by cable car. 250 Kms of Himalayan range is visible from here by telescope from here. At 2640 Mtrs Naina peak is 6.5 Kms from Nainital is a beautiful spot from where the views of gorgeous peaks of Himalayas Trishul, Nandadevi, Nandaghunti, Aapi, Nanjangh mesmerized us. Witnessing the sunrise from here can be a life time experience. A part of China is visible from here, hence it is also known as China Peak. Interested tourists can stay here in the Log hut.
1.5 Kms from the bus stand there is zoo of Nainital, where animals of high altitude are kept. Khurpatal 5 Kms from Nainital is a lake is a paradise for the those who love fishing.
The places of interest in Nainital are Lands end, Mukteshwar, Kilbari, State Observatory, Hanuman gari, Tiffin top, Ramgarh, Bhawali, Laria Kanta, Sattal, Bhimtal, Naokuchia Tal etc.
Package tour is available in Nainital by different tour operators.
There are many hotels, one can choose according to budget. The rates vary in seasons and off seasons. April to June and October - November is the peak season here.
Almora:
It is an important district town of Kumaon. This place is known from long ago for its healthy weather. People use to come here and stay for long time to rejuvinate their health. World renowned personalities like Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Udai Shankar were very fond of Almora.
7 Km from the town over the Kashyap Hill there is temple of Kamar Devi. According to Puran, Devi Durga killed Shumbha and Nishumbha here. Sarada Ashram is beside this temple. Serene natural beauty all around. Dalma guest house (+91 5962 251118/ 078 ) is the place where one can stay Tariff INR 600 for DB room.
8 Km from the town is the Temple of Chitai Devi. This temple is in a huge compound and in a beautiful location. Devotees tie bells and colorful clothes on the temple to fulfil their wishes.
12 km from the town is Katarmal Surya Temple. Last 2 km of the road we hadt walk to reach here. This temple is now a national property and is looked after by the Archeological Department of India. Jogeshwar is another beautiful place 35 kms from Almora amidst the Deodar forest. 124 temples are there in Jogeshwar. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. Two rivers Nandini and Surabhi are flowing down below. Devotees take bath in them. Arrangement of fooding and lodging is avialable here for the ineterested tourists.
Ramkrishna Mission is 2 Km from the town. Okle house, where Swami Vivekananda spent some time is nearby. Bright end corner is 3 km from here from where the fascinating mighty peaks Trishul, Choukhamba, Panchachulli, Nandadevi, Nandakot are beautifuly visible. Other than these there are Ma Anandamoyee Ashram, Govindaballav Museum, Tagore house etc. are worth visiting spots.
Reach Almora from Nainital 63 Kms. by car, bus or conducted tour or it is possible to reach here directly from Haldwani. The nearest airport from Almora is Panthnagar (127 km.)
One can stay at the guest house of Ramakrishna Mission at bright end corner too. For that a letter to be dropped to them for reservation beforehand.
Binsar: 38 kms from Almora it was the summer capital of the kings of Chand dynasty. At 2412 Mtrs Binsar is paradise for the nature lovers. Best time to visit Binsar is March to June and September to November. It is wonderful to reach Binsar through the curvy hilly road and the pine forest. After crossing the forest checkpost we drove 11 km to reach KMVN tourist rest house ( +915962 290176) INR 800 - 1200 for DB room. Fascinating view of sunrise can be seen from the roof of the rest house itself. Entrance fee in the jungle is INR 40 per head and INR 50 for the car. Beauty of Binsar is its tranquility. The next day we took a guide (INR 150) and went up to zero point by trekking 3 km inside the jungle. There is a watch tower at that spot.
Note: Please confirm your hotel reservation before reaching Binsar The two famous resorts in Binsar
Kasar Jungle Resort ( +91 5962 251127)
Mountain resort ( +91 5962 251011) INR 3000 - 4500 per day
Ranikhet:
Rani means queen. Yes this place can be called queen of the hills. The magnificent snow capped Himalayan peaks is brilliantly visible from here. At 1829 Meters, 50 Km from Almora, this place is well connected by bus service from Nainital, Almora, Haldwani. The places to see here are Kumaon Regimental Museum, closed on wednesdays, Major Somnath Gupta Park, 10Kms from here is Choubatia, where there is research center for fruits. Bhalu Dam is an artificial lake 3 kms from Choubatia. 8 km from the town is Jhuladevi Temple. Golf course is also very beautiful.
At an altitude of 1890 Meters covered with pines a small place with abundance of natural beauty. This place is well connected by bus from Almora ( 52 Kms), Ranikhet (62 Kms), Nainital (129 Kms), and the Railway Station Kathgodam ( 155 Kms).
Gandhi Ashram is the most prominent place in Kaushani. Standing in the compound, the 300 Kms view of Himalayan Range is awesome! Want to the know the name of the peaks? They are graphically written there in a photo frame. Sunrise from Kaushani! I can go over and over again to view. Please keep 2 or 3 days for Kaushani because every day you will see different views and colors during sunrise depending on the clouds. Sunset also is faboulous. Visited Baijnath Temple 19 kms from here at the bank of Gomti river in Garur valley.
Choukhamba, Panchachulli and many other famous peaks are closely visible from Choukori. a
serene place to enjoy the closeness of Himalayan beauty. If interested, one can visit the Kasturi deer farm house about 5 kms from here. 3 kms drive + 2 Kms trekking.
Stay at Choukori:
Here is a ancient cave full of natural stalagmites and stalactiles. They formed many artistic formations like elephants, snakes, god and godessess naturally, fascinating to the eyes. we had to go steep down into the cave and then found a fairly large plane. Nothing is allowed to be carried inside the cave. Sorry no camera! :( Don't forget to take a torch, though there is electricity inside! Guide is compulsory who charged INR 50. Though very slippery inside due to continuous flow of water it was an unique experience altogether.
Patal bhubaneshwar is 39 Kms from Choukori.
There is a tourist lodge of KMVN (+91 5964 242584) INR 450.
Last year December we, four of our family, wife and two kids traveled Madurai, Rameshwaram, Kodaikanal, Kannyakumari. We started from Kolkata. All of us love to travel by train so we did our reservation in Coromondol Express, which leave Howrah Station at about 2 pm.
DAY 2:
After a relaxing sleep in train we reached Chennai Central next day at 5 pm. A 4 berth coupe in AC 1st was booked before hand in Pandian Express from Chennai Egmore. Prepaid Taxi from Chennai Central to Chennai Egmore is 5 minutes, but charged us INR 100/- Much costlier than our city Kolkata! We had some time in Chennai Egmore. We roamed around a little and packed our dinner (vegetarian) from a clean restaurant and Pandian express left Chennai in time. We are now approaching our 1st destination Madurai scheduled to come at 6 am.
DAY 3:
Madurai:
Madurai is 492 Km from Chennai and is very well connected by bus with Kannyakumari 235 Km, Trichi 128 Km, Coimbatore 222 Km, Kodaikanal 120 Km. Many trains are coming to Madurai throughout day and night from Chennai. We Reached at 6 am. There are many hotels of different budgets in the city.
TTDC: Non AC INR 500, AC INR 800 for DB room (+91451 2537461/ 2337471)
Madurai is almost 2500 years old place, second largest city of Tamilnadu. It was established by Panda king Kulsekhar by rhe side of Vaigai river at an altitude of 133 Meters between two mountains Hasti and Nag.
The Main attraction of Madurai is Meenakshi Amman Temple. It is a fabulous creation of Dravidian architecture. Nayekraj Tirumalai built this temple at 17th century.
The temple has a stunning architecture and a significant testimony for Vishwakarma Brahmins for their master architecture in sculpting this temple.This was a front runner in the election for the modern seven wonders of the world for its architectural importance.The complex houses 12 magnificent gopurams or towers that are elaborately sculptured and painted. The temple is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, and has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature, though the present structure is believed to have been built only recently in the early 17th century.
The temple can be entered by any of the 4 large Gopuram. There are two temples inside the main compound one is of Devi Meenakshi and other is of Sundareshwar, another name for Lord Shiva. The sculptures on the wall of both the temples are fascinating.
We seen the temple on the same day we reached Madurai. It is very close to the Railway Station. The narrow road is through market place with shops of all kinds, one can very easily walk up to the temple. Temple remain closed everyday from 1 to 4 pm. In the evening we hired a car to see the other places of Madurai and nearby.
DAY 3:
It did not take more than 5 hours to see rest of the places around Madurai. Tirumalai Nayek Mahal 1.5 Km, Gandhi Museum 5 Km, Government Museum, Mari Amman Teppakulam, where Meenakshi and Sudareshwar deiti is brought each year with a grand procession during the float festival in Jan- Feb. The other two temples to see are Tirupankundram Temple 8 km, and Ajhagar Temple 21 km.
We booked the car for the next day- our destination Kodaikanal.
DAY 4:
Kodaikanal:
It was raining from the morning. Once we thought of cancelling but ultimately decided to go. At least we can enjoy the road the nature, the beauty from the car. Kodaikanal is a lovely hill station ( 5000 Ft) at western ghat. The main attraction and the name is from Kodai Lake. It is a very big lake 26 Hectares with lush green vegetation around. Though we could not do, leisurely boating in the lake will be a nice experience. We should have stayed there for a day or two, but our schedule was tight. It is better to add one and if possible two days for Kodai. We visited all the places in Kodai with our car, could not come out of the car at some places due to rail and extreme cold breeze. We saw Briants Park. The glass house there has collection of many colorful flowers. Though could not walk we saw Koker's walk, a beautiful walking area on the top of the hill. We drove a little higher to reach a temple. We first learnt about Kurinji flower, which bloom every 12 years! It bloomed just a year back, so we had to remain satisfied by looking at the picture of that.
Green valley view, suicide point is another place to see, from where nice view of Vaigai dam is visible. The two beautiful falls we enjoyed in rain Fairy Falls and Silver Cascade Falls.
We missed boating at Kodai Lake but we will come again here.
Tamil Nadu Tourism Hotel: A/C Deluxe DB room INR 650, Deluxe Cottage INR 750, Kurinji Cottage INR 1100. (+914542 2413336) There are many other hotels in Kodai of different budgets.
We came back to Madurai on the same day evening.
DAY 4:
Rameshwaram:
How to go to Rameshwaram was the big question! We can go by bus. by car or train then whether A/C or non A/C! The reason is Pamban Bridge. Ultimately we chose to go by second class in a local train and we were right. Train started from Madurai at 6 am, filled with local people and was not much crowded. It was a nice change. Rameshwaram is 163 Km from madurai and took four hours to reach. It is a 52 square Km island at the Gulf of Mannar of Tamil nadu. Two bridges, one Railway and other for other vehicles connect the island with the mail land.
Railway bridge is awesome! It took 7 mins to cross the bridge and the feeling was we are traveling over the sea! Even the waves can hit the train coaches. We were so excited. The other bridge is placed on long pillars and much higher than the level of the sea.
My 10 year old son was excited to see Tonga (horse pulled carriage) and we decided to avail that for the sight seeing.
The main attraction of Rameshwaram is Ramnath swamy Shiva Temple. It is one of the 12th Jyotirlinga temple in India.
According to legends, this is the place from where Lord Rama, built a bridge Ram Setu (also known as Adam's bridge) across the sea to Lanka to rescue his consort Sita, from her abductor, Ravana. This is also the place where Rama worshipped Shiva to be absolved of the sin of killing Ravana, hence the name of Shiva, which became the name of the town - Rameswara ("lord of Rama"). Both the Vaishnavites and Shaivites visit this pilgrimage center which is known as the Varanasi of the south.
The masterpiece of South Indian architecture boasts of the largest temple corridor in India. Different rulers built the Ramanatha Swamy Temple over a period of time starting from the 12th century. The temple comprises twenty two wells where the taste of the water of each well is different from the other.
The grandest part of the temple is the 1219 m pillared corridor consisting of 3.6 m high granite pillars, richly carved and well proportioned. The perspective presented by these pillars run uninterruptedly to a length of nearly 230 m.
The main entrance, gopuram of the temple is near the Agnitirtham beach.
After experiencining the majestic beauty of the architecture we had vegeterian lunch at local restaurant. Then the tongawalla showed us the other points, Ramtirtha mandir, Lakshman tirtha mandir, Shankarachaya mandir, Sakshi hanuman mandir, Sita Mandir.
Not much to say about these places except at Sita mandir they kept some stones, floating in water. These stones might be having air pockets within them, so floating. People were ecstatic by seeing them. It was said that Ramachandra made the bridge to Srilanka by these stones.
Though it is not necessary to stay there, but there are many hotels there of all budgets. Over enthusiasts may stay a day.
Dhanuskoti , a place 16 kms from here where Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal meets. It is a quiet sea beach with all its beauty to offer.
Tamil Nadu Tourism Hotel (+91 4573 221064)
A/C DB 700 -900 INR, NON A/C DB 350 INR
We came back to Madurai same day by a car from there. We had our reservation for kannyakumari in a train from Madurai scheduled to arrive at 11 pm.
DAY 5- 7: Kannyakumari:
It is a strange feeling to reach Kannyakumari, the last point of India. Three oceans Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and Bay of Bengal meet each other here. From one point one can see both sunrise and sunset on the sea!
Except very crowded at tourist season, this place is just fabulous. Kumari Amman temple is at the beach. It is a Durga Temple. The pillars in the temple produce beautiful musical sounds when they were hit. Gandhi Mandapam and Vivekanand memorial is also worth seeing places nearby.
Vivekananda Rock is of course the most attractive. There is regular ferry service through out the day from the beach to the rocks. There is also another rock with a large statue of great Tamil poet Thirubhallubhar. The whole journey to the rocks and the views are so intoxiating your camera clicking will never stop. There are few other places to see which we saw by hiring a auto rickshaw.
We missed sunrise next day due to cloud, but sun set at Arabian sea and the play of colours in the sky we will remember through out our life.
Plenty of hotels are there of different budgets are there to choose from:
Our leave is exhausted ..now time to return to work and kids to school. But everyone was fulfilled. There was something for everyone of us in this trip. We came directly to Chennai by train and then to our city of joy, Kolkata.
