Best places for travel and exploring in India which are not overcrowded with tourists.
Dzuko Valley, Nagaland
Dzuko Valley, Nagaland
The Dzuko Valleyis a valley located at the border of the Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur. This valley is well known for its natural beauty, seasonal flowers and the overall flora and fauna. Dzükou derives its meaning from the Angami/Mao word which translates to “Cold Water” referring to the ice cold stream that flows through the valley. It is situated at an altitude of 2438 m above sea level, behind the Japfü Peak located in Nagaland.
Neora Valley National Park, West Bengal
Neora Valley National Park, West Bengal
Sprawling over 88 square kilometers of unexplored region, Neora Valley National Park is one of the richest biological zones in the entire northeastern belt of India. It was established in the year 1986 and till today, remains the undisturbed natural habitat of unique flora and fauna. The national park enjoys the distinction of being situated over one of the oldest reserve forests in India. Much of the region still remains unexplored, thanks to the inaccessible hilly terrains. Such is the luxurious growth in the area that even sunlight fails to seep in over some of the parts of the park.
Lonar crater lake
Lonar crater lake
A lake created by meteor impact approximately 50,000 years ago. World’s third largest crater lake.
Gandikota
Gandikota
Gandikota acquired its name from the picturesque gorge (called Gandi in Telugu) formed between the Erramalai hills, which are also called the Gandikota hills.This place is also known as grand canyon of India
Abhaneri Step Well – Chand Baori
Abhaneri Step Well – Chand Baori
This is a lesser known tourist destination near Jaipur. Abhaneri Step Well is a water reservoir dating back to 9th century AD. It has beautiful architecture and maze of stairs. Its is around 100 kms from Jaipur in Dausa district of Rajasthan.
Sela pass
Sela pass
Arunachal Pradesh has several high mountain passes, but the standout among them is the Sela Pass. At an altitude of more than 13,000 feet, the gorgeous mountain pass connects Tawang to other parts of the country.
Touphema Village
Touphema Village
Located about 40 km from the capital of Nagaland, Kohima is the Touphema Village. It is a cultural village where you get to know the traditional life of the Nagas in an intimate manner. You get to stay in quaint huts, enjoy bonfire dinners, cultural dances and more.
Nohsngithiang Waterfalls
Nohsngithiang Waterfalls
Also known as the Seven Sister Waterfalls, they are located a little distance away from the village of Mawsmai. The waterfalls get their name because they are a seven segmented fall. You can see seven separate streams of water falling down from the cliff. One of the highest waterfalls of India, they are spectacle during the rainy season, when they are in full flow.
Chemdey Monastery
Chemdey Monastery
This is a 1664 Buddhist monastery, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of Leh, Ladakh, northern India. It belongs to the Drugpa monastic order and was founded by the Lama Tagsang Raschen and dedicated to King Sengge Namgyal.
Khajjar, Himachal Pradesh
Khajjar, Himachal Pradesh
This beautiful place bears a very striking resemblance to Switzerland’s topography, the well known romanticizing location. Khajjar is located at the foot of Dhauladkar , in the lap of Himalayas and is 2000 meters above sea
Dudhwa national Park _ Uttar Pradesh
Dudhwa national Park _ Uttar Pradesh
Dudhwa National Park is the only National Park in the entire state. There are various species of wildlife animals and birds that can be seen here along with abundant natural resources and lush green vegetation.
Khatling glacier
Khatling glacier
Situated at the river Bhalingana’s source is the Khatling glacier , a panoramic site that just takes your breath away.From the glacier , you can see snow capped peaks and several hanging glaciers in the vicinity.
Ladakh is a barren high altitude desert in one of the most remote regions of India. The beauty of its barren and rugged landscape, unique flora and fauna and culture have much more to offer than just a good holiday. Our Trans Himalayan Jeep Safari takes you from Manali to Ladakh through some of the highest motorable roads in the world as we visit breathtakingly beautiful places like Leh,Sarchu,Pangong Lake,Nubra Valley etc.
Hampta Pass is the most delightful treks in the Manali region, located in Himachal. It is a moderate trek with a scope for varying the duration to suit ones time. Hampta Pass Trek takes us over the majestic foothills of the Himalaya, the Pir Panjal Range, crossing at Hampta Pass (14100 Ft.) –
Meet up at Janpath (near Connaught Place) and leave for Manali by Volvo bus. Overnight Journey.
Chika Day 1
Drive from Manali to Jobra than start trek to Chika (10100 ft)
After breakfast we drive from Manali to Jobra and start our trek to Chika(10,100 feet). While trekking we can see the Rani river on one side and a big rocky hill on the other. Overnight stay at Chika.
Balu Ka Ghera Day 2
Chika (10100 ft) to Balu ka Ghera (11900 ft) .5 hrs easy ascent.
The third day trek is a gradual ascent. While trekking we will be able to see the spectacular Dauladar range. We have lunch in Balu Ka Gera.
Siagoru Day 3
Balu ka Gera (11900 ft) to Siagoru (12900 ft) Crossing Hampta Pass (14100 ft).
This is the most spectacular part of the trek as we cross the Hampta Pass and then descend to our camp site in Siagoru. It will take us approximately 8hrs to reach Siagoru. The ascent on this part of the trek will be moderate.
Chandra Tal Day 4
Siagoru (12900 ft) to Chatru (11000 ft) 4 hrs. Drive to Chandra Tal.
This day we have an easy descent through the Hampta Valley. The massive mountains of the Pir Panjal and Spiti ranges dominate the entire landscape till the camp site at Chatru. Chatru is a confluence point of paths from Rohtang Pass, Hamta Pass and Spiti. From Chatru if road and weather condition permit we head to the Chandra Tal camp site.
Manali
Day 5
Drive from Chandra tal to Manali via the Rohtang Pass
In the morning after breakfast we leave for Manali via the Rohtang Pass. Trek ends
Bugyal in the local mountain dialect means “High Altitude Meadow”. Trekking to Dayara Bugyal is one of the most beautiful places in Uttaranchal, situated at an elevation ranging from 10,000 – 12,000 ft. This vast meadow is second to none in natural beauty in Uttarakhand trekking circuit. The possibility of Nordic as well as Alpine skiing are immense here, since during winter it provides one of the best ski slopes in India spread over an area of 28 sq/kms, one can combine a trek and ski during winter trekking season.
Dayara Bugyal trek starts from two places Barsu and Raithal. The road to Dayara Bugyal branches off near Bhatwari- a little township on Uttarkashi Gangotri road about 35 kms. From Uttarkashi, Vehicles can go up to the village of Raithal from where one has to trek a steep incline covering a distance of about 7 kms to reach Dayara and the other route is via village Barsu, 10 kms from Bhatwari from where one has to trek about 8kms to Dayara Bugyal.
Gray langurs or Hanuman langurs, the most widespread langurs of South Asia, are a group of Old World monkeys constituting the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus.
Monal – State Bird of Uttarakhand
This is the best time for birding as all the birds descends from high altitude to lower altitudes due to drop in temperatures.
If some one wants to do this trek here is the ideal itinerary
Day 1 Dehradun to Guest House at Barsu
Arrive at Dehradun/Haridwar in the morning, freshen up, have breakfast and leave for Barsu village Lunch on the way. Arrive at Camp by late afternoon and relax with a hot cup of tea and prepare yourself for trekking in Himalayas. The camp overlooks the Himalayan peaks of Gangotri I, II and III, Jaunli, Draupdi ka Danda and Srikanth.
Days 2 Barsu – Barnala (2700 m) 4 km / 4 hr
Have an early breakfast and get ready for a trekking to Barnala lake (2700 m) about 5 hours away. Trek through the dense forest of Pine and Oak trees. Lunch enroute. Reach Barnala by late afternoon. Explore the forest around the lake and do some bird watching. Barnala is great for bird watching, the most common birds here Whistling Thrush, Red Finch, Monal Pheasant, Koklas etc. Overnight stay in tents.
Day 3 Barnala – Dayara (3250 m) 5 km / 4 hr
Have breakfast and prepare to trek to Dayara. Hot lunch on arrival. The bugyals (meadows), spread over 28 sq kms, are grazing grounds for sheep and cattle and have a 360 degree view of the Himalayas. Spend rest of day walking around the meadows. Overnight stay in tents
Day 4 Dayara – Raithal 7 km / 4 hr
Wake up to a lovely sunrise and walk a little higher for a nice view of Bandarpoonch (6500 mtrs). After breakfast, we will start trekking to village Raithal. Reach camp by early evening. Relax with a hot cup of tea and sumptuous dinner with bonfire. Overnight stay in tents.
Days 5 Raithal – Dehradun / Haridwar
After breakfast leave for Dehradun/Haridwar. Lunch on way, arrive by late afternoon and catch train to go home..
Renok Adventures is having a fixed departure on various dates 3rd November, 10th November and 29th December. For more details please follow the link www.renokadventures.com
We did an amazing trip of Greater Himalayas crossing 7 Worlds highest motorable road and did some crazy adventures, all thanks to Ladakh tour organised by Renok Adventures – the great adventure company. We all reached Manali on 16th July morning the date to begin the Jeep Expedition. We had a breakfast n got fresh in hotel. We loaded our luggage in our jeep Qualis, our driver Mr. Tule Ram is an awesome driver this was my second trip and I can trust him with my life on curvaceous and tricky mountain roads.
In the first part I will be covering our adventurous journey from Manali to Leh and in Second part our excursion to Pangong Lake and Nubra Valley
We started around 11 and our first big stop was Marhi where we did first adventures activities Paragliding.
Paragliding in Manali
Marhi is a small stopover on the way to Rohtang Pass (14000 Ft), We negotiated a deal for 7 of us to do Paragliding. Yugantar had a small misadventure, his take off was not proper so he slid with the parachute for some distance. He had small bruises on hand and leg.
After doing paragliding we set cross Rohtang Pass our first high altitude pass. There was 8 to 11 ft of snow on both side of the road. Rishin was fully charged up at this point of time he didn’t know what is coming in next few days.
Rishin All Charged Up
Push Up 1 2 3
After fun n masti at Rohtang top we started again and stopped at Khoksar for Lunch. We had awesome Rajma, Dal, Mutton and Rice. Kokhsar is the first village on this route in Lahaul and Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh. Here one need to stop to get police work done. Our plan was to stay at Sarchu but we got late so we will be staying in Keylong today. Our driver paid the homage to Raja Ghaipan at Sissu and we filled diesel in Tandi which is the last Petrol Pump on this route and sign clearly says next petrol pump 365 KM ahead.
We stayed in a hotel with nice view had sumptuous dinner and slept. Morning the view was amazing.
Morning Glory
Morning we started early around 6 AM after a good tea and stopped at Darcha for breakfast. Today was the toughest day of the entire journey, four of the world’s highest passes, 350 KMs and road conditions (You can say No Roads) were bad.
First pass came Baralacha La at the height of 4980 metres. The steep ascent to Baralacha La start at the place called ZingZingBar, One who loves to drink barely misses it and there is a bar by the same name in Manali. This pass connects the Lahaul district of Himachal Pradesh to that of Ladakh. The Bhaga river, a tributary of the Chandrabhaga or Chenab river, originates from Surya taal lake, which is situated a few of kilometers from the pass towards Manali. The other major tributary of the Chandrabhaga, the Chandra also originates from glacier in this region. Both the rivers originates from the two sides of the pass and meet to become Chandrabhaga River and the same river becomes Chenab entering Pakistan.
Nestled high in the West Himalaya,India’s valley of flowers national park is renowned for its meadow of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty. This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic clack bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep. The gentle landscape of the valley of flowers national park complements the rugged mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi national park, inscribed on the world heritage list in 1988. Together they encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya, praised by mountaineers and botanists for over a century and in Hindu mythology for much longer.
This hidden treasure or Nature’s beautiful secret was revealed to British mountaineers Frank S. Smythe and Mr. R L Holdsworth on 9th July 1931, when they reached here after a successful expedition of Mount Kamet. Drawn by the irresistible lure of the place Smythe revisited in 1937. In 1938 he published a book “The Valley of Flowers” celebration the beauty of this extra ordinary Valley.
Hike in a single file in the middle of the track to avoid further erosion.
Keep noise levels low, especially when traveling through a forest
Minimise the use of automobiles wherever possible
CAMPING
Choose a homestay or a community-run camping site wherever possible
Set camp 30m away from lakes and streams
Set up a temporary dustbin to dispose of waste by all campers. Make sure to carry it away
FIRE
Never leave a fire unattended this will rule out chances of a devastating forest fire
Minimize the use of growing vegetation as firewood. Opt for kerosene or fuel efficient stoves
Avoid burning plastic or other toxic substances
COOKING
Carry food that cooks faster and more easily, to reduce fuel consumption
A small solar cooker will serve the purpose keeping the environs clean too
WATER
Never discard rubbish into water bodies.
For washing, carry water 30 m away from the lake
Use biodegradable organic soaps for washing and cleaning. These will minimize water pollution
WILDLIFE
Do not feed wild animals since human food may be damaging to them
Avoid flash photography. Take pictures from a distance
Observe wildlife from a distance, especially at sensitive times like mating, nesting and raising young
WASTE
Never leave behind litter while hiking or camping. Stuff the rubbish into your pocket/backpack/garbage bag to take back with you
Try and sort your garbage into biodegradable and non-biodegradable at the base camp itself. Ensure that the mouths of the bags are tightly fastened. This will prevent the contents from scattering and emitting foul odour
Use toilet facilities and where not available, dispose of solid human waste like this – Dig a 15cm hole in the ground, more than 30m away from the lake, campsite and track. Cover it up with soil when finished
Opt for light, unbreakable utensils instead of plastic or Styrofoam
PEOPLE
Respect the local people, culture and customs
Get local guides or choose homestays so that the economic benefits remain in the region
Help your guides/porters to follow the rules as well. They will then be mindful of them in the future
A long line of climbers follow each other up Mt. Everest. Image: Ralf Dujmovits.
8,850 meters (29,029 feet): Height at the peak.
60 million years: Approximate age of Mount Everest.
$25,000: Cost of a climbing permit per person.
8,000: Height in meters (approximately 26,000 feet) at Mount Everest’s “death zone,” the low-oxygen area above the last camp and before the summit where conditions become increasingly harsh.
1953: The year Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first recorded climbers to reach Everest’s summit.
3: Number of countries visible from the summit (Tibet,India, andNepal).
11: Number of people who have died on the mountain in 2012. (till 23 May 2012)
19: Number of people who died in one year—1996, the deadliest ever on Mount Everest—during a trek chronicled by writer Jon Krakauer in Into Thin Air.
30: Number of minutes before a climber dies after contracting hypothermia on Mount Everest, depending on how fast his or her body temperature drops
40: Record number of people to successfully reach Everest’s summit in one day(May 10, 1993).
200: Approximate number of total climbers who have died on the peak’s treacherous slopes.
4,000: Approximate number of people who have climbedMount Everestsince Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
13: Age of Jordan Romero, the youngest climber to reach the summit, in May 2010.
76: Age of the oldest climber to reach the summit, Min Bahadur Sherchan, in May 2008.
73: Oldest Women climber to reach the summit, Tamae Watanabe on 19th May, she broke her own record set a decade ago at the age of 63.
21: Record number of successful climbs to the summit by Apa Sherpa.
First time in History of India Civil expeditions from India announced the success. A dozen civilian mountaineers from Pune today reached the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain at 8,848-metres. Sagarmatha Giryarohan Sanstha and Giripremi – the two Pune groups – announced success of their respective expeditions on their Facebook pages. However Ramesh Gulave succumb to death from Sagarmatha Giryarohan Sanstha due to AMS.
Mr. Ramesh Gulave
Eight climbers from Giripremi, including Tekraj Adhikari and Krishna Dhokale, and four from Sagarmatha Giryarohan – Shrihari Tapkir, Sagar Palkar, Balaji Mane and Anand Bansode – reached the summit from the ‘South Col’ route, from Nepal.
This is the first time that civilian mountaineering expeditions have scaled the peak.
The eagerly anticipated second edition of Mahindra Adventure will take place in June 2012
India’s leading SUV manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra’s second season of Mahindra Adventure will be held in June. This series that showcases the off-roading potential of Mahindra vehicles includes categories like Great Escape, challenges, Monastery Escape, Royal New Year Escape, besides three new adventures, viz, the 14-day Tri-Nation Escape that traverses Bhutan, India and Nepal, and the six-day Authentic Goa Escape and Wildlife Escape. Primarily designed for Mahindra vehicle owners, those who do not own one can also participate by paying a nominal fee.
The Great Escape participants can participate in an ‘Off-Roading Trophy’ later in the year.
“After the successful run of Mahindra Adventure Season 1, we are all geared to unveil the new season that promises even more thrills for the adventure seeker. The ‘Off-roading Trophy’ and international events make season 2 even more exciting and will go a long way in showcasing the tough and rugged capability of our range of vehicles,” said Vivek Nayer, Vice President, Marketing, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
Mahindra Adventure has also featured in the motorsport arena. After roping in drivers Gaurav Gill and Lohitt Urs, it has also got 2012 Dakshin Dare Rally winner Sunny Sidhu on board. The team will compete in India’s most popular motorsport events including Mughal Rally, Raid de Himalaya and Desert Storm.
The company also unveiled ‘Get Lost’, India’s first online adventure magazine.
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