North India - Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh - Region of snow. One of the beautiful states in the country in the midst of the Great Himalayas. A lot of valleys here in the state are worth visiting. Himachal Pradesh or HP is one of the mountainous states. Due to the Himalayas, a lot of streams and rivers flow through the state too - Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Yamuna to name a few. Let me take you through some of the places that I have visited in this state. There are a lot more places than these few.

MANALI:

Manali is a resort town situated in the northern part of the state. It is a popular tourist destination. Along with Kullu, Manali is one of the often-sought tourist places. It is a small town but with various attractions surrounding it. Situated on the banks of the river Beas, amidst the view of the beautiful Himalayas. A lot of Bollywood flicks like Jab we met, Krrish, 3 idiots etc have been shot here and these places are vividly visible.

Let us traverse through a few places in and around Manali.

(River Beas in Manali)

(View of snow laden mountains from Manali)

Hidimba temple:

This is one of the very few temples where a demon is worshipped. Hidimba or Hidimbi was born to a demon or rakshasa family and later got married to Bhima, the second of the five Pandavas. It is this Hidimba who is worshiped here. It is said that she and her brother Hidimb stayed here. When Pandavas visited here, Bhima defeated Hidimb and married Hidimba.

(Hidimba temple)

Mall Street:

Mall street is the main street in Manali. It is here that all the government offices, banks, shopping centers, eateries are present. No automobiles are allowed here so one can easily walk through the street. For shopping, jackets, sweaters, woolen wears are available here. Hot samosas and jamuns welcome tourists every day in the evenings.

(Mall street in Manali)

Rohtang Pass:

Rohtang Pass or Rohtang La is one of the higher and oldest mountain passes. A pass is small, navigable way between two mountain ranges. Rohtang is one of the passes between the Kullu valley and the Lahaul and Spiti valley. The place is around 50kms from Manali. It is one the trickiest and deadliest roads to traverse. But once you are at the top, the views from here are exquisite. The roadway to Rohtang is filled with army and military supplies. And thus, you can see a lot of heavy trucks around. In summers, this road is filled, and you experience a lot of traffic jams. That's because this is one of the roadways to reach Leh/Ladakh and many private cars and bikers use this road. On reaching the top, you get to ride a quad bike, from where you can visit a nearby lake (sometimes frozen during snowfall). The pass is only open from May to November. Once the snowfall starts, the road to the pass is closed.

(Quad bike in Rohtang)

(View of Himalayas)

(Treacherous road on the way to Rohtang)

Solang Valley:

It is another valley about 15km from Manali. It is known for its sporting activities, especially skiing in winters. In summers, skiing is replaced by zorbing. Along with that, you do get horse riding, Bungee throw, paragliding among others. It also has a cable car, where you go could on top of a hill and enjoy the rustic view of the Himalayas.

(View from Solang Valley)

(Cable car at Solang)

(Zorbing)

(Paragliding)

Manikaran:

About 40kms from Manali is a place called Manikaran. This place is famous for its hot springs. This place has a gurudwara and majority of the population here are Sikhs. There are a lot of temples too. Another legend says, that Manu, the creator of humans, recreated human life here after the great flood and hence the place is named after him.

(Gurudwara at Manikaran)

Kullu Valley:

The headquarters of the Kullu district, is about 20kms south of Manali. Kullu is more famous for its river rafting on the Beas river. 

(Beas river at Kullu)

(Rafting at Kullu)

Food, Accommodation, Shopping, Ways to reach and other places to see:

Manali is about 570kms from New Delhi and 380kms from Chandigarh. The roadway is the best way to reach Kullu-Manali. The drive is quite treacherous, however, with the views around, it gets eased out. If one has watched the movie 3-idiots, the road they travel is the route to Manali. There are a couple of tunnels and one of them is about 2kms. So, you can imagine the drive to this place. 

There are no trains to this place. The nearest airport is Kullu airport located in Kullu. However, only one flight operates from here. The other airport is at Kangra, which is about 200kms from Manali, where you can get many flights. The best time to visit Manali is from May to November. The snow fall starts in October end and once it gets heavier, the town is closed.

(Drive to Manali)

Manali is a resort town and there is no dearth to find accommodation. However, the town gets crowded during summers and it becomes difficult to visit places. Pre-booking is recommended.

All types of food are available here, although they are a bit expensive. But the best part here is the apples. You can see a lot of apple orchards and apple trees along the roads and in winters, the trees are filled with them.

(An apple tree)

As I mentioned before, winter wear and woolen wear are available here and are a must buy.

Below are a few surrounding places from Manali which can be visited (distance from Manali in brackets)

1. Mandi (106 kms)
2. Dharmasala - the abode of the Buddhist monk, Dalai Lama (220 kms)
3. Dalhousie (320 kms)
4. Pathankot (300 kms)
5. Bilaspur - famous for its cement factories (200 kms)

(Dam at Mandi)

SHIMLA:

Shimla is the capital city of HP. It is about 250 kms from Manali and about 350 kms from New Delhi.

It is another one of the after sought hill stations in the country. However, in the recent times, due to commercialization and global warming, the cool climate does not bear the same effect as it used to and thus the demand for this place as a tourist destination is deteriorating. Nevertheless, it is still a good spot for a vacation. Some of the surrounding places here are Kufri and Jakhoo temple.

Jakhoo temple:

It is a temple of Lord Hanuman and is situated on the tallest peak in Shimla. It is said that Hanuman stopped here on this hill while looking for Sanjeevini. Now a tall Hanuman statue has been raised here, which is deemed to be the tallest statue in the world. The temple is accessible by road, walk, horse and more recently by a ropeway.

(Hanuman statue at Jakhoo temple)

Kufri:

It is about 20kms from Shimla and is the highest point in the region. This is famous for its viewpoints. It also has a zoo which holds many rare animals like the antelopes. To reach the highest point, one must ride on a mule. A mule is cross between a horse and a donkey. The ride is completely different as they wade through the path without any guidance. Even in heavy snowfall, they can traverse without any difficulty. There is also a go-karting path on the top. The view from here is blissful. One can see many peaks surrounding Shimla and during winters the snow laden mountains look amazing. If you are familiar with the Bollywood movie 3 idiots, then you can see the house of Ranchod Das Chanchad. This is a palace of a king who used to live here during summers to enjoy the cool climate.

(View of peaks from Kufri)

(Ride on mules)

(View of the palace)

(Go-karting at Kufri)

Food, accommodation and how to reach:

Shimla, being the capital city, has no issues with respect to food or accommodation. Here too, there is a Mall Street, where you can get all good eateries. Hot pakoras on a chilly evening, along with a cup of tea, is what one can call divine and nothing tastes better.

A lot of resorts and hotels are available in Shimla and Kufri. During summers, the city usually gets rushed so better to pre-book before arriving here.

Again, the best way to reach here is by road. A lot of buses ply here from New Delhi and Chandigarh. There is a small airport in Shimla but currently I don't think any flights ply here.

The nearest broad-gauge railway station to Shimla is Kalka which is about 15 kms from the city.

However, the star attraction here, is the narrow-gauge train which runs from Kalka to Shimla. This runs along the highway and through some gorges and is a view to watch. The Shimla railway station is a UNESCO world heritage site as the station was build more than a 100 years ago.

(Kalka to Shimla train - view)

There you go friends. I have covered a few places in Himachal Pradesh. I know there are a lot more to cover and I will update them too. The best time to visit HP is just before the onset of winter - October end. It is when the snowfall starts, and the temperatures would just start dipping down. Hope you had great time reading this blog.

North India - Uttar Pradesh - Part 2

In the previous edition, we traversed through the western and southern parts of the state of Uttar Pradesh. Today let us visit some more places in the northern part of the state. Again, keeping Varanasi as the center place, I will be taking you through to other places from here.

AYODHYA:

Around 200 kms north of Varanasi, is the town of Ayodhya. This place is the birthplace of Lord Ram. However, controversies have marred the history of this place and one feels sorry when visiting this place. Situated on the banks of the river Sarayu, Ayodhya was once a decorated and a rich city. Long story short, there used to a be mosque, which was built in the 16th century by the Mughal emperor Babur. Apparently, it was built at the same place where Lord Ram was born. So then started the communal war between Hindus and Muslims for the right of this place. Soon, in the early 1990's, some activists brought the whole mosque down. And since then, the place is placed under high security, awaiting judgement from the Supreme Court of India to award the rights of this place. Recently, the rights were awarded to the Ram temple construction group, where the construction will start soon. However, until now, the place is heavily guarded with military forces and about 2km radius is completely fenced.

(View of Sarayu river bed)

(Workshop where construction materials of Ram temple are stored)

How to reach, food and accommodation:

Ayodhya is very near to the capital city Lucknow and lies on the Lucknow-Gorakhpur highway. So, there are many buses that ply here from Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Varanasi.

Accommodation cant be rated decent here. However, Lucknow will offer plenty of options and tourist can expect a pleasant stay in this old city.

LUCKNOW:

Lucknow is capital city of Uttar Pradesh. It is about 140 kms from Ayodhya. According to mythology, it is said that Lakshmana, brother of Lord Ram had a palace here. The name of the city is also derived from this. This is one of the most populous cities in the country. Historically, this city was the capital of the Awadh region, which was then controlled by Delhi Sultanate and later by the Mughal empire. It was one of the important cities under the British rule.

Bara Imambara:

Bara Imambara is a mosque complex built by the Nawab of Awadh, Asaf-ud-Daula. It is one of the major projects not to include any iron.

(Asif mosque inside the Bara Imambara)

Food, shopping, Accommodation and how to reach:

Lucknow, being the capital city, is well connected to all parts of the country. There are a lot of flights from around the country. Also, many trains from Delhi, Kolkata pass through here. It is situated at the center of the state so one can imagine the road transport available here.

A lot of hotels are available here so there is no issue for lodging.

One of the famous dessert that one ought to try is the Kulfi. Kulfi is a traditional Indian ice-cream made from milk but is denser and creamier than the normal ice-cream. One can taste different flavors of kulfi in Lucknow.

Lucknow is famous for shopping, especially for designer sarees and dresses. The special 'Chikan kari' works are famous here. These are embroidery works on sarees and dresses which give them an elegant look. Also, Kanpur, another major city is very close by, with around 90kms. Here, one can buy good slippers as Kanpur is famous for leather industries.

NAIMISHARANYA:

Around 75kms from Lucknow, situated on the banks of river Gomti, is Naimisharanya. This is the very place which is said to be the birth places of 'Vedas' and 'Puranas'. Mythologically, many sages like Ved Vyas, Suta, Narada, Shankaracharya etc. have stayed, worshipped and wrote many puranas here. There is a tank called the Chankra Kunda. It is said that one dip in this tank, can get you rid of all sins and attain salvation. It is said that this Kund or tank was found by sage Narada.

(Chankra Kunda)

Naimisharanya is a small village. So, you dont find exotic hotel to stay here. However, you do get a few choultries and one can stay here. A few buses ply from Lucknow but is better to hire a cab and visit this place.

AGRA:

Agra is a world-famous city, famous for the wonder of the world, the Taj Mahal. But before I get to there, let me give you some more info about this place.

Agra is about 350 kms from Lucknow. This used to be the capital of the Mughal empire and that's when it gained prominence. Agra is now a famous industrial town as well with leather and glass industries booming here. So, let's dig in for a few spots around here.

The Taj Mahal:

Well, here it is - the world-famous Taj Mahal. Built in the 17th century by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built in the memory of his loving wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is a masterpiece built with marble. The structure includes architecture of Mughal and Persian designs. It holds the tomb of Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Lying on the banks of the river Yamuna, the Taj is mesmerizing for anyone who visits it. It is called the epitome of love.

(The Taj Mahal)

(Side view of the Taj)

Agra Fort:

Another important structure in Agra, is the Red fort or the Agra Fort. This is the very place where the Mughals were ruling their kingdom from. The Agra fort was built by emperor Akbar and was later used by his successors till Aurangazeb. It is a huge structure and has multiple palaces inside where the emperors, his wives and harems stayed. Some structures are built from sandstone while others are built from marble. This is a clear distinction of the ruler's regime. All the sandstone constructions were from Akbar and Jahangir while all the marble constructions are during Shah Jahan's reign. The architecture has some intricate and fine details and it is difficult to imagine how could they build it in such a clinical way. Right from sewage to water supply to air passage, all details have been taken into account.

Now, in the evenings, a musical and light show is presented which tells the history of the Mughal empire.

(Jahangir Palace)

(View of the fort at night)

(Gardens inside the fort)

(The Darbar hall)

(Salim palace) 

Itmad-ud-daulah:

Itmad-ud-daulah, often called as draft of Taj Mahal, is another mausoleum which holds the tomb of Mirza Ghiyas Baig, the father of Nur Jahan, wife of the emperor Jahangir. This magnificent structure is made up of marble with intricate floral design. 

(Itmad-ud-daulah)

Akbar Tomb:

Akbar tomb is the tomb of Akbar. This was built by emperor Jahangir in the 17th century and is situated at Sikandra, on the outskirts of Agra city. This is another Mughal masterpiece and is built with sandstone. A huge garden welcomes the entrance to the tomb.

(Akbar's tomb)

(Walkway at Akbar's tomb)

Fatehpur Sikri:

Around 15kms from Agra, is the village of Fatehpur. Here, during his reign, Akbar created a new capital and called it Fatehpur Sikri. He built a completely new city here, made of sandstone. There are palaces (one for each wives), tombs, jail, storage areas etc. and all that is required for a proper city. This was a capital during his reign which later was moved to Agra. It was here that his son Jahangir was born. Many Bollywood movies have been shot here. E.g. Jodha Akbar, Pardes etc.

Some structures present inside them are:

Buland Darwaza - The door of victory. This gateway was built to commemorate Akbar's victory in Gujrat.

Hawa Mahal - This was the palace of Akbar's wife Jodha. This is called as Hawa Mahal because of hollow spaces present on the upper side of the palace, to allow for breeze to blow in so that the palace is cool throughout.

Tomb of Salim Chisti - A structure made from marble, is the tomb of the Sufi saint Salim Chisti. It is believed that it was because of his blessings, Jahangir was born and hence his initial name was named as 'Salim'. Akbar is said to have a lot of faith in Salim Chisti and on his suggestion, Akbar moved the capital to Fatehpur Sikri. The tomb is very sacred and is said to yield you your wishes once prayed.

Diwan-i-Khas - The Darbaar hall or the place where the king used to listen to his subjects' grievances and concerns.

Anup Talao - It's a pond which a central platform supported by beams on 4 sides. Here, the great musician Tansen used to play his music and entertain the royal family.

(Architecture in one of the palaces)

(A pond - it is believed that elephants were bathed and fed here)

(Hawa Mahal)

(Anup Talao)

(Buland Darwaza)

(Bottom view of Buland Darwaza)

(Tomb of Salim Chisti. See in white marble)

(Another palace)

Food, Accommodation, Shopping and Ways to reach:

Since Agra is a big city, it is well connected by road, rail and airways. Many foreigners throng the Taj Mahal so there are good flights to this place. Many trains pass through Agra connecting Lucknow, Jaipur, New Delhi and other places.

Since the city is industrially important too, this is a junction for many highways too. The Yamuna Expressway connects New Delhi and Agra and the distance can be covered in a gist of time.

As I said, since this is a big city, there are a lot of hotels here. A variety of budget hotels to 7-star accommodations can be found here.

Agra is famous for its leather industry. So, one can get good quality shoes, belts, jackets at a very low price. Another important product which comes from here and interests the women mostly, is the bangles. On the outskirts of the city is another town Firozabad, where bangle making is the main occupation. Also, Firozabad is famous for other glass products too.

One should not forget the famous savory here - the Agra Petha. It is a sweet which is prepared from ash gourd and is now served in different flavors. 

MATHURA:

Mathura is the birthplace of Lord Krishna. It is situated at about 60kms from Agra and on the way to New Delhi. This place has a lot of mythological importance. It is said that Lord Krishna was born here. But his maternal uncle, Kamsa, a demon, had sworn to kill him because a fortune-teller had warned him that his sister's (Devaki) son would kill him. So, as soon Devaki gave birth to a baby, Kamsa would kill. However, the eighth child of Devaki was Krishna. As soon as he was born, Krishna's father, Vasudeva, took his baby to moved him to Gokula, across the river Yamuna, and placed him as a child of King Nanda and Yashoda.

Now, Mathura is a big town and has a big temple dedicated to Lord Krishna. Just beside the temple is the Jama Masjid mosque. One can see huge barriers between the two worship places. One must not miss the Mathura pedha, a milk sweet.

Mathura is on the highway between Agra and New Delhi. A lot of buses and trains ply here so reaching here isn't an issue at all.

(Krishna temple at Mathura)

VRINDAVANA:

Around 10kms from Mathura is Vrindavana. This was the place where Lord Krishna grew up. It is said that Gokula was being attacked by demons a lot. In order to avoid them, king Nanda moved the whole city to Vrindavan. 

Now, there are a lot of temples here. There a couple of gardens here - Seva Kunj and Nidhuban. It was here the Krishna and Radha played and Krishna wooed Radha. It is said on some nights, they can hear sounds in these gardens and that is Krishna and Radha, and nobody is allowed to disturb them.

(Prem Mandir at Vrindavan)

I think I have quite a few places around here. I have missed some more places because I have not visited them. Hope you have enjoyed the trip through this blog. Please provide your feedback in the comments.