Badami in Karnataka is well known for its incredibly beautiful Badami Caves . But just 45 minutes away from Badami are the stunning ancient temples of Aihole & Pattadakal. Tourists normally visit Badami but are not aware of these hidden gems just a few kilometers away.

How to reach Aihole-Pattadakal : Can be visited as a day trip from Badami. Aihole is 34 kms from Badami & Pattadakal is just 20 kms from Badami. Autos can ferry you across to these places or the Hotel where you are staying can also arrange for transportation.

About Aihole : Aihole ( called as Aivalle by the locals ) was the experimenting ground for Temple architecture & construction techniques by the Chalukyan Kings during 450 AD-750 AD. Initial temples were built in Caves but gradually during the Chalukya reign experiments were made on the style of the temples built and it is visible in the temples of Aihole.

Aihole is a small village surrounded by hills on all sides . It does not have many restaurants ,but there are stalls outside the Durga Temple Complex selling fruits, cold drinks ,buttermilk. The temples can be visited on foot and require atleast 3 hours if explored in detail.

The early temples in Aihole are the Ravan Phadi Cave Temple, Ladkhan , Huchimulli temples and the later ones with more architecture and carvings are the Durga Temple and the last one to be built in Aihole the Meguti Jain give us a glimpse on how temple architecture evolved over the centuries. There is no idol in the sanctum of most of these temples .

We began our sightseeing with the Ambigera Temple Complex, which has 3 of the early temples to be constructed in the 5th century.However they are in the ruins.

Next to this is a huge complex which has the Durga Temple Ladkhan Temple,Gowdargudi temple & Suryanarayan Temple. There is an nominal entry fee to enter this complex

Ladkhan Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is supposed to be the oldest temple built during the 5th Century (450 AD). It has a cave like appearance with flat roofs. The walls have floral patterns and windows have lattices work for sunlight. There are intricate carved pillars and have sculptures of Garuda.It got its name from a Muslim commander from the Bahamani rule who used it as a operational hub

Gowdargudi : Built in the 7 th Century and next to the Ladkhan Temple. It is believed to be older than the Ladkhan Temple. It has logshaped stones . Next to it is a step well probably constructed during the 10th -11th century.

Suryanarayan Temple : Next to the Durga Temple. It has a Surya statue with each hand holding a lotus flower in its garbha griya(sanctum), in a chariot and seven small horses carved at the bottom. The temple outline is intact, but most of the details are damaged.

Durga Temple : This is the main temple in Aihole and represents a final stage in the transition of Hindu temple architecture. It was built in the 7th Century and has a Shikhara (a carved dome on the top) unlike the Ladkhan and the Gowdar temples. It gets its name from 'Durg' or fortification and is not dedicated to Goddess Durga as its name implies. The pillars of the temple are intricately carved and have sculptures of different Hindu Gods Goddesses. The latticed windows allow sunlight to stream inside the temple

Close by is the Huchimalligudi Temple Complex which is again a Shiva Temple built in the 6th - 8th Century on an elevated platform. It is known for its wonderful sculptured designs .

Next to it is the Ravana Phadi Cave Temple one of the earliest temple. It is a rock cut cave mainly sandstone belonging to the 6th century. The cave is made up of a hall with two pillars . There are beautiful carvings of Nataraj, Ganesha , Parvati and Goddess Durga. It is amazing that such intricate carving was done in the 6 th century and is a architectural marvel

A little far away on a small hillock is the Meguti Temple and Buddhist Chaitya. There are few steps to be climbed to reach these temples

There are many other temple complexes in Aihole like the Mallikarjuna Temple Complex, Gouri Gudi Temple Complex but the main ones are mentioned above

From Aihole we drove to Pattadakal ( 13 kms ) which is a 20 minute drive .

Udagamandalam or Ooty is beautiful; it is as simple as that! Its slow and crowded at the same time. Yet it has something for everyone. You are amidst nature and commercialization in the same breath. Yet the place charms you.

Every season has its pros and cons; and I found November to be a good bet. The monsoon has receded and the tourist season is just beginning.

We reached Coimbatore around 10 am; had some grub and booked an Ola to Ooty. Outstation Ola is available only from Coimbatore to Ooty and not vice versa. Needless to say the local taxi services are more dominant. Its a ~2.5 hours drive but in our case it took a bit more. Reason, we stopped a couple of times where the network was available and my husband could join an official con call and access mails.

We reached RTOHH and checked into our room. We freshened up and decided to shop & explore the market place.Before stepping out we aligned a cab with help of the staff at the Holiday Home and based on his inputs aligned our itinerary. Broadly, Ooty tripping was slated for the next day and Coonoor with Nilgiri Toy train ride for day after.

Charring Cross is an intersection where one would find the popular shopping places and the beautiful landmark of Ooty, the Adam’s Fountain. The first thing we did was eat ???? So it was A2B (Adyar Ananda Bhawan) for Kara Paneeyaram, Podi Uthappam & Filter Coffee. Its a good place if you are looking for good food but no fancy ambience and menu.

I knew what I wanted to pick for myself and as gift/souvenir — the Pukhoor or Toda embroidery work. I took some time to resist temptation and finally settled for only a few pieces; a shawl, a stole, a muffler & a runner. I was really happy; many people are when they shop! I was very relaxed once I was through this purchase as it was on my priority list. Avoid buying them from shops instead opt for the cooperative society or Toda model hut at Botanical Garden.

A little trivia about the Toda handicraft: Todas are Dravidian ethnic group who live in the Nilgiri Mountains in Tamil Nadu. The embroidery is done by the Toda women with red & black woolen thread over white, off white or ivory cotton cloth. The weave looks striking and beautiful. Their work is GI registered.

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From there we strolled down the market lanes checking what was being sold and tried some locally produced tea & street food. We also went looking around for books in the oldest bookstore of Ooty, the Higginbotham’s.

Trivia on Higginbotham’s: The first bookstore is in Chennai and it is India’s oldest bookshop (1844). The book store was established by an English librarian named Abel Joshua Higginbotham. Apparently, it was the largest bookstore in India until the 1990s.

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We had our dinner at the RTOHH and retired to bed. The next day I woke up early and went for a stroll around the property and its green patch. After breakfast we were all set to enjoy the Queen of Southern Hill Stations, Ooty.

Our first destination was Doddabetta, the highest mountain in the Nilgiri range. ‘Dodda’ means ‘big’ and ‘betta’ means ‘hill’ in Kannada. The peak is surrounded by Shola forests. The drive to the peak is beautiful.

The mist surrounded us, thus we could not see the beautiful landscape around it. There was some drizzle too so we could not explore the area around. This in no way dampened our spirit as the charm of hill stations is in its cool mist and freshness. In between we managed to get view of some places. The Chamundi Hills, the beautiful blue mountains & valleys of Niligiri, forests of Bandipur National Park, plains of Coimbatore and the flat highlands of Mysore are visible from this point. You can imagine the spectacular landscape view on a clear day!

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There is a Telescope House there which had no telescope. I found that place slightly suffocating with a makeshift pantry in the bottom emitting oil fumes mixed with food smell…….. heady for me.

We drove down to the Dodabetta Tea Factory, and since we had seen the tea processing at Kanan Devan tea museum in Munnar we took our wrist tag for only shopping. We picked up white & green tea leaves, the eucalyptus, camphor & wintergreen essential oil the place produces in plenty and assorted chocolates for self, friends & family. We loitered outside the factory as the sky was much clearer and what lay in front of us was a brilliant panoramic view of the town. There are some adventure activities too which one can indulge in.

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We took a lunch break and moved on to the enchanting Government Botanical Garden thereafter. In my view one visit does not do justice to it. Established & designed in the mid 19th century by the Scottish garden architect William Graham McIvor, it is spread over ~22 hectares and brilliantly landscaped. The lush greenery with splashes of bright colors held my attention for long. I can feel the spring in my step and joy in heart when I am surrounded by nature. This is how I felt then too.

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The garden is seamlessly divided into sections like the Japanese garden, lower garden, new garden, Italian garden, glass houses, fountain terrace, nurseries, arboretum and Toda Mund. The lawns are a green carpet of springy grass and you immediately get transported to the Bollywood songs that were shot in Ooty.

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The annual Garden competition & Flower Show (first one happened way back in 1869) are held here in the month of May; and to me the garden looked ever ready for one. There is not a view without a floral and/or green delight. In the center of the garden is a tree trunk fossil which is ~20 million years old. It is a haven for people who love nature, indulge in gardening and have a keen interest in plant kingdom. Yes for bird watchers too! The further in you go, more peace there is and you can spot some interesting birds in this nature abundant serenity. One needs to keep in mind the bird watching timings though to make the most of it.

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I wish I could stay there longer. but alas! We moved on to the unique Thread Garden* from there; an artificial hand made garden that never wilts. Its an interesting and one of its kind exhibit, but the infrastructure needs to be better. This can happen with support of relevant bodies as it is a tourist attraction. A unique technique known as ‘four dimensional hand wound embroidery’ is used to make the plants in this garden.

The brain behind this life-like garden is Antony Joseph and what we see is the painstaking efforts of his team of 50 women & himself. It took them 12 years to offer to the world this exclusive handmade garden. Antony and his artificial garden have a place in many books of records like the India Book of Records, Tamil Nadu Book of Records and Unique World Records (The First Thread Garden in the World).

The Ooty Boat House is bang opposite the Thread Garden. It is an artificial lake constructed by John Sullivan, in 1824. We spent some time there enjoying the chilly breeze and munched some snacks at the eatery there. We did not indulge in boating as we both did not feel like. Instead we just sat there soaking in the surrounding. The rush to the place is maddening and I guess one can give it a miss if they have done these water rides elsewhere.

We visited the Charring Cross once again the next evening (on returning from Coonoor) to pick up the famous Chamraj tea for a family member and have our last dinner in Ooty at the Nahar Sidewalk Cafe.

That’s Ooty we explored in 24 hours or less than one and a half day.

You may like to read about our experience of Coonoor, Isha Yoga Centre & Adiyogi:

Amidst mist, tea gardens & waterfalls in Coonoor

My first visit to Isha Yoga Centre

Adiyogi | The First Yogi | The Originator of Yoga

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....and, if you like what you just read, do ‘like it’ & ‘share it’. Also do not forget to ‘follow my travel blog' to remain updated about newer posts!

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HAPPY TRAVELLING!

Monika Ohson | TravelerInMe

This was first published in TravelerInMe

Prologue

One can fall short of adjectives while describing Rajasthan.

Rustic.

Magnificent.

Vibrant.

Amazing.

Radiant.

Dynamic.

Colourful.

The state is a perfect blend of history, culture and adventure. There is an aura of romance surrounding this ‘Land of Kings’, probably the most exotic locale for tourists all over the world. And rightly so, Rajasthan is breathtaking & beautiful, incredible & enchanting.

Enter Rajasthan

My Itinerary included Mt. Abu where I intended to stay for a day before heading towards Udaipur. Abu is the only hill station in Rajasthan and also referred sometimes as the ‘Oasis in the desert’. Considering I live in Bangalore which is surrounded by hill stations in all possible directions, I am not stranger to them. However, Abu is different. Usually, hill stations are all about forests and lakes and sunset points but Abu blends all of that with some marvelous feats of architecture.

I have been to Abu before, long enough to only have left with a single memory of the hill station and that’s me covered in two blankets while having dinner at a restaurant. That’s how cold it can get during peak winter. I was genuinely excited about what this hill station has to offer but, Dholavira managed to steal a lot of my attention away.

This meant I arrived in Abu late enough to not being able to explore the hill station. A late evening walk around the Nakki Lake and dinner within the walls of my room were the only things I managed before giving myself up to the comfort of my bed.

I left early next morning before the sun would rise with Google predicting a 150 min journey. Little did Google know that the chilly winds of a cold winter morning would dash my hopes of an early arrival. I had my standard Motorcycle riding gloves but they weren’t enough to thwart the incoming wind vortices formed by my motorcycle cutting forward. Barely an hour into the ride, I had to take a tea break just so that I could revive my fingers that were almost frozen. I ended up taking three such breaks until I finally arrived in Udaipur.

City of Lakes and the most romantic city in India, Udaipur

Udaipur’s mantra? You name it, we have it. Grand palaces, forts, lakes, gardens, hippies, ornate temples, tales of valour and sacrifice…

After my short yet uncomfortable journey, I reached Udaipur around 9:30am. Despite all the horsepower and the perfect roads, it had taken me more than 3 hours for a 150km ride. The old city, which is built around the Lake Pichola was bustling with activity. The roads were narrow and auto-rickshaws in plenty. A wide variety of heritage-style hotels or havelis stand stacked next to each other overlooking the lake in the surroundings of the more expensive luxury hotels. Most of these havelis are budget accommodations favoured by the backpackers and solo travelers. I had booked my accommodation in one such haveli, situated in an alley next to the lake.

Accommodation: Jagat Villa (INR 1500 for 2 nights)

After some delicious tea and hearty breakfast, I set out for the first attraction of the day: Karni Mata temple. The temple is located atop the Machla Magra hill, off Dudh Talai Lake. There are two ways to reach the top, the stairs and the ropeway. The ropeway fare was pretty cheap, coupled with the views of the city and lake that it offered made riding it a no-brainer. The view from the Gondola while going up was simply amazing. The temple offers some panoramic views of the Udaipur city and Lake Pichola. I spent an hour at the top, enjoying the breeze and clicking photographs.

Next was the iconic City Palace. City Palace is the embodiment of the grandeur Mewar kingdom once was. The majestic and grand palace complex, largest in Rajasthan and India, was built by Maharana Udai Singh II of Mewar as the new capital of the Sisodia Rajput clan in 1559, after the old capital, Chittorgarh was captured by the Mughal emperor Akbar. Legend has it that the king of Mewar was on a hunting expedition, when he came across a hermit meditating on the banks of a lake. The hermit blessed the Maharana and told him that if he built a palace at that very spot on the banks of Lake Pichola, it would be well protected. The Maharana took his advice and the rest is history.

The City Palace is actually a collection of palaces and gardens, built and extended by various Maharanas over the centuries. Being the royal residence of the Maharanas, who administered their kingdom from here, the huge palace complex is an important historic landmark. The City Palace in its entirety isn’t open to the public. Two parts of the City Palace, Fateh Prakash Palace and Shiv Niwas Palace, have been converted into luxurious hotels. Another part, the Shambhu Niwas Palace is the private residence of the royal family. Oh, almost forgot to mention this but the 1983 James Bond movie ‘Octopussy’ was filmed here!

Like all other fort-palaces in Rajasthan, the City Palace has elaborately decorated gates known as “Pols”. Badi Pol is the main entrance gate to the sprawling palace complex. Beyond it is a beautiful triple-arched marble gate known as Tripolia Gate. There’s another entrance on the opposite end of the City Palace near the Shitala Mata Mandir. This is the entrance I took as I wasn’t aware of the Badi Pol earlier. There are two types of tickets: One is a complex access available for INR 30 and the other is the museum ticket that costs INR 300. Obviously, you need to buy the museum access to enter the City Palace and it’s very much worth it. Audio guides are available as well but I would always recommend getting a dedicated guide to show you around if you are genuinely interested in knowing the history of the Palace.

The City Palace is so vast that it could easily take around 2-3 hours for a detailed tour the museum and complex. The place is pretty crowded even on weekdays during peak season, especially in the afternoon. I would recommend visiting in the morning, as soon as the Palace is open to the public, which is 9:30am. I committed the mistake of visiting in the afternoon and I could barely take proper photographs without some tourist photo-bombing. Despite this, I realize I should have clicked a hell lot more photographs than I did and very much regret it. However, this is something I made up for in Jodhpur (more on that later).

By the time I came out of the City Palace, it was almost time for sunset. I spent most of my evening just watching the sun slowly approach the horizon and kiss it goodbye, by the Gangaur Ghat. There’s the Dharohar Folk dance event that is held every evening at 7pm but the tickets are mostly sold out online and getting them on-spot is a matter of luck. Needless to say, I wasn’t lucky.

I spent rest of the evening just roaming around aimlessly on the streets around the Lake Pichola. Later in the evening as hunger began to take over my mood, I became desperate for a traditional Rajasthani meal and managed to get just that at a ‘cafe’. There isn’t any restaurant that offers the typical Rajasthani Thali in the tourist part of the city, which is mainly around the Lake Pichola and you need to go to the main city, about 2km east off the lake. However, I was already too tired to walk any further and started asking around in the cafes that filled the streets nearby. The day finally ended with the exotic Dal, Bati and Churma topped with ghee along with a glass of buttermilk.

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I have had a knack of starting my day early on most of my travels, something I continued with on this trip as well. So yet again, I was up before the sun had bid goodbye to the other side of the planet. And my destination was the Badi Lake, located around 10km north of the city. However, I was less interested in the lake itself and looking forward to climb up the Bahubali hills. I was always under the assumption that some part of the movie ‘Bahubali’ might have been shot here and hence the name, until a Google search made a revelation. Apparently, the name was given by a bunch of young locals because it had a resemblance to the one seen in the movie. The hills were not even a tourist location until the same locals discovered them on one of their explorations. The astounding view of the lake from the top of the hill made them spread the word. And this is how the Bahubali hills successfully entered the list of renowned tourist attractions in Udaipur.

Surprisingly though, in spite of how famous the hills are now, I was alone when I reached the top. The way to the top involves a fairly comfortable trek of about 10-15 min. The trail seemed adventurous enough for a motorcycle ride to the top, however the entrance was blocked by a couple of rocks to prevent just that. Twilight had only just started to appear when I reached, so there was enough time for me to pick a spot and set up my camera. The view from the top is simply astounding and it’s surprising how they had remained undiscovered all these years. Right about the time of sunrise, a group arrived and I needed no guesses to realize they were here for a pre-wedding photoshoot. After that, my entire attention was on them. I thought ‘I can always watch another sunrise and I may never get a chance to watch the circus about to unfold’. After having some fun at their expense, it was time to go back to the city.

Post breakfast, I decided to indulge myself is in some street photography. I barely had any experience with it and Udaipur looked a great place to start. The narrow streets bustling with life provided a good opportunity but at the same time could be confusing for an amateur.

After spending couple of hours walking the alleys around the Lake Pichola and capturing photographs to my heart’s content, I was back to exploring the tourist attractions the city had to offer. Next on the list was the Saheliyon ki Badi.

Built by the king, Maharana Sangram Singh in the 18th century, the sprawling garden has ample natural beauty, fountains, a museum and some marble structures including elephants. The story behind building this garden is equally beautiful. When Maharana Sangram Singh got married, not only did he bring a beautiful bride but her 48 maids as well, in dowry. To please his Queen, he gifted something for all her maidens; that is Saheliyon Ki Badi. Damn, what a generous king!

Set in the dusty countryside west of the Fateh Sagar Lake, the crafts village of Shilpgram is an interesting place to visit. Not only is Shilpgram a living museum of the traditional arts and crafts that Rajasthan has to offer, it also serves as a place for workshops and performances by artists of the traditional art forms native to Rajasthan and Gujarat. Shipgram comprises a collection of various huts that depict the architectural qualities of not just Rajasthan, but Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa too. I visited this place to specifically watch the performances that are held here every alternate hour. Considering I already had missed the Dharohar Folk dance, I wanted to make amends for it. And they were worth all the time and money. I was surprised at how cheap the entry ticket was, under a safe assumption that the artists are paid from the money earned through the ticket sales. Sad part however was that despite the cheap tickets, there were barely any tourists and the artists definitely deserved better.

Later, I headed towards the Sajangarh Monsoon Palace. Looming at a height of about 900m, similar to my current home Bangalore, the fort offers an amazing bird view of the Udaipur city overlooking the lakes, Pichola and Fateh Sagar. Although the Mewar royal family owned the fort, it is now under the control of the Forest department of Rajasthan. Built by Maharaja Sajjan Singh in 1884, the fort was built with an intention to develop an astronomical centre to track the monsoon clouds and predict weather. Hence the name, Monsoon Palace was coined. His dream however remained unfulfilled due to his untimely death at a young age of 26. Although the fort now stands in a sorry state and seemingly neglected, it attracts a lot of tourists who flock here to witness the breathtaking view of the city, especially during sunset.

I had already planned on spending my time during sunset at the Ambrai Ghat on the banks of the Lake Pichola which is where I rode next.

After spending a couple of peaceful hours at the Ambrai Ghat, I headed for an early dinner, again revolving around the traditional Rajasthani cuisine. I called it a day post dinner, as I had to wake up early with my next destination waiting, the Blue city Jodhpur.

I am back with yet another travel experience. This one is mix of the Spiritual and Fun trip.As the year started its good to start with Spiritual trip. So as planned 6 of us joined for this trip.This trip covered three places Amritsar, Katra[Maa Vaishanv Devi Darshan] and Natha Top.Yes, planned a trip during a weekend with 2 leaves. Yes, you heard it right in 4 days we covered all these places. It was a bit tight schedule plan, but we executed it correctly so yeah no regrets only fun time.

Pre planning included booking flights 2 month ahead of departure which we got for 11k

Route: Bangalore to Amritsar and Jammu Tawi to Bangalore. Also booked train from Amritsar to Jammu Tawi. We had booked sleeper , if possible book AC one there is not much difference and additional benefit is that you get bedding in AC. We booked cab from just dial which costed us 8k overall[3k in amritsar[1 day] +5k jammu [2 days]],which included one day in Amritsar and two days in i.e. from Katra to Jammu.We started from Bangalore to Amritsar flight which was on Saturday morning [9.55 am].All reached airport on time ,some of us took bus and other shared cab and joined Airport as they all were starting from same area.

Reached Amritsar around 1.30pm we already were in ethnic as our plan included visit to Golden Temple. So once we reached Amritsar our cab was waiting for us.

Amritsar is a beautiful city with its village look and Sarso field. Our first place to visit was Atari border as we can’t delay there is a timing. On the way we stopped near a dhaba had paratha and lassi.

Took few snaps in Sarso de khet. These fields remind of the DDLJ and other Bollywood movies which show Punjab. This city is quite authentic in these looks with a farm house and field all the way.Sharing few snaps:

Reached Atari border in 50mins, its 25km from Airport. You can’t take purse, handbag or other carryon on bags. Please leave all these in the cab if possible. You can carry phone or camera.

Run to get your seats, so that you can have good view. Once you reach the entrance you can see both Indian and Pakistan flag. Beginning of the show they allow women, girls or kids, old ladies to line up and hold flag and run near the border. If you want to do this be seated or wait near the first row as the line will grow like anything. Later they will allow to rock the show with your steps on patriotic songs.

The view at Atari brings out the patriotism within you. There is some march performed on Indian as well as Pakistan border which is good to see.This show gets over around 5.30pm.Start early from your seat as there would be huge crowd and traffic jam later. Next we headed towards Golden Temple.

Women/Men need to take dupatta or hanky on their head. Make sure you do this before you enter. As if you miss many people inside will make you do this. We first wanted to visit Jallianwala bagh which gets closed around 7pm, but due to some renovation this is closed for two months.

It was around 7pm when we entered Golden temple. I would suggest please visit Golden temple in evening without fail. Temple view is mesmerizing night time. We left our footwear near a counterand entered the temple, there will be queue, after 40mins we were able to finish the Darshan. You can take time and spend some time once you reach bhawan no need to rush out.It feels quite peaceful in this place.

Then we had Prasad which tastes yum with lot of ghee. We had two times.Then we had langar [ Prasad meal] from temple, this was also yummy. After this we headed to do some shopping bought some dupatta’s which has some fine work in them. There were juttis also which can be taken. We had train at around 1am so our cab dropped us near railway station. Since we had booked sleeper class and forgot to get bedsheet, we bought few woolen chadar near railway station for 300rs. Since its quite cold in the night have the necessary bedding.

We reached Jammu Tawi[Katra] around 6.30 am. We got down had hot tea. It was drizzling here and damn cold also. At a distance of 100mtrs there is busstop. Take tickets to Katra and board it. It took us around 2 hours to reach Katra. Jai Mata Di .

As it was raining we bought raincoats in the bus stop for 100rs each. Then we headed towards our hotel.As it was near some Darshan ticket counter we could easily find it by asking people.

Disclaimer postpaid sim incoming /outgoing works 4g /2G will not work.Prepaid sim of outside state does not work here. Luckily two of us had the postpaid sim. When we reached hotel, even though we had booked it from three sites the owner refused to consider our booking.And rather offered expensive price. So we just checked another hotel nearby found a good deal. We complained about the earlier hotel to the respective site where it was booked.Then we all had bath and got ready for Jai Mata Di ke Darshan.We all planned to go by walk.We had breakfast nearby paratha and Maggie and started around 1. 40pm.Make sure you need to take

Darshan parchi[biometric] from the Darshan counter before you start.So here starts our journey to Sherawali Zor se bolo Jai Mata di.

There are two routes one with steps and other which is same route which is taken by khacharr[mule].Khacchar route is covered , but loads of khacchar on the way and their shit as well is a bit bad.But you find many shops where you can eat or drink nimbu soda. Many restrooms are also available.

There is another way to commute is by helicopter which needs prebooking which costs 1000 rs per person one way. After this also I have heard you need to walk 5km.We completed the route from Mata’s blessings around 7pm.On the way the route is quite scenic with mountains around.

First thing once you reach is search for locker. We ended up in a mess as we entered during Aarti time, many people who went for Aarti had the keys, lockers are minimal in number. Once they return the keys next person will get the key. We waited around 1 hour, later it was so much crowded for locker that we decided to divide in group of two where 3 of us waited with our belonging and 3 of us started in Darshan queue. It took us around 3hrs 15mins to complete the Darshan. After the Darshan though we were happy that we could do it. Then we ran and sent the other three. Since it was around 11pm the crowd reduced and next set people covered it in 1hr 30mins.In the mean time we actually did some dumb thing we kept the footwear of people who went to Darshan in footwear stand and went to have dinner. By the time we came back one of our friend’s new shoes were missing. Beware do not keep anything valuable, people are always watching. Since it was 1am in the night we decided not to start with Bhairav ghati as we had to reach down and have some sleep before we start.When you plan Vaishanav devi to cover you need to plan two days.

While getting down we used stairs for most of our way, so reached in 2.5 hrs. Then from down we took auto to reach hotel and had some sleep.Next day early morning planned to do some small shopping nearby I bought Akrot and Badam. These are abundantly found here and are usually of good quality. Cab came around 10 and we started to Natha Top which is around 80 km from Katra.On the way had breakfast paranthas and Maggie.

The road to Natha top is narrow and two ways. Many times people and buffaloes rush and most of the road is blocked. On the way the route is quite scenic and we took few snaps as well.Around 2.30 we reached Natha Top. On the way you get warm clothes and Gum boots for rent.We could see snow from far mountains on the way, we all were very excited to see it live.

We got rental warm clothes +boots for 450 per head .Then yeah we could see it

"Yeah haseen vadiyan Woh khula aasman.".Take a look:

We reached the top and started playing in snow. We also did sledging , were the locals get a sledge andYou get to slide on that with him from the top of the hill. Also did many Bollywood songs like chandani and one kannada movie step also. Most of the time due to our stunts snow went into our boots and we had to remove that and get back to normal state.

Adding some of the videos and snaps:

There are many tea stalls nearby were you can see fire as well, which you can use like campfire. Had Maggie as well. Many locals will also get rabbit, horse etc. which you can pose with. This experience was quite breath taking, I have no words. Please do visit and really get the experience to know it.

Then at around 6pm we headed towards the hotel. Driver suggested good Hotel nearby in better price. ForestView hotel. This hotel had hot water 24*7 and good balcony view and very spacious rooms and very yummy in house canteen. After long time we had good non veg here.

Next day early morning we got ready and went for walk. There is a Shiv mandir nearby which we visited.Near this mandir saw a unique item being sold. Key chains or quotes written on logs. They will write your names as well and your quotes in a very beautiful handwriting. We got many keychains and quotes.

Some of which are as below:

We dropped our cable cart plan as it costed around 1200 per person and it was far away. Headed towards Jammu tawi airport. Dint get to shop anything as we were late. On the way stopped by many places to take few snaps. Yeah and here we reached on time, but flight was delayed by 1 hour ;)

Once we reached Delhi we had dinner in subway and reached Bangalore around 11pm.Thanks to my trip buddies who helped to plan, book and have fun during the trip namely Adrash, Chit , Pragya, Sharukh and Priyanka .

The Pink City of India, Jaipur is the hub of exquisite and breathtaking views which can make a person feel awestruck with nature and to add the flavor, this city comes with gorgeous art and architecture which allows a person experience the nature in such a way that it can never be experienced in any other ways. Simply, these views are an eye feast for any person who visits Jaipur.

Most of the forts are constructed on hills for both protection and many other purposes. Jaipur hill forts consist of Amber Fort, Jaigarh Fort, and Nahargarh Fort, all of these exist in the city of Amer, which is 11km away from the pink city. But still, people include these forts in their itinerary whenever they visit the pink city. Out of these forts, the most beautiful fort is Nahargarh fort, constructed especially for the recreation and hunting purposes for Kings and Queens by the Maharaja Jai Singh.

The construction of this fort extends to the walls of the Jaigarh fort on the edge of the Aravalli Hill range. As the Jaigarh fort has constructed on the Hill of Eagles (Cheel ka Teela) highest peak, the Nahargarh Fort (the fort of Tigers) has constructed on the edge of the Aravalli mountain range. So, if you visit Jaigarh fort, you can see the same ghat road connecting both the forts and on the extreme side of the road, you will find the Nahargarh fort.

As this fort has constructed on the edge, a person can witness the whole panoramic view of Jaipur and Amer. You can see the spaces between the streets, Jantar-Mantar, Hotels, roads, parks, and many more from the top of the hill or the top of the fort.

Soon, after you enter through the main entrance, after walking a few steps and crossing Sheesh Mahal, you have to take a right, where you can find the viewpoint. You can go there by following the marble slabs which mention the route to that particular viewpoint from which you can see the pretty view of the Pink City. I have visited in the late afternoon and early evening and the view was really amazing and inexplicably awesome.

So, I have followed those slabs and reached the viewpoint after taking some rock stairs. There is a small pavilion protected with iron bars from which a person can view the whole Jaipur at once with one's naked eyes. Imagine, under the blue sky with dark clouds, the sun was setting up and its rays were penetrating through the gaps of the clouds and falling on the mountain areas, trees and the whole city of Jaipur. Including it, the cool mountain breeze, indeed fresh air, the chirping of birds, the hush-hush of visitors, everything that is included in nature can be seen at one shot.

It was amazing to grab such a view with my eyes and I spread my hands and appreciated the beauty of Jaipur and the whole scenic view of nature in and around the Nahargarh fort.

I thought that was the only viewpoint which could give me such a view but after exploring the premises of the fort and escalating the stairs of the Palace rooms of the fort, I reached the architectural terrace of the Palace from which one can have a 360-degree view of the fort, fort walls, fort passages, the bird's view of Jaipur. From the viewpoint, you can see a slight horizontal view of the Pink city but from the edge of the Aravalli mountain range and especially from the top of the fort, it looks even better.

So, the construction is perplexedly remarkable and if you view the architecture from the top of the terrace, it looks fascinating enough. A person must wander all the four sides of the palace terrace to look around the beauty of nature from various angles. The interesting factor is from every corner and every pillar and every umbrella-like structured, pavilion, you will find the change in the gorgeous beauty of Jaipur.

I found this when I started clicking pictures from the top of the Palace. I took two rounds wholly. Once to snap the pictures and cherish them forever and the second to observe all the intricate details of the fort construction and also the views of the whole city, especially the forest and mountain range of Aravalli around the Nahargarh Fort.

This fort used to host many kings and queen for their recreational activities and especially for hunting purposes. Tigers used to roam in this place and Nahar means tiger. Hence, this fort has named as a place for tigers, Nahargarh. This fort, from the top, gives a clear view of every single inch in and around it. The passages can be seen down and also one can easily spy the happenings of the city through telescopes.

The architecture of the fort, adds an extra flavor to the view of Jaipur from the Nahargarh Fort. You will go crazily mad after seeing such an unimaginable view. No wonder this place is one of the favorite spots for Bollywood movie and song directions. Recently, Guru Randhawa has also shot his movie song on this terrace in the song called "Surma". Check it out, if you want to compare the images I took when I have visited recently.

However, the view is unmissable and out of all the constraints and features of this fort, the natural constraint which allows a person to witness the god made beauty from the man-made construction is an exciting fact to explore. So, what are you waiting for, add this beautiful fort to witness such a spectacular view.

The pro tip is, leave all your smart phones and gadgets, just enjoy nature and appreciate its beauty with your naked eyes. You feel relaxed to the core. Try it!