Tajmahal.. must see in life

Built in memory of mumtaj the monument is one of the world's wonders. It is built in 16'th century and made of marble.

Morning time is best to see the tajmahal and it is very crowded over weekend.


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Indian National Bird Sanctuary : Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur Rajasthan

City is best known for Keoladeo National Park. Bharatpur is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733. Located in the Brij region, Bharatpur was once an impregnable, well-planned and well-fortified city, and the capital of Jat kingdom. Located 55 km west of the city of Agra (the city of the Taj Mahal) and 35 km from Mathura, it is also the administrative headquarters of Bharatpur District and the headquarters of Bharatpur Division of Rajasthan. It has an average elevation of 183 metres (600 feet).

Getting There

Airport : Jaipur and Agra
Train :    Bharatpur and Agra
Road :

Delhi (184 km),
Mathura (39 km),
Jaipur (176 km),
Alwar (117 km)
Agra (55)

The nearest airport is Jaipur. Daily flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi and Lucknow are available from Jaipur. Also the nearest airport is Delhi also. The nearest railway station is Bharatpur Junction (5 km). Bharatpur is connected with other parts of the nation by very good roads. One can travel through own vehicle too. There are regular bus services from  and adjoining areas. Many trains from New Delhi (New Delhi – Mumbai and Agra – Jaipur route) stop at Bharatpur. Bharatpur is easily reached by train or bus, although private taxis from New Delhi or Agra can be employed. The Park gate is close to the bus stand and railway 
station.






Best time to go there : October to March [ This time you see lots of migrated birds]

My Experience:

I visited this place in month of December and it was awesome weather to visit this place. The temperature was between 15 to 25 degree centigrade. and The wind was very pleasant. I reached there from Agra which is 55 Kms and I loved this place.

How to watch birds :

Please remember to bring your own telescope other wise you will end up paying around 2-5 USD \ 50-100 INR per hour for this.  Best way is hire bicycle and spend time as per your planning.  Another option is manually operated Riksha[Tri Cycle] which can carry maximum 2 person and charges or around 2-5 USD per hour. If you are in group of 4-5 person then make sense to hire Guide or If you are very keen to know most of the birds and there details then it make sense to hire Guide. Generally these Tri cycle operator are Guide. There is no need to hire any agent or guide if ask these guys all places if want to get information for any specific birds.Remember to get own research on birds before coming here if you are not planning to hire Guide.

Restaurant\Food:

Best part of visiting this place we have ITDC Hotel in center of your travel inside the bird sanctuary.  You have variety of options for break fast and lunch in this hotel.  

Photography:
You will love this place for photography. amazing reflection snaps, rare birds and lake. With the clear sky you can get amazing pictures here.

History / Details:

The Keoladeo National Park or Keoladeo Ghana National Park formerly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India is a famous avifauna sanctuary that plays host to thousands of birds especially during the winter season. Over 230 species of birds are known to have made the National Park their home. It is also a major tourist centre with scores of ornithologists arriving here in the hibernal season. It was declared a protected sanctuary in 1971. It is also a declared World Heritage Site.
Keoladeo Ghana National Park is a man-made and man-managed wetland and one of the national parks of India. The reserve protects Bharatpur from frequent floods, provides grazing grounds for village cattle and earlier was primarily used as a waterfowl hunting ground. The 29 km (18 mi) reserve is locally known as Ghana, and is a mosaic of dry grasslands, woodlands, woodland swamps, and wetlands. These diverse habitats are home to 366 bird species, 379 floral species, 50 species of fish, 13 species of snakes, 5 species of lizards, 7 amphibian species,7 turtle species, and a variety of other invertebrates. Every year thousands of migratory waterfowl visit the park for wintering breeding etc. The Sanctuary is one of the richest bird areas in the world. It is known for nesting of its resident birds and visiting migratory birds including water birds. The rare Siberian cranes used to winter in this park but this central population of Siberian Cranes is now extinct. According to Sir Peter Scott Keoladeo Sanctuary is the world’s best bird area.
The sanctuary was created 250 years ago and is named after a Keoladeo (Shiva) temple within its boundaries. Initially, it was a natural depression; and was flooded after the Ajan Bund was constructed by Maharaja Suraj Mal, the then ruler of the princely state of Bharatpur, between 1726–1763. The bund was created at the confluence of two rivers, the Gambhir and Banganga. The park was a hunting ground for the maharajas of Bharatpur, a tradition dating back to 1850, and duck shoots were organised yearly in honor of the British viceroys. In one shoot alone in 1938, over 4,273 birds such as mallards and teals were killed by Lord Linlithgow, the then Governor-General of India.
The park was established as a national park on 10 March 1982. Previously the private duck shooting preserve of the Maharaja of Bharatpur since the 1850s, the area was designated as a bird sanctuary on 13 March 1976 and a Ramsar site under the Wetland Convention in October 1981.The last big shoot was held in 1964 but the Maharajah retained shooting rights until 1972. In 1985, the Park was declared a World Heritage Site under the world Heritage Convention. It is a reserve forest under the Rajasthan Forest Act, 1953 and therefore, is the property of the State of Rajasthan of the Indian Union. In 1982, grazing was banned in the park, leading to violent clashes between local farmers and the government.

My Photo Gallery:
 


 

Jungle Camp near Hoshangabad MP

Place : Jungle camp near Hoshangabad

How to visit:  It is near Bhopal, MP [India] and around 60 km from there. Hoshangabad [40km] and Itarsi railway station is around 60 km

Time to visit : Expect Apr - July [due to hot summer].

Where to stay : there are few hotel and motel by MP tourism board and they are desent.

Best way to visit : Combine this place visit to either Tawa dam / Sanchi stoop / panchmadi / bhopal visit

  This place is completely covered by forest and there are sround 8-10 places to visit. mainly old age paintings, water fall and jungle experience.  Book the motels by mptdc and have a nice indian food. The facility is desent with AC rooms with daily room service.  You can stay in tawa dam and take a day tour from there it will be around 100km from there.

Random click.. We stopped at road side and went to explore this natural beauty. The place was awesome and but the picture was not so clear due to cloudy weather.

Another click of same place..

The rainy season water flow and it makes perfect picture with clear water .. there are lots of small water flow like this during travel.. having snacks  or lunch besides these places are perfect match.

wow.. unexplored water fall.. there is no way to go down ..we have to do tracking to reach there ..good place for adventure tracking . need more attention for building facilities there. Atleast there should be some way to go down.

Go GOA

Place : GOA
Best Time to visit : OCT to March
Air Port : GOA, frequent flights from mumbai, new delhi and bangaluru
Days to visit : minimum 5 days are needed to explorer this place.

Goa, is the smallest Indian state with a territory of 3,702 sq km. It is located in the Western Ghats.

A tropical paradise, it is bathed by the warm waters of the Arabian Sea. The culture of Goa is a blend of Indian and Iberian: European style central squares and Indian bazaars, Portuguese churches sharing their walls with Hindu temples.

My Experience : I have travelled Goa in month of Oct and I was lucky that there was rain only for one day in 6 days tour. I reached directly to hotel by taking cab[local car] in airport and it took around 45 minutes to reach my resort. I hired a scooter for travelling in goa and it was good experience but risky as I was travelling with my 2 year old daughter. We planned to visit different part of goa on 1 day. explored beaches and chapora fort and goaian food which ia mainly sea food. We were lucky to see one of the local festival which was some sort of dance festival. I drove scooter for around 300KM in 5 days visit and visited most of the places. last day i booked a car to visit Panji [Goa's capital].
Places to see in Goa:
Beaches of Goa
Beaches of Goa are much ahead of other beaches in India in terms of popularity and the facilities that are available here. The beaches here have been accepted as a matter of life, there are exotic cuisine backing the pleasure of have on sun and sand, and water sports facilities that include from water scooters to water gliding. To add on you can shake your legs for some time with a glass of fenny and beer, engaged in shopping on the beachside, or have midnight bonfire on the beach.

From Eco tourism places in india

From Eco tourism places in india

From Eco tourism places in india

Churches
Goa, Jewel of India, is studded with temples and churches, which remain as silent but forceful witnesses to the intense religious history of the diverse people who lived here. Hence a pilgrimage to Goa is a unique experience.

From Eco tourism places in india

Temple
Noroa River, the Arvalem Waterfall, and the Brahma Camandolu or Water Pot of Brahma - the creator, in the old Goa Hills are the main Hindu pilgrimage spots in Goa. One more sacred place is Sidhanath Mountain in Borim Village.

From Eco tourism places in india

Link for details of place to visit in goa
http://www.goaholidayhomes.com/places-to-visit-in-goa.php

Khajuraho MP

Place : Khajurahu MP India

Best time to visit : Oct to Feb

State : Madhya Pradesh

Nearest airport : Khajuraho (Flights from Delhi india).
Bhopal : It is around 300 KM from bhopal by road. 

Train station :
Jhanshi (State UP around 100KM. Lots of train run from Delhi to Jhanshi. best one will be Shatabdi and Rajdhani express both takes around 5 hours from Delhi) .
Satna (State -MP around 90KM from here. there are 2-3 trains from delhi one is Rewa express which takes around 12 hours from delhi and it is over night journey. try this if you want to see rural india by train). You can hire taxi from here for travelling Khajuraho.

Town : This town is very less populated around 20,000. The down is totally dependent of tourism. Local people are either working in agriculture or associated with travel industry. People mostly speaks Hindi but with English you can survive here and there are guide who speaks german, janapnese, spanish also. Good place to buy Indian traditional art work.

History

   In the 27th centuary of Kali yuga the Mlechcha invaders started attacking North India some Bargujar Rajputs moved towards east to central India,they ruled over North-Eastern region of Rajasthan called Dhundhar and were refered to as Dhundhel/Dhundhela in ancient times, for the region they governed. Later on they called themselves Bundelas and Chandelas those who were in the ruling class having gotra Kashyap were definately all Bargujars they were vassals of Gurjara - Pratihara empire of North India which lasted from 500 C.E. to 1300 C.E. and was at its peak when major monuments were built.The Bargujars also built the Kalinjar fort and Neelkanth Mahadev temple similar to one at Sariska National Park and Baroli, being Shiva worshipers. The city was the cultural capital of Chandela Rajputs, a Hindu dynasty that ruled this part of India from the 10th to the 12th centuries. Political capital of Chandelas was Kalinjar. The Khajuraho temples were built over a span of 200 years, from 950 to 1150. The Chandela capital was moved to Mahoba after this time, but Khajuraho continued to flourish for some time. Khajuraho has no forts because the Chandel Kings never lived in their cultural capital.
List of temples and details

Sequence	Modern name	Original Deity	Note
1	Chausath Yogini	64 Yoginis	Est 9th c.
2	Brahma	Brahma	Eastern group
3	Lalgun Mahadev	Shiva	Contemp to 2
4	Matangeshwar	Shiva	In active worship
5	Varaha	Varaha
6	Lakshman	Vaikuntha Vishnu	Lakshavarma Inscription
7	Parshvanath	Adinath	Pahil inscription 954 AD, Jain Compound
8	Vishvanath	Shiva	Dhanga inscription Sam 1059
9	Devi Jagadambi	Initially Vishnu but today Parvati
10	Chitragupta	Surya
11	Kandariya Mahadeva	Shiva	Largest
12	Vamana	Vamana	Eastern Group
13	Adinath	Jina	Jain compound
14	Jawari	Vishnu	Eastern group
15	Chaturbhuja	Vishnu	Southern
16	Duladeo	Shiva	South end
17	Ghantai	Jina	Only some columns remaining

Near by attractions :

Panna tiger national park : This is around 50 KM from Khajuraho. It is famous for tiger reserve and It is only place in India where we mine Diamond. There is one fall which you can visit.

Chattarpur Temple : This is around 40KM from this place and the temple is very old and famous for diamonds on the god. this temple opens at morning 6 AM to night 9 PM.

Bandhavbadh National park. I will recommand to visit this national park with 2 days forest camp. This is one of finest national park in india and you can see tigers in the forest by sitting top of the elephant.

Pachmarhi :  (Hindi: पचमड़ी) is a hill station in Madhya Pradesh state of central India, also known for the Pachmarhi Cantonment. It is widely known as "Satpura ki Rani" (Queen of Satpura), situated at a height of 1000 m in a valley of the Satpura Range in Hoshangabad district. The highest point in the central India region and the Vindhya and Satpura range; Dhupgarh at 1,350 m is located here.

Check out these few snaps from Khajuraho temple

Main temple :

These all temples are few minutes’ walk from hotel. You can take taxi or manual taxi (It will be driven by manual pedalling) and it is very cheap.

Temple 2:
 This temple is in front of main temples and the design of this temple is different. These all temples are made thousand years back.

This temple is around 10 km far from main temples:

Jain Temple in Khajuraho

Sunset snap from one of the temple:
This is small river near to one of the southern temple.

Another sunset snap:

Sultanpur National Park & Bird Sanctuary

Place : Sultanpur National Park
Airport : Delhi and around 40 kms from gurgaon n delhi airport
Time to visit : Jan and Feb [when birds travel from the Siberia, Russia]
try this ..: book a resort for one day which is just next to bird park.

Sultanpur National Park & Bird Sanctuary is located in Gurgaon district of Haryana, 50 km from Delhi and 15 km from Gurgaon on the Gurgaon - Farukh Nagar Road. This park, ideal for birding and bird watchers, is best visited in winters when a large number of migratory birds come here. In old maps of Gurgaon, this area is shown as marshy land where water accumulates during rains and dries out in summer. A number of organisms like crustaceans, fish and insects thrive during floods which attract a number of birds to this area.ome of the resident birds: Common Hoopoe, Paddyfield Pipit, Purple Sunbird, Little Cormorant, Eurasian Thick-knee, Gray Francolin, Black Francolin, Indian Roller, White-throated Kingfisher, Spot billed Duck, Painted Stork, White Ibis, Black headed Ibis, Little Egret, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, India Crested Lark, Red vented Bulbul, Rose ringed Parakeet, Red wattled Lapwing, Shikra, Eurasian collared Dove, Red collared Dove, Laughing Dove, Spotted Owlet, Rock Pigeon, Magpie Robin, Greater Coucal, Weaver Bird, Bank Mynah, Common Mynah and Green Bee Eater.
Tree shade on Lake Water
Small bird

Snap from Tree top

Photography

Birds:--

More birds at sultanpur lake

Munnar ( Kerala, India ) : New Blazing tourist destination in India.

Tea, Spices and More
Although it lies at the confluence of 3 mountain streams (Mudrapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundala), Munnar remains essentially a "tea" town, with most of the plantations taken over by Tata Tea.
Besides the tea bush, Munnar is known for the Neelakurinji, an exotic flowering plant which bathes the hills in blue when it flowers - once in 12 years. The next flowering should be in 2006. Munnar is also renowned for its spices. Several varieties of spice are cultivated in Munnar and its neighboring villages; pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, garlic, cloves and vanilla.

Landmarks Sights
The High Range club has a charming colonial style. The club house is built of wicker and teak and is the social hub for the tea "Planters" of the region. Members enjoy lounging in the bar over Planter's Punch followed by a good meal, a game of billiards or reading a book in the library.
Set up in 1900 the Munnar Supply Association (MSA for short) is another nostalgic landmark worth visiting in Munnar. It is the oldest department store in the area and has been re-inventing itself to stay relevant and popular after almost 102 years. The store was run by "planters" who still manage its affairs. The MSA is a red brick red tiled building with gables, buttresses and a porch and is now a heritage site.







Activities to Enjoy
There are some interesting things to do in the area. Thirteen kilometers (8 miles) away is Mathupetty with its Indo Swiss dairy farm, picturesque Kundala lake, and Kundala tea plantation. Speedboats and motorboats can be hired for boating in the Mathupethy reservoir.

Long walks and trekking in the mountains are possible in Pothamedu (6 km/4 miles from Munnar) with its rolling hills, lush mountains and a wonderful view of tea, coffee, and cardamom plantations of Munnar. Devikulam (7 km/5 miles away) is home to the Sita Devi Lake with its mineral waters. The lake is also ideal for trout fishing. Chithirapuram (10 km/7 away) exudes an old world charm with sleepy little cottages, old playgrounds and of course picturesque tea plantations.

Eravikulam National Park (15 km/9 miles away) is home to the Nilgiri Thar (Nilgiri Ibex or mountain goat). Those wishing to trek can climb Anamudi (2695 metre/8758 feet) the highest peak in the South of India. Marayoor (40 km/25 miles away) is the only place in Kerala with a natural forest of sandalwood trees. It has caves (muniyaras) with murals and relics from the new Stone Age.

Top station (32 km/20 miles away) is 1700 metres/5525 feet and the rare Neelakurinji (the blue rarely flowering bush) is native to this region. Top station affords some spectacular views of the ghats and the plains.

Because of its altitude of 1600 meters (5000 to 8000 ft) Munnar has the distinction of growing very high quality aromatic teas and after the trekking and mountain walks are done there is no better way to relax than over a nice hot cup of tea!
Some snap form Munnar



beautiful sky view in Munnar


Munnar velly:


tea plantation:


one of beautiful fall in Munnar


most beautiful tea garden in Munnar


beautiful lake in Munnar


Hill side in Munnar: