India's Jökulsárlón glacial lake- Gurudongmar

Gurudongmar Lake

If you can’t visit Iceland to witness the beauty of Jökulsárlón Lake , then you must visit Gurudongmar  Lake, of North Sikkim , India. The natural beauty of Gurudongmar lake will mesmerise you for your lifetime.

The Freezing Lake

Gurudongmar Lake is considered as India’s -  Jökulsárlón Glacier lagoon lake.

Landscape of the valley

This is a naturally gifted lake with pristine valleys, water falls and rolling hills of Tibet.

Rolling hills of Tibet

It is one of the highest altitude (17800 ft / 5430 m ) lakes in the world. It lies on the north side of the Kanchenjunga Range and the Chinese Tibetan border is just 5 km away from this lake.

The picturesque land

Myth- It is considered one of the most sacred lake of Buddhists. According to local mythology, Guru Padmasambhava touched a portion of the lake which does not freeze in extreme winter. The water is used for drinking purpose of the locals.

The Freezing Lake during winter

The memorable road trip

Journey- The journey starts from Lachen (North Sikkim). You have to start early (by 4am) from Lachen . Take a halt for breakfast at Thangu Village(13000 ft) , which is about 30 km from Lachen.

 Mostly inhabited by Nomadic tribes  Thangu valley is crisscrossed by Tista river , which adds an extra flavor to the picturesque village.

Scene from Thangu Village

If you want to explore the virginity of Thangu valley ,you have to stay there and trek up to Chopta Valley and Muguthang.

Way to Chopta Valley

After a journey of about 2 hours from Thangu you can reach Gurudongmar Lake. Through out the road the snow covered mountains will accompany you.

Picturesque Mountain and road

Yaks can be seen by the side of the road, as these animals live in high altitude area like this.

Yaks grazing

The Lake remains frozen in the winter. 

The white snow, covers the lake and the mountains like a blanket. You can feel that you are sitting in the lap of the nature.

Sit a while and feel the beauty

 The reflection of the mountains on the crystal clear water adds an extra cherry to the beauty of Gurudongmar Lake.  

In the time of returning you can visit Chopta Valley.

Chopta Valley

A Scene from Chopta Valley

How to Reach- It is 190 km from Gangtok. Stay a night at Lachen(North Sikkim) ,next morning  start your journey for Gurudongmar Lake.

It will be remembered as one of your memorable road trip forever.

The journey for Gurudongmar

It will be remembered as one of your memorable road trip forever. To plan your trip and for further details contact with Yatrikaa.  Your personal trip planner.  Mail  us at- itsyatrikaa@gmail.com 

This article has been contributed by 

- Dibyendu Debnath

By profession he is a banker. But apart from his professional life he is a traveller, a photographer, and a nature lover.

Chittorgarh Fort-Live the History

Chittorgarh Fort: Goumukh Reservoir

Rajasthan is full of diversity of nature, where you can find rocky hills, lakes, chilly and hot weather and also desert. And this nature is carefully customized by human’s thought, which resulted into some gigantic forts; the beauty of those is enough to blow some fresh air in traveller’s heart.  Chittorgarh fort is largest of them.  

Chittorgarh Fort

The fort is the appropriate example of Indian heritage, culture and architecture. Chittorhgarh fort is only fort in the world where “Jahar Brata “ was observed for three times and 16000 brave heart ladies killed themselves jumping into the fire to save their self-respect.  The stony beauty of the fort along with the touch of a glorious history of Mewar is enough to occupy a page of your travel diary.

Architecture in the Fort

Short History of the Fort:

It was built in 7th century AD by various Mauryan rulers. Chittorgarh Fort was the capital of the Sisodia and Gahlot kings who ruled Mewar between the 8th and the 16th century. The Chittor Fort was named after Chittrangad Maurya. This fort is lucky enough to share the fame with famous Krishna devotee Meera Bai  , the lady with iron heart Rani Padmini and the ultimate warrior Maharana Pratap.

The place of infamous Jahar Brata

Chittorhgarh fort extends 3 km in length and 13 km in peripheral length, covering a total area of 700 acres. There are 7 huge gates to enter the fort-Ram pol, Laksman pol, Padal pol, Jorla Pol, Ganesh Pol, Bhairon Pol and Hanuman Pol.

One of the gates(Pol)

What to see in the Fort:

The fort complex comprises of numerous hindu and Jain temples. Among them Meera Mandir is most famous which is associated with famous Krishna devotee Meera Bai. There is huge water reservoir which known as Goumukh Reservoir in the fort. The fort consists numerous victory towers made by Rajput warriors. Also Rana Kumbha Palace and Rani Padmini Palace are famous here.

Kriti Stambh

                                           

Meera Mandir

How to reach:

Chittorgarh is 113 km away from Udaipur and 226 km from Pushkar. It actually lies between Pushkar and Udaipur. In a normal trip to Rajasthan you can visit this place when you are travelling to Udaipur from Pushkar. Or else you can just take a cab from  Udaipur to reach this place. 

Vijay Stambh

Where to stay:

You can either stay at Pushkar or at Udaipur. Chittorgarh will not be the best option to stay because apart from Chittorhgarh fort there is nothing major to see in this place. Also Udaipur is only one and half hour journey from here so best option is to stay at Udaipur.

View of Chittor from Chittorhgarh Fort

Best time to go:

We will suggest you to avoid the season of summer to visit any places of Rajasthan. The appropriate
time will be from October to February.

Rana Kumbh Palace

This article and the snaps are contributed by:Pritam Kar

Yatrikaa will recommend you to visit this place during your Rajasthan trip, when you will travel to Udaipur from Pushkar. The full Rajasthan trip plan coming soon in this page.

For more details to visit and stay contact Yatrikaa or email us itsyatrikaa@gmail.com its or call us @ 7479322223

Experience the best travel expedition and cherish the memories for lifetime.

Book your trip immediately .

Picturesque Panchghani

    Visiting Pune means a customary visit to Mahabaleshwar. But if you want to feel the gush of fresh air in the lap of nature and want to feel at the top of the world do visit Panchghani too! Pune has its own wonders mostly at the outskirts. 

    Panchghani is basically a hill-station located in the Satara District of Maharastra. This place acquires its name as it is cuddled among five hills of the Sahyadri mountain ranges. 

Panchghani is the second highest plateau in Asia after Tibetan plateau and is commonly known as “ Table Land”. The entire journey will be embraced by ascending narrow roads surrounding hills and lush-green pictorial view like this.

Panchghani- the Table land

Places of interest :

 Best way to visit the entire plateau is by a horse. There are horsemen who briefs about the place better than a guide. There are a lot stories about the “Table-land ” itself.

Pandava foot-print spot - will date back with few myths of ancient times.

Pandava foot-print spot

Devil’s Cave – Situated towards the southern face of the plateau it was believed to be inhabited by the Pandavas for some span. 

Tiger Cave -  It is located down the plateau which has stairs to guide to it. It is believed that during older days there used to be real tigers. There is a model tiger inside and if one is unaware then it’s a sudden terror to bump on it!

Tiger's cave

Sydney Point - Facing the Krishna Valley this point is situated somewhere amidst the hills.

Sydney Point

Apart from these there are other points like- view of Krishna river, One-tree point, Natural W-spot, Harrison’s folly and some shooting spots of movies like Alibaba and 40 thieves, Raja Hindusthani, Taare zameen par, Bajirao Mastani etc. The entire plateau has villages around so whenever you look down you get to see minature pretty houses and cottages allover.

Natural W Spot

When all the sites are covered there are options to explore horse riding as the horsemen will provide you with necessary information and leave you with the horse for a while.

Adjoining places : 

Best option is to visit Mahabaleshwar from there. While on the way visit Parsi point and Mapro / Mala’s garden restaurents.

Parsi Point - View of Krishna Valley and waters of Dhom Dam.

Parsi Point

Mapro’s Garden Restaurent - Epic joint for strawberry lovers. Farm fresh strawberry products are to die for. Definitely try strawberry ice-creams and shakes. You can visit the orchid garden and strawberry farms. There is a small shopping joint of Mapro products from which you can get home some memories too!

During summers strawberry festivals are held every year!

Mapro’s Garden Restaurent

.

How to reach :

It is about 101.6 kms from Pune main city via NH48. By car it takes about 2hours to reach the destination. It would take about 3 hours to roam the entire plateau. Getting a hired vehicle is the suggested to enjoy the freedom of journey and liberty to explore photographic skills! 

Best time to visit is during light monsoons and winters.


Authored By: Sarba saha
Sarba is a Forensic Professional. By passion- a crazy- creative soul, a painter, a photographer, a wonderlust, a foodie, a reader and many more. She loves to do new things. Her philosophy of life is "Risks should be taken in life because one always gains in it, if not material but experience for sure."

For more details to visit and stay, contact Yatrikaa or email us itsyatrikaa@gmail.com  or call us @ 7479322223
Experience the best travel expedition and cherish the memories for lifetime. 

Jovial Jhargram

It is quite a long journey for Jhragram to be infamous for terrorism to become a new District. People of Jhragram chose tourism ahead of terrorism. The dry place covered with lush green forest has its rich history. It is surrounded by Jharkhand and Orissa. It is populated by Tribals known as Santhals, Mallas,Bhumij and Lodhas.

This place is also famous for its tribal art and culture. Bhuang,Ranpa dance are one of them. Tusu, Bhadu,MakarParab etc. are happily celebrated in this area.

Jhargram Raj-Palace

Site Seeing:

Jhargram Raj Palace: The Jhargram Raj Palace is the current residence of the Malla Deb Royal family, it is a structure combining the Gothic and Muslim architectural modes. About 20 of the rooms in the ground floor have been converted into a Heritage Hotel in collaboration with West Bengal Tourism.

Model show of a dance scene

 Jhargram Mini Zoo: It is situated 2kms from Jhargram towards the east of the railway station. The park is so congenital that animals seem to be out in their natural livelihood. It is also known as Deer Park. 

A Langur

Eco-Tourism Centre & Tribal Museum: The Jhargram eco-tourism centre lies 5 km outside Jhargram town. Situated on the state highway, SH5 - enroute Kolkata to Jhargram, this beautiful forest retreat welcomes you to embrace the essence of nature with 3 cottages and 6 rooms. This complex also houses a tribal museum displaying the indigenous tribal culture of the district. Tribal folk performances are also held on weekends and visitors can enjoy food at the in-house restaurant.

The highway- passing through the jungle

Chilkigarh Raj Palace and Kanak Durga Temple: The temple was made by King Samanta, here Goddess is worshipped in form of Kanak Durga and she is also the ancestral deity of the Chilkigarh Royal Family.. This area is surrounded by 375 different species of plants and trees many of them are unique and are used for botany research. Not only plants but monkeys, poisonous snakes and other wild animals are also found which gives this place a natural ambience of a forest. This place is about 12kms away from Jhargram town. 

Kanak Durga Temple

Kendua: It is 9kms away from Jhargram town and situated on the way to Chilkigarh. Migrating birds come here in the month of May.

Dense Jungle

Medicinal Plants Garden (Kalaboni): The Amlachati site is maintained by the Divisional Forest Officer, Sylvicultural South Division headquartered at Midnapur. This invaluable collection of medicinal plants owes its existence to the tireless efforts of the concerned staff.

The bark of an old tree

Sabitri Temple: Goddess Sabitri is the ancestral deity of the Malla Deb dynasty of Jhargram, she is worshipped in form of Durga. There is no specific idol kept in the temple but a stone believed to have divine embodiment of Goddess is worshipped here.

You can go to Belpahari or Hatibari from Jhragram.

How to Reach:

Distance between Kolkata to Jhargram is 178 km by Road and 154 km by Rails. There are direct trains from Kolkata to Jhargram like Ispat Express, Steel Express, Hwh Ranchi IntExp, Hwh Koraput Exp, etc. 

This article is contributed by

Pictures by - 

Dibyendu Debnath     

 & 

 Debanjan Mukherjee

Authored By Debanjan mukherjee

Debanjan is a techie. He is a traveller and a passionate photographer.

For more details to visit and stay connected with  Yatrikaa or email us itsyatrikaa@gmail.com  or call us @ 7479322223

Experience the best travel expedition and cherish the memories for lifetime. 

Kumbhalgarh Fort- #Offbeat Rajasthan

Kumbhalgarh Fort-Rajasthan

When we talk about Indian hills and mountains the first thing comes to our mind is Himalaya, but we often forget that in the northwest part of India another hilly range is silently ruling his kingdom, the Aravalli range. These are the oldest fold mountains in India and a hill top giant fort surrounded by a sanctuary is like red cherry on the top of a cream cake for the travelmaniacs.  The Kumbhalgarh fort of Rajasthan.  With due respect to all the destinations, according to me Rajasthan is the tourism Capital of India. Whatever you will spend for the trip of Rajasthan, this place will pay you back with interest.  Only this place has the ability to mesmerize you with his natural beauty without greenly landscapes and peaks covered with snow, but with the evil side of the nature and obviously with the Mahals and Forts.

Panoramic view of the Fort

Kumbhalgarh is situated in the Rajsamand district near Udaipur of Rajasthan. It is a Mewar fortress on the westerly range of Aravalli Hills. This destination is not in the route in normal Rajasthan tour plan, but we will suggest you to visit this place especially when you travelling from Udaipur to Mount Abu. The beauty and the historical value of this fort will attract any travel lover..

Way to the fort

It is a World Heritage Site included in Hill Forts of Rajasthan. Built during the course of the 15th century by Rana Kumbha, Kumbhalgarh is also the birthplace of Maharana Pratap, the great king and warrior of Mewar.

Birthplace of Maharana Pratap

Kumbhalgarh fort is 1100m(3600ft) above the sea level and has perimeter walls that extend 36 km (22 mi), making it the second longest wall in the world.

The second longest wall after Chaina's Great Wall

You can enjoy the distinct view of the Aravalli ranges from the top of the fort and sometimes the sand dunes of the Thar desert also be seen from here. You have to cross the hilly roads through the Kumbhalgarh  Santuary to reach this fort.

The beauty of Aravalli

Kumbhalgarh fort consists of numerous hindu temples especially Jain temples inside it. Lakhola Tank is the most notable tank inside the fort, constructed by Rana Lakha during 1382-1421 CE. It is located in the Western side of Kelwara town and measures 5 km (3.1 mi) in length to 100 m (0.062 mi) to 200 m (0.12 mi) in width.

Hindu temples and thrones

How to reach:

Kumbhalgarh is situated 82 km northwest of Udaipur by road. So the best way to reach here is to take a cab from Udaipur. 

Another view of the great wall with Jain temple beside it

Where to stay:

Some hotels and resorts will offer you to spend a day in front of the Fort in the Sanctuary. But the best thing will be stay at Udaipur.

Best time to go:

We will suggest you to avoid the season of summer to visit any places of Rajasthan. The appropriate time will be from October to February.

Inside the Fort

This article and the snaps are contributed by

 Pritam Kar.

Yatrikaa will recommend you to visit this place during your Rajasthan trip, when you will travel to Mount abu from Udaipur. The full Rajasthan trip plan coming soon in this page.

For more details to visit and stay contact Yatrikaa or email us itsyatrikaa@gmail.com its or call us @ 7479322223

Experience the best travel expedition and cherish the memories for lifetime. 

Book your trip immediately .