Shimla : where Nature is in love with mankind.

when the Indian subcontinent was under the british rule, The british administration had maintained the system of two capitals. One capital was for summers and one capital was for the winter seson. whenever the indian summer approached, everything moved to the lap of mountains. Almost 1750 kilometres of distance was covered to bring solace to the british generals who would find the indian heat unbearable. 

To make this travel easier, a rail route was built. This 90 kilometre Kalka-Shimla railway line passes through hundreds of small and big tunnels and bridges. The longest barog tunnel is 1.6 km long. The narrow guage train moves as a slow speed and covers the distance of 90 kms in almost 5 hours. and this time taking train ride is what makes it a wonderful journey. The train ride in itself a wonderul experience to be kept close to heart.

There are several buses and trains from New Delhi/Chandigadh to Kalka from where early morning toy trains can be reserved for onward journey to Shimla. Train ride in the mountains is pleasant and there is chill in the air. Shimla remains as a very tourist destination in summers from mid april to July as most people go there to forget the hot weather of planes. It attracts tourists in winters around month of january as many people want to experience the snow fall which is not a common sight in India.

While strolling through the streets of Shimla, it gives the feeling that the clock has stopped in Shimla long time back and we are in a small british town with buildings built in goethic baroque architecture.

The central of Shimla Mall road is St. Paul church. All the shops, restaurants and cafeterias are situated on the mall road. There is a scandal point which has a scandalous story and it serves as meeting points for the people of Shimla. Shimla has a cricket ground which is one of the rarest cricket grounds which is 7864 feet above the sea level.

There is a golf course in Naldehra which is near by to Shimla and some wonderful places to enjoy the sunrise and sunset. There are many Hindu temples situated at the top of mountain peaks around Shimla and trekking is the best way to visit them.

Shimla has played a very important role in indian history. Many pacts were signed and round table conferences held in this town. The building which was the centre of attraction as the viceroy of India used to live in the house and it was used for all the meetings between the british adminsitrators and the indian leaders, that building is now calleds as Indian Institute of Advanced studies. After Independece of India, The IIAS was established in this building. This institute is only for the post doctoral studies. there is a trivia about this building that this was the first building where electricity came in India.

Once in Shimla, We can go to Kufri which has a wonderful 270 degree view of the mountains. Kufi is above Shimla and the possibilities of snow fall in the winters are quite high.

Around 15 kms from Shimla, there is a small town called Shoghi. It has Tara Devi temple. The scenic view around the temple is so lovely that even a non believer should visit the place.

In Shoghi, there is a small village called Paughat which has a village resort which consists of several bamboo huts and tents. Spending a couple of nights at that resort is highly recommended.

while returning from Shimla, you should keep your camera ready as the rays of the setting sun add to the beauty of the mountains. shatabadi super fast train is quite comfortable and very modern but still Howrah Kalka mail which has a history which goes back to british era is the best option as this train connects to the toy train to Shimla.

Jaipur: The City full of colors.

Jaipur is a city named after The King Sawai Raja Jai Singh as he founded it in 1727. It was a city that served as the window to Rajputana. Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan. A state of India which was created by merging many princely states together. The Royal Lineage of Jaipur is unbroken and the family stays in the City palace. The palace is so big that a big section of the palace has been converted into several museums.

Many stories can be heard about the Kings who ruled this land of warriors. They fought many battles and gave valiant sacrifices to maintain peace and provide safety to the populace. There is a Fort on the outskirts of the city, it acted like a barrier to stop the attacking army. It has maintained many traditions till date. As the Royal family used elephants to reach the palace which is on the top of a hill, 100s of elephants serve this purpose and tourists experience the elephant ride.

The King built another palace for his amusement and it is notable that the architecture was so advanced at that time that they could take this great task of building a palace inside a lake. This is why we call it Lake Palace. The sunset at the lake is beautiful and many travelers spend evenings at the lake side. 

Jaipur is also called The Pink City. There is a story about it. Once King of England had to visit Jaipur and he had very good relations with the Royalty of Jaipur. To welcome him, The king of Jaipur ordered that whole city to be painted in pink. The tradition still continues. There are many festivals organized by the Government of Rajasthan and the major ones are Jaipur Kite Festival, Jaipur Shopping Festival and Jaipur Literature festival.

The city of Jaipur is around 4 hours drive from Delhi and Agra. These three cities create a triangle on the map. These three cities attract the maximum number of tourists because of all the facilities available and the perfect location that they have got. This is why this tour circuit is also called as Golden Triangle. The City has got hundreds of artisans who use their hands and few basic machines to do polishing of precious stones. wooden blocks are used to produce block printed fabrics and hand made artifacts can be bought any where in the City.

The city of Jaipur has an astronomical observatory which is more than 270 years old and the stone structures help to calculate exact time, location of planets etc. They are in working condition.

The city attracts us for various reasons. The tradition of Rajasthan is still intact. Men wear colorful turbans to protect themselves from the heat and there are many places where puppet shows, traditional dance shows are organized.

The City of Jaipur is treat to the eyes and it gives wonderful memories that we can cherish forever.

VALLEY OF FLOWERS.

Imagine yourself in a place surrounded by mountains, water falls on all the sides, the water stream making its way to reach the plane areas. imagine yourself surrounded by hundreds of different types of flowers, you have a majestic mountain peak in front of you, completely covered by snow. There is nobody around you, no human presence at all. 10-15 people come to that place every day and if you walk further, you find yourself all alone. This is the place which we call valley of flowers.

This valley is accessible only in the summers from mid june to mid september as snow fall starts after october and all routes are blocked. No permanent structure or overnight camps are allowed inside the valley. there are wild animals which can be spoted sometimes. many of us have never heard the voice of nature. we don't know how it feels to be in a place with no human encroachment. for all those people, Valley of Flowers is the best place to talk to the nature, hear the voice of wind and sound of water flowing through small channels.

As the name tells, this valley has more than 300 different types of flora which is very rare. the place is a dream come true for any botanist. But it is to be noted that the image should not be of a garden full of roses or daffodils. this is a natural valley with flowers which grow naturally.

After going through a bad phase, I decided to detoxicate myself, to get rid of all the negativity, I decided to go in the lap of mountains, the real manifestation of mother nature can be felt while roaming in the hills of uttarakhand. I packed a small carry bag and started to look for taxi as it is difficult to find one at night. One sardar ji cab driver stopped and accepted to drop me to the railway station. while talking to him, I told him that I shall be visiting Govinddham which is a very important pilgrimage site for sikh religion. hindus and Sikhs visit there in the summers. To my pleasant surprise, Sardar ji refused to take any money from me. I was literally forcing money in his hand and he was adamant not to take the fair as I was going to the place he adored. Such incidents are possible only in India.

I took the overnight train to Haridwar from Nizammudin Railway station. I reached haridwar early in the morning. there is a bus stand nearby from where we can buses for Joshimath. The bus journey in itself demands a new blog. It was non AC but who needs AC when the air carries a pleasant chill in the day time. I took a seat next to the door of the bus, put my bag under the seat. We stopped at several small stands of small towns en route to Joshimath. The mountainous roads have a lot of curves and buses take several sharp turns. vehicles are not allowed to drive in night time as over speeding can be very dangerous here. While the bus was taking turns, somewhere I got distracted for some time and my bag slipped through the door of the bus. I use contact lenses and the box to preserve it was in the bag, I was wondering how shall I spend 15 days without glasses. Worrying about all this, I did small shopping when stopped for tea break. now the interesting part is that there were no optical shops in the whole area, nearest optician would be in Dehradun or Haridwar. this one mistake had potential to ruin my whole trip.

I reached Joshimath in the evening and to my pleasant surprise, someone had called the guest house desk to inform about my bag. He got my name and reservation paper in the bag. the very next morning at 4 am, I took bus to reach Shri Nagar. the gentleman was a traffic police man and someone had deposited the bag at his post. Another incident that helps to restore our faith in humanity.

from Joshimath to Govindghat, there is gate system which means that you need to cross the gate before the time mentioned in the chart, as they stop the traffic from one side and traffic from another side is opened. The scenic beauty can mesmerise you. As we go towards the height, there are steep turns and slow driving is recommended.

At Govindghat, you can get rid of your extra baggage as there is locker room service provided by the local Gurudwara. You can also enjoy the meal and hot tea at the Gurudwara. The trekking from Govindghat to Ghangharia is around 13 kilometres. Ghangharia acts as a base camp for valley of flowers and the pilgrims of Govinddham. There are several small kiosks from where you can buy food items, cold drinks, snacks etc. Maggi Noodles which has become the national dish of Youth is easily available.

There are two legends about Govinddham, when Lakshman was enjured by Meghnaad and he was saved by sanjeevani booti, he came to Govinddham to regain his health. another legend is that Guru Govind Singh did tapasya in earlier life at this place. This is why there is a gurudwara which is one of the most holiest sites for Sikhs. There is a lake next to the Gurudwara where the temperature nears 0 degree celcius. the faithfuls take bath in the lake. the Gurudwara provides blankets to warm oneself, hot rice pudding and tea is provided. Nobody is allowed to stay there at night. the trek route is difficult than Valley of flowers, if you plan to go to Govinddham which is highly recommended, I suggest to do valley of flowers trek first so that the body is acclimitised to the climate and trek.

Ghangharia has a small Valley of flower office where you can watch an evening show in both english and hindi. The short film tells us about the history of the valley. You can even buy books etc at this place. The entry point of Valley is having a check post where names are registered so that nobody remains in the valley at night.

the route has an iron bridge over the river and the route is not easy to walk. While walking through the trek route, you see the high rock walls and it is recommeneded to leave early. you can get some packed food at Ghangharia.

after walk for 3-4 hours, walking time depends upon your physical stamina. When you reach the valley, the scenic panaroma around you is extra ordinary, very difficult to explain in words. while we walk through the valley, small water channels can be used to fill your water bottle. the water is pure and sweet. The pristine nature manifests itself in full grandeur.

we can spend hours meditating in the solitude, breathing the fresh air and this place has got the capability to detoxicate your mind. you realize why saints and Sandhus keep going to the Mountains to find the wisdom and tranquility.

To get more information you can contact us. we help to organize tours and luxury packages in the region.

Tiger trail In India.

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The very sight of a Tiger roaming in the wild can give shivering. It is an animal which can be called as one of the most beautiful creature and at the same time, it is one of the best things to fill the emotion of fear in Human mind. Tigers are royal animals used to havana lands and they always choose to have their own territory. A tiger has its rules, they don't eat an already dead animal. A tiger is not afraid of anyone. An animal that can attack an elephant which is several times bigger than him.

To spot a tiger and see it in the wild, India is the best place with several national parks which attract thousands of tourists on yearly basis. Infrastructure of tourism is excellent with hotels, luxury tents, and resorts in the vicinity of the parks.

There are trained forest guides well trained in spotting the tiger trains, paw spots are used to locate the tigers. elephants are commonly used to roam around in the forest.

Morning and evening safaris are organized so that visitors can have that wonderful experience of having face to face encounter with the Tiger.

with efforts of wild life experts, travel groups working for responsible tourism, the population of tigers which was decreasing and had become a great concern for nature enthusiasts, the numbers have started to grow again.

There are jeep safaris in parks with bigger areas and the best part is that you can do bird watching, see several other animals and have the joy of roaming around the rich flora and fauna of the parks.

Tourism has helped to control the poaching as the local villagers have understood that the very presence of these beautiful creatures is giving them bread and butter.

The people who were facing poverty as they were not allowed to do agriculture due to government laws prohibiting  human presence near the parks. The people have got much bigger opportunities now  as hundreds of thousands of people are coming to have this unique experience.

The time spent in forest is so rejuvenating as we spend most of our time being busy with work and living in the concrete jungle.

Contact us for details about the tiger trail tours info@luxenavigator.com