Fort Aguada, Goa

23May09

A very nice place near Candolim, Goa (India). I went there on 7th November, 2008. It was a sunny day and sea view was clear from the fort. In Portuguese, Aguada means "Watering Place". This was a lighthouse, a Watering Place and a garrison during the Portuguese rule. It was built in 1612. It has a upper fort comprising of a lighthouse, watering station and a lower part, where a Prison is also situated. Here’s a brief history as written at Aguada…

I found it quite a nice place with a quite endless sea view across the dolphin bay and big ships transporting iron ore from one place to another.

You can find many tourist boats cruising in sea.

 

 

 

 

 

But the best part was when we entered the fort. Like other forts, I was expecting some rooms or sections, but this was a huge ground walled and on one corner there was a Lighthouse, which is no longer in use.

There is another light house outside the premise of fort, that is now in use.

Overall, it was an exciting place to visit. There is a church at a nearby hilltop. The view is pleasing. Below church, on the shore, stands a mighty bungalow (of some famous diamond merchant). When we went for boat cruising from the dolphin bay, we saw that bungalow. It was surely a dream palace.

 

some pics from the place…

   

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Siliserh Lake Palace, Alwar (Rajasthan)

07Apr09

We were planning to go to Taj Mahal (Agra) but had to stay late at office. Everyone was sad because such a nice and long awaited program was ruined. Suddenly in morning, one of my dad’s friends told us that there is a nice place just 12 Kms. off Alwar towards Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary.

I called Abhishek and Gaurav, got ready and we all headed towards Rajasthan. It took about 4 hours to reach there. Route was awesome. Delhi-Jaipur highway is smooth and congestion-free.

Maharaja Vinay Singh built this palace for his queen Shila in 1845 AD. Siliserh Lake spans over a wide expansion of seven sq kms. and when filled completely, it covers area of 10 sq. Kms. This lake poses as an imposing backdrop to the Siliserh palace, which has been converted in to a heritage hotel by Rajasthan Tourism. With a splendid regal palace, the lake has an inspiring mix of breathtaking beauty and architectural charisma. This pretty lake is festooned with domed cenotaphs, which themselves boast of a grandeur in architecture.

 

This nice lake offers boating to tourists. But a hoarding at lake-shore says “Beware of Crocodiles”. However, I haven’t seen any crocodile during my last two visits to this place. The smell of green dirty water is not too good, but the view of hills is so awesome, that photographers can spend hours and hours in there.

 

We were in lake till evening. Left that place at around 5 and headed Delhi. There are some nice restaurants as you come out of Alwar. Rajasthani food was very good. But the best part in entire trip was when our car got stuck in heard of sheep while we were going towards Alwar.

If you stay in Delhi/Jaipur and you are fed up with your busy schedule, you must visit this place often for peace. This place is so remote and hidden, that hardly anyone knows about it.

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Tags: Alwar, Lake Palace, Rajasthan, Sariska, Siliserh

Borra Caves, Araku, Vizag (Andhra)

26Mar09

The Borra Caves, also called Borra Guhalu in Telugu language (‘Borra’ means something that has bored into the ground and ‘guhalu’ means caves; Borra also means brain), are located on the East Coast of India, in the Ananthagiri hills of the Araku valley (with hill ranges elevation varying from 800 m (2,624.7 ft) to 1,300 m (4,265.1 ft)) of the Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh. The Caves, one of the largest in the country, at an elevation of about 705 m (2,313.0 ft), distinctly exhibit a variety of impressive speleothems(pictured) ranging from very small to big and irregularly shaped, stalactites and stalagmites. The Caves are basically Karstic limestone structures extending to a depth of 80 m (262.5 ft) (considered the deepest cave in India)

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borra_caves

I went there in 2005. I was on an official trip to Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh (India). Since we had a 1 day off, team at my clients office suggested me visiting Borra Caves. We took a train next day morning from Vizag station and headed towards border of Andhra and Orissa. We crossed hundreds of tunnels and jumped several hills and valleys. After reaching Araku, we reached the caves, which almost took my breath.

They were very deep and all loaded with limestone. H anging wooden stairs were constructed deep inside cave and it seemed that this is a never ending journey.

Tourism department has put nice lighting there and it makes your experience even more wonderful. Every corner is so beautiful, that you will want to come to that place daily. I felt as if I have reached some underwater cave (because of limestone rocks).

There was also a small temple inside it. This place is rich with flora and fauna. Since there are lots of Bats in these caves, you can smell the pungent odor all over. These bats survive on local fruits, that can easily be found on trees outside these caves.

When we were going to that place, it passed through green fields and rich hills. Suddenly we entered rock caves loaded with speleothems. It was a totally different experience, and I want to go there again (this time with a better camera)

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Tags: Caves, South India

Gwalior Fort, Madhya Pradesh

20Aug08

I have seen many forts including the Forts of Delhi, Kangra, Agra, Hyderabad and Siliserh (Alwar). But this one in Gwalior almost took my breath. In my entire life, only two forts have made me hold my breath and praise silently. These are Forts of Gwalior and Golconda (Hyderabad).

I went to Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh – India) in 2004 or 2005. We were 5 guys, on a college trip, there to participate in a National Level College Fest. We got time and thought it might be a good idea to check out the famous Gwalior fort. We took a taxi, and he took us to the gates of fort. The taxi driver asked if we want a tour guide. We said no. We entered the gate and found ourselves at the bottom of thousands of meter long steep and tight road. On both sides of this road, were very high walls, fro m where any you can attack any enemy, without being hurt. Anyway, we started marching and continued to do so for nearly 1/2 hour. All we could see were huge walls of fort on both sides but the path was not ending.

Finally we reached another huge gate, which was having very nice blue paintings all over it. There was a big pit near the gate and a wooden plank was kept to cross it. When we entered that gate, we found a huge compound and on our right side, was standing the mighty fort with blue painting all over it. (see first picture of this post).

We were now so tired, that all we wanted was a place to rest. Then suddenly my attention went to the White Building on my left. Oh great, it was Gurudwara Bandi Chhor. This place has a very inspiring history. In 1619 AD, Sixth Guru of Sikhs were taken prisoner by the king of Gwalior. But soon, the king was so impressed by his talks, that he decided to release him. But Gurujee refused. He said, that there are 52 other kings of neighboring states, who are imprisoned in this fort. Release everyone. The King of Gwalior said, I will not release others. But, those who can hold the onto your gown (Chowla), can go. Then gurujee immediately ordered his sikhs to prepare him a huge gown. Once it was ready, Guru wore it and all 52 kings got space to hold the gown. This was the day of Diwali. From that very day, Every sikh celebrated Diwali as “Bandi Chhor Divas” (Day of liberation/freedom of Prisoners).

So we reached this nice gurudwara and sat inside the hall for nearly 15-20 mins. When we were back to normal, we proceeded to have Lungar at gurudwara. It was truly refreshing.

Then we moved to see the actual fort. Some guy near entrance asked us if we wanted a tour guide. We refused! When we were entering the fort, The gatekeeper asked us where is our tour guide, and we said we don’t need any. But by this time, we started thinking what is so special about tour guides. Anyway, we entered the fort. There was this nice big porch and stairs going down. We went downstairs and found another staircase to reach the second level of basement. We kept on finding stairs and kept on going down till we reached 4th level. The Gwalior fort has 6-7 levels of basement. Now we were standing in the Prison Room. A very foul smell was coming. It was total dark and we were lost. We tried every gate and window. But every time, we ended up in reaching same prison room. There were small holes in roof and floor. We could see other basement levels. But we were not able to go there. Bats were flying on our head and they were scaring us like anything. Then we heard a tourist group and ran towards them. Their tourist guide was explaining about the fort and told that it is designed in such a way that prisoners can never get out of this level. Levels below this are even ferocious and dangerous. We just walked behind this tour group, came out and ran out of the fort. We didn’t even bothered to see the rest of Fort. We just reached the exit, took a taxi, headed for railway station, and took a train to Agra.

But I must say…

Hats off to Architects of Gwalior Fort.

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Tags: Fort, monument, Religious Places

McLeodganj, Dharamshala (Kangra-Himachal)

15Aug08

McLeodganj, named after David McLeod, teh governor general of Punjab (British-India), is house of the exiled Tibetan Government and is blessed by the presence of H.H. Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama (See my post on Dalai Lama’s Residence). This place is also sometimes called Little Lhasa.

This place is so peaceful and energizing, that you will never feel like leaving it. There are lot of Tibetans and Europeans (mostly Israelis) in here. Nearby Villages are populated with Europeans. I have heard that there are villages nearby McLeodganj, where lot of Drugs and illegal stuff is available. I don’t know if it is true or a rumor.

I like this place so much that I have been there so many times. Luckily, my father designed couple of shops and restaurants at this place. This helped me make dozens of trips to McLeodganj in past 5-6 years.

It is situated near Dharamshala. Infact, sometimes, it is also called Upper Dharamshala. There is a small road, from where, McLeodganj is only 2 Km from main Dharamshala market. This road is very steep and reaches the Dalai Lama Temple. The other way is lot longer, but safer. This road reaches the other end of McLeodganj.

But this route, the longer one, is much better as you get a chance to see more scenic views. A very nice place on way is the St. John’s Church. This church, located in Forsythganj, popularly called Church of St. John in the Wilderness, is the final resting place of Lord Elgin, a British viceroy of India (19th Century).

This church is in a really peaceful place hidden under trees. Its view from road is so magical that you can’t resist visiting it.

The main street of McLeodganj is crowded and loaded with Tibetan shops. You will find almost every Tibetan handicraft item and Tibetan/Buddhist souvenirs. Besides, everywhere you will see people in traditional maroon dress of Buddhists everywhere.

One must visit this place for peace of mind. There are lot other places to visit nearby. If you read this blog, you will find that most of my posts are from Dharamshala, and McLeodganj.

Do check out…

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Tags: Hill Stations, Himachal

Murthal, Sonepat (Haryana)

15Aug08

I went to this nice peaceful place near Murthal in Sonepat, Haryana. This is a nice “Ashram” slightly inside the National Highway 1 (GT Road). The greenery and peacefulness of this place simply cast its spell on me. Here are some pictures of same…

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Tags: Religious Places

Dalai Lama Temple, McLeodganj

12Aug08

It was my pleasure, that I got a chance to visit His Holiness Dalai Lama’s temple at McLeodganj. I have been to Dharamshal and McLeodganj many times. But I went to temple only twice. I hope to see His Holiness some day as well.

When I went there in 2007 with my friend Vinay, we decided to stop for a cup of coffee outside the temple. When we finished our coffee, we saw hundreds of  Buddhist monks coming out of the temple. We felt so sorry because we had missed a chance to see the ceremony and wasted 30 minutes. We could have probably seen Dalai Lama as well.

Here are some pictures from that mighty place…

There is this nice museum outside the temple. This museum contains many artifacts and literature from Tibet. The walls of this museum are covered with banners telling the sad story of how China attacked on Tibet and conquered the land.

Tibet was having very small force. These peace loving people were forced to fight against huge army of china. Then the Tibetan government, including Dalai Lama, were forced to leave their homeland. Indian government then gave them place in Dharamshala, and today, this place is as peaceful as heaven.

A Must Visit Place…

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Tags: Hill Stations, Himachal, Kangra, Religious Places

Ekasham Shailkritya Mandir Samooh, Masroor

25Jul08

Ekasham Shailkritya Mandir Samooh, or the Rock Cut Temples of Masroor, Kangra are one of the most magnificent temples I ever visited. It is an outstanding example of monolithic temples in Himalyan region. The entire complex comprises of more than 15 temple shikhars and a large water pond. The beauty of this place is that everything here has been craved out of sand stone rocks. There was a huge hill, and people of 8th or 9th Century, beautifully carved that hill into a series of temples.

Unfortunately, this entire complex was destroyed in a very major earthquake, that almost devastated entire Kangra valley in 1905. Archeological Survey of India has tried its best to save this place. In 1914, this place was declared as a national monument.

You can find debris of this majestic Temple all around the complex. One can image, how beautiful this place might be around 1200 years ago, when people were not advance enough to work on such huge projects. This could have been the wonder of that time.

It is a real sad thing to see this nice place destroyed due to earthquake .

In the center of the complex, stands the principal and the most elaborately carved shrine, the thakurdwara, enshrining the black stone image of lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana, facing east. I must mention that at this place, I saw the largest lizard in my life. I first thought it to be a small Comodo Dragon, but later realized that it is just a large himalyan species from lizard family.

This place is few Km away from the main Kangra City. It lies in a village called Masroor. It took us around 2-3 hours to reach there from McLeodganj (Dharamshala) by car. We passed the Main Kangra Bus Stop and Kangra Airport on way to this place.

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Tags: Hill Stations, Himachal, Kangra, Religious Places

Brentwood Sanctuary, Mussourrie

19Jul08

Moving from Mussourrie towards Kempty Fall, half way down you will find a road diverting to Lake Myst. Far on that road, go about 2 Km on this narrow rough path, and you will see a nice lonely building surrounded by high hills on 3 sides. If you check this nice place on Google earth, you will find that it is surrounded by famous places on all sides. On its east, is he Mussourrie Hill Station, On the north, is the Kempty Fall, towards west is Jwala Devi’s temple and to its south, is the house of famous Sir George Everest, the surveyor general of India, after whom, Mt. Everest was named.

 

This plot has road on two sides, and fresh water stream on other two sides. This water stream becomes Kempty fall after 3 Km.

The water stream is covered totally with trees and greenery, thus giving a feel of amazon. You can spend hours and hours at this place and no one will ever disturb you thus making this place lonely and peaceful. Guys who own this place also arrange for various activities at their premise. Usually companies and tour groups hire this sanctuary for outdoor camping and picnics. Scenic views out here are outstanding.

I have been there many times. This place gives me peace because I feel that I am totally away from entire world, and relaxing in the heart of nature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last, I went couple of months back with my family. Trust me, this is one place that you must go and you should go there with family. Because no matter where you picnic, you are always disturbed by one or other factor. But this place guarantees total peace. When we reached there, it was very hot, but in minutes, it started raining. After one hour, when we opened the window of our room, we were surprised to see that the grass has turned white because of snowfall. But this didn’t lasted for even 30 mins. Then we went out for trekking on hills and had fun in the water stream running along the wall of this place.

If you need any information regarding Brentwood Sanctuary, feel free to ask me. I will guide you to this untouched heaven.

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Tags: Hill Stations, Mussourrie

Galu Devi Temple, near Dharamkot

18Jul08

I went there in 2007. When you start from McLeodganj towards dharamkot, you will find a pleasant scenic view. Soon you will reach Dharamkot, which is a really nice place to be. You cross dharamkot and reach at a height of 2130 mts. and find yourself in a ridge covered with high trees and hills. A small temple of Galu Devi stands there. This is the place, where vehicles stop, and a tough journey of Triund starts. This time, we came back from Galu Devi, but I hope, that next time, I will reach Triund. Here are few pics from this nice small place…

This picture is of McLeodganj, as it is seen from Galu Devi Hill top

Ah, picture I took on way to Dharamkot. The road is very narrow, but it is a different experience all together. You will surely love it.

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Tags: Hill Stations, Himachal, Kangra, Religious Places