J&K logs - some more landscapes

It's been a year (June-July 2014) since I had been to J&K - Ladakh and my memory is still afresh with all the tripping we did and all the sightings we had throughout our two week sojourn from Srinagar to Ladakh and back to Srinagar.

In this post, I will just brief on the places we covered, more details will be shared in a later post.

Srinagar-Sonamarg-Drass-Mushko valley-Jozila pass-Leh-Khardungla-Panamik-Leh-Changla-Pangong lake-Karu-Chumathang-Tsumdo-Tsokar-Taglangla-Rumtse-Leh-Drass-Manasbahl-Srinagar-Dachigam-Srinagar

We (myself and Kannan) traveled by GoAir from Bengaluru-Srinagar via Mumbai (and return via Delhi) and were joined by PK (Prashanth) from Mumbai and Amit picked us up from Srinagar (he had flown in two days earlier to pick the car - SX4 that was to be our vehicle for the entire duration).

To start off, I would just share a few landscape shots (nothing excellent by any measure) that I was able to take throughout the journey. J&K is so beautiful that you just can't stop clicking, be the green valleys beyond srinagar that changes over to brown once you are in Ladakh region and the himalayas in the distant background and those stunning vistas you get to see at the high altitude lakes... everything is just so beautiful!

Also, to note J&K is the place where unrest is real and happening and Srinagar town has army presence everywhere...and sometimes you do get that eerie feeling seeing so many army people. Another thing I would mention is the presence of army camps all through the way from Srinagar and covers entire Ladakh region, you pass one and you get another... and the huge convoy of army trucks in those narrow hilly stretches.

Let me stop boring you and take you to the pictures... enjoy!

(many such fields and sights makes on wonder - why go elsewhere)

(the huge mountain ranges and home to some of the inhospitable army posts)

(glaciers, streams and mountains...)

(valleys, hills and mountains...)

(landslides...not a day without them!)

(Himalayan ranges as far as you can see!)

(snow...ice... sheets of them everywhere!)

Follow the entire J&K logs here...

Break...

Its been a while since I've been here and the blog is lacking any new content of late, blame my hectic work schedule for that.

I'll try and put in my efforts to keep posting new content here and in sorts of to make up for the current absence, let me leave you with some landscape images from the region of Ladakh/Kashmir that I recently had been to... more of that later, till then take care.

(a typical Ladakhi house at Rumste village...)

(view from Leh...)

(view from Taglang la - la means pass in Ladakhi)

(Pangong Tso - Tso means lake in Ladakhi)

(Sonamarg view...)

Fastrack Ooty :)

Okay, I'm skipping many a few earlier jaunts to post a quickfire note on a super fast, express weekend outing to Ooty somewhere in Jan.

I, need not give an introduction about Ooty as its a household name and a destination for every other traveler, be it a casual traveler, a family traveler, an adventure junkie, a honeymooner, a cyclist or the leisure traveler. All about Ooty or Udhagamandalam on wiki here.

Why I wanted to be here?
On the onset, the touristy, cluttered Ooty is not a popular choice for me, but the charm of the valleys, the estates, the dilapidated landscapes, the chilly weather, the amazing forests, the mouth watering chocolates and most importantly the plentiful, amazing bird life has plenty in offer for me to visit Ooty regularly. I cane myself for this being only my '2nd' visit to Ooty, atrocious indeed!!!

Summary:
We drove down early on a Saturday morning, with the chillness making way for the hot sun all along the way and driving on the hairpin bends via Masinagudi, Kalhatti was a pleasure but the changing landscapes was a sore sight. All, I recall of Ooty of my earlier visit was lush green landscapes confined to a small town but now deforestation is evident everywhere with forests and hillocks making way for homes and hotels. We stayed at the 'Doddabetta Resorts', a quiet place located at the foothill of the 'Doddabetta' peak away from the hustles and bustles of the town.

We spent the entire afternoon at the Botanical gardens looking for the beauties, well I was interested in the beauties and the boys was busy chatting away to glory. Ah! Beauties I meant were the winged beauties and not the walking beauties :) Some tasty chocolate shopping took a lot of time and well the day ended with all of us wrapped in blankets and chatting away after a long period of time, in fact we had grouped after a very long time!

Doddabetta:
We were up quick and the initial ones to reach the peak. As expected the bird life was very much active and all around the place, owing to the crowd yet to come in and the garbage dumps offering plenty of unhygienic food. After spending a couple of early hours here, we came back to the town for a pricey breakfast and took the way towards home.

Notes:
Ooty is very pricey!
Ooty is crowded!
It's pretty cold in the night (non summers) and cool during summers.
Anything you buy is pricey!
Visiting Doddabetta early in the day makes sense as fewer people are there (the gate opens only by 8am).
Botanical garden is the place to go for families and couples alike.
Chocolates are a must buy from here!

There are many other things about Ooty that is not specified, well what is the fun in revealing all, let some secrets remain so!

All these photos are from my Samsung Galaxy Ace 5830i.
Watch out for the Ooty beauties coming up soon :)

Waterfalls In Karnataka III

Part 3 from the series...


V. Apsarakonda falls (Uttara Kannada district)

Apsarakonda falls is located in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka and about roughly 6kms from Honnavara town and about 28kms from the temple town of Murudeshwar on the Konkan coast. The water falling from a height of 10 meters has formed a small waterfall. A high hill, a fine view of the sea and the sunset from the hill and a huge natural cave are the attractions of the place. It’s a visual treat of the sun going down the Arabian sea on a clear day from the viewpoint on the hillock.

Reach: Roughly 6kms from Honnavara town, 28kms from Murudeshwar and 435kms from Bangalore. Murudeshwar, Gokarna, Idagunji are other tourist locales nearby.

Bangalore-Tumkur-Shimoga-Sagar-Jog-Honnavar-Apsarakonda

June to October is a good time when the water levels are high but be prepared for unrelenting and continuous rains.




VI. Unchalli falls ( Uttara Kannada district)

Unchalli falls (Lushington falls) is created by a 116 metres drop in the Aghanashini river located in the Siddapur taluk, Uttara Kannada distict in Karnataka. Its named after JD Lushington, a distict collector of the British empire after he discovered this in 1845. The nearest village is called Heggarne, 5kms away and the last 2kms to be covered on foot. The river here takes a deep plunge to create this spectacular, picturesque falls. This falls is also known as Keppa Joga because of the deafening sound it makes. There are view points constructed to view but the dense surrounding make it difficult to get a complete view of the falls. Rainbows and mist are a common occurrence because of the height from which the river takes a leap and lands with a deafening roar sending up water droplets that eventually shower back again.

Reach: 25kms from Sirsi, 35kms from Siddapur and 425 kms from Bangalore.

Bangalore-Tumkur-Sirsi-Heggarne-Unchalli falls

Best time would be end of monsoons and winter.




should continue further right... :)

Bekal fort - Kasargod

Well, it was a quick fire visit to the ancient Bekal fort in Kasargod, Kerala merely 50kms away from the port town of Mangalore. Bekal fort is the largest and best preserved fort in Kerala currently in the hands of the ASI.
Bekal fort was constructed during the period of Shivappa Nayaka and it later fell into the hands of the Mysore Maharajas and subsequently the British Raj. History says, Bekal was a fort used for the military and defense purposes and it became an important trade route during the Mysore and then the British empire.

How to reach: Nearest towns are Kanhagad (8kms) and Kasargod (18kms). Kasargod is connected to all major ciities by road and through the Konkan railway. Volvo's and Rajahamsa services are operated by KSRTC from Bangalore daily.

As this was planned last minute, we got the last 2 seats in a Volvo bus to Kasargod from Bangalore. It was a roller coaster ride and with every bump you get a feeling of floating in air (just as you feel if you are sitting in the giant wheel). Hopefully we don't end up in the last seats of an Volvo again. It was quite surprising for me to digest the fact that Volvo covered 260 kms to Sakleshpur in flat 4 hours and we never realized it! 

Next, I was back in my senses only when we were in the Kasargod town at around 6am. Looking for an accommodation, we roamed around the streets near to the bus stand only to realize the town was sleepy and would be awake after 8am. Found a decent accommodation at State Lodge located in the MG road that has a history of 60 years. It was raining all through and a small nap for a couple of hours and later we were ready to go.

Finishing our work near Bekal, we moved further towards Bekal fort with the weather being cloudy and sunny. The massive fort is now under the watchful care of the ASI and they are doing a good job in maintaining the premises in spite of the huge crowds that converge here during the weekends.

We spent close to 3 hours here roaming around the huge complex, photographing, watching the waves hit the shore and we got drenched too in the salt waters of the Arabian sea. A lone White bellied Sea Eagle kept us occupied for close to half an hour with its antics hovering around the shore and the sea.

We had lunch at the Kia-Ora restaurant at the Nirvana resort located just outside the fort, the food was great but a tad expensive on the pockets, nevertheless it's expected at a tourist location. From here back to Kasargod town and a little rest later, we were on the streets of the town roaming around each and every street. 

Every street here is filled with shops of electronics, dresses, automobile parts, gadgets and imported stuff. The roads are all lit up with bright lights and designer lamps. Past 8pm, half the town was shut down for the day as we had some light dinner stuff and headed towards the bus stop where the Airavat was waiting for us.


A short trip but nevertheless very exciting and entertaining for me and Raja.

2011 is here

Wishing all readers and friends a "Very Happy New Year 2011"

Have a happy, safe and prosperous year ahead!

Keep Rocking, Keep Smiling, Keep Clicking!

Cheers from the team here...

Santosh-Raja-Guru-Gaitonde-Meghana