Bandhavgarh National Park is one of the most popular national parks in the India Tours. Due to its high tiger sighting which is directly proportional to its tiger sighting. Bandhavgarh national park situated at 197 km away north-east of Jabalpur and has derived its very name from an ancient fort in the area. Bandhavgarh National Park belongs to the Vindhyan mountain ranges of central India and it boasts to have the very high density of tiger population in the country. Now there are about 46 to 52 tigers one can spot here.

The Bandhavgarh National Park is one of the most popular wildlife reserves of India located in Jabalpur districts of Madhya Pradesh. It is a renowned destination of Madhya Pradesh Tourism visited by scores of nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts from several parts of the globe. This is an enchanting destination sprawled over the Vindhya hills and packed with varieties of flora, fauna and avifauna. Topography of this national park is known for its steep ridges, undulating forest and open meadows that make wildlife safari an adventurous one.

The Bandhavgarh National Park is situated in Sahdol district, Madhya Pradesh. It lies very much within the Vindhya Range. This park has a record of having the highest density of the tiger population in Tours of India. You can visit Bandhavgarh National Park from mid November to June as this is the best time when you easily spot the animals of the park. However, to get the best view of tigers and leopards the warmer months of April to June are highly suitable.

This Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve is mainly known for its tigers. Along with this the national park is known for 37 species of mammals, more than 250 species of birds, about 70 species of butterflies and several reptiles. Among all these the best part of the wildlife is its good number of Royal Bengal Tiger. According to the official data, this national park is a home to 400 tigers, which maximizes a chance of the tiger sighting during safari.

Ladakh was the reason why i decided to take my bicycle with me to the Himalayas. The lure of cycling in the mountains with its crisp blue skies and snow capped peaks was too enticing to ignore. I had traveled Ladakh by motorcycle back in 2008, but this time i decided that a bicycle would be a better option. Going by cycle meant going slowly.. a 200km trip from, say, Leh to Pangong lake which can be done in a single day on a motor cycle would take 3 to 4 days on a bicycle. Which means stops in the smaller villages, seeing more sunrises & sunsets, more photo opportunities and more interaction with the local people. I had the one thing which i did not have in my other trips, the luxury of time.  

Then i thought that if i was going to be cycling in Ladakh then i might as well cycle TO Ladakh. I knew that i was in no shape to tackle the road but i had a get fit plan. It was brilliant. First spend a month in Rishikesh learning yoga, then spend the next month slowly making my way to Manali on my bicycle by which time i hoped to be fit enough to tackle the Manali-Leh road in early september. 

Ever since i was bitten by the travel bug, Ladakh was one place that i always wanted to go. The pictures i've been seeing from friends on Flickr were all stunning and it looked as if it was almost impossible to take a bad picture in Ladakh. So with all these high hopes i finally got a chance to travel to Ladakh for a couple of weeks during October 2008. And it didn't disappoint.

This was my first ever backpacking trip in India. I had traveled alone in China and Thailand before this but still i was a little nervous about traveling in my home country. Turns out all that nervousness was unwarranted and i ended up having a wonderful time. Here are some stories from that trip.

Hitchhiking is a popular way of getting around Ladakh. The places are so remote and the public transportation options so minimal that people have no choice but to hitchhike. And for their part the vehicle drivers are always willing to stop and pickup anyone wanting to go in their direction. Sometimes for free and sometimes for a little fee.

Growing up, hitchhiking was a common practice. Especially during my college days where getting a lift basically made all the difference between arriving in time for class or arriving late and having to miss the entire morning session. I gave up the practice after leaving college and never once hitchhiked during all my travels.

But all that changed when i visited Ladakh last year (2010). I used to take the local buses to visit the villages around Leh and hitchhike on the way back to Leh. There was no other option as the buses were few and far between and sometimes do not run after 5 in the evening. I was a bit hesitant at first, but slowly got into the groove and ended up meeting quite a few interesting characters.