Usually people transport their bikes in cardboard boxes, but i felt that having a dedicated bike bag would be better as it is more compact, has more room for accessories and most of all because of the reason that the bag can be stowed away easily at a left luggage counter or in a hotel and can be used for the return trip as well. That last item was the major selling point for me as i didn't want to run around looking for cardboard boxes especially on the return leg of my journeys. The Btwin bike bag being sold in Decathlon looked perfect for my needs so i went ahead and bought it. And here is its review..

Great place to eat authentic Madurai recipe - Must try @ Konar Kadai, Madurai

Trek.. Trek.. Trek.. I've finally decided what my next trip is going to be all about. Initially i wanted take my cycle along and do a mix of touring and trekking, but the more i researched on the trekking routes the more i realized that i can do most of my trip on foot. 

I plan on starting from the Gharwal region of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand and end up in the Rupshu plateau of Ladakh traversing the Kinnaur and Spiti valleys. All these regions are connected by a series of high altitude passes. With the right timing and a bit of luck i should be able to safely trek across them all with good (not the best) weather conditions behind me.

Wildlife Conservation Society of India has just released their internship/volunteering requirements for 2012. These field workshops will be held at several reserves in Karnataka including Dandeli-Anshi, BRT, Bhadra, Bandipura and Nagarahole. Please check the below post for more details on the requirement and on how to register yourself for one of the programmes.

Ladakh is a paradise and a haunt for trekkers.

Ladakh Travel Diaries - Cycling in Ladakh.

Cycling in Ladakh Himalayas has its own unique appeal.

I have always heard and read about the best wildlife spots in southern India, and in 2011 I managed to visit them as well. Let me go ahead and tell you what I saw, felt and experienced at the top 5 national parks of wildlife India. And if you are an adventure seeker like me, you would be thrilled visiting these places, don’t miss the opportunity when it comes.

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.

It was a trip where Murphy's law was in full force. Everything that could go wrong did, and some. I drove around in circles trying to find fuel for my motorbike, got lost in the dark on the shores of the Tsomoriri lake, camped out in the wild, got bike's tires punctured and was rescued by the unlikeliest folks possible.. the Changpa nomads living high up in the mountains around the Tsomoriri lake. Needless to say, this was one of my best trips in Ladakh and i thoroughly enjoyed every minute of i

Read on to hear the story of my Tsomoriri trip..

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. 

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.

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.

Prologue:

Monsoon is probably not the right season to travel the mountains. It will probably be raining all the time, there will be no views and there is the risk of land slides , which happens often.

So there were dozens of naysayers who tried to dissuade me not to make such a trip. But I badly needed a break, so I thought of going for a short trip of 3 days.

I did not have a fixed itinerary. Not to have a fixed route is liberating actually, relives you of undue pressure of making a route plan and then stick to it. I was on a shoe string budget, I thought I will just hop in the bus without worrying about the next destination. “I felt I am a traveler not a tourist, I don’t have to reach anywhere , the journey is more important than the destination”. This might sound too vague, yes I had a tentative plan in mind  . It would either be 1) Haldwani – Almora-Jageshwar – BinsarPark –Almora- Haldwani   Or 2) Haldwani – Almora- Jageshwar- Kausani- Almora- Haldwani.

 

The Yuksom - GoeCha La trek in Western Sikkim takes you right under the shadow of the mighty Kanchendzonga, the 3'rd highest mountain in the world. This 7-8 day trek, is one of the more remote and stunning treks in India, taking one through forests of Rhododendron and valleys covered with lichen and moss, offering numerous birding opportunities and encounters with herds of Bharal or Blue mountain sheep and not to mention the stunning vistas of some of the highest mountains in the world.

Every year, during the monsoon months of July and August, the roads and highways of North India will be bathed in saffron by millions of pilgrims undertaking the Kanwar Yatra. This is a story of the Yatra, the Yatris and of me hiking, cycling and walking in their midst.