the light baggage

Overview: We had booked a safari at Devaliya Interpretation Zone at Gir at 9am. So we started from Diu at around 5:30am so that we could reach their on time. The distance from Diu to Sasan Gir is around 100kms so we kept a driving time of 3 hours and 30 mins buffer. We had some confusion on whether to book a 3 hour safari into the Gir forest or 1 hour safari to the Gir Interpretation Zone, where a smaller fenced area of Gir has been created so that more animals can be spotted. The decision proved good in the end after we spotted the Asiatic Lion, Jackal, Vultures, Wild Cat, Leopard and a few migratory birds. Spotting these animals in their natural habitat was a great experience early in the morning. It took around 1.5 hours from the safari starting point to return to the same place. The ticket cost is Rs 200 per head, and Rs 200 for camera. We had to pay an additional Rs 1900 for the gypsy. Gir Gir From here, we headed to Junagadh, around 1.5 hours drive from here. We firs...

Overview:   A road trip to the hills and plains of Chamarajanagar district was on my wish list for a long time. We started off with Male Mahadeshwara Betta. The Mahadeshwara hill temple built at a height of 3000 feet was built by Junje Gowda dedicated to the Veerashaiva saint Mahadeshwara. This temple is popular with both pilgrims and nature lovers as the entire area is rich in flora and fauna. It is said that Saint Mahadeshwara lived here in the 15th century. The temple is located in the midst of seven hills in the Western Ghats, which are rich in flora and fauna. The hills provide a pretty sight while driving to the temple. The hills connect Karnataka to the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Within the temple premises, one can see the new Gopuras overlooking a kalyani, where both old and new tanks can be seen. On certain days like Shivaratri, the chariot is taken around the temple where thousands of devotees witness the event.             From...

  Overview: I recently got an invite, from my friend, who owns a travel company (www.dandeli.com) to visit Dandeli and pen down all my experiences there. I was happy with the invitation and decided to visit Dandeli with my friend as I had not visited the place before and it was in my wish list. We started my journey by bus on Friday night and reached Dandeli early morning on Saturday. After having a word with Sanjay from dandeli.com, I proceeded to Dandeli Jungle Camp at Pradhani, around 11 kms from Dandeli bus stand. I was greeted by Mr. Dharmesh who is the manager at the Jungle Camp and showed us our room. The room was pretty impressive with natural beauty of the forests all around. The only sound we could hear was the chirping of birds and the gentle breeze blowing across the swaying trees. Our first plan post breakfast was to visit Syntheri Rocks, around 8 kms from the camp into Ulavi checkpost. It is a huge monolith of about 300 feet height with the fierce Kali river flowin...