Here is the desktop calendar for April 2007. Click on the picture below to get the image in 1024×768 size.
About the Image
This image was made at Auli, Uttaranchal, India. The mountains seen are the Garhwal Himalayas and far below in the valley flows Alaknanda, one of the tributaries of Ganga. The farthest mountain in the image, a little to the right of center is Mt.Nanda Devi, one of the tallest mountains in India.
Also see
* Images from Auli taken in 2005
* Images from Auli in 2006.
* Auli Trip Report
A few busy weeks have kept me from updating this space as frequently as I used to. Hopefully busy days are past and I am back to spending more time writing on this blog.
Here in Bangalore, summer seems to have suddenly attacked us since the beginning of this week, and sun has been growing stronger by the day. It would be a matter of a few more weeks before northern parts of the country also start getting warmer.
Summer is definitely not the time of the year for travel, at least in the plains of India. But our vast country has always something to offer, and this is the right time to be in the mountains and hill stations. People in the north have options in plenty, with the mighty Himalayas spreading all over north of Delhi. Summer is also a good time for sighting wildlife in North India although weather can be hot in the National Parks. Personally, I have some time off this summer and hope to spend some time in Arunachal Pradesh, and may be a high altitude trek somewhere in Himachal. There is a temptation to get to Sikkim too and that depends on availability of time.
If you are wondering where to go this summer, here are some of the places you can read about in India Travel Blog, suitable for a summer holiday.
NORTH
* Gochela in Sikkim – high altitude trek
* North Sikkim – Driving to Yumthang Valley and Gurudongmar
* Auli, Uttaranchal
* Corbett National Park
* Rajaji National Park
SOUTH
* Coorg
* Munnar, Ooty and Kodaikanal
* Periyar Tiger Reserve
What are your travel plans for this summer?
– by Mridula
This is an essay written by Mridula on her love for the mountains, as second part of her interview published earlier. Since the interview posted earlier, Mridula has also won the Best Travel Indiblog award.
When Arun suggested the topic ‘My Love for Mountains,’ I thought there are many ways to approach this one. I could say, this is actually an acquired love, my husband simply refuses to go anywhere else but the mountains (and only the Himalayas qualify for him as mountains) so I have to love them. But then it is really not true. I equally love going to the hills.
View from Kuari Pass. Image Courtsy: Mridula
I could also say it is something mystic, beyond what the words can describe, that pulls us to the mountains and the matter would end there. After all, I really do not have proper words to describe why we run to the mountains at the first opportunity. But recently something happened that I think gives a good insight into love for mountains (and travel in general).
Last week we went to a small village in Himanchal Pradesh and stayed at a place called Shringi Vatika. It was really cold out there but then I saw snowfall for the first time in my life. While coming back, I realized that I have dropped my cell phone somewhere. After a few phone call to the owners,we found it and my cell phone is with them. Now how do I get my cell phone back? Many suggested I can ask them to courier it. But the couple that runs he guest house is old and I do not want to trouble them. They would have to go some distance to find a courier service.
Then I tried persuading my husband to go there again next month. He kept giving me vague excuses as to why we can’t go back so soon. Then I realized my younger nephew is finishing his final exams for class 11th soon and he certainly needs a break before he gets into the grind of 12th board exams. So guess what? The two of us are going back to Shringi Vatika, because I really need my phone back. And I am wondering why did I not leave my cell phone behind in Lachung (Sikkim) or Ladakh. Let us see how many other places I will manage to leave my cell phone behind from now on.