Once upon a time in the cold winter of 2014, after having been to Rishikesh and McLeodganj in January, destiny led me to Manali in February. After wandering around for a week or two, one sunny day I took a bus to Naggar. It used to be an offbeat destination at that time, primarily known…
Category: Treks & Hikes
A Collection of Memorable Photographs from Kasauli
Sometimes a place occupies a sweet space in our hearts, courtesy of the happy memories it has created. And it becomes even better when you have no expectations from the holiday, and yet it turns out to be a moment etched in time. It was one such weekend and I wasn’t looking for anything in…
Meandering Lanes of Kasauli : Top Weekend Choice from Delhi & Chandigarh
Noooo… Why do you want to go to Kasauli? It is too crowded, they said. It was July and yours truly needed a quick getaway after a roadtrip to Ladakh. I was in Delhi and was fiddling with various destinations for a relaxed weekend trip. Kasauli was identified as the destination to spend a few…
Offbeat Places Around Dharamshala – McLeodganj
Over the years, Dharamshala & McLeodganj have steadily become a most favoured destination for travellers and backpackers. The popular places and hikes around McLeodganj are known to be super crowded during the summer season. On various visits to this region for work and explorations in Kangra Valley; here is a list of offbeat places and…
Chamba, Himachal Pradesh : Experiences & Places to Visit
We had changed buses at Chamba bus stand on our way to Khajjiar because the road to Dalhousie was snowed out. Chamba seemed like a crowded place, but then all important bus stations are full of people. I had faint memories of Chamba, having explored it almost two decades ago on a roadtrip with my…
Offbeat Explorations in Leh
After detailed visits to the popular and worthy sites of Thiksey Monastery, Shey Palace, Leh Palace, Stok Palace, Namgyal Tsemo etc etc, I had an urge to know more about Leh. After all, a place on the old caravan route to Central Asia had to have more to it. In summer there were so many…
Tso Moriri Lake, Ladakh : A Travelogue
When you happen to visit a place multiple times, in different seasons; all the various memories and anecdotes start coming together. After two days of deliberation, I have finally decided to let go and and start this post. This has brought about a flood of nostalgia, those were the days when Tso Moriri was pure…
Life in Malana, In Photos
With centuries of history behind it, Malana certainly seemed intriguing. The initial look of the village hadn’t been inspiring at all, every home looked to be built in concrete and it felt like a dirty village. I have documented these experiences and more in Winds of change in Malana. I was quite keen on attending Malana…
Temple of ‘Divine Madman’ in Bhutan : Chimi Lhakhang
It had been a balmy evening in Punakha. Somewhere along the way, our guide Sangay had pointed out that next morning our walk to ‘The Fertility Temple’ would begin from a particular place. He also mentioned that the temple was made in memory of ‘The Divine Madman’. It had sure aroused my curiosity; for a…
A Mixed Experience – Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh
It was my first trip to the Northeast in February 2017, and immediately someone had thrown up the name Mechuka at me (Also called Menchuka). I was told by my acquaintances in Guwahati to reach Dibrugarh and then make my way to Aalo (Along) and then Mechuka. As regular readers of Travelshoebum might know, planned…
Shangarh in Sainj Valley – Of Temples and Meadows
Kullu Valley is called the ‘Valley of Gods’ but I had not even heard about this village called Shangarh. It was a few Facebook posts by celebrated members on The Himalayan Club that pulled my attention to Shangarh – and Shangchul Mahadev Temple in Sainj Valley. It had already been more than a year since…
A Day Resurrected : Visiting Diskit Monastery
I had boarded the 7 am bus from Turtuk to Diskit and the lure of observing bactrian camels in Hunder had resulted in me getting down at Hundur bridge. It was understandably chilly in the month of January and to my dismay I found that there was no camel to be spotted. I was almost…