As a region, Baltistan refers to the area after the end of Nubra Valley in Ladakh. Before the partition of undivided India in 1947, Baltistan was a part of Ladakh. Presently, most of the region comprising Baltistan comes under Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and only a small part of Baltistan lies in India. Baltistan was once…
Tag: Offbeat
Attending a Kumaoni Wedding in Kumaon
After a monumental day that began in Kasar Devi, with not-so-pleasant visits to Nainital & Haldwani that somehow ended in Bageshwar, things could only get better from here. After all, when you are down in the dumps the only way is up! And I was going to get lucky in the end; there was a…
Failures on the Road : Running in circles, in Kumaon
It was a difficult time. I was battling my inner demons with regards to travel in the state of Uttarakhand. After a narrow escape with disaster in Garhwal that happened in the month of February/March 2015, I did not have the heart to be on the road for a month or two. And when I finally…
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…
First Tryst with Pangi Valley : Sural Bhatori
Folklores and legends state that Pangi valley was so remote that the Raja of Chamba paid ‘funeral expenses’ to the officials proceeding on their way for duties here. The reason for the same was that there was no surety of their return, whether they will return dead or alive. It is also said that criminals…
Cloud Watching at Bairagarh enroute Sach Pass
Normally the weather gets milder once you are in the region of 1500m to 2000m in the Himalayas, even if it is summer. That was not to be on that particular day, the morning that had began with a sharp drizzle in Pathankot progressed to a balmy day in Churah valley at Bhanjraru. When I…
A Backpacking Guide to Meghalaya
I explored a few parts of North East India in February; my journey started from Guwahati and continued around parts of Meghalaya, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. In money terms, I spent on an average 800 Rupees per day including all expenses. Out of these I thought Meghalaya was really easy to navigate and being in close proximity to…
Khardung La in Winter : Part 2
I had never known North Pullu to be like this : The entire landscape was shrouded in a pall of white and a deathly silence prevailed. Maybe the army wouldn’t have let me ago if only they had seen me. The gentleman giving me the ride stopped for a breather, after all even the snowfall Gods…
Solo travelling to the last frontier of Sach Pass
July has the distinction of being one of my favourite months. Even when I worked in the family business, the arrival of rains in July signalled that I could head out for long solo sojourns. In the last week of June, I randomly booked tickets from Jaipur to Pathankot in Pooja Express. I was hoping to…
An insider’s guide to Cafés & Shopping in Shimla
Some of my favourite places to explore food while on holiday in Shimla Also read : An expert guide to Shimla Cafe Sol at Hotel Combermere – Located at the end of the Mall Road is Shimla’s finest place for Italian food and continental dishes. The aroma of the fresh bakes wafting around is refreshing. Also, Cafe…
Nature’s delights, from a secret village in Parvati Valley
Thundering clouds and ominous skies had greeted us as soon as we had started walking on the bridge that separates Kasol from Chalal. My two travel partners were already becoming fidgety about the ‘trek’ to Rashol or Rasol. We had spent two marvellous days in the serene setting of a wooden cottage right beside the Parvati River….