Finding Himachal

It is time to head to the mountains. I have never been north of Delhi yet, and it will be my first trip to Himachal and Ladakh. Needless to say, I am excited. I will be in Shimla and Manali briefly, before we start our slow and easy four day trip from Manali to Leh. Before we start, we also intend to camp for a night at Chandratal. It normally takes 36 hours but we are planning to spend a good hundred hours on the road. Here is a rough itinerary I have planned, which can change freely with circumstances or new ideas. If you are going to be anywhere in these ares during these days and if our paths are likely to intersect, I will be delighted to meet up on the way..

June 3 – Fly to Delhi
June 3/4 – Travel to angling camp near Shimla
June 5 – Shimla
June 6 – Travel to Manali

June 7 – inquiries etc in Manali for further journeys.
June 8 – Head to Chandratal and camp for the night
June 9 – Return to Manali
June 10 – Manali – Rohtang – Keylong and stay for the night(115km)
June 11 – Keylong to Sarchu and stay for the night(224km)
June 12 – Sarchu to Pang and stay for the night(303km). Check if there are any places to stay a little ahead.
June 13 – Arrive at Leh(475km)
June 14 – Around Leh
June 15 – Around Leh

— consider reworking this to a more sensible itinerary!
June 16th – Fly yo Srinagar
June 16th to 18th – Srinagar and/or Pahalgam and/or Gulmarg
June 19th – Bus to Delhi for 24 hours!
June 20th or 21st – Leave Delhi

I usually do not update my blog on the road, so updates here will be infrequent, if at all till I get back.


Monsoons have arrived!

Stream
Streams come alive in the monsoons

The monsoons have hit Kerala, and moving upwards in their usual place, now touching Karnataka. This is a season every one us look forward, to see the hot days end, to see the green and beautiful earth all around us and enjoy the fresh breeze after the rains. For me arrival of the monsoons means the end of tourist season which means that there is no need to worry about crowds everywhere; it is time to travel!

Fields and Hills
It is all green and pretty when it rains

Although I keep hoping to travel more in the monsoons every year, I never do as much as I wish to. Monsoons are indeed a great time to be with, and feel the beauty of nature. For those living around Bangalore, below is a list trip reports during the monsoons, and other monsoon related content on India Travel Blog.

Roads, Charmadi Ghat
Beautiful, green, foggy and misty roads during the monsoons

* Chikmagalue – Charmadi and Mullayyanagiri in the rains
* Driving to Coorg in the monsoons
* Driving in the rains to Jog and karwar
* Riverside picnic places around Bangalore
* Trekking on the tracks to Yedakumeri
* Hiking Brahmagiri Peak in Coorg
* Muthyala Madu
* Tubing in Kaveri
* An FAQ on monsoons
* Book Review – Chasing the Monsoon
* Monsoon image gallery

Kadra
It is so beautiful, it hurts to stay indoors

Monsoon in Bangalore
A wet morning near Bangalore