This post is part of a series on ‘Walks in India‘.
Place: Pondicherry
Highlights: Beachside promenade, French buildings, Sunrise at the Beach, Aurobindo Ashram, Paper Factory, Manakula Vinayagar Temple, Ananda Rangapillai’s House.
Season: November to February, when it is not hot.
Time of the day: Evening – 6am to 10am
Distance: Approximately 6kms
Difficulty: Easy
View Walks in India – Pondicherry in a larger map
Places to see and walking map of Pondicherry
The Walk.
Pondicherry was once a French Colony, and even today has an essence of many things French.
Start early and wait for the sunrise near Gandhi Statue at Beach Road(Goubert Road). Walk south on the long beach road after watching the sun some up, and turn left at the end of the road to Laurent Street. Walk zig-zag along the roads which have buildings with Frech heritage. This section of the walk has a few restaurants that may serve Frech food, and also a bookshop with French books. Stroll along Romain Rolland Street and Suffren Streets at an easy pace.
When you feel done with this part, take La Bourdonnais Street and walk north. The next stop is the well known Aurobindo Ashram, where you can visit the samadhi of Sri Aurobindo. This is a quiet place with a feel-good, where you can see a lot of people meditating. A little ahead of the Ashram is the 300-year old Manakula Vinayagar Temple.
Continue walking on La Bourdonnais Street. At the end of it is a handmade paper factory that belongs to the Ashram. You can watch paper being made here, and even buy some. Getting back from the paper factory, walk on Gingy Street till you reach Ananda Rangapillai Street. Turn right on Ananda Rangapillai Street and get to Ananda Rangapillai’s House. This is a palatial 18th century mansion of Ananda Rangapillai, who was a courtier of a French Governor.
The Walk ends at Ananda Rangapillai’s House.
This post is part of a series on ‘Walks in India‘.
Place: Khuri
Highlights: Camel Safari, Village Life in remote Rajasthan, quiet and beautiful sand dunes, sunset point
Season: November to February, when it is not hot.
Time of the day: Evening – 4.30pm to 6.30pm
Distance: Approximately 3kms
Difficulty: Easy
Map. This is an indicative map. Not accurate and not to scale. Khuri is an hour’s drive from Jaisalmer, and can be accessed by buses.
The Walk.
Khuri Village is approximately 40kms from Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The village is surrounded by sand-dunes, and has a few basic home-stays.
Begin the walk from Khuri village. Walk along the small mud-houses, seeing life in the village. Along the untarred road, you can see men squatting in front of the house chattering, children playing, a few camel being tended by their owners and cows lazing, while the women work in the house. Talk to the villagers – they are friendly and open – and get to know more about their lives.
The village has a handicrafts store where you can have a look at crafts material made by local artisans. There is a pottery house near the handicrafts store, where you can see a few men working with soil. Watch them prepare the mud, spin the wheel and bring out fine shapes from a lump of soil.
Leave the village behind and walk towards sand dunes. You walk through a plane area with a few shrubs here and there. Look out for birds here – you will see a lot of them chirping and fluttering. Most common are sparrows and White Cheeked Bulbuls.
A kilometer’s walk will take you to the sand dunes. Get on it and walk around at will. The fine sand is a pleasure to walk on, as your feet sinks at every step. You can find beauty in the patterns made by wind on the sand next to you, or in the expanse of the desert stretching far into the horizon. You will spot a few sprinting Black Bucks if you are lucky.
There would be a few camel drivers walking with their beasts, looking for customers for joy-rides. If you have never been on a camel, use the opportunity. Where-ever you are, return to the sunset point at the eastern part of the ridge when the sun is about to set. You can see a long stretch of the golden sand of the dunes from here as the sun is moves below the horizon.
After watching the sunset, walk back to the village, where the walk ends.
This post is part of a series on ‘Walks in India‘.
Place: Auli, Uttarakhand
Highlights: Views of Snowy Peaks, Walks in Snow
Season: December to March, when there is snow.
Time of the day: Morning – 9am to 12pm
Distance: Approximately 4kms
Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult
Map. This is an interactive map of the walk. Zoom in to get a closer look. Click on the blue markers to identify of each location. The walking line in the map is approximate. It should be easy to find the walk-way once you are at Auli. In a good winter, entire region in the map will be covered in snow.
View Walks in India – Auli in a larger map
The Walk.
Notes.
1. It is important not to stray away from the path or go too far from sight of other people on the slopes. There are chances that you can get stuck in snow, or get lost in the forest.
2. The nature of walk varies considerably with the amount of snowfall in the season. You would be walking in several feet high snow or tiny grass on the ground depending on snow conditions. Either way, it is a pleasant walk.
Auli has ski slopes, besides which you can walk in the snow. There are cable cars from Joshimath, the nearest town, that can take you to Auli.
Begin the walk from GMVN Lodge in Auli. Make sure you have a good breakfast before you leave, and preferably pack something to eat and drink. Walk parallel to the ski slopes, on the left side of the track as you walk up. Pause often and look back north to enjoy the views of the snowy peaks on the other side of the valley. You can see Trishul and Dronagiri ranges to the North and Nanda Devi to the east.
As you walk up, you can watch amateur skiers coming down the slope in the initial slopes. Make sure you stay away from them – they could loose control and head towards you anytime!
A 20 minute walk should take you to the base of the ski lift where skiers would have lined up to get on the lift. Continue walking up along slopes, which is now filled with more experienced people. All along the way, you can relish the views of the mountains surrounding you. If you are lucky, you will have plenty of snow where walking can be fun initially, and a little tiring later. But take your time – there is no reason to hurry. You can make snowballs and play with your friends, or jump on the snow and feel good sinking into it.
In case of heavy snow, the last point of the walk will be the topmost tower where the cable car goes. The region beyond this would be under heavy snow and hence out of reach. Sometimes a restaurant will be functioning here, where you can have some tea, snacks, or even lunch. If you are staying in GMVN lodge, trace back the path you walked. If you have arrived from Joshimath, you can take the cable car back from here to reach the town.
If there is not much snow, and provided you are still feeling fit, you can walk higher and get into woods(this is not marked in the map). Make sure you don’t stray away from designated path or go out of sight from other people on the slopes. You can walk as high as possible depending on the time of the day and your fitness level. Naturally, higher you go the better are the views, and you are likely to find more and more snow. But make sure you keep enough time in hand to be able to get back.
++ More about Auli on paintedstork.com
* The backbreaking journey to Auli
* Skiing in Auli – 2005, 2006
* Spending time in Auli
* Trekking and Walking in Auli
* Auli Information
* Auli Images – 2005
* Auli Images – 2006