Oh, Rajasthan! Truly a jewel in the crown of India. This state is by far the most touristic and has been attracting backpackers and travellers for decades. With famous places such as Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, one would think it difficult to get away from the crowds and off the beaten track but, it isn’t.… Continue reading How to Get off the Beaten Track in Rajasthan
Some of the holiest sites in Hinduism can be found high up in the Garhwali Himalayas in Uttarakhand, where temples mark the spiritual sources of four sacred rivers: the Yamuna, the Ganges, the Mandakini and the Alaknanda. Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath make up one of the most important yatra circuits in India, known as… Continue reading The Best of Uttarakhand and India’s Char Dham
There are many tourist hotspots in India and once you’ve visited them, if you seek more adventure and more wow factor, Zanskar and the Suru Valley is where you’ll find it. For us to get there, we had to stop in Kargil which is, in all honesty, a rather scrappy highway town. Kargil to Zanskar… Continue reading Finding the Remotest Corner of India in Zanskar
Ladakh – Land of High Passes. Ollie and I made our first trip to Ladakh in October 2016, leaving with the first snows of winter and the knowledge that we would return someday soon. That day finally arrived last year, in July 2018, when we excitedly boarded a plane in Delhi, bound for Leh, the… Continue reading Seeing the Best of Ladakh
There are many places in India that we have been to more than once, usually because there is more to do than can be done in one go or the beauty of the place pulls us back. Mighty Manali, surrounded by high peaks in the green valley of the Beas River, is one such place.… Continue reading Hitting the Hills in Manali
After an amazing month in Sikkim, we flew to Delhi then took a night bus up to Shimla in the south of Himachal Pradesh. It was from here that we began the epic Kinnaur Spiti loop, to finish in Manali just over two weeks later. This is the route we took: Shimla – Sarahan –… Continue reading Shimla to Manali: The Epic Kinnaur Spiti Loop
Back in Gangtok after the thrilling landscapes of North Sikkim, we made plans to explore the rest of the state. Namchi (1675m) Namchi is the capital of the southern district, much quieter than Gangtok with none of the traffic or commotion that plagues the state capital. Sherpas and other people of Nepalese ancestry make up… Continue reading Discovering Sikkim: Namchi to Yuksom
Even though it is one of India’s smaller states, the former Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim has been a delight for travelers for some time. Heavily influenced by Tibetan Buddhism, beautiful monasteries are all around and the world’s third highest mountain, Kanchenjunga (8598m), can be seen from almost any viewpoint. Given their size and variety of… Continue reading Discovering Sikkim: Gangtok and North Sikkim
Hilly Meghalaya, its name meaning 'abode of clouds', lies on the border with Bangladesh. It is a cool, fresh, mountainous state with towering rocky cliffs and thundering waterfalls. The people here are predominately of the Jaintia, Khasi and Garo tribes, who reside in the eastern, central and western parts respectively. Shillong Our first point of… Continue reading Discovering India’s North-East: Magical Meghalaya
Arunachal Pradesh is a magical place; its name literally means 'Land of Dawn-lit Mountains'. India's wildest and least explored state comprises a mass of densely forested, impossibly steep hills, which eventually top off as snow-capped peaks along the Tibetan border. Home to 26 indigenous tribes, Arunachal Pradesh is the final frontier of Indian tourism with… Continue reading Discovering India’s North-East: Incredible Arunachal Pradesh
OLLIE AND LYNETTE ON THE WORLD 