Periyar Tiger Reserve in Thekkady, Kerala is a tropical evergreen forest located high up in the Cardamom Hills of the southern Western Ghats of India. An overnight train to Madurai and a three-hour taxi ride later we were in Periyar one cloudy Saturday morning.
The beautiful state of Kerala along India’s south western coastline is an ever popular tourist destination. However, come monsoon and it’s palm lined beaches, lush hill stations and emerald backwaters wear a desolate look.
Monsoon is grave matter in Kerala. Continue reading “A Thriller in the Backwaters”
When planning a trip, we always try to go off the beaten track and explore places that have been hitherto overlooked. Hence, when it was time to visit Goa; probably the most over-exposed destination in whole of India; I desperately tried to find a side of Goa that is still untouched. Some research led me to Chandor, a lush village 15km away from Margao. Continue reading “Chandor – The un-touristy side of Goa”
It was probably in my fifth or sixth standard history class that I first came to know about Hampi.
I remember being wonderstruck by the black and white picture of the bird’s eye view of Hampi as the teacher proceeded to tell us about the capital city of the once powerful Vijayanagara Empire that was lost till its ruins were discovered. For my naive mind, the tale of a 600 year old city with its ornate temples, grand palaces, imposing gates, bazaars consisting of straight parallel rows of shops, tanks and bathing ghats still intact was like the proverbial time machine. All I wanted to do was to ride that time machine for a glimpse of the fantastical past. Continue reading “A time machine called Hampi”
An overnight train journey from Chennai brought us to Chettinad.
The name Chettinad is synonymous with spicy aromatic food prepared from freshly ground masalas. However, it was not food that had brought us there but stories about the grand mansions of Chettiars.
Wanderful Weekendz 