A Heart Calling for Kainchi Dham One cool Chandigarh evening, sipping ₹10 cutting chai at a Sector 22 tapri, my friend couldn’t stop doing tareef of Kainchi Dham. “It’s where Neem Karoli Baba gave peace to so many,” she said, mentioning even Steve Jobs found inspiration there. Mera dil, city ke shor se thak gaya…
The mountains of Himachal Pradesh are usually a traveler’s dream during late summer and early autumn. Green valleys, apple orchards, misty landscapes, and spiritual treks draw lakhs of tourists every year. But September 2025 has brought with it an unfortunate reality: the Himachal government has officially declared the entire state “disaster-affected” as of September 1,…
A Haunting Beginning in Rishikesh Rishikesh! Around 409 meters above the sea level, a place so beatific until I folded into an encounter and realized that the opposite of divine is actually demonic. This was the second befall in Rishikesh in a span of one year. Travelling with my longtime partner to the same place…
There are some places in India where the scale of what you see in front of you is difficult to understand until you actually stand there. Bhakra is one of them. High in the Sutlej valley, the massive concrete wall of Bhakra Dam rises more than 225 metres above its deepest foundation, holding back the…
Julley! That’s how you say “hello” in Ladakhi, and it’s the warmest greeting you’ll get in Drass Village, India’s coldest inhabited place. Nestled in the heart of Ladakh, Drass is not just about bone-chilling winters (think -30°C!). It’s a hidden gem where rugged mountains, frozen rivers, and the resilient spirit of locals create a travel…
The La Niña effect in India is a big reason why some years bring heavy rain and cold, foggy winters, while others bring drought and mild winters. La Niña is a natural cooling of the Pacific Ocean. It changes the monsoon, the winter, our holiday plans, our festivals and even the price of vegetables. In…
Dhanushkodi was abandoned because the cyclone of 22–23 December 1964 destroyed the town, killed an estimated 1,800 people and washed away its railway line. The Government of Madras then declared it unfit for living. Yes, you can visit today. A road from Rameswaram (about 18–20 km) now reaches Arichal Munai, and road access is generally…
Bastar Dussehra is the festival that answers the question “where is Dussehra celebrated for 75 days in India?” Held in Jagdalpur, in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, it runs for roughly 75 days and has no Ravana effigy burning at all. Instead of the Ramayana’s final battle, the festival centres on Goddess Danteshwari, local village…
There is a hill station near Chandigarh that most people outside Punjab and Haryana have never heard of. No influencer swarms. No selfie queues at the sunrise point. Just pine trees, a river you can actually swim in, and two mysterious lakes that share the exact same water level – separated by an entire hill,…
My Dream Trip to Tirthan Valley I was tired of city noise and wanted a break. That’s when I heard about Tirthan Valley in Himachal Pradesh. Green forests, a flowing river, and big mountains—it sounded like a dream! So, I packed my bag and started my journey from Chandigarh. This blog is my story, with…
