Agra Fort

 Agra, the city where the great monument Taj Mahal was built is situated on the banks of Yamuna river. It has sub-tropical climate. Summers here are very hot where temperatures can go upto 45 degree Celsius. Apart from Taj Mahal, you can find other world heritage sites like the Agra fort and Fatehpur sikri.

Diwan-e-Khas

 Akhbar, the mughal Emperor, built the Agra fort with sandstone. His Grandson ShahJahan built the Taj Mahal which can be seen from the fort. The Diwan-e-khas which can be seen in the above picture is the area where public meetings used to be held in the mughal era.

Many monuments in Agra had influence of Mughal rulers like Akhbar, Jahangir and Shahjahan. Parts of the fort are built with white marble which add to the fort's beauty. Its a great place for history enthusiasts. Best time to visit Agra is from November to March.

Distance from:
Kheria Airport: 12 km.
Lucknow: 364 km.
Kanpur 278 km.
Delhi 208 km.

Pratapgad Fort

Pratapgad is a magnificent fort situated in Maharashta, India. It is 1,080 meters above sea level. The fort was built by Moropant Trimbak Pingle on orders by the Maratha King Shivaji Maharaj. The legendary Battle of Pratapgad was fought at the fort in 1956. The hill is surrounded by Ghats and dense forests. The fort is well built and one can easily keep an eye for any enemy soldier trespassing. I've visited this fort twice. Once when i was about 10 years old and the second time recently. The nearest hill station is Mahabaleshwar which is about 23 kms from the fort.

Pratapgad Fort is divided into 2 parts namely the lower fort and upper fort. The upper fort was constructed upon the crest of a hill and is approximately 180 m long on each of its sides. The lower fort is sited at the southeast end of the fort, and is defended by tall towers which are 10-12 metres high

The place where guards watch out for enemy soldiers.

The Pratapgad fort is quite famous, various plays, movies and books have depicted the story of the Battle of Pratapgad and how Shivaji Maharaj killed Afzal Khan. Moreover it has been immortalized by adding chapters of this battle in the textbooks of school children. I had studied about the Maratha Empire in history subject during my school days, so witnessing this fort in person gave me an immense feeling of achievement.   

There are various shops near the entrance of the fort where they sell souvenirs, t-shirts, and books on the life of Shivaji Maharaj.

Sometimes i wonder how it would be like to live in the Shivaji era.



The best time to visit Pratapgad Fort and Mahabaleshwar is from October to June.
Distance from:
Mahabaleshwar : 23 kms
Mumbai: 104 kms

Powai Lake

We went for an industrial visit yesterday at Powai and thereafter we visited Powai Lake which was quite near the IT firm. We reached the lake at around 4:30 pm and all i could see was majestic clouds and huge sky scrappers on the other side of the lake. We got to know about so many new things related to new advances in technology and had our share of fun afterwards. All in all it was a great day. 
Happy Weekend! :)

Sula Vineyards

Sula Vineyards is spread over 160 acres of area in Nashik, Maharashtra. It takes about 30 mins from Nashik city to reach Sula wines. On the way to the vineyard, while reaching the outskirts of Nashik city we came across a local market. We brought fresh veggies from there which were brought straight from the farms. I must say they were the best vegetables i ever tasted because the ones we eat everyday are from the city, which lose their freshness in the transportation process. Okay coming back to the Vineyard, we reached there at around 2pm. All we could see were thousands of grapes being cultivated on the land over there. 

 I also found some beautiful and colorful flowers with busy bee doing her job.

 

 They have a restaurant where you can enjoy your favorite snacks and meals. And also taste some different varieties of wine. 

Distance from: 

Nashik : 14km

Gulmarg

Gulmarg is located in Kashmir, India. Gulmarg means 'meadow of flowers'. It is 2730 meters above sea level. We have to take the gondola (cable car) to reach the top.

 There are two levels. On the first level there's lots of snow and on the next level there is even more snow. We went hiking on this big mountain that was there and climbed and climbed and climbed till there came a point where it was to dangerous to climb more higher without proper equipment. We stopped and sat on a rock which was half covered in snow and the other half was mud. We saw down and got and amazingly beautiful view.

  
 We were literally on top of the world. I took lot of photos there to capture the scenic beauty. 

Then when we had to go down the mountain, there was no other option but to slide. Going down was even more fun. We then decided to go on the next level by taking the gondola. But it started raining and the staff were saying that its snowing on level 2. So due to heavy snowfall they shut down level 2 for the day. I wanted to see level 2. But its okay level 1 was really amazing and we had lots of fun playing in the snow.

I think once in a year we should take breaks like these to the hills. But not the closest, not easiest, not the path most taken... 



Distance from:

Srinagar: 56 km

Pahalgam: 138 km

Sonamarg: 123 km

Pahalgam

Pahalgam is situated in Kashmir, one of the most beautiful places in India. It is famous for its flora and fauna. Pahalgam is surrounded by hills on all sides. It is very cold even during summer. Exotic varieties of plants are found in the mountainous areas.

 We left from Srinagar to reach Pahalgam early morning after having breakfast. Of course we had a light breakfast because we had to take those mountainous roads and didn't want all that food in our stomach make us wanna throw up. The road had a lot of blind curves. It was also too narrow in many places for two cars to pass by simultaneously. The whole journey was magical with cool breeze blowing across our face, and soft music in the background made the trip even more enjoyable.
Finally we reached our hotel at Pahalgam in approximately 3 hours. Pahalgam was the coldest place in our trip at the J&K.    

We then went to explore this hill station after a short nap. On our way we came by a horse stand and from there we went on the horses since trekking by foot would take a very long time to reach the top. The horses wold take steep turns and we would hold our breath thinking they would drop us any moment. The horses knew the way by heart even without their masters, they would keep going. Finally we reached the top and we could see lush meadows stretched across the surface and the far off hills covered by snow. The landscape was breathtaking.

Whenever you go for such trips don't forget to explore beyond the obvious. Don't just see but also experience, feel and remember.

 

Betaab Valley

Betaab valley is situated in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It's known as Betaab ever since the Sunny Deol-Amrita Singh hit film was shot there. The valley is quite near to Pahalgam which is a nearby hill station. It took roughly 20 minutes from our hotel in Pahalgam to reach there. It's surrounded by lush green meadows and snow clad mountains.

I almost ran 800m to take the above picture because we were getting late to go to our next destination. And now i can surely say it was worth it! :) 

 The water from the snow clad mountains is crystal clear, the above picture says it all.

This place attracts a lot of tourists every year and often they also come for camping and go on mountain treks to explore nature's beauty.


Distance From:  Pahalgam: 15km
                             Srinagar : 94 km

Sonamarg

Sonamarg is a popular tourist destination situated in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The meaning of Sonamarg is 'meadow of gold'. Due to heavy snowfall and avalanches, it is inaccessible during winter. It opens for tourists during early or rather late April when snowfall and avalanches are under control. The beauty of Kashmir has been immortalized in many movies, pictures and books.

Places to visit:

1) Thajiwas Glacier
Thajiwas Glacier connects Kashmir to the Ladakh region. To reach the hill along the glacier you can either go by foot or hire a pony. I would suggest hire a pony because it's a long way and takes about an hour to reach. So by the time you get there trekking you will be exhausted and won't be able to enjoy the scenic beauty that Sonamarg offers.

                                                                         Place where horses rest

                                                                    The Majestic Climb

Once you reach here you can enjoy in the snow, go sledging, skiing or just gaze at how gorgeous nature can be at times!

2) Nallah Sindh


Adventure enthusiasts can go for river rafting along Nallah Sindh, a tributary of river Jhelum.

3) Zoji-La Pass

Trekkers can reach the starkly splendid roof-top of the world Leh, by crossing over the Zoji La pas.
It is located at about 25 kms from Sonamarg which is an important link between Ladakh and Kashmir Valley. This is the second highest pass on the NH-1D and remains closed during winters.


Nearest Airport : Srinagar 87 km

Srinagar

Srinagar is a beautiful city in Kashmir, India. Its also the capital of Jammu and Kashmir state. There are many gardens around this place. In summer season the weather is around 21-25 degree Celsius and in winter it can go up to 2 degrees or even below. One of the famous lakes in Srinagar is the Dal lake. We booked a hotel which had a lake facing view. The picture below is one of the many gardens in Srinagar.

Places to visit
1) Dal Lake
Dal lake is the most famous lake in Srinagar. When you go for a boat ride in this lake, you will see many houseboats. You can also hire a houseboat if you do not want to stay in a hotel. During the boat ride many other boats came near our boat to sell chains or crafts which were handmade or the specialty of the region. I was surprised to see people selling stuff even in the lake.

2) Mughal Garden

The garden is very beautiful with different types of flowers all around.

3) Shalimar Garden

Another Mughal garden is the Shalimar. Here also you will find many flowers, a small pond and amazing architecture.

4) Fish Breeding Farm

Here breeding of fishes is done. Thousands of fishes were there in different sections of the farm.