Chasing Sunsets

Its 7:40pm on a Sunday evening i decide to go to a park nearby and cycle. By the the time i reach the park it's 7:50pm. The sunset is at 7:55 so i can ride my bike until dusk.

As i enter the park i see teenagers playing basketball, some playing cricket while the children are busy cycling.

As i ride further i see two ladies chit chatting as their kids are running around in the park.

I ride through the housing area nearby where i see a cat running around the bush. An old woman is sitting in her balcony reading a book and watching the sky change it's colours.

I take a few more rounds listening to relaxing music.

At around 8:25pm it's starts to get dark, i go through the park towards a bench and sit for a while.

Around 8:30ish i head back home and call it a day.

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

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

Nainital

Nainital is a hill station in Uttarakhand,India. It is situated in a valley and the lake is pear-shaped. Naini lake is situated in the heart of the city and it is because of this lake the place got it's name-Nainital.
We visited this place in the month of May and even during summer it was very cold. It was around 10 degrees Celsius during our visit. I come from a place where the climate is hot and humid most of the time so anything below 15 or even let's say 20 degrees is quite cold for me.We booked a hotel room which had a lake facing view which was really amazing.

History  

Okay so this place also has some history associated with it. The Lake is called Tri-Rishi-Sarovar. It's a story of 3 sages Atri,Pulastya and Pulaha who couldn't find enough water so they decided to dig a large hole and filled it with water from the holy lake Manasarovar in Tibit. It is also believed that it is one of the many religious sites where Sati fell on the earth while being carried by Lord Shiva. The spot where Sati's eyes fell came to be known as Nainital or lake of the eye. And the whole lake actually is in the shape of a human eye.

Places to visit

1) Nainital Lake 
You have come to Nainital so of course you have to go for a boat ride here at least once.
The lake is huge and the water is crystal clear. You'll find many ducks in the lake. I saw some tourists feeding some ducks pieces of bread. 

2) Naina Peak  
It is also known as the China peak. This peak is the highest point at Nainital.
3) Snow view
It is at an altitude of approx 2,270m . To reach here you can take a cable car. Again the view is just amazing from it.

Some other  places are Naina Devi temple, Echo cave gardens and the mall road at Nainital which you can visit! :)