We all love Goa for our own reasons. It is a true heaven for people looking out for peace and party at the same time. Goa has various other things to do other partying and club hopping! So lets explore Goa my way:
1) Visit Old Goa: Old Goa should be on your list if you wish to know the fascinating history of Goa. It is full of archaeological museums, Churches and Cathedrals like The Jesuit Church, Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, The Se Cathedral.
2) Go on a Cruise: Sunset, Moonlight or Casino beaches on the Mandovi River Yacts are perfect for a lovely delightful evening. Enjoy with sunset with beer and Goan dancing or maybe trying your luck at the Casino Cruise.
3) Wednesday's Anjuna Flea Market: This popular market is full of beaded jewelry, handicrafts, paintings, lot of trendy clothes and wrap arounds. Do bargain before you buy any stuff.
4) Saturday Arpora Night Market:
This retro styled artisan market has stalls with cultural influences from all across the globe. You can shop here for home made knick knacks, Indian handicrafts and leather goods. Lip smacking food and live music just makes the Saturday light all the more lively and enjoyable.
5) Water sports:
Goa has numerous beaches and water sports is a must for adventure lovers. You can choose from parasailing, jet skiing, water skiing, kite surfing, wind surfing, catamaran sailing, and banana rides etc.
PRASAD stands for Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) scheme in India. The focus is on development and beautification of the identified pilgrimage destinations.
Under the plan scheme ‘PRASAD’, the Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to State Governments/Union Territory Administrations, for various tourism projects subject to availability of funds, liquidation of pending utilization certificates and adherence to the scheme guidelines.
Under the PRASAD scheme thirteen sites have been identified for development, namely: Amritsar, Ajmer, Dwaraka, Mathura, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Amaravati, Kanchipuram, Vellankanni, Kedarnath, Kamakhya and Patna.
In pursuance to the Budget Announcements of 2014-15, the scheme was launched in January 2015. The projects sanctioned under the scheme are generally commissioned in 18 to 36 months.
Swadesh Darshan Scheme was introduced by the Cabinet ministry and Ministry of tourism in India to develop theme based tourism in India. With the help of this scheme, the tourists and visitors would get an opportunity to visit the specific tourist circuit in a single tour. There are 13 tourist circuits that are proposed and started under the scheme. Under these 13 circuits, there are many cities and sites added for the visitors to get down there and enjoy their holiday. When we say a tourist circuit, it means that a bunch of connected places can be visited at one go! An example of this is the famous Golden triangle which covers majorly three places namely Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. So under a specific tourists' circuit, there will be few renowned places that can be covered by a tourist in a single tour.
The 13 circuits are named as: 1) Buddhist Circuit 2) Coastal Circuit 3) Krishna Circuit 4) Ramayana Circuit 5) Desert Circuit 6) Spiritual Circuit 7) North East Circuit 8) Himalyan Circuit 9) Heritage Circuit 10) Tribal Circuit 11) Rural Circuit 12) Eco Circuit 13) Wildlife Circuit
To beat the scorching sun of North India, families and couples are heading to cooler gateways to beat the heat. If you are planning a road trip this summer to Shimla, you can break it down to these four places and head to your final destination. The journey starts with Delhi and NCR regions: 1) Murthal ke Paranthe Early morning drives are best to escape the heat and cover a good distance. It also means you got to fuel your body with nice breakfast. Murthal is an ideal breakfast place with lot of dhabas famous being Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba, Gulshan Dhaba etc. Just head onto any one of these and have Aloo ke Paranthe, Lassi and anything you feel like.
2) Chandigarh The next on this route would be Chandigarh. The highway is just fantastic and you would reach in straight 3 hours barring any traffic! You could stay in Chandigarh overnight and drive to Shimla the next day or can reach Kasauli, stay and drive to Shimla the next day. Either ways, you can take your road ahead. In Chandigarh, you could visit Rock garden, Rose garden, Sukhna lake and enjoy mouth watering chaats there!
3) Halt at Parwanoo for Lunch:
The famous Timber trail resort Parwanoo is a must visit place for visitors. It is generally packed during breakfast and lunches for visitors going forward to Kasauli and Shimla.
4) Shimla
Shimla is approximately 80 Kms from Timber trail. Relax and head to scenic Shimla by evening.You could stay at Kasauli and drive to Shimla the other day or reach Shimla after halting at these spots.
Well! Well the famous trip of Mumbai to Goa has found a new way to travel! Its a TRAIN journey from Mumbai CST to Karmali, Goa. The icing on the cake is a journey by a semi-high speed full AC train fleet which reaches the destination in approximately 8 hours and 30 mins. Some major highlights of this speedy train are:
Celebrity chef menu, tea and coffee vending machines, WiFi.
Bio-vacuum toilets, water level indicators, tap sensors and hand dryers.
CCTV cameras, fire & smoke detection and suppression system.
Energy-efficient LED lights and digital destination display boards.
Currently, the train is running on Monsoon schedule and that is why it will run only 3 days a week until October. After October it will again move back to normal schedule when it will run on 5 days.
So guys, what are we waiting for!! Get your tickets booked and chalo chalein GOAAAA!!!
Staying at a good hotel or a resort can make or break your vacation. We realized this on our trip to Alleppey, Kerala. Though Kerala in itself a destination which has picturesque views, serene and sublime backwaters, dense flora and coconut trees all through your way. But what makes the trip all the more memorable is a stay at a backwater resort which makes you feel and visualize everything about the God's own country, We chose Punnamada Beach Resort which was an absolute bliss. The resort offered an insight into everything that Kerala is famous for:
Backwater boating: The serene backwaters of the lake spread far and wide at the edge of the resort giving it a real feel, You can sit there for hours and hours undisturbed watching the views and the boats and cruise that come by.
Kerala architecture: You can witness the traditional Kerala architecture with wooden furnishing and interesting door locks. The rooms are cozy and grand in their own style.
Activities at the hotel: A glimpse of everything Kerala has to offer to a wanderlust travel. The hotel had various activities planned to keep the guests engaged right from Coir making demonstration, hi tea followed by backwater boat ride to Bharatnatyam show. One cannot be bored during their stay at the resort.
Cycling, swimming and indoor games: Cycling in the resort made the morning all the more pleasant, Other activities you could indulge were swimming and indoor games for the family.
Sea Food: The resort had various options for the non vegetarians to satiate their taste buds.
In all it was a wonderful and fulfilling stay at the resort. There are many other backwater resorts in the area which are worth giving a try. Some of the popular ones being Lemon Tree Vembanad Lake Resort, Lake Palace Resorts, The Kayaloram Lake Resort etc.
If you love being close to nature then experience the Indian wildlife which is blessed with richness of all sorts of flora and fauna. They are worth visiting during spring when the weather is favorable, wildlife and vegetation both at their blooming stages and the sun is just right.
There are around 103 (as of July 2015) national wildlife parks and around 537 wildlife sanctuaries. Exploring the wildlife will certainly give you the real picture of nature’s aura and species that have survived the test of time. Let us review India the wilder way:
1) Western India Wildlife:
Discovering the wildlife of Western India is an enriching experience. From Asiatic Lions, Blackbuck to Desert Cats, one can explore different species that represents the Indian wildlife. Places for a must visit are: Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa, Gir National Park in Gujarat and others.
2) Southern Wildlife: The long stretched Western Ghats is blessed with its rich biodiversity that attracts tourists in large numbers. Visit Bandipur National Park in Karnataka, Silent Valley National Park in Kerala, Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary in the Western Ghats is must to explore and get enchanted by the beauty of wildlife.
3) Central India Wildlife: There are over 15 national parks and 35 wildlife sanctuaries in the central part of India that has taken responsibility to preserve the endangered species. Explore places like Kanha National Park, Bandhavgarh National Park, Narsinghgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, also called the 'Paradise of Peacock' and make your trip memorable.
4) Eastern India Wildlife:
Eastern India is well known for its vegetation and dense forests. You can explore north east along with these popular national parks and sanctuaries such as Sunderbans National Park, Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park. Some endangered wildlife species of the world are found here like the One-horned Rhinoceros, Wild Buffalos, Hispid Hare and Pigmy Hog.
5) Northern India Wildlife:
There is a long list of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in Northern India which attracts tourists and wildlife and nature enthusiasts from around the world. Some popular ones to visit being Keoladeo National Park, Chail Wildlife sanctuary, Corbett National Park and Dudhwa National Park.
