I am trying to use the next few months efficiently and have made plans in plenty. I just made a review of the whole plan and it all looks very very rosy!
I am kicking of the December season with a trek in the wilderness – Brahmagiri peaks in Coorg(Kodagu). I shall be taking a short break when I come back and then head to Wayanad in Kerala for a birding trip. From then it is to Karwar and may be Goa for a few days. I will have a few unplanned days when I come back from Karwar, but am toying with an idea to head to Andamans in that time. Andaman is a place I have always wanted to visit but the idea of having to take permits etc is always discouraging.
The next year, I am headed north to kiss the Himalayan winter snow. I shall be off skiing in Auli for a week, then return to the plains and spend a week in the blissful surroundings of Rishikesh. My next rendezvous shall be Corbett, where I hope to spend another week. From then on it will be the plains of the Ganges – Banaras for a few days. Before I make my trip home, I shall visit the Taj Mahal at Agra, the symbol that India has been for rest of the world.
I am sure I will need some well deserved rest by then. There are a few unplanned days once I return. March is probably going to get much more exciting. I shall head towards the splendid North East – Arunachal Pradesh where I will be working on wilderness surveys for a week, and then hang out on my own in the state. If all goes well, I might even visit the famed Kaziranga and Manas National Park in Assam, but that is not completely in the radar now.
I have kept most of my April free and unplanned yet, but I just received an offer from a friend to go diving sometime in April. I am sure that would be a good idea. April is as far that I can road scotfree, and the days beyond are going to be spent less exotic!
The places I have been to in the last few days is many. I spent the last few days exploring the architectural beauty in the temples of Belur and Halebeedu, then went up to one of the highest points of Karnataka at Bababudangiri and explored the windy banks of Galikere. Further, I went into the thick jungles of Bhadra wilderness at Muthodi. I will spend the next few days writing about them – each place at a time. Enjoy the reading, and as usual, comments and feedback are very much welcome.
I have done a decent amount of travelling in last few years and the places I have seen are plenty. But I have not managed to keep a good record of these journeys. Often, when some one asks about some information on a place I have visited long ago, I end up guessing it badly or giving some abstract information. I hope to record my journeys in this blog so I can have a good track of everything I did.
Though I was a travel freak from long time, my real travelling started about years ago. What started then has become a regular habit. I have travelled to many places since then. Let me start this blog with trying to make a list of it(in no particular order). I will try to follow this up with travelogue posts and pictures on all these places.
* Trek to Yedakumeri
* Bandipura National Park
* Driving south India – Wayanad, Ooty, Kodai and Munnar.
* Kemmannugundi
* Agumbe
* Charmadi
* Monsoon driving trip – KRS, Coorg(Madikeri, Bhagamandala, Brahmagiri), foothills of Kollur, Maravanthe, Agumbe, Sringeri, Bababudangiri and Belur
* Dandeli
* Goa driving trip – Jog falls, Sharavathi valley, North Goa
* West Sikkim – Gochela
* North Sikkim – Gantok, Gurudongmar Lake, Yumthang valley
* Coorg – Nagarahole, Iruppu, Talakaveri, Hebbe falls, Kaveri Nisargadhama
* Mysore
* Ranganathittu
* Thadiyandamol, Dubare forest and Harangi dam
* Rafting in Dandeli, Goa – Palolem
* Drive to Hampi
* Skiing trip to Auli
* Driving around Ooty
* Honnemaradu, water sports
* Mettupalyam to Ooty trek
* Around Kaveri – Srirangapattana, Talkad, Shivanasamudra, Muthathi, Bheemeshwari
* Yosemite National Park
* San Franciso
* Alaska
* Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry
I could have missed a few places. I will add them as and when it flashed to my poor memory.