Badrinath | Uttarakhand | India

Uttarakhand | A paradise for tourists

Set in the north of the vast plains of India and generous and nestled in the quiet serenity and beauty of the impressive group of the Himalayas, Uttaranchal - the Devbhumi (Land of the Gods) has attracted tourists and pilgrims from around the world from time immemorial. Sacred pilgrimages of different religions, including the Char Dham, famous throughout the world, or the four Hindu pilgrimage destinations, Shri Badrinath - Kedarnath - Gangotri-Yamunotri, the sacred pilgrimage to Hemkund Sikh - Lokpal, Nanakmatta and Meetha - Reetha Sahib Kaliya and Piran have attracted pilgrims and all who seek spiritual fulfillment to Uttaranchal always.

General Information

Capital:	Dehradun
Area:	53,483 km ²
Population:	9.396.000 (2008)
Spoken languages	Hindi (Official Language), Pahari, Urdu, Panjabi, Bengalisch, Nepali, English
For more information	gov.ua.nic.in

The holy river Ganges and the Yamuna have their source in the hills within this state. The rich cultural traditions, the rare beauty of nature and the mild climate and invigorating in this land of origin of the sacred Ganges and the Yamuna have always been the main attractions. 

Rajsthan | Fairs & Festivals of Rajasthan | Jaipur

Fairs & Festivals of Rajasthan -

Rajasthan is a land of bright colors. The gold of the sand dunes of the desert, the blue sky, the bright red turbans of the Rajputs, the vibrant colors of lehangas odhni and women, the white marble and red stone forts and palaces make This was a kaleidoscope of changing colors. The colors are the result of a passionate nature of the people of Rajasthan and their state of mind and joyful love of life, occurred during the fairs and festivals. The spectacle of the festival of colors will amaze you and leave you open-mouthed, when you travel with tour of Rajasthan Fairs and Festivals in India offered by Travel.

Some of these festivals and fairs that you can see are

Pushkar Fair

The Pushkar Fair is held every year in the city of Pushkar in occasion of Karthik Purnima, which falls in the month of November. It is the largest camel fair in India, where you sell and buy thousands of these animals. In the midst of this carnival atmosphere you will enjoy seeing the negotiations for the sale of camels. Besides this, other events are organized: camel races, camel races beauty, contests of strength between men and camels and other cultural events. The fair has a religious significance related to Hinduism. It is believed that bathing in the waters of Pushkar Lake, are this time of year, good luck. The exhibition will show the traditional lifestyle of Rajasthan with its many colors and you shall be witnesses traveling with the tours offered by travel in India.

Teej Festival, Jaipur

The Teej festival is held in the city of Jaipur during the monsoon season in August. The festival celebrates the union of Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati. On this occasion the women dress in their best clothes and colorful parade through the streets of Jaipur in procession carrying the goddess Parvati. Make purchases in stores and sell bracelets symbolize a happy marriage for women who take the opportunity to get henna tattoos on the hands. Then join the procession also musicians, dancers and other artists that make the city a colorful and fun. You can see this wonderful festival traveling with the tour offered by Rajasthan India Travel.

Elephant Festival, Jaipur

The Elephant Festival is a huge popular event held in Jaipur in March. The people celebrate the Spring of "Holi" pulling flowers, colorful balls of powder or colored water. The spring festival of Holi unites elephants and a giant fun in Chaugan ground. The festival begins with a procession of animals that end with the prize to the best decorated. Then he held races and elephant polo contests of strength between elephants and men. The closing day are thrown in the air, beautiful fireworks. Also join you at this fun giant size with tours offered by travel in India.

Gangaur Festival, Jaipur

The Gangaur Festival is celebrated in Jaipur every year in March to celebrate the end of winter and early spring and the union between Gauri and Isa, incarnations of Shiva and Parvati. The deities are carried in a colorful procession through the streets of the city, which also take part camels, horses, elephants and oxen carts decorated in the traditional way. The procession ends when the deities are bathed in the lake of Jaipur. Enjoy this special festival in Rajasthan India tours offered by Travel.

Desert Festival, Jaisalmer

The Desert Festival is held in February. The festival, very popular with tourists, show products and crafts of Rajasthan and the best of musical artists and dancers in the country that gather on the sand dunes of Sam, outside Jaisalmer. Camels colorful take visitors for a walk in the dunes and to the fair, where races are held turban or longer whiskers. The festival ends with the music that resonates in the desert night. You can attend this festival with tours offered by travel in India.

Camel Festival, Bikaner

The camel festival in Bikaner is a unique cultural event that is held in January, and celebrating the role of the camel in Rajasthan. A procession of beautifully decorated camels parading through the fort of Junagarh and are organized races and camel dances, contests of decoration on the skin of animals and races of the most beautiful race, making the festival a swirl of color and activity, in which shall also artists and folk dancers. Enjoy the uniqueness of this event in the tours offered by Travel India Rajasthan.

Marwar Festival

The Marwar Festival is held in Jodhpur in September or October in memory of the brave heroes of Rajasthan. Music and dance of the Marwar region of the recount the deeds of their famous and legendary heroes, as they are organized polo matches and equestrian competitions that make the festival a colorful and picturesque cultural event. You unifying the celebrations of the Marwar festival with tours offered by travel in India.There are also other festivals held in cities of Rajasthan as the festival of Kota, Bundi and Jhalawar that you can enjoy the tours of Rajasthan India Travel.

Leh Ladakh | India Tourism

India, Travel
Leh, the capital of Ladakh

I travels to Leh, the capital of Ladakh, staying a few days to get used to the difference in height and the beautiful temples and monasteries in the area today. "You're not really been without Ladakh Tibetan tea to have. This tea is mixed with yak butter and served with tsampa (balls made of flour and butter tea). It is a special experience to be invited by Ladakhi's in their shelter and you there, while talking with hands and feet, surrender to their tea.

Author - Ravinder Kumar

I do open my eyes and stand in the middle of the night at the airport of Delhi face to face with a cleaning lady, she's wearing a beautiful sari. A day later I get very hot, because I am face to face with a devout pilgrim, wrapped in incense fumes. A touch of color and atmosphere of Ladakh you probably know of the India-days in the Beehive, the hip tea garden in the city and the images of National Geographic. Now see, hear, smell, I feel dizzy and my head all at once. I need to sit and close their eyes for a moment. What will I see when I opened them to do?

Early in the morning I make a flight to Leh, which takes approximately 50 minutes. After the oppressive heat of Delhi, now I come over the snowy peaks of the Himalayas, in a fresh to Leh. Leh (3500 m), the capital of Ladakh, I stay a few days to get used to the difference in height and the beautiful temples and monasteries in the area today. Drink, drink and another drink is the remedy for altitude sickness. It is particularly difficult because the thin air. Main purpose of this trip is a spectacular festival Tak Tok, situated in Ladakh (northern India) and receiving the first degree in the Usui System of Reiki by Reiki Master Rebecca Bredenhof. In a meditation hall of a monastery, I receive four attunements (initiations) that awareness of Reiki open.

Packed camels
Until the beginning of this century Leh was an important trading center where caravans from China came to trade their wares. The wide main street reminds us of the days when hundreds packed camels, yaks and horses had to find a place in the bazaar. Leh is the only town in the valley with a market and the entire valley from the throngs of people of Ladakh are to boost their buying and selling to do. Women with high selling sheepskin hats and turquoise jewelry. You're not really been without Ladakh Tibetan tea to have. This tea is mixed with yak butter and served with tsampa (balls made of flour and butter tea). It is a special experience to be invited by Ladakhi's in their shelter and you there, while talking with hands and feet, surrender to their tea. The villages in the area with their apricot orchards are oases amid the bright, dry colors of the surrounding mountains. Firewood, manure and hay are on the roofs to dry, and everywhere waving holy mantras printed prayer flags. On the fields of barley and peas grown. At night there are many restaurants where I eat by candlelight because the electricity often fails.


Leh Palace

The town is dominated by the former Royal Palace, Leh Palace. It was built in the same style as the Potala Palace in Lhasa, but smaller. The building dates from the 17th century and has nine floors. It is in poor condition but has a beautiful location above the city. At the foot of the palace are some temples and gompas (monasteries), Soma Gompa which is the most important. High above the palace is the viewpoint of Namgyal Gompa and a fort on a goat path to reach. A visit to the gompa in and around Leh is very special because of the Buddhist sculptures and manuscripts, but perhaps even more because of the intense atmosphere that often hangs. Below, the main gompas briefly discussed. There are many more and the small gompa are often just as interesting, not necessarily by the art treasures, but the friendly monks.


During their stay in Ladakh, I get the opportunity to some of the most special gompas visit. Stok Gompa is 16 km upstream from Leh across the Indus. This palace houses the former royal family of Ladakh, but a part is opened as a museum, especially thangkas exhibits. These are religious images used to meditate and standard in all temples hang. Alchi Gompa is the most beautiful and largest of the valley with many paintings and carvings. It has beautiful Buddha statues and frescoes in Kashmiri style over the life of Buddha. It is a complex with five temples, the oldest from the 11th century. Alchi itself is a small picturesque village in the mountains.

Gilded Buddha

To the east of Leh, so upstream is Shey Gompa (15 km), the former summer palace of the kings of Ladakh with a 12 meter high gilded Buddha. A little further is the superbly Tikse Gompa with a 15 meter high Buddha. Across the river is the magnificent Gompa Hemis. Built in the 17th century and the largest and richest, but also the most touristy monastery of Ladakh. Hemis is famous for its festival of masked dances that are held in the summer.

Kashmir | Heaven on Earth

Fascinating and indecipherable, frail and forgotten, Kashmir is in danger of becoming a literary cliché, the projection of glowing descriptions of the books more and more blurred in the memory of the passengers. The winds of war do not help to reassure those who wish to return and discourage attacks on the remaining applicants. All this has led to a steep fall in foreign tourism, for some years virtually disappeared, and a substantial reduction of the Indian. But the written word betrays always the case and no narration fails to describe fully the seduction of a residence in the northern Indian state.

Along the road from Srinagar to Delhi brings you cross the northern Indian plains, vast expanses burned brown by the summer sun, then the rich farmlands of the Punjab, where vegetation does not even wilted under the scorching sun. The highest mountains are sights for the first time after the passage of Banihal, where it passes into what is perhaps the only existing road tunnel in India. The landscape changes dramatically immediately after the step, unfolding like a huge carpet of green and gold in a regular checkerboard of fields and meadows separated by a glittering network of ditches and waterways: the Valley of Kashmir.

From an administrative standpoint, the Valley is part of the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir that rises in terraces on the plains up to include mountains, valleys and plateaus. To the south, the foothills, lies the district of Jammu. In the northeast tower instead of the peaks of the great Himalayas, which contain the wild beauty of Ladakh. For most people, however, coincides with the Kashmir Valley with the same name, surrounded by a magnificent amphitheater of mountains.

The Jammu & Kashmir was created recently by the union of various ethnic, linguistic and religious. As the Muslim-majority Kashmir, some of these groups have sought independence or union with Pakistan. For the minority of fundamentalist terrorism is the political tool to eliminate or remove all minorities who do not wish to break with India. There are several Muslim groups in the field, each of which pursues its objective, although not all have chosen violence as a means of struggle. It would be wrong to refer to events in Kashmir as a freedom struggle.
Similar to the Chinese shadow theater, understanding the recent events requires a deep knowledge of history, combined with a considerable dose of imagination. In this tragedy, the main actors are the governments of India and Pakistan along with some factions of the Muslim Kashmir Valley. The roles of Indian and Pakistani governments are quite clear. The Indian government is demanding the restitution of that portion of territory now under the control of Pakistan, but Nehru and successive governments have hinted that they would, alternatively, willing to accept the current cease-fire line as the international boundary. For its part, Pakistan would like the entire valley of Kashmir because it has a Muslim majority. The reason seems reasonable, because Pakistan itself broke away from India in 1947 preserving the Muslim regions. But in light of its wealth and established tourism industry in Kashmir this claim reveals other, more prosaic interests. India and Pakistan have fought four wars for control of the Valley: In the first, the struggle was limited to Kashmir. The second turned into a general war. The third began in the eastern part of Pakistan but was then extended to the whole Kashmir. The most recent war was fought by proxy through agents infiltrated Pakistan, started in 1989 and is still continuing.

Srinagar, the "happy city of beauty and knowledge," despite the current disputes and the consequent political instability, has been for centuries one of the most important cultural and philosophical Asia. The mountain passes through which they entered the invading armies were used both for winning and for businesses. From the high mountain passes came not just silk and spices but also new ideas. Srinagar stood at the crossroads of major trade routes between India, Central Asia and China, opening the Kashmir influences Greek, Persian, Tibetan and Chinese, as well as to those from the Indian subcontinent. The result is what made it unique Kashmir.

But there is much more, starting with the landscape: a lush valley carved by rivers and dotted with lakes at the foot of wooded regions in turn enclosed by ice-capped mountains. The unusual variety of trees, flowers and fruit from the Himalayas to china cedar poplar. The pale pink of almond blossoms in the spring. The lotus flowers that bloom in the warmth of late summer. Cherries, as precious stones, shining purple within wooden boxes. The cultivation of saffron Pampore that, in autumn, spread as far as the eye can see. And then there is the wealth of handicrafts, such as to evoke delicate tactile sensations: the feeling of softness of the famous shawls tush wool pashmina that slip through your fingers like butter, and the waxy smoothness of the boards of walnut , manufactures of paper, rough to the touch but beautiful to behold, and the violent contrast between the rough texture of numdah and the softness of a rug with thick knots. And then the food: lotus stalks curry, spicy vegetables and karam sag, fried pork chops, mutton cooked in yogurt sauce and spices, finely minced meat balls cooked in creamy sauce of cardamom, milk and broth, all mandate down with the help of cups of Kahwa, tea spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. And finally, the people, a mixture of races and religions by the Aryans to the Scythians to the Mongols. The beautiful melodious sound of the Kashmiri language. Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists, faces and images closer to Central Asia to the plains of India. 'S plenty of historical evidence, the sober majesty of the temple of the sun at Martand, the formal elegance of Mughal gardens. These are the main attractions of Kashmir in India, there are other places that have some, but only in Kashmir and there are all these threads are woven with the experience of a journey through the Valley.

The creation Kashmir, wrapped in an aura of fantasy and mystery, is described by a legend. At one time, the Valley was a vast lake, deep as the sky "and playground for the gods.  But it was targeted by a demon that destroyed, looted the people who lived on the banks. In desperation, the people appealed to the saint Kashyap it will save them, things which he did by creating a depression west of the lake that emptied its waters. The demon was killed and the Valley was called Kasyapa, or Kashmir, in honor of his savior. Although it may seem strange, paleontologists have discovered at great heights in Kashmir fossils of corals and other marine animals.
Water is at the heart of the Valley of Kashmir, almost as important as faith. He hears the sound everywhere, given the abundance of springs, rivers and lakes. The Kashmiri word nag means snake that is the source: in ancient times, in fact, the worship of the serpent was practiced in the vicinity of the sources. The Kashmiris are a people of water in a mountainous country, completely free of cost. The waterways offer easier access roads to traffic and communications in a land of mountains made for one third and one-third of water. The main one is the Jhelum, the ancient legend Vitasta, whose waters were, from time to time, bearers of prosperity or disastrous floods.

 

One of the sources of the Jhelum is the charming source of Verinag in south-east of the valley. The Mughal emperor, Jahangir, built a garden around it at the top over the avenues of china. Originates from a deep octagonal pool the river that bends in a meandering arc from southeast to northwest. The Jhelum is navigable for almost 160 kilometers, starting from its eastern extremity of Anantnag, the addition of saffron fields of Pampore. The course runs right in the heart of Srinagar with a curved "S" upside down, then poured into the lake Wular and from there to the western terminus is located just before Baramula. The river, its tributaries and canals are alive, crossed by vessels of Hanjis, which have a lineage to Noah himself. Given their skills in boat building, this claim may well be true. The local boats include bahatch, a barge from the bow raised capable of carrying heavy loads, and Doong, smaller than the bahatch, a sort of aquatic dwelling made of woven reeds. The shikara, fine-looking boat gondola, is known for its use as a taxi across the lake from the float. But the most famous ship of all is the 'houseboat, the houseboat that serves as a hotel for most of the tourists visiting Srinagar.

The houseboat was the British response to an edict of the governor of Dogra that no foreigner could own property in Kashmir. Made of cedar season, the first houseboat were small and very mobile. They used to escape the summer heat of Srinagar making tow down the river into the lake Wular, at 'shade of Chinar trees. The hunting season began in the bright autumn days and lasted throughout the winter, when it opened the duck hunting in the reed beds of lakes and Wular Manasbal. The houseboat moored also Shadipur and even further down the river, up to Bandipur, from which we could send in the mountain forests for hunting bear.

Modern houseboats are too large to allow for such ease of movement. Are visible along the banks of the Dal and Nagin lakes, moored in a long irregular line, ranging from the sumptuous-looking and battered, though the basic shape is the same. A veranda protrudes above the aft keel large square and leads into a living room decorated with furniture made of walnut and inlaid carpet fabulous. Going beyond is the dining room, and still later, a corridor leading to the bedrooms. At a certain distance of the boat's cook, the source of all meals. The luxury houseboat are used to show off large quantities of wool embroidery, tapestry and richly carved furniture. Paradoxically, the style does not affect the warmth of hospitality and there is no experience comparable to stay in a houseboat.

 

Dell'houseboat part of the magic lies in the simple fact of being on the water and the resulting views of the lake and mountains. The stern is raised is the best place to taste the delicate and changing
bright shades of sunrise and sunset, admiring the birds gliding on the water surface. Shopping, as inevitable as day and night, reached the houseboat as a shikara loaded with goods and flowers. The Pasdaran craft lures with a simple and compelling strategy, pounding up the victory (or nausea), "Look only! Do not have to buy anything, but you'll make a special price" and the depth of the boats pull out shawls, silks, carpets , boxes of walnut wood or papier brilliant enamel.

The best way to approach is to climb on a Srinagar Shikara and track through the heart of the city across the canals adorned with shady willows, even under the old bridges on Jhelum. At first glance, the interior of the city has a ghostly appearance. The houses of mud bricks and wood and some protruding on the banks they look so dilapidated that seem about to crumble at any moment. Others are actually propped up by squat wooden pillars, cracked and covered with moss. But the impression of decay and disorder goes away hand in hand with the appearance of life. The river is a place where people live on, like the banks. Scores of boats are moored to the poles, as emerging from the mooring posts that dot the lagoon of Venice. The women sit in the bow, grinding grain or calling out. Like any major road at regular intervals the river is dotted with stairs giving access to a labyrinth of narrow alleys behind so connected to the streets to give rise to a steady flow of water and land activities. Grouped near the banks rise houses, shops, schools, places of work and worship: a diversity that is based on the same connective tissue. The hanging gardens and orchards on the fall river to touch the water and windows carved or trellis adds a touch of color. After an hour on the river, you realize that the ugliest buildings are just the modern, anonymous assembled with reinforced concrete and sheltered by a roof of galvanized sheet steel beam.

 

If the space on the lakefront is the privilege of a few, not so at the Mughal gardens of Shalimar, Nishat and Chashma Shahi. Here is all the splendor of royal Srinagar, where the imperial passion for creating gardens is enhanced by the beautiful views offered by the lake and mountains in the background. Shalimar The park is surrounded by an aura of peacefulness and relaxation. The regular rows of fountains and trees seem to recede towards the snowcapped mountains behind. On Sunday, the children play with water, by colorful balloons dance on the jets of the fountains between the chagrin of the surly caretaker. The garden is the focal point of Nero airy Pavilion, located at the rear of the highest of three terraces, graceful lines of which were designed for the delectation of the ladies of the court. If Shalimar is regal, Nishat has a theatrical aspect, with its flower gardens, ancient trees, the iridescent waters bubbling fountains in the carved gargoyles. The twelve zodiac signs that represent as many terraces in a gradual descent seem to merge with the lake.

The bridges on Jhelum are a point of view of Srinagar, the gardens another. But UNAVIA overview of the entire city, the better the Shankaracharya hill, also called takhi-I-Solaiman, the throne of Soliman. From here, you can take in the eye and the valley delJhelum mirarne the tortuous course. In the distance, the snow chain of the Pir Panjal shine with a pure white against the blue sky and south-east you can admire the hill overlooking Anantnag, where the clear waters of the rivers flow into the beginning of his simmering in the Jhelum navigable course. Further downstream stretches Srinagar nestled between the Dal and Nagin lakes with us assembled the houses, the sanctuaries (including the so-called "Tomb of Jesus Christ") and ancient mosques.

The view from the "Throne of Suleiman recalls that the landscape is dominated by the Kashmir valleys, lakes and mountains. Hidden from view are the waters of Wular of Manasbal and lakes Gandarbal. Far away across the wide valley where the heart is Srinagar, is the valley of Liddar whose upper end there is the mountain resort of Pahalgam, the starting point of a long and difficult path leading to the Hindu shrine of Amarnath. This pilgrimage attracts thousands of devotees every year. Another road leads to the peak of his form with Kolahoi sharp needle and the vast glacier below. In the north-west of the valley opens Lolab, a crescent-shaped plain populated by forests of cedars and pines and dotted with pale sorrel and violets. The Sindh Valley is on the road in Ladakh and its lush forests are similar to those that once roamed our Alps: a living monument to what we have lost.

Going up the sides of the valley are the pastures, vast expanses of meadows called marginal. The most prominent among these is Gulmarg, the "Prato Fiorito, a circular recess, which dominates the main valley of Kashmir. From Gulmarg a ski lift that part in a thousand feet of steep slope above the pine forest leads to the pastures. A few miles beyond, through meadows, forests and ridges, you will reach the snowy slopes of Khillanmarg. On a clear day, the view from the meadows of Gulmarg are superb: the hills blend with the valley of rice fields and walnut groves and bushes of wild blackberries. In the distance, the sun shines on the zinc roofs of Srinagar. With a little luck, to the north, the view sweeps over the great mountains of the Himalayas up to the highest peak of Nanga Parbat, which stands free and clear across the entire length of the Valley, more than one hundred kilometers away. Through the Valley, almost diagonally, is Sonamarg, the 'Meadow of Gold "at the point where the river Sindh plunges headlong into a ravine. Sonamarg is a narrow strip of grassy plains and embellished with stars and surrounded by huge mountain peaks on which the sides hanging glaciers shine. The sides of the mountains are covered with great forests of silver fir, sycamore and birch: it is one of the last outposts of unspoilt nature and magnificent. In less than thirty miles away is the step Zoji-La, the dividing line between Kashmir and Ladakh, beyond which lies a totally different world. But this is another trip.