Kudremukh - Tour to dense forests and sighting wildlife

Kudremukh also known as Kuduremukha is a mountain range in Chikkamagaluru district, in Karnataka, India. It is also the name of a small town situated near the mountain, about 48 kilometers from Karkala and about 20 kilometers from Kalsa. Kudremukh is trekker's territory with the richness of its flora and fauna waiting to be discovered. Situated 1,894.3 m above sea level, Kudremukh is rich in iron ore deposits. The name Kuduremukha (as it is known by the natives) literally means 'horse-face' (in the local language Kannada) and refers to a particular picturesque view of a side of the mountain that resembles the same.

It is noted for its scenic beauty. Owing to the dense forests, sighting wildlife can be challenging, though the area is rich in wildlife. Nonetheless the drive through the forest ranges can be enchanting and exhilarating. Three important rivers, the Tunga, the Bhadra and the Nethravathi are said to have their origin here. A shrine of goddess Bhagavathi and a Varaha image, 1.8 m within a cave are the main attractions. And a holiday here can be truly delightful. Lush green forests interspersed with rivers, grassy slopes, captivating cascades and rare orchids providing an idyllic background for trekking.

Kudremukh Map

Image from wildindia.org

For a Tour to Kudremukh, the best time to visit is between the months of December and February. Karavali Festival- Held in February every year, in nearby Mangalore, this festival organized by the Government of Karnataka observes vibrant rituals like the Bhuta (Demon Worship), Nagamandala and Demon Dance. And Navrathri festival- This ten-day festival is celebrated in nearby Chikmagalur on the occasion of Durga Puja. Find the Kudremukh Hotels to stay

Jaipur Hotels and Historical Forts

Welcome to the Pink City, the repository for all things Rajasthani. Jaipur is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. It is also part of the famous Golden Triangle – Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur.

Traditionally the seat of one of the most important royal families in Rajasthan, Jaipur has a number of historical forts. The most famous among them is the Amber Fort. Built in 1592, it is a sight to behold in white marble and red sandstone. The Jaigarh Fort is situated about 400 m above the Amber Fort. Construction on the fort continued from the 15th to the 18th century. It was constructed to strengthen Jaipur’s security. The latest of the three historical forts in Jaipur is the Nahargarh Fort built in 1734. Guess the rulers were really concerned about the security of Jaipur city as Nahargarh was built to bolster the protection of Amber Fort.

Here are a few Jaipur hotels which have combined the charm of a hotel with that of a historical fort:

The Oberoi Rajvilas, Goner Road, Jaipur

The Oberoi Rajvilas is just 40 min. drive from airport, 14 km from Jaipur railway station. It is a 5 star property. The Oberoi Rajvilas has 54 are well appointed rooms which are equipped with facilities like TV, attach bath, hot & cold shower, internet access, telephone, mini-bar, etc. Surya Mahal & Courtyard is a multi cuisine restaurant serving international and Indian cuisine while Rajwada Library Bar offers a variety of fine wines, spirits and cigars.

Sheraton Rajputana Hotel, Nr. Railway Station, Jaipur

Sheraton Rajputana Hotel is located 14 km from airport, 0.5 km from airport and 1 km from bus stand. It is a 5 star property. Sheraton Rajputana Hotel has 216 well appointed rooms and equipped with amenities like room service, hot & cold shower, telephone, television, safe deposit. "Jai Mahal" is the multi cuisine restaurant that serves Indian, Continental, Chinese and Rajasthani delicacies; 'Sheesh Mahal' is the bar,'Peshawri' deals in North west frontier cuisine while 'Chandravanshi Pavilion' is the round the clock restaurant.

Dera Rawatsar , Jaipur, D-194/C, Vijay Path, Behind Sindhi Camp Bus Station , Jaipur

Dera Rawatsar lies 15 kms from the airport, 1 km from the railway station and at walking distance to bus stand. The hotel has total of 15 rooms categorized as Super Deluxe, Royal Suite and Superior Royal Suite with attached bath, round the clock running hot & cold water, telephone, television. The Dera Rawatsar dining hall serves a delicious fare for its in-house guests.

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Myself Ashish – An exciting travel journey

Ashish Gupta – a software professional, is on a 3-month backpacking trip across India and he is logging everyday of that trip on a travel blog called Myself Ashish powered by OkTatabyebye.com. In the blog, he tries to capture the moods of the various cultures he comes across along with his travel experiences.

The unique fact of this journey is that his stay is powered by voluntary invitations from members of the online travel portal www.oktatabyebye.com (OKTTBB). Ashish had started this journey of thousand miles alone, but today he has gained thousands of friends who read his blog, who follow him on twitter, who help him stay or who take him around their cities.

In just 2 months, Ashish has already covered more than 15 destinations across 3 states. The invitations for Ashish’s stay have been pouring in from every quarter, with the first invite from Dharamshala and invites from far away Gangtok already in! Apart from the support from the OkTataByebye.com travel community & their friends, this novel concept is also being strongly supported by telecom giant Airtel (it synergizes well with their brands’ stance of ‘Connecting a billion hearts’) who are enabling various connectivity tools & also the online bus ticketing major Ticketvala.com who want to showcase the sheer convenience and charm of bus travel.

OkTataByebye.com is a travel community where thousands of travelers connect with each other & through member contributed Hotel reviews, Destination guides, Photos and Blogs, share travel experiences, honest advice & tips, with like-minded travel lovers. OkTataByebye.com’s ‘Myself Ashish’, is an endeavor to foster interaction within the Indian travel community in a new and exciting manner.

Catch up with Ashish’s latest photos and blog entries at http://myselfashish.oktatabyebye.com/

Shopping in Kashmir - The Paradise Teeming With an Outstanding Range of Handicrafts

Presenting tourists with some of the best handicrafts in India, Kashmir is a treasure house of the beautiful and high-on-quality shopping items. Shopping is truly an adventure in Kashmir. Enjoy the excitement of scanning the bustling bazaars of the state for a variety of wonderful handicrafts. Mingle with the local people there and ask them about the best places for shopping. Well, hone your bargaining skills before you step into the markets as here you can get a variety of shopping items at bargain prices. Sounds really overwhelming!

The handicrafts, a unique part of the rich cultural heritage of Kashmir, ranging from the delightful trinket to the Pashmina shawls are available here. The streets of the state are lined with numerous shops selling captivating handicrafts of the state. Shopping is an important part of the tour to Jammu and Kashmir. So, don't miss this part of your tour at any cost!

The colorful handicrafts of Kashmir are a great testimony to the colorful life of the people here. Saffron is one of the most popular shopping items in the state. Buy some amazing hand woven carpets to decorate your home in a traditional style. The walnut woodcarving will surely leave you enchanted. The Pashmina and Shahtoosh shawls are renowned the world over for their best quality, so they are a must-buy in Kashmir. The embroidered fabrics in different colors are very appealing to the eyes. The silk fabrics also occupy a significant place in the list of the shopping items in Kashmir. The state is known to manufacture high quality silk.

Although you can get the handicrafts at various markets in the state, but there are certain markets, which are famous for selling different handicrafts:

Lal Chowk and Badshah Chowk in Srinagar are famous for selling walnut wood carving items and paper mache.
J & K Arts Emporium is the best place for buying Pashmina shawls, Shahtoosh shawls and carpets.
Tibetan market and Moti market in Leh offers a variety of handicrafts and Tibetan Silver jewelery.

Shop till you drop at the paradise on Earth, Kashmir.

Shopping in Kashmir is like shopping in a paradise. When you are on your Kashmir Tour, shopping is something you must not miss. To have the real taste of Kashmir shop for a variety of handicrafts available here. Kashmir is dotted with numerous shops selling handicrafts like Pashmina shawls, silk, saffron, silver jewelery and much more. Take your pick

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sanjog_KR

Top 5 Tourist Attractions of India

India is a land of great cultural and regional diversity. For a tourist the country is a goldmine of both popular and off-beat destinations. The Taj Mahal in Agra has to be the most popular tourist destination in India. Built by Shahjahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, it is famous throughout the world as the Monument of Love. The Taj Mahal was built on the banks of the river Yamuna and it looks particularly beautiful bathed in the light of the full moon.

Rajasthan would rank after Taj Mahal in the popularity stakes, but only by a small margin. That life can be lived on a grand scale is most visible in this state. Forts, martial clans, colour, music and unique folk art – all can be found in this state. The Lake Palace at Udaipur has been classed as one of the best luxury heritage hotels in the world and indeed a boat ride to the Palace can leave you mesmerized. Jaipur City, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Ajmer, Shekhawati, Mount Abu – Rajasthan has something for every one.

The grand old Himalayas are third in this popularity list. Travelers from all over the world visit these imposing mountains in search of peace and spirituality. In the north, Kashmir, Himachal and Uttaranchal are popular places to go. A special mention should be made of Manali, Mcleodganj, Leh, Ladakh and the Garhwal and Kumaon region. First time visitors are left speechless by the beauty of these places. Slightly off-beat, both in terms of culture and accessibility, is the north-eastern part of India. It is the indigenous culture and wild beauty of these regions which makes people always long for these destinations.

The serene beauty of the Kerala backwaters draws numerous visitors to itself every year and it is fourth in our list of popular destinations in India. A houseboat ride in the placid water ways is a good window into the life of rural Kerala. Not only this, you get to sample Malayali cuisine and freshly caught seafood. Kerala is the land of Ayurveda - how can you leave without a proper massage?

The capital of the nation, Delhi City, features fifth in our list. Its unique blend of the old and the new, the Mughal Old City and the British New Delhi is enough to hold a visitor captive. This centuries-old capital city has lanes and by lanes where history lives and breathes even now. It pulses with power and an energy which is unmatched.

Taj Mahal – The Beauty of India

The Taj Mahal is one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. The monument is one of the most popular architectural wonder that attracts tourists from different corners of the globe to India. It is among the most photographed and written about tourist destinations in India. So much has been written about the Taj Mahal and Agra - the city, which was the nerve centre of the Mughal Empire in India.


Its popularity makes it challenging to be different when one wishes to write about this monument of love that proudly stands in Agra. How different one could be? What else one could write apart from re-emphasizing the beauty of the Taj Mahal, the pietra dura work, the char bagh style gardens, the fine art work on marble, the changing colours of Taj Mahal as the sun changes its position.

Built more than 350 years ago, the Taj Mahal is symbol of love the world over. An exemplary example of an emperor’s love for his beloved queen, the Taj Mahal was built by Shahjahan, the Mughal emperor in memory of his beloved queen – Mumtaz Mahal.

The Taj Mahal and its beauty has been described often in different ways, some called it ‘A teardrop on the cheek of time’, some said ‘poetry in stone’ while others simply wrote ‘An emperor’s gift to his beloved queen. No matter how you choose to describe the Taj Mahal in Agra, the monument only increases one’s curiosity to see it.

Bill Clinton, the former President of the United States of America once on his visit to the Taj Mahal divided the world into two types of people - people who have seen the Taj and love it and there are others who have not seen the Taj and love it. This clearly sums up the power and beauty of the Taj Mahal. It simply meant that people are so overwhelmed by the beauty of the Taj and the fact that it was greatest monument of love ever built that we end up loving it without seeing it.

Love is regarded as the basis of all things good. Love, they say destroys all malice and love they say conquers all. And this what Taj Mahal stands for. It is the icon of eternal love.

Let's find out the Agra Hotels and Agra Travel Guide at Oktatabyebye.com

Map of Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India: