Gurez Valley: A Hidden Gem in Kashmir
“I want to go to Gurez valley on bike,” I declared to everyone I met in Kashmir during my bike trip. However, almost everybody was surprised by my decision to do something like that. “You must be crazy; even we…
2019 Year in Review: Successes and Setbacks – Part 2
Why do we fear failure? Isn’t setback something that truly takes you towards eventual success? Success won’t taste as sweet if there was no setback or failure before. So, as much as the year 2019 was full of successes for…
2019 Year in Review: Successes and Setbacks – Part 1
Until few years back, I never really bothered about year-end or a new year; so there was no question of 2019 year in review. For me, year-end was just another time when I would get holidays from work; I would…
Kalaroos Caves and Satbaran: Unsolved Mysteries of Lolab Valley
Finishing my kahwa as I desperately tried to put my bare hands back in the pockets of my jacket in that wet and cold evening at Tourist Bangalow, Chandigam, one of the locals I was chit-chatting with chirped happily while…
Lolab Valley, North Kashmir: A Bike Trip to the Land of Love and Beauty
After exploring the North-West edge of Kashmir, Tangdhar and Teetwal in Karnah, I decided to head to a valley that is probably the most popular in Northern Kashmir, the Lolab Valley (known by locals as “Wadi-e-Lolab”). Lolab Valley is a…
A Complete Travel Guide to Dholkal
Have you heard of Dholkal? Do you know where exactly it is?If you are not from Chhattisgarh, I seriously doubt that you have even heard of it. In fact, until 2012, even people in Chhattisgarh didn’t know much about it.…
Hotel Review: Dune Barr House, Verandah in the Forest, Matheran
Both me and my husband are never too keen on celebrating occasions like birthdays, anniversaries etc. But, this year when our sixth wedding anniversary approached, we decided to go for a nice weekend getaway for two reasons – first, it…
Turtuk, Ladakh: A Village That Taught Me Life Lessons
Back in early October 2015 when I travelled solo to Turtuk, the last Indian village in the Northern most frontier of Jammu & Kashmir (opened to tourists only in 2010), little did I know that this would become my life…
Teetwal: Exploring the Edge of North-West Kashmir
When I set out to reach Tangdhar, the North-West corner of Jammu & Kashmir State, I had never heard of Teetwal. Faizal at Kashmir Travelogue, the place from where I rented the bullet for my adventure, did not tell me…
Tangdhar, Karnah: Journey to the Wild (North) West of Kashmir
I had never heard of Tangdhar until I met Faisal in Srinagar. When I went to Kashmir Travelogue to collect my rental bike, Faisal Nazir, the owner, casually asked about my trip plan. “North-West Kashmir,” I said. “Well, tourists hardly…