At times when I drive back to the memories of most adventurous or risky wanders makes me amazed especially in these situations.

When I was in a ramble covering the already seen places in Karnataka, I was gathering some information regarding Whispering Woods located in Singara village. A combination of both forest and resort which is under many allegations stating that the forest belongs to the government and not private property.

Did you ever think of going to a place where cottages are set up in a dense forest and each cottage is placed half a kilometre from each other where different species wander like civilians in a city and you hiding from them by building a small shelter as a safeguard, then this is the place.

My vehicle was stopped at the forest entrance, from there onwards my ride was a jeep(owned by the resort). The route to my cabin was a rocky one. The path is just made for us to know in which direction we are supposed to head, other than that it is just a bumpy jeep ride in the woods. On the way to my cabin, I happened to see many other lodgings that were at an equal distance and a reception where the cooking is done. Every cottage had one small hut situated at a few meters in the front. For my one day stay three meals and an evening snack were provided and all these meals were delivered through jeeps to the person in the hut, he then arranges them for the people in the cabin. A small campfire was set up which was also used as a barbeque grill our evening snack, cool weather and lush greenery enhanced the taste of the dish.

After the snack as we headed to our rooms for a short nap, there were this trumpeting sounds surroundings us from all the directions. The person from the hut warned us to not step out as we were surrounded by elephants, we were all eyes till that sound reduced. Here, safari can be opted in two different timings, one from 6-8 in the evening and the other in the midnight. In the midnight safari, we happened to spot great elephants and deers.

A few meters away from my place there was one house/cottage where a photographer from National Geography stayed. He told us about the real beauty and danger of the place. Until the light fades you are allowed to have a walk in the forest.

The fare at Whispering Woods is around 2k per head which alsoincludes all the meals. Here meals are offered in the form of a buffet with limited dishes, both veg and non-veg.

A year the forest was converted into a wildlife reserve, but it is said that the resort is running the same way it used to run previously.

This place completely deserves the fare. I had a great experience at Whispering Woods.

Nagarahole tiger reserve is one of the prominent tiger reserves in India , located in Karnataka.

We stayed in resort named Jungle Inn which is located in Nagarahole 1.1km from the checkpost after which safari vehicles are only permitted.

The best part of this resort is its location. As this is located near a tiger reserve, in early hours there is a high proximity of spotting deer’s outside your room during the early hours, like around 4 in the morning.

You get fabulous view of mountains and the greenery partially covered in fog at this time. When we went the price was about 1500 per person which includes stay, food ( 3 meals) and usage of the facilities the resort provides like badminton and volleyball court and etc but now the price has been upgraded to 2000 per head. The price is same for both vegetarians and non vegetarians. The meals provided are full fledged, like if it comes to lunch and dinner you will be provided with two types of meats ( mostly chicken and mutton ). In the resort, after dinner there will be a documentary played on the animals spotted in Nagarahole followed by a camp fire that will be arranged after the documentary.

When it comes to safari, there is jeep and van safari which will be available in morning and evening hours that is from 6am to 9 am and 3 pm to 6 pm.

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It is better to arrive early at the safari as there will be lengthy queue. During the safari we spotted deers , tuskers, bisons and Malabar bird and squirrel. After this we were off to the resort for breakfast and then checked out at 12.

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So to outline my travel experience,

Jungle Inn :

Check in and Check out : 12pm to 11am

Pricing : Very nominal

Food : 3 meals ( Lunch , Dinner, Breakfast). There is no ala carte, all the meals are served in the form of buffet

Sanitation is good

On the whole Jungle Inn is worth considering.

Don’t miss the early morning view of Jungle Inn.

Safari :

Always prefer morning safari that is from 6am to 9am. For obvious reasons, elevated chances of spotting animals.

Want to know more about Nagarahole tiger reserve, check out this site http://Www.Nagaraholetigerreserve.com

Kabini is basically a river that originates in Kerala flows to Karnataka .

Kabini river lodge.

Cost: 7000 per head inclusive of all safari, lunch, dinner and breakfast and cottage.

We started our journey from Bangalore towards kabini river lodge. Kabini River Lodge is situated on the Kabini river bank.

During the nights, you can actually experience the prominence of staying on the river bank because of the cool river breeze and also for spotting the animals those show up during nights on the river banks for water.

By the time we reached there, it was around 12 in the afternoon, so we directly headed to lunch followed by a small nap. The interesting part of this place is it includes 2 safaris, one in the boat and the other one in a jeep like all other safaris. Depending on your choice you can go for boat safari in the morning and jeep safari in the evening or vice versa. We were told that spotting of animals will be more in the morning during jeep safari than in the evening.

Safari

Boat Safari:

Boat safari started by 4 and lasted till 6 in the evening. We happened to spot elephants, deer’s and crocodile. The best part of the entire safari was the wild horse running on the river bank. In this safari, at one spot we will be in the junction of three states ( Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu).

The river above is Kabini river in the boat safari you will cover almost the entire river. But some part of the river is prohibited due to the presence of crocodiles.

Jeep Safari:

Started by 6 and lasted till 9 or 9:30 in the morning. Total 5 people were on the jeep in which one was a ornithologist, with his help we were able to spot different birds like Malabar and Kingfisher. In this safari we were so lucky to spot cheetah accompanied by its cubs, for about 3-4 seconds it stared at us . Then immediately the driver informed the other jeeps following us with his walkie talkie. Spotting Cheetah made this safari as the most notable one. We were so astonished that none of us made a single minute movement even to take a photo.

After we reached we had our breakfast and left the lodge by 11:00 .

To conclude,

Kabini River Lodge is entirely worth staying in.

Safari and the food offered in all the three meals was great.

The cost may be bit expensive but it’s entirely worth.

It’s better to confine your ramble in kabini river lodge with 1 day, if you are only interested in experiencing new stuff.

I captured this pic from a train travelling towards Goa from Pune. You can see a house surrounded by forest and river.

Had this kheema Parotta in Paradise cafe Hyderabad. You will be served with 1 parotta, a small of kheema and onions. This is only available during morning times as a breakfast. I think kheema and parotta is a very good combination, that turns out to be a good heavy breakfast. Although Paradise is present in almost all the parts of India but you can experience this only in the Paradise cafe that is scattered in a lower degree.

The shot was taken in iPhone 8

Location Paradise Cafe Hyderabad

Travelling through the roads surrounded by forest situated on the hills of Western Ghats came a city named Lavasa happens to be the imitation of a city in Italy. This city is laid in the centre of two mountains divided by a river and connected by a bridge. The beauty of this place cannot be compared with other places as this place is a combination of greenery and beauty of classic Italian streets and buildings. There are no tourist places in or near Lavasa because Lavasa itself is a tourist spot. Many people like us think that there are some tourist places in or near Lavasa and get downhearted after going. Lavasa is best for people who have a desire or interest to visit and experience a walk in the streets of Italy. In Lavasa, there are water sports like Jetskiing, kayaking, water volleyball and boating only during the winter season. Food wise you can get all kinds, but I would suggest Italian food. Alcohol is available in Lavasa but at a higher price. As you approach Lavasa there is a tollgate where you are charged Rs 500 per car. Here you find paid cycles and cost per cycle is Rs 150 per hour. For stay, there are hotels like Waterfront Shaw and 1bhk to 3bhk apartments and villas available at an affordable price. Stay isn’t that costly. Lavasa is a place worth visiting only in winter season.

I started to line up the happening places in India for my summer vacation, undoubtedly Goa has topped the list. Many people see Goa as a place with beaches, pubs, casinos and some other stuff, but Goa has something which is left unrecognized is the vast spread of forests like Mhadej, Bhagwan Mahavir wildlife sanctuaries and many others that surround Goa in all the directions. We started our travel on a train from Pune to Goa, as we were approaching Goa we realized that our train was surrounded in both directions with trees and behind the trees happens to be a beach. I think this is one of the best train journeys as from the starting of our journey we were passing through different terrains like western ghats, forests etc. We reached the station by 8 am in the morning, soon after we took a cab and arrived at our villa near Baga beach which we have booked through Airbnb. Then we have rented scooters in order to capture Goa not only in our camera’s eye but also in our mind’s eye.

The first day, we covered 5 beaches in North Goa which included Candolim, Calangute, Baga, Anjuna, Vagator. The same day night we went to Delta Jack happens to be a Casino, which is basically a cruise on the river passing under the Panjim bridge. The next day, as we were done with exploring beaches in North Goa we started to explore churches in North Goa. As the number of places are less I would like to brief each place in detail.

So the first place was the Basilica of Bom Jesus Church located in the old Goa road, this happens to be the ancient church in Goa. Then we visited Church Of St.Francis Of Assisi which was adjacent to the Church that I have mentioned before. The same day night we went on a boat ride which was quite depressing. The saddest part of the entire trip is we didn’t get to do any kind of water sports since in summer season water sports will remain close in the view weather and some other problems related to tides height. My entire trip went well with some disturbances. From the staring of the trip, we enjoyed every bite of the trip. Food, culture, clothing, architecture in Goa and Portugal are somewhat identical, I think this is the influence of Portuguese living in Goa who have settled when Portuguese ruled Goa. So I will conclude by stating the negatives and positives of my trip. The positives are train journey, Casino, Goan food which includes the shrimp which we had in Calangute beach, Beef burger which we had in a Shack in Vagator beach actually beef isn’t a Goan dish but it was nice and the places which we have visited. .The negatives are the boat ride on the first day and no water sports.   

Lonavala is a hill station in western India near Mumbai , which is a Sunday drive for people living in Mumbai and Pune . It is the only hill station in Maharashtra.We started our journey from Hyderabad to Lonavala ,by the time we reached Lonavala station it was 8 in the morning . We then took a cab and reached the hotel .The train journey from Hyderabad to Lonavala was a bit depressing . We then booked a cab that was to show a set of tourist spots like Lions point , Tigers point ,Lonavala dam . Lions point is the peak of Lonavala and tigers point is adjacent to lions point . The view from lions and tigers point is the same but height from sea level varies . Then we arrived at Lonavala dam which looked like a small water body in a desert and turns out be a breeding den for small fishes. As we didn’t find anything scenic at Lonavala dam we took the adventure route to climb a mini mountain which is in a close proximity to Lonavala dam. Then we drove back to our hotel. The next day we packed our bags with some boxes of the famous Lonavala chikki available in the streets of Lonavala. This ends our trip to Lonavala.

My trip to Lonavala was a bit depressing as we travelled there in the summer season . During the summertime in Lonavala days are sunny and nights are also not that cool when compared with other hill stations. But rains are common in all seasons. Due to lack of time we didn’t spend much time in the Lohgad fort, Bhaja caves . If any one are planning a trip to Lonavala don’t miss to add this fort in your lineup made from the tourists spots of Lonavala. I would like to suggest that Lonavala is a place who’s beauty can be extracted to its best during winter times. In winter season Lonavala will be flourishing with greenery and large water bodies.

We started our journey from Bengaluru and headed towards the west of Karanataka to Coorg which is also called as Scotland of India. My views on coorg is satisfying as it has full filled my expectations on a hill station these expectations include greenery,planes, sceneries, food and number of tourist spots.My stay in Coorg was about 3-4 days and i want to extract the best experince in my presence. We have started our journey from Bengaluru at 6 am in the morning then we have reached Mysuru by 9 am and at Mysuru Palace we spent an hour to glimpse the beauty of palace. After this we drove to Nisarga Valley in Coorg which is actually a home stay located in the center of a forest ,the person who owns this home stay and some farms near to this home stay is the one who hosts the guests . He actually makes the best pork fry which was our meal for lunch and dinner . As I am foodie i can point out that you can get the best quality pork in Coorg. Wine lovers will fall in love with the fruit wine in Coorg, it is actually made by the residents living there in their home ,so i think i gave justification for my previous line . People living in coorg have this great habit of serving upma and a bottle of fruit wine to their guests as breakfast. Coming back to my previous discussion , as Nisarga Valley has a direct connection with the farms and forest we took a refreshing morning walk in the Woods . We spent one day in the Nisarga valley sensing the iconic beauty of the woods and the farms .

Dubera elephant camp

Then we visited the places like Abbey falls and Dubera Elephant Camp. In order to reach Abbey falls we walked for an approx of 1 km from the parking area then comes the water tumbling down the mountain , this 1 km walk is on the steps that goes up and down around a small mountain. Dubera elephant camp is a kind of one time experience because in order to reach the camp you need to cross the river which has to be done by river rafting or boat or coracle. We rafted to cross and after reaching the camp we hoped on a elephant for safari, after that we got back to the river and we got a chance to rinse the elephants in that river. After this we went back in the same way as we came, this ends the second day of my trip.Third day after lunch we headed towards Madikeri fort and Namdroling Montesary and some tourist spots that surrounded these two places , by this ends my tiring last day trip .

Manali is located in the center of Himachal Pradesh. Manali is best for bikers and adventure lovers. The best part of this hill station is it has all kinds of tourist spots. Almost all other hill stations have only one or two kinds of tourist spots. Unfortunately, Manali lays into the hill stations which has no snow in summer season like many other hill stations in India. Many people prefer train as the best means of transport to reach Delhi and bus from Delhi to Manali, actually it is best to take a flight to Delhi and from Delhi to Manali bus might be the best option. AS the time taken to reach Delhi by train is 28hrs i.e. almost one and a half day and from Delhi to Manali by bus is 14hrs. As there is no way to reduce the time between Delhi and Manali by other means of transport. However, flight provision is there but it is costly and not safe due to bad weather. On our way, to Manali we came across many kinds of mountains and a large tunnel through which we pass and I believe that it is the largest tunnel in India. Kullu is a small town which we come across in our way to Manali. There are many tourist spots in Manali but the main are Hadimba Devi temple, Solang valley and ski center, Rohtang pass, Mall Road. Solang valley is about 10-15km from Manali, it is on the way from Manali to Leh.

In Solang valley ski center there is ropeway and paragliding which is a bit expensive but it is worth, the cost of paragliding is about Rs 2500. During the summer season there is no snow in Manali. You can only discover snow at Rohtang pass because it is one of the peak points of Manali, it is basically a kind of a patch on the top of the mountain. Visiting Rohtang pass is very expensive in the Summer season because in summer season as I have already mentioned that there is no snow in Manali, every tourist wishes to rejoice in the snow. We need to take cabs that are available in Manali to go to Rohtang pass and these cabs charge an expensive price of 10k-13k to drop you at Rohtang pass which is about 50km from Manali. Adventure sports are one of the best hustle in Manali, there are adventure water sports like river rafting, wind sports like paragliding. The main disadvantage of Manali is traffic like many other hill stations in North India. For shopping, you can visit the mall road where you can get the best carpet, jackets in India which are actually supplied to all other parts of India and exported too many other countries across the world. I would like to suggest one restaurant named River music garden which is actually a riverside restaurant where you can get the best lamb and fish, the scenery is splendid.
From there I hit off to Shimla on the same cab which I have taken in Delhi. Shimla is one of the most populated hill stations in IndiaThere is nothing much to see in Shimla. But there are two places around Shimla those are Chail, Kufri. The distance from Shimla to Chail and Kufri is 45km and 20km.

Chail is famous for the Chail palace which is actually converted into a hotel. Chail is also famous for a hotel which serves you dinner on a river with very less water, a table will be placed on the river passage with water passing melting your feet.

Kufri is the peak point of Shimla which heavily covered with snow in the winter season. There is no route for vehicles to go so there will be horses which will ride you to Kufri. The journey to the top of Kufri is adventures because the horses will be rushing on the borderline of the mountain. Similar to mall road in Manali, there is also a mall road in Shimla. From there I drove back to Delhi.

Food wise I don’t need to specify a particular item in veg because all the items are good enough. But in non-veg compared all meats lamb is much more tender and prepared at its best.
I would like to suggest one Italian restaurant called IL Forno here you can get the best pizza and spaghetti.