Narlai - Calm Town of Rajasthan

Surprises are most of the time excited no matter what it is related to. However, when we talk about the tourism then first thing come to mind is lonely places with amazing spots and less crowd. I always search for the places that are clam and beautiful with natural scenes. My search is still on for finest destination, though I got some really impressive locations to visit in India. Today my target is Narlai the less known location of Rajasthan. There are not many spots to visit in the town, but some of them are really the best destinations of Narlai. A village that comes under Desuri tehsil of the Pali region in Rajasthan.

This spectacular village of Rajasthan is only 30 km away from Ranakpur. Amazing heritage hotel for accommodation, exploring attractions and the nearby wonderful tourist destinations are special features of Narlai. Jodhpur and Udaipur two big tourism city of Rajasthan and they are a few km away from Narlai.

Without wasting your time, I would love to describe the spots of Narlai. In my previous notes you will find the Ranakpur as the town of Jain temples. Though Narlai is also having few Hindu and Jain temples to visit. As I said there are fewer places in the town, but the two spots that should not be missed in Narlai are Aai Mata Temple and Rawala Narlai.

Attraction of Narlai:

Aai Mata Temple: one of the oldest temples of town located at rock hill. Once you reach the temple area you can also visit the Jekalji Mahadev shrine. As per sources Aai Mata cake to Mahadev temple and stayed in Narlai for some time. Her purpose to stay in town was to spread the message of God to people. She always worked for the welfare of Narlai people. Air Malta is also famous for developing a cave in the rock hills just with her stick. A divine lamp was placed by her in the cave which is popular for producing saffron colored soot known as Kesar. All lamps are producing black carbon, though this is the only lamp in the world that produces Kesar.

Lord Shiva Temple: Also known as Jekalji Mahadev temple is one more impressive spot to visit. There are 100 steps you have to cover to reach the temple. However, it is beautifully designed by the local people in the hills. It is basically a cave temple where the lord Shiva idol is placed. According to sources Rishi Narad came here for meditation. He prayed God Shiva and later at the place was named as Narlai. The striking image of the temple is enough to state the place as a wonderful location of town.

Rawala Narlai: Frankly telling Rawala are heritage homes or in simple words luxury hotels providing royal service to their customers. Rawala Narlai is located at Chieftan Village closer to Narlai town. It was designed and developed under ruling period of King and Queen Swaroop Singh. The basic region behind Rawala was hunting and personal gathering. Rawala is full of comfort, aesthetics and greenery atmosphere. The best feature of Rawala is it covered with Aravalli hills that are already famous to the world for amazing valleys and deep jungles.

Few things I would like to discuss about Rawala Narlai and that is a service provided by the administration. I with my friend stayed in the Rawala for more than 10 days and we really enjoyed each moment of the tour. Here you can enjoy Train Safari, Narlai Spa, trekking, elephant hill walk, cave temple trekking, leopard sighting, countryside safari, village walk, horse riding, tea spot near the lake, dinner at step wall, etc. Each feature is unique and you will be served with quality hospitality.

How to Reach Narlai?

Narlai is positioned at Aravali Hill ranges and you can take the route of Udaipur. You can also take the highway that connects Jodhpur. However, the town is situated in the midway of Udaipur and Jodhpur so whichever route you come you have to travel almost the same distance. Udaipur is 138 km far and Jodhpur is 131 km away from Narlai.

By Air: The closest airbase for Narlai is Dabok Airport in Udaipur. The next air hub that you can use is Jodhpur that is 141 km far from Narlai. Private taxi’s and buses are available from the outer part of the station both Udaipur and Jodhpur.

By Rail: Nearest biggest railway station for Narlai is Udaipur though Falna railway station is properly developed now. Falna is only 45 km away and you will get plenty of trains from various cities of Rajasthan and other parts of the country. If you are planning to reach Narlai through train via Falna then book the tickets in advance. Maximum trains are passenger trains and always crowded.

By Road: Rajasthan roadways are popular throughout the nation. Narlai is also properly connected by road with almost every big city of Rajasthan. 

Munsiyari - Hill Station of Uttarakhand

Traveling to different places is my hobby, though I am surprised that we Indian always prefer to go abroad or diverse places on holidays. There are countless locations and tourist destinations that are best among world and we are not aware of those places. I am talking about the locations of India. My effort is to introduce the places that are not known or less identified by the people to visit. Today my target of the day is Munsiyari that is the small town of Uttaranchal.

Images of wonder destination is enough to make the spot special and first choice for vacation. I suggest you to view the amazing images of Munsiyari before selecting this place as your favorite destination. I will provide the list of spots and will guide you about the importance of this place, but before describing please go through the images provided by different viewers on google and dissimilar sources.

Now as you have seen the images of Munsiyari, I am going to describe few vital facts of this Indian tourist place. This peek town is located in Himalaya ranges at elevation of 2200 meters. Trekkers are coming to this area from around the world. There is one more name of Munsiyari and that is Devanagari which means land of Gods. You need to reach the Pithorgarh District to attain this beautiful hill station. This all-time snow covered place is chilled with temperature so don’t forget to get the warm clothes no matter if you are going to spot in summer. Goriganga river is flowing from this region and it is the major part of Glacier of Himalaya. Mountain lovers are regularly coming here and there are countless accommodation areas available. That means you don’t have to worry for stay in this gracious place.

Major attraction parts of Munsiyari:

Peak of Panchchuli: It is the hill station and the peak at Panchchuli is first destination to visit. It is closer to Johar Valley which is another favorite spot to visit in region. Shuka Tribe came here and established their traditional houses.

Birthi Falls: Spots in Munsiyari are less, but all are amazing and best example is Birthi Falls. Reach Tejaram for these falls. The dense forest surrounding and difficult pathway to reach falls is exciting part of journey. This waterfall area is placed on 18 position in best tourist spots of Uttarakand. The height of fall is 126 meters and it is popular for verdant colors fall. Birthi falls is 35 km away from Munsiyari so hire or arrange the local transport mode to reach nearby spot of fall.

Mehsar Kund: Also known as Maheshwari Kund is next place to visit in this Indian tourist place. Local people recognize the place as Mehsar Kund so if you need help then provide this name to locales. Maheshwari Kund is having an interesting story as the description of this place is mentioned in some of the Hindu myths. As per myths Yaksha the Demi God used to live here. However, he fell in love with the Village head’s daughter. Villagers didn’t accept the relation and dried the lake as punish upon Yaksha. Later Yaksha cussed the village and Munsiyari town suffered with dearth for longer time. As per info villagers apologized and Yaksha agreed for settlement. This Kund is few km away from town offering panoramic view of natural beauty.

Betulidhar: A greenery area with Rhododendrons and skiing slopes are favorite spots of Betulidhar. Don’t forget to watch the sunset and sunrise from this spot because at such time the surrounding area becomes wonderful.

Thamari Kund: Refreshing spot with nature made lake covered with alpine and paper trees could be different experience. You can watch Musk Deer easily at this place.

Darkot: A small but impressive picturesque location Darkot located at 6 kms distance from Munsiyari is our next spot. You need to reach Madkot road for Darkot. Buy hand-made Pashima shawls and Sheep wool covers from here. Don’t forget to have a look at houses in Darkot as they are made of old artistic style that represents rich culture of Kumaon.

Khaliya Top: Enjoy trekking at Khaliya (also known as Khalia) situated at 10 kms distance from Munsiyari. Average altitude of Khaliya top is somewhere 11500 feet. However, surrounding is full of panoramic views of Himalayan ranges. This top is listed at highest peak of region followed by Nandakot, Panchchuli, Rajrambha, Hardeol and Nandadevi.

Madkot: Travel for 22 kms and you will reach a small hamlet known as Madkot famous for hot springs. You can enjoy the massage parlors at this place to get relief of some arthritic pains and skin eruptions.

Nanda Devi: One of the oldest temples of Munsiyari dedicated to Spirit Sati. The idol present in temple is another form of Nanda Devi. It is only 3km away, though the pathway is tough enough to reach.

Tribal Heritage Museum: To learn about the city or local people museum is the best place. Tribal museum of Munsiyari is having good collection of ancient period. The other name of museum is Masterji Sangrahalaya.

Potato Farm at Balanti: Get the potato at high peak of 9000 feet at Balanti. It is the farming area famous for high yield potatoes. Area is covered with lush green jungle so we are going to have an amazing view at this place.

Kalamuni top: Once you reach Birthi you can stopover at Kalamuni top situated at 9500 feet height, though its 15 km away from Munsiary.

There are some more spots to visit in Munsiyari such as Dharchula, Narayan Ashram and few gardens. Each place is unique and full of nature beauty.

Events in Munsiyari:

Enjoy rafting in GoriGanga River, Skiing at Khalia Top, and enjoy bird watching Munsiyari. The whole region is well known for trekking paradise.

How to reach Munsiyari?

The best and easy mode of transport in India is by road. This hill area is mounted with dense valleys but the road construction is done with all arrangements.

By Road: Properly connected through roads with all primary locations of Uttarakhand State. You will get buses for Munsiyari from Delhi, Champawat, Almora, Tanakpur, Haldwani and many more. If you are coming directly from Delhi, then it will be long route for you to reach Munsiyari. Break journey is best option and accommodation at Vijaypur is one better idea as Vijaypur is another tourism place of Uttarakhand. Chaukori is next place advised by the experts to reach Munsiyari. You can take state transport from Delhi to Almora to reach this town. Some other best spots to reach Munsiyari are Pithoragarh, Hapur, Rampur, Bhimtal and some more.

By Rail: Closest railway station is Kathgodam properly connected to major cities of India. Tanakpur is next closest station for Munsiyari though it is 286 kms away from destination. You can hire private taxis and buses from the spot.

By Air: Closest airbase for Munsiyari is Airport of Pantnagar located at 249 km far from Munsiyari. Pantnagar comes under Nainital region of Uttarakhand. Private taxis are accessible from Pantnagar to Almora, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar towards Munsiyari.

Aryankavu - Hill Station of Kerala

Journey in train towards best hill station is always a dream for me because that way I can view the natural beauty closer compared going through flight or other sources. Today I found a place that is a small but cute hill station of Kerala known as Aryankavu. It is the village comes under Kollam region of backwater state Kerala. This Indian tourist place is yet unpopular and that’s the reason less people reach this town on vacations. However, my choice is such kind of places where I find fewer crowds no matter if the spot is having limited attractions.

After long research I decided to visit this green town through train and believe me my journey to Aryankavu was best then most of the places of India. However, it is the hill station so you will not get the direct or broad gauge line for this station. You have to reach Shenkottai through road and from there you can get the train for Aryankavu. Frankly telling there was less places to visit in the town but still I enjoyed a lot. I and my team mate spend 4 days in the town and that we can say were the memorable moments of our life.

There is another way to attain the town and that is NH 744 closer to Thenmala (our next targeted Indian tourist place). This mountain pass of Western Ghats is easily reachable through Punalur to Shenkottai route and you will get the train for these stations as well. Aryankavu town is just 78 kms far from Kollam town, though Paravur is 81 km distant from the destination. A climate condition is tropical here and languages used are English and Malayalam. Important spots where you can visit are Palaruvei waterfalls, Kadamanpara forest, Junction, Rose Mala, big temples and few more spots.

Attraction in Aryankavu:

Maximum places of South India are famous for holy values. Aryankavu is also having some historical temples, houses and locations to visit.

Sastha Temple: Initial tourism spot of town is Ayyappan temple that is listed in big temples of Lord Ayyappa. People believe Lord Ayyappa came to this place as a teenager with a different identity known as Tiru Aryan. That’s the reason this temple is also recognized as Aryankavu Sastha Temple. This shrine is between the forests though you have to take the route of Trivandrum - Tenkasi NH. If we talk about the values this temple is again similar to Sabarimala. Females from 10 years to 50 are not allowed to enter the temple. Rituals and traditional pujas are done in Tamil style so the male devotees have to remove their shirt before entering the temple. Females can take pleasure of this natural beauty instead of entering the temple. Whosoever is planning to reach here, the person should careful all time as the maximum part of Aryankavu is the jungle and full of wild animals. Some risk part is there in the town so be careful and take pleasure of this natural beauty spot.

Catholic Churches: Two wonderful structured churches known as St. George Malankara and St. Mary's Archdiocese founded by Mr. K. Abraham Vaidyer. Abraham was the popular Ayurveda physician and was the member of Grama (Village) Panchayat (Administration).

Palaruvi falls: Next place to visit in Aryankavu is Palaruvi falls. Palaruvi is basically made of two different words of Malayalam language. Pal is milk and aruvi means watercourse. The height of water is 300 feet and that’s the reason the water looks like milk. Water is crystal clear and the small pond allows you to take bath in nature. This could be different experience of your life because you are at real jungle and the original high waterfall area. Don’t miss this spot if you are real nature lover. Once you reach the falls you will find some of the mandapams or impressive cottages of ancient period. That states that kings of bygone empire came to this place and spend their valuable time. The important part of this fall location is the route is quite difficult and the forest pathways are full of mud. Trekkers will not face any problem here, anyway the place is good to visit and impressive in looks.

Rose Mala: Next tourism spot of this Indian tourist place located at 12 Km distance from the railway station of Aryankavu. Rose Mala is the enchanting ecotourism destination of Aryankavu. It is basically a dense forest scarcely populated especially for farmers and tribal. Rose Mala is closer to Thenmala dam so you can enjoy two different spots at one location.

Thenmala Dam: Greenery, forest and a big dam is quite impressive place to visit. Some tree houses are available in this area so enjoy the jungle life. Don’t forget to take permission from the forest department if you are entering the jungle.

Few other attractions of Aryankavu are Kadamanpara sandal forest (2^nd largest sandal forest) and Bourdillion plot that is first bemused planted garden of the world.

How to reach Aryankavu?

By Rail: Aryankavu is the hill station and meter gauge line is available in the town. However, the closest big station is Kollam that is few km distant from Aryankavu.

By Air: Closest airport is Thiruvananthapuram located at 95 Km distance. Flights for Thiruvananthapuram are available from Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and many other cities so people looking to reach Aryankavu.

By road: Aryankavu is connected to both Kollam (77 Km) and Thiruvanantha Puram (85Km).

Mirik - Hill Station of West Bengal

Welcome To Mirik HILL STATION

Of course, finding the favorite destination for holidays is a tough job because there are countless locations where we can visit especially in India. Indian tourist places are unique and that is enough to confuse visitors to select the tourism spot of their choice. This is the small effort for our readers to find the top spot for their holidays. We are now reaching to Mirik the wonder hill resort of West Bengal state, India.

Mirik is the small beautiful town located at 52 km distance from Siliguri city. It is also 55 km far from closest air base city Bagdogra. The altitude of Mirik is 1,768 meters from sea level and most of the area is covered with dense forest and Himalaya ranges. As it is the northeast city it is also famous for big tea estates, orchards of orange and cardamom plantations.

This amazing hill resort has a refreshing effect and becoming the first choice for people who are aware of this place. If you are mentally prepared for this spot then you will get a chance to visit a wild flower garden, charming lakes and thriving forests of Japonica trees. This paradise is closer to Kanchenjunga as well that means you are getting multiple locations to visit if you reach Mirik.

Attractions in Mirik:

Sumendu Lake: The first place to visit in town famous as a prominent tourist attraction in Mirik. This man made lake is close to forest point surrounding with flower garden as well. Floating fountain is another key center of Sumendu Lake. However, swimming is not allowed in the lake, but you can enjoy the boating, some water event and Fishing at the lake.

Singha Devi temple: The next spot of Mirik also known as Devi Sthan positioned closer to the river. To reach the temple you have to take the bridge route over the Sumendu Lake. Devotees reach the temple at every occasion, though the surrounding area is beautiful as well. If we say it is the holy as well as picnic spot, then this statement is completely true for Singha Devi Temple. In facts this place is a group of temples and you will find the shrines of Hanuman, Lord Shiva and Maha Kali Mata visited by lots of devotees. Bokar Gompa is located at a few km distance from Devi Sthan.

Rameetay Dara: Less people know about this place, the reason is less popularity of state government. This ideal sunset and sunrise point is in 3^rd position of our attraction spots of Mirik. It is the vintage place closer to Rai Dhap. A small pond that is also a source drinking water in the city is an ideal location for a picnic.

Hills: This tourism spot is having orange orchards and you can freely move to these orchards. Nature lovers or horticulture scientists reach, here is regular interval.

Tea Estates: Nearly eight tea plots are there in Mirik. One of the best estates among all is Thurbo T.E. Just 2 km away from Sumendu Lake. If you want to enter the factory then you need to get permission from the administration.

Accommodation in Mirik:

Mirik is serving limited tourist so accommodation could be little challenge in this place. Some luxury Hotels are available in the city, though staying at the resort is the best option. Resorts are much economical compared to luxury hotels.

When to reach Mirik?

Summer is the best period to reach Mirik as you can play some natural sports, golf and can take part in events conducted in summer. Best place for honeymoon couples and travel agencies are having several packages for honeymoon couple to Mirik. This Indian tourist place is having all facilities like advanced cities, but as the crowd is limited, so you might have to pay some extra amount to take pleasure of all faculties.

How to reach Mirik?

By Air: Closest airport is Bagdogra located at 55 km distance from Mirik. It is the domestic airport so international travelers have to reach the major cities of North East to reach Mirik. New Jalpaiguri is a good destination for abroad visitors to Mirik.

By Rail: Closest big railway station is New Jalpaiguri connected properly to all major cities of India.  

By Road: State government has managed the road network to reach Mirik as the city is the major source to connect some of the big cities of North East India. Direct bus service is available for Mirik from Bagdogra, Darjeeling, Siliguri, Kurseong and some more cities.

Note: Mirik is the beautiful place, but you need to make a plan to reach this place especially on summer holidays. Travelers are increasing every year for this spot so if you have made your mind to reach Mirik then try to get the advance bookings in hotels and resorts of the city otherwise you might face the problem of stay in the town.

Take warm clothes, iPad, goggles, hat and best camera to make your holidays memorable.

Thanks for your visit. Hope you like our effort. For more places visit other pages of Indian Tourist Places.

Palitana - Pure Vegetarian City Of The World

Tourism in India has been always surprising because we find different kind of cities with dissimilar features. After long research, we finally got one of the Jain temple city Palitana. The popular thing about the city is this Indian tourist place is declared as one and only 100 % pure vegetarian city of the world. Yes! This is true that Palitana the city of Bhavnagar region, Gujarat is listed as the pure vegetarian city of the globe. The distance of the city from Bhavnagar is just 50 km and famous as a key pilgrimage center for the Jain community.

However, we were not aware that this city is listed as veg, but we were told to throw the stuff at the border of the city by a local commuter. That was a big surprise for me because I have never heard such thing in my whole life. I immediately checked the reviews about the city and found that it was declared “The World’s First Vegetarian City” on 14th August, 2014. This was all effort of Sudhar Sagar the Jain believer and his party members. A long hunger battle until death created the history and Gujarat government declared this touristy spot as a Vegetarian zone of India.

Talking about tourism in the city it is the pilgrim spot and lots of big and small temples are constructed in the city. The city is linked to Jain legends and their bravery history. The first Tirthankar Shri Adinath meditated on Shatrunjaya Hill, Palitana. Later a temple was constructed at such location and today it becomes major part of tourism in the city.

Palitana was declared as a prime city in 1194, though it was the major states of Saurashtra spread in 777 km². In ancient period this Indian tourist place was ruled by Mughal Emperors and was granted to Shantidas Jhaveri the Jain merchant in 1656. Mughal Ruler Murad Baksh was the son of Shah Jahan gave the control of city to Shantidas. However, the temples in the city were constructed by the Anand Ji Kalyan Ji Trust.

Palitana is the only city of the world, having more than 900 temples in the hill. It is the major Tirtha place of Jain people. Nearly 3000 temples are established on Shatrunjaya hills made of white marble.

Attractions in Palitana:

Shatrunjaya Hill: Striking view of the valley and surrounding areas makes this place as first choice for visitors. The Shatrunjaya mount is 591 meters in height popular as the most sacred place of the shrine of Jains. The rock climb of 4 km with stepped path could be difficult for heavy weight people. However, the Doli and lift chairs are available for people who face difficulty to reach the top. There is another way to reach this peak temple and that is an elephant ride. Once you reach the peak you will find nearly 863 marble temples of Jain gurus constructed nearly 900 years ago.

Jasmine trees: Famous as Gulf of Cambay visited by numerous people every year. However, the trees and gulf area is closer to the temples so people who visit this area must not miss the amazingly designed shrines on the peak of the hill. Most of the temples are built of gold, silver and donated jewel items.

Modern Temple: The unique structural design of the Khartaravasi Tuk temple expresses the value of the shrine for people. It is counted largest peak temples with north ridge face towards Chaumukh temple.

Adinath temple: Another must visit place of the town located on the hill again. A holy place, having huge values for the devotees of Jain Community. View of the city is amazing from this temple and you will find a huge, dense greenery area starts from the boundary of the temple. The temple was built by a rich merchant of Palitana in 1618.

There are countless temples and naming each temple in the list is not an easy task. However, we tried to gather the data from different sources and we believe the mentioned spots of this Indian tourist place will attract the visitors to reach here.

How to reach Palitana?

By Air: The closest airport is Bhavnagar located at 51 km distance from Palitana. It is the domestic airport having two daily flights from Mumbai. However, the next closest big airport is Ahmedabad located at 215 km distance. Ahmedabad is properly connected to major cities of India so no worries if you are looking for flights to Ahmedabad.

By Rail: Palitana railway station is having direct trains so you can get the reservation for this city from almost every corner of the nation. Songadh, Bhavanagar, Mumbai and many other cities are having direct train for Palitana.

By Road: Gujarat government has managed the state with proper road constructions. The administration of the state is highly motivated and developing the roads throughout the state. If you are looking for Palitana through road, then you can get the route of Bhavnagar that is just a few kms away from the destination. Regular buses are accessible from Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad, Una, Talaja, Diu and several other cities.