Trivia: Stamped Moments

Kaziranga National Park: With a sprawling 430 sq km area under the national park, Kaziranga is one of the largest national parks in India, and perhaps the finest, certainly for me. The sheer variety of wildlife and the high chance of witnessing them, makes the park most worthy of a visit. Add to that the spectacular landscape with beautiful elephant grassland crisscrossed by 4 rivers including Brahmaputra, and you have a feast for the traveler spirit. It is a host to more than 4000 one-horned Indian Rhinos (70% of the world population) and has one of the largest concentration of the royal Bengal Tiger and a large number of swamp buffalos, deer and variety of birds. The national park was first established in 1905 as a Reserve Forest which was converted into a Wildlife sanctuary in 1950 and was declared as a National Park in 1974. With increasing tiger population, Kaziranga was also declared as a Tiger Reserve in 2006. The UNESCO declared it as a World Heritage Site in 1985 for its uniqu

The spatial dilemma: Goa has so many beaches and other amazing places that visitors often wonder where to go! And visitors who have been there once, and want to revisit, have a dilemma: how to choose the base location. In my experience, south Goa beaches are more beautiful, and pristine. Then why are north Goa beaches more popular? If you are planning for Goa, it's wise to your destination carefully. If you want more recreation, choose north Goa. North Goa beaches are closer to the airport, offer bustling market places with various options for party, shopping and food options, and a lot of fun activities. And if you want more visual pleasure and peace of mind, choose south Goa.  However, if you are a first time traveler, and want to have all sorts of experiences, choose Colva as your base location; it's centrally located, the first major beach in south Goa and located relatively close to the airport and railway station. You can easily visit both north and south Goa from here.  

  Among the large number of stepwells that still exist in India, some are absolutely spectacular and worth visiting. Here is a list of 9 of the most wonderful stepwells in India one must visit. Though I love all of them, I have tried to make the list in a descending order of how I would rank them from an architectural/ aesthetic point of view.        1. Rani Ki Vav, Patan: Built in the 11th century by Queen Udayamati in memory of her husband King Bhima I of the Chaulukya dynasty, Rani Ki Vav is a masterpiece in architecture. The sheer size, intricate sculptures and magnificent structure are absolutely awe-inspiring! There are more than 1500 sculptures depicting religious, mythological stories and other themes like portraying everyday life of people. In course of time due to severe floods, the step well was buried under the earth. It has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.  2. Chand Baori, Abhaneri One of the deepest and largest stepwells in India, Chand Baori was b

Mussoorie is undoubtedly a special place, and one of our favorite hill stations.  Three to four days are good to explore the entire area, and enjoy the natural beauty of Himalayan landscapes. Here is a list of five of our favorite things to do in Mussoorie.   Five things to do in Mussoorie: 1. Sunset at Lal Tibba: First on the list is the famous Mussoorie sunset (in the picture above), especially in the winters. It's called the "winter line". It's special because it happens only at two places- Mussoorie and Switzerland!  2. Walk around Landour:   Landour is a peaceful little place. The old houses, a few shops and a little church constitute Landour. Char Dukan (meaning four shops) is apopular place there; you can have some good snacks and beverage. Also look for the Landour Bakehouse; it is worth visiting. 3. Enjoy the hustle and bustle of the Mall Road: This is easily the best Mall Road in the Himalayan Hill Stations. With amazing view of the Himalayas, and the most h

There are eight natural sites in India which are designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Great Himalayan National Park in Himachal Pradesh is one of them. It's one of my favorite places to go back time and again. Every time I have been there, it was a different season, and a different valley. But I have thoroughly enjoyed the peaceful vibes each time. It's always a surreal experience. Though it's not as popular among tourists as some other places in the Himalayas, it's going to change soon. To know more about it, please follow this link:  https://stampedmoments.com/a-guide-to-the-great-himalayan-national-park/ There are basically four valleys to explore in the GHNP- Parvati valley, Tirthan valley, Sainj valley and Jiwa Nal valley.  Each of these valleys are gorgeous with wonderful landscapes. Apart from the gorgeous valleys and mountains, I love the villages with  lovely spread across the valleys.  How to reach: Take a volvo bus from Delhi in the evening (12-13 h

Odisha has a lot more to offer you than the 'Golden Triangle' of Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark. If you are willing to explore a bit beyond the beaten track. If you are looking for an offbeat yet very different kind of experience, I have a few interesting things on the list for you- an exciting road trip. Here we go! You can take a flight to Jharsuguda (a small airport with limited flights) and drive down to Sambalpur for your first stop, or check out if you have a direct train to Sambalpur from wherever you are; or, you can start the other way round, take a flight to Vishakhpatnam (in Andhra Pradesh), and start your drive to Koraput to start this road trip. In this article, we will start from Sambalpur. 1. Sambalpur: Day- 1 & 2 Sambalpur is the western heartland of Odisha with a vibrant culture, scenic natural beauty- pristine forests, and beautiful rivers. Major attractions:  - Hirakud dam (15 kms from the city): Independent India's first mega engineering project, the firs

Dang, a small district in the Indian state of Gujarat, is blessed with unmatched natural beauty and unique charming landscape. It boasts of the only hill station of Gujarat. However, I am here going to share with you my experiences and memories of its people and culture. Travel interests for reasons concerning its natural beauty is a subject for another day. Dang's demography constitutes 94% tribals (aboriginals), defined by the government of India as Scheduled Tribes (STs) for administrative reasons.   Two cute school children engaged in cleaning up their own school campus It's no secret that the tribals are largely untouched by the rapid economic development witnessed elsewhere. However, they are rich in their hearts; one can feel their innocence just from their looks. Sometimes, it's difficult in the beginning to break ice with them because of the language and cultural barriers, but once you have won their hearts, they will do everything for you without asking anything

Kerala's backwaters lined with coconut groves are as picturesque as it gets. For a long time, it's on the world tourism map being highlighted by major Travel and Tourism promoting entities. I visited Kerala for the first time in 2009 for a dear friend’s wedding. And I turned that opportunity into a multi-destination trip including Cochin, Alleppey, Munnar, Kanyakumari and Trivandrum. In this post, I am sharing my experience in brief, and a few tips on how to travel across south Kerala. In another post, I have explained in great detail about my experience and the places. Please have a look at it here:   https://stampedmoments.com/5-best-places-to-visit-in-south-kerala/ Kochi (previously known as Cochin): I and Sajith  took a boat ride in the Arabian sea from fort Kochi. We tried our hands at the fascinating Chinese fishing nets- in picture above (needs a separate blog on that). Then we visited St. Francis Church, where the mortal remains of Vasco da Gama was kept for a long

The central Indian circuit of Khajuraho- Orchha- Jhansi is absolutely amazing for history/heritage lovers. One can start the trip either from Jhansi or Orchha; both the towns are well connected by train routes; Khajuraho has a small airport too. Let’s start at Khajuraho. Orchha is about 175 kms from Khajuraho, and Jhansi is just 15 kms away from Orchha. In this article, I am briefly sharing a plan to visit the circuit; however, for a more elaborate article, please see our main blog:  https://stampedmoments.com/grandeur-of-the-khajuraho-orchha-jhansi-circuit/ Khajuraho: Khajuraho used to be a religious hub of the Chandelas during the 9 th century and 12 th century CE.  They had built about 85 great temples in an area of 20 square kms. These temples were devoted largely to Hindu Gods (2/3 rd ) and Jainism (1/3 rd ).  Khajuraho temples are well known for their erotic sculptures depicting sexual themes, though there are only about 10% of such sculptures. One of the explanations of such