Shillong is the capital city of Meghalaya. It has become a cultural centre of the North-east. From vibrant cultural festivals to major music festivals featuring international performers, it hosts all. It is a hilly town, small but beautiful, be it sunsets or valley views. We had kept one day only for Shillong towards the end…
Exploring West Bali takes time as there are a number of tourist spots to visit here. Far from the crowds of South and Central Bali, West Bali provides a peaceful escape. There are many waterfalls, hills, lakes, some more temples and rice terraces. The spots are quite far from each other and you need to…
Meghalaya is made up of two words in Sanskrit, Megh meaning clouds and Alaya meaning home/abode. Hence, the meaning of Meghalaya is “Abode of the Clouds”. It aptly lives up to its name. No matter the season or the time of the year that you go, you will find clouds descending upon the Jaintia and…
Kanyakumari is about 6-7 hours journey from Rameshwaram. You may take an overnight bus to reach here. It is the Southernmost point of India. You may also take a train to Nagercoil to reach Kanyakumari which is around 21 km from there. We had visited Kanyakumari from our Kerala trip. So, we had taken a…
Our next and last stop was Isha Yoga Centre, Coimbatore. The centre is 40km away from the city centre, just at the foothills of the Velliangiri hills. Isha Yoga Centre is the headquarters of the Isha Foundation founded by Sadguru. The centre is open for visitors of two kinds- stay in and daily tours. There…
Madurai is another ancient temple city in the state of Tamil Nadu. It took us about 3-3.5hours from Rameshwaram. Both Hindu dynasties and Muslim dynasties ruled Madurai at different times. There is clear influence of both religions in the food, culture and life of the city. The city houses the world famous Meenakshi Amman temple….
Rameshwaram is around 5 to 5.5 hrs drive from Thanjavur. Since we had planned in such a way that we arrive at Rameshwaram in the late evening, we had a two night stay at Rameshwaram. Rameshwaram is an ancient holy city of India. Originally a fishermen village, Rameshwaram is on an island. The city has…
On our way from Puducherry to Thanjavur, our next stop was Gangaikonda Cholapuram. Gangaikonda Cholapuram is about 120km which takes 2-2.5 hours. The temples are shut between 1-4 PM. So we had lunch in the restaurant near the temple. The restaurant was big with Family AC chambers serving only meals in the afternoon. It was…
Puducherry or Pondicherry is a Union Territory. Although it does not come under Tamil Nadu, we included this place because it lies on the way from Mahabalipuram to Thanjavur. It is a good idea to cover Pondicherry while on a trip across Tamil Nadu. So, we included it in our itinerary. Auroville Before entering Puducherry…
Around 40km from Chennai, you will come to the first stop on your itinerary. Mahabalipuram, the ancient city is a heritage site in itself. It is also called Mammallapuram after the Pallava king who was called Mammalla (meaning the Great Warrior). You have to pay an entry toll (or, entry tax) of ₹70 while approaching…
