Flåm

Copenhagen - Bergen - Voss - Flåm - Sognefjorden - Oslo - Stockholm

This blog would have less to do with Flåm and more to do with how I reached there. When I stepped out from the overnight train from Oslo to Myrdal at 4.45 AM I was in two minds. Either I wait for more than 5 hours and take the famous Flåmbana train or I walk the 15 miles to Flåm. I chose the latter.

At 7 AM I decided that it is enough light to walk on the railway track that would lead me to Flåm. 

Thanks to a local guy whom I met a couple of miles later I learned that the road to Flåm goes the other way. 

I retraced back my steps to find a huge waterfall going down a beautiful ravine just below the railway station. How the hell did I miss that?

The winning  road down to the valley was enough to convince me that I had taken the right decision. The next few hours kept surprising me with elements of nature I had only seen in wallpapers.

The seven hours of trek included hundreds of waterfalls, two tunnels, four wooden bridges, three gorges and a flowing river all along the trek.

I reached Flåm at 2 and immediately checked into the Youth Hostel. I needed a hot water bath. The hostel was beautifully placed between the river and a sky high mountain with Flåm station a couple of minutes away.

I decided to take a stroll later in the evening although my legs were still sore with the seven hour trek. The weather and view was rewarding enough and I ended up sitting at a wooden bench eating chips and drinking a hot cup of coffee.

I even trekked up the hill for a top view of Flåm  With enough pain to bear, I walked straight back to my bed and prepared for a long sleep. I was still not clear about tomorrow's plans.

Salzburg

Salzburg - Munich

Salzburg is home to the world's largest ice caves and we were going there for that exact thing. It is very close to Munich and hence we decided to cover it on our Oktoberfest trip. Taking an overnight train to Munich and then another one to Salzburg we managed to reach at 12 noon. 

View from Wurfen

Zermatt

Trip: Luxembourg > Brussels > Amsterdam > Bruges > Fredrichshafen > Zermatt

My first impression of Zermatt was that it is overcrowded and expensive. The roads were narrow and I had no clue where to go first. Wisely I decided to get settled in a Youth Hostel first and then go for exploration work.

Huts @ Matterhorn trail

Bruges

Trip: Luxembourg > Brussels > Amsterdam > Bruges > Fredrichshafen > Zermatt

I was alone and sleepy when I reached the sweet little town of Bruges when the clock was hitting noon. A small crowd of tourists was there to help me in direction and I moved with it. It was a Sunday after all.

Luxembourg

Trip: Luxembourg > Brussels > Amsterdam > Bruges > Fredrichshafen > Zermatt

Luxembourg is the fairy tale city of Europe. We started late night from Copenhagen by a City Night Line. The tiresome journey with three changes at Koln, Coblenz and Trier was proved worth it the moment we entered the realms of this city.

The most beautiful balcony of Europe @ Luxembourg

Voss

Copenhagen - Bergen - Voss - Flåm - Sognefjorden - Oslo - Stockholm

It was a short and lonely stay at Voss - for seven hours to be exact. I wanted to cover the entire stretch from Bergen - Oslo in daylight. The problem is there are limited trains from Oslo at night for Stockholm / Copenhagen  Hence Voss came into picture and how beautiful it turned out to be ! The first two hours I invested in walking uphill as much as possible. From up the view of Voss was amazingly simple. Seated comfortably by the side of an elegant lake the city couldn't be more peaceful.

One of the best thing about Europe is the pleasant weather which combines with less pollution to provide you enough oxygen and zeal to stay upbeat. Without much sleep the earlier night I was still fresh and still striving up the mountains that surrounded the town.

While coming down I managed to take quite a few pictures of the lake under the changing intensity of the sun. It was like a slow movie at play by the nature.

My train was late at midnight. The town entertained me till then. In these parts of the world in the middle of September it does not get dark before 9. The last couple of hours were spent finishing a novel which a friend had gifted a couple of months back.

Bergen

Copenhagen - Bergen - Voss - Flåm - Sognefjorden - Oslo - Stockholm

The overnight train from Oslo to Bergen was half empty. We were able to stretch our legs as night approached. However the first couple of morning hours were crucial and so we set our mobile alarm for 5 AM. The morning was unforgettable. We were passing through fjords. Sky high mountains rose from nowhere and the train would have to tunnel through or meander as per the wishes of nature. We reached Bergen at around 7.

We refreshed ourselves at the station and went straight for the Information Office for a trip to fjords. The two famous fjords were more than 200 miles away and would take atleast two nights to visit. We were disappointed. Seeking instant redemption we went for Mount Floen through a elevator train. 

The view from top was worth more than other days because it was sunny with pleasant breeze at the top. I realized that I am at the edge of Europe.

We decided to walk down to the town as it was much more fun given the warm weather and multiple viewpoints.

Later we settled at Brygge which is a world heritage site thanks to its old port history. The fish market nearby was also enticing with fresh offerings.

At 3, I parted from my friend as I had plans for Stockholm the next evening with Sumeet and Rohit. But before that I had to travel to Voss which would serve two purposes. One I would be able to see the famous Oslo-Bergen rail link in daylight. Secondly Voss is simply beautiful from what I have heard.

Chitradurga

Trip: Delhi > Jaipur > Udaipur > Ranakpur > Ahmedabad > Mumbai > Davangere > Chitradurga > Bangalore

We started early from Davangere. A delectable bene-dosa (butter dosa) at a famous restaurant gave us the right kick and we drove the 40 odd miles to Chitradurga in an hour. Although I was here twice before, the agenda for this time was very clear - we had to reach the top.

We reached the foot of the hill we targeted to climb. Small steps were carved on the rocks to help us although the hill was steep enough to generate fear as to how we will climb down without tumbling. We reached the top after three rests and were welcomed by the city entirely visible from there. The ground of fort was chequered with grey rocks and green grass. It was richness in abundance - a treat for eyes.

We decided the climb down from the other side. It turned into an adventure after we realized midway there was no route further. It took some jumping, skidding and falling before we saw the ground. It was time for a break. Unfortunately the bottle of drink we bought was picked by one of the monkeys and we satisfied ourselves with water.

Walking to the other side of the fort we realized that there is a staircase made to the top of another hill which was still higher that the one we were on. We decided to take that one. The nature started conspiring in accordance with our plans.

As we reached the top of the Chitradurga Fort it started drizzling. We were tired with the climb and hence welcomed the rain and the wind with open arms. Standing at the top of the fort in rain and enveloped by clouds was really special. I don't remember many occasions such as this one.

Panchgani

Trip: Mumbai > Mahabaleshwar > Panchgani > Bangalore

Leaving the city of Arthur Road Jail and Mahalaxmi Race Course, I went straight to Panchgani  Being alone as its advantages. I was at my whim as to where to turn the steering wheels. Panchgani as accessible and inviting.

Just stopped and clicked the orange on way@Panchgani

The only problem was that it was a weekend of peak season and finding a hotel room proved to be a mission impossible. Ultimately I checked into a hotel off the main road that led to Mahabaleshwar.

Hotel view@Panchgani

The main attraction at Panchgani is a bustling hill station and seclusion from Mumbai. Businesses have sprouted here in the form of high altitude go-carting, boating and forest treks. The moment I checked into the hotel, it started raining hard. The butler told me it was the first hard rain of the season and would last for a while. 

View from Parsi Point@Panchgani

The hotel room had a balcony large enough to sit and have dinner while rain poured incessantly. The winds would bring sprinkles of water to me and would leave me with goosebumps now and then. The next day I started early at 6 and stopped my car at Parsi Point. It boasts of a majestic view and a nice restaurant right at the edge.

Ridge view from Harrison's Folly@Panchgani

Moving further towards Mumbai-Bangalore Highway I stopped at a place called Harrisons Folly. It is a huge plateau of a land where one can drive to the edge. The sunbeams were trying to cut across the heavy clouds and the entire panorama was mesmerizing - all the more as I was standing there alone with my car.

Sunrise at Harrison's Folly@Panchgani

Satisfied with my morning excursions I decided to move ahead quickly as I had to reach Davangere by evening. By 8 AM I was already back on the Mumbai-Bangalore Highway. The next stop would be Highway McDonalds at Kolhapur.

Mumbai-Bangalore Road trip

The return trip from Mumbai proved to be more than an experience. I started early on 11th June. The deadline was 14th when I had to attend a class at 10. The first stop was yet not decided. It took so much time exiting Mumbai that I was in Pune at 1. It was a bad sign. 

I was planning to stop at Kolhapur although decided otherwise when I saw the Mahabaleshwar road sign. Deciding to digress, I reached Panchgani at 4 and checked in to a hotel.

Within an hour it started raining and I was hotel bound. It rained the entire night. I woke up early at 5 and started at 6. The first stop was Parsi Point. At 6, the view of the valley below was calming. 

The next point was a plateau large enough to take a hour to cover in entirety. I was alone with my car. As the sun rays broke through the cloud I felt like a proud eyewitness to the beautiful act of nature.

It took some effort to convince myself to leave the place and I reached Kolhapur at 10. The McD at highway was not to be missed. I intended to drive non-stop to Davangere hence rested for an extra half an hour at McD before beginning at 11. 

The journey to Davangere was uneventful except that I stopped at Ranebennur to buy the famous Dharwad Pedas for all my friends at college. The next day I started late for Bangalore and reached my hostel at night with a few rests in between.

Landour

Landour - the crown of the queen - thats what they call the older part of Mussoorie  While most of the urban tourists to this Queen of hill station indulge themselves to casual walks of The Mall Road or an extensive trip to Kempty Fall via Company Bagh, they actually miss the real charm of Mussoorie.

Night view of Mussoorie@Landour

To explore the Old Mussoorie  we took the Kulri End and walked all the way up to the Ghanta Ghar. There is a series of valley facing hotels the view from where is never disturbed by the wires. We chose the one right at the end of a ridge. It was a one day stay hence we refreshed ourselves quickly and found our way through a trecherous path to a rock cliff near the edge of the ridge.

View of Dehra Valley@Landour

A full view of Dehra was visible and it was like a fantastic secret being shared by the two of us. Bhaiya's school was visible and we took pictures and discussed about life.

Wynberg Boarding School

As evening approached we started on the more difficult walk to Laltibba. It is the highest point in Mussoorie.  The play of sunlight on the horizon at dusk is amazing at Laltibba. We ate our evening snacks and came back to our room to have our dinner. 

Horizon at Laltibba@Landour

The next day we started early for the Ropeway. It was a Monday morning, the ideal time to visit the Gun Hill through a ropeway. At the top, the view is hardly restricted in any direction. We had our Maggi and tea in mild sunlight and a beautiful view of The Mall. After half an hour we decided to walk back through stairs and to have another round of beverages at Cafe Coffee Day near Camel's Back.

Bangalore-Mumbai Road trip

• Start as early as possible. The 600 miles between Bangalore and Mumbai is impossible to cover unless you start before 6 in the morning.
• Else start after breakfast, visit the beautiful fort of Chitradurga en route and stay overnight within a hundred miles. We stayed at Shigaon.
• Mumbai during rush hour is hell. Enter at noon or after 10PM.

The road that joins 'Bangalore the silicon valley' and 'Mumbai the commercial capital' is as engrossing as the life in these two cities. An exact 1000 km separates the two. We started for Mumbai on the afternoon. Both of us were scheduled to start our internship two days later.

Smooth roads, Bangalore - Pune Highway

Khajjiar

Trip: Dalhaousie > Khajjiar > Chamba > McLeodganj

We moved towards Khajjiar before it was noon. Khajjiar is a popular tourist spot some 15 miles from Dalhaousie as well as Chamba. The charm of this place is a large meadow land that would come at sight while moving towards Chamba town. Khajjiar is often referred as mini switzerland of Kangra region.

Khajjiar Meadows

My first visit of this place couple of years ago is something that will remain in my memories for long. We were trekking from nearby peak called Kalatop and after some 10 miles in forest this vast green area just opened up. It was all the more surprising since nobody told me before about it.

Lake @ Khajjiar

It is said that this area was once singed by a meteor fall and later on only grass grew over this area. A little pond at the centre adds to the charm. Piyush had heard too much from too many people about this place which actually spoiled the surprise factor.

Sports @ Khajjiar

All we did was taking pictures around in our brief stay at this place. As such there is nothing here. There is a trek that links Khajjiar with Chamba that takes around two hours. I consider it to be one of the most beautiful treks I have done.

Hebbe Falls

• Visit after the rains. The gushing waterfall at its full flow is an amazing view to behold. Take a bath. The sprinkles gives you goosebumps. 
• Take Maxx from Chikmagalur city. Regular vehicles can't reach this place with the mountain terrain and bad  roads. They charged us 500 bucks and it was worth the experience.
• You have to trek the last mile up to the waterfall. The last turn when the waterfall opens up to full view is magical or at least I thought so.

The first time I visited Chikmagalur, the four of us - Vivek, Sumeet, Ashutosh and myself started from Bangalore for Kemmengundi. It is a newly popular hill station near Chikmagalur  It was our plan to stay here for the night and visit nearby waterfalls among other things.

Windmills@Chikmagalur

Rohtang

• Rohtang is the most visited pass in India, only people don't actually pass it unless they are going to Keylong, Leh or Key. Its more beautiful beyond.
• Maggi and a hot cup of tea are a must at Rohtang. Do take a picture while eating. It's a ritual.
• Away from the crowd, the ice capped pass does expand further that an adventurous traveler may explore. Nobody stops you.

Rohtang, possibly the most famous pass in India, was on our way to Lahaul Spiti. Rohtang is the gateway to Leh via Keylong and also to the pristine natural beauty of Chandrataal region.

Beautiful Rohtang

Matheran

Trip: Mumbai > Matheran > Mumbai

I was going to Mumbai for my Nitie interview and hence came up with this trip. Bhaiya and Vikash agreed and we were on. Thanks to IRCTC, tickets were booked well in advance for the toy train that leaves Narel for Matheran and offers amazingly panoramic view. The three of us reached Matheran by noon hungry and sweating.

Toy Train, Matheran

Triund

Trip: McLeodganj > Triund

Our plan for next day was ambitious. We were supposed to wake up by  8 to start for one of the difficult treks of Triund  We woke up at 10 AM. Still we started for the ridge. Because we were little late we decided to cover the first two miles by hiring a car along the motor-able road.

Lower Dharamshala as visible midway on Triund trail

The initial climb was steep but we were fresh with a long night sleep - or so we thought. It was a 4 hour steep trek and within 15 minute we realized that  our lungs were all ready to burst out. Thankfully at one viewpoint we saw the whole McLeodganj / Dharamshala which was heartening for our hard work.

Triund ridge in the background

Soon the Triund ridge was visible. It was time to take rest and a few pictures. Settling at a small hut-shop we ordered Maggi and soft drinks. We had earned it. Slowly we started again and reached the top of the ridge all sweating.

Stony steps@Triund trail

At the top however the view was a fairy tale stuff. Green meadows were looking at white peaks. Lying down there relieved me of all the pain.

View atop Triund

We returned back quickly and were able to reach McLeodganj by 6.30 PM. I decided to leave as some urgent work at office wanted me to be there next day. I took a 7.30 PM bus for Delhi. It would have been a painful ride had I not taken with me a bottle of coke with vodka mixed in it.

Pithoragarh

Trip: Delhi > Nainital > Pithoragarh > Delhi

I call it the mother of all trips. So many incidents happened during this three day trip that it is worth a novella only that nobody will buy it. We started on a breezy night of July. The moment we crossed Haldwani, it started raining while visibility deteriorated to few meters. We had to stop the car and decided to sleep for few hours before dawn.

The land of Bugyals, thats where we were going. Pithoragarh is a small town 90 kilometers from Almora. It should take at most 14 hours of drive to reach this place from Delhi. It took us 22 hours. As it happened, our driver fell asleep while driving and we hit the hill side. Fortunately it was only the two side tyres that got punctured. On the other side of the road was a river flowing deep. We reached Almora for breakfast after repairs and then moved forward for Pithoragarh  The driver was told not to hurry up and hence we were able to reach our destination by 5 in the evening.

Piyush had asked for arrangements at cantonment area and we were treated like royals. The subsequent drinks & dinner settled us for a good sleep. In the morning we left for Chandak. It is the highest point in Pithoragarh.  The view from top is unimaginably beautiful. Its surreal in real sense.

We left Pithoragarh after a brief breakfast for Patal Bhubaneshwar. I had heard a lot about it from my friends. Yet what we were going to see cannot be described. We were guided to a slit shaped opening at Patal Bhubaneshwar temple. The slit took us down for some 60 feets before it opened up into a large cave. Stalectite formations were visible on the ceiling. We moved from one part of the cave to another. At the last cave there was a huge head-shaped structure shimmering in the low lighting of the cave. Water was trickling from thread-like structures coming out. We kept looking at it for a while.

As we came out it started raining. We had to move quickly so as to reach Almora before dark. The next morning was planned for a short stay at Nainital before I would separate from Piyush and Prateek to attend the wedding of Yagesh Da. The best thing about the trip was that we survived seven tyre punctures and every time  the driver stopped for repairs, there always was a beautiful surrounding to engage us.