Travels take you to many beautiful places and shows you many new sights – each vivid, unique and stunning in its own right. But occasionally you come across some places that are so stunningly perfect that you just conclude that it has to be a dream. And Vintgar Gorge situated in the Triglav National Park is definitely one such place.
Vintgar Gorge, Triglav National Park, Bled
Our Slovenia travel chapter started with its beautiful capital city and the smallest capital in Europe – Ljubljana (“lyoob-lyAH-nah”). Interestingly Ljubljana is a city that does not have any world-famous monuments or attractions or a long or short list of to do’s. But it has many things to see and do and the best way to discover its secrets is via our favorite way – ditch the map and walk around aimlessly on foot.
Ljubljana from the Ljubljana Castle, Slovenia
China… A country we keep hearing a lot about for a variety of reasons but somehow never from a tourism perspective. At least I wasn’t someone who’s top 10 travel destinations included it. Yet I recently planned a trip to meet my brother and his family there and from there on explore a small part of the interiors of this huge country. Planning this trip was a huge challenge, with limited information, language hassles, etc and I still don’t know what I expected from it before I left for my trip… But I certainly did not expect a modern country with amazing infrastructure, some really nice people and the sheer variety in terms of things to see and do for a tourist. I will also write a detailed post on how so many basic things (that we take for granted here) are done very differently there. But for today, really want to share its biggest surprise for me – the diverse and stunning landscapes…
The stunning landscape and reflections at the Potatso National Park, Shangri-La, China
Walking around aimlessly on my first day in New York, I came across a beautifully grand building and two majestic lions zealously guarding its entrance. Intrigued I went up to see what it was and it turned out to be the New York Public Library. I saw numerous people entering it with cameras and generally walked in to see what it was all about. I had earlier loved its exteriors but was majorly surprised by its unexpected stunning interiors. I then spent an entire afternoon walking through its various rooms, checking out it’s amazing collection of books and photographing its various nooks and corners. Sharing the same with you below –
The New York Public Library
A trip to Kanha is like traveling to a nature lovers’ paradise with beautiful sights and sounds for your senses and your soul – every second of the drive opens up newer and beautiful vistas before you, gorgeous birds fly all around and their music is like peace for some part of your inner being and the animals of Kanha provide valuable lessons that we humans definitely need to learn.
But this post today is dedicated to the landscapes of Kanha; that surely transports you into an alternate world where nature seems to have unleashed its creative juices and created a magnificent canvas with various elements from nature. And for my post today, I have decided to post a photo essay by combining the beauty of this landscape with some of my favourite quotes. Enjoy.
Drive through endless green Sal trees
Visiting any new place is like a tour down an unknown lane of discovery, discoveries both big and small. My latest discovery was this local sindoor or vermilion that we saw in Madhya Pradesh. Sindoor is an integral part of the Indian culture and I have always seen my mom wear it. But for me sindoor was red powder in a box that always around. I never thought of how it was made or where it came from. Until recently when I saw this tree in Kanha that was used to make sindoor by the local tribal women.
The Flowers and the Fruit used to make sindoor
On World Heritage Day this year (i.e. on April 18) I had posted a photo essay on Celebrating World Heritage Day with 10 Heritage Monuments from India.And while shortlisting pictures for this post, I came across some other beautiful pictures and sights in India, that just compelled me to write this post. Hence posting another photo essay on 10 beautiful sights to see in India that too in a unique way.
Now all of us visit the typical touristy sights at some point in time or the other, but with my own travels I have discovered that many of these places are even more stunning or beautiful when some minor natural / artificial elements, ceremonies, etc are introduced or amended. And I feel that in some ways, these sights then become a unique travel souvenir – images in your own memory or a wonderful story. This is also what takes your holiday to a whole new level. I am sharing 10 of my own such memories (from my recent visits) with you today –
1. Waiting and waiting for that rare yet wondrous sight of the snow-covered Kangchenjunga peak on a day with clear blue sky (and this is very rare :), West Bengal – Sikkim –
Kangchenjunga Peak, from West Bengal
Our last day in Switzerland was a wonderful surprise with the first snowfall of the season in Zermatt and its surrounding areas. We were leaving Zermatt for Zurich that day and experienced our first snowfall in Zermatt that morning. We then had a beautiful train ride back wherein we saw the entire landscape once again turning white, trees laden with snow and various moods of snow fall – from a gentle fall to heavy lashes. This train ride was also special as when we had arrived in Zermatt we had seen the same area as green (Read – A Scenic Alpine train journey to Zermatt) and its transformation, on the ride back, was like being lucky to be able to witness summer and winter in a single trip.
And sharing my pics of some of these stunning sights below –
1. Just in a matter of hours, we were transported into Snow Queen’s Snow kingdom with layers of snow covering everything in its sight.
Snow covered trees and ground
Our trip to Zermatt was filled with many firsts, but it kept the best first for the last.
Ever since we had reached Zermatt, Sonali and I had been hoping that it would snow. But out hosts told us that per their weather forecast the first snowfall for the season was expected to be in about 3 – 4 days after we left. This left us disappointed but since both of us had never seen an actual snowfall, we really hoped that we could see it at least once during our stay. And Zermatt gave it to us as its last present.
My first snowfall, Zermatt
To cap off a perfect day spent in Zermatt, we decided to end it with a trip to Gornergrat. Now Gornergrat or the Gorner Ridge, at a height of 3,089 m, is a rocky ridge of the Pennine Alps, overlooking the Gorner Glacier south of Zermatt. There is a train from Zermatt, run by Gornergrat Bahn, that is the highest open-air railway in Europe. This train ride is one of the most beautiful train journeys that I have made in Europe – with numerous bridges, tunnels, snow-covered trees, forests & meadows, small houses / hotels interspersed in between and of course the magnificent Alps.The panorama here is also considered to be one of the most beautiful and is almost like a close-up to the majestic Matterhorn, Monte Rosa Massif with the highest Swiss mountain (the Dufourspitze at 4,634 m above sea level), the second-largest glacier in the Alps, the Gornergletscher, as well as 29 peaks higher than 4000 m. Between the Gornergrat railway station (3,090 m) and the summit is also the Kulm Hotel (3,120 m) hosting the new astronomical facility – “Stellarium Gornergrat”
View of the Matterhorn from Gornergrat, near Zermatt
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