An Indian Bureaucrat's Diary

Matheran

Matheran is a no-vehicle zone… so go ahead and walk in the clouds at this hill-station.
Prized, protected: Rain clouds, dense mist
It is the only hill-station where any kind of public or private transport is prohibited by law; and the prohibition enforced effectively. Besides the buses, cars and other four-wheelers and two-wheelers such as motorbikes, even bicycles are not allowed inside Matheran.
As for the plastic bottles and carry-bags littered by irresponsible tourists, this hill-station tackled the problem long ago. In November 2002, Prof H.Y. Mohan Ram, Chairman of a Government Expert Committee, declared Matheran clean and free of garbage, and the cleanest hill-station of India.
Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (18)

An Amalgam of Antiquity and Nature

How about a vacation under the shadows of one of the oldest fort in India – with tigers for company at breakfast and tea ?
Ranthambore is the place I selected.

History

The magnificent Ranthambore Fort is one of the oldest forts in India. The Fort was built by the Kachhwaha Rajputs (Chauhans) but there is no certainty about the time and who the actual founder was. Some historians tell us that it was built by King Sapaldaksha in 944 A.D. Others historians say it was built by King Jayant of the same dynasty in 1110 A.D. There are other historians who give the credit to some one else.
Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (9)

Dandeli

a little known unique destination in South India

Dandeli is a little known, rustic hamlet, near the borders of Maharashtra and Goa in North Karnataka in South India.

Dandeli is the gate way into the dense virgin forests and is a wonderful get away place within motorable distance from Hubli, Dharwad, Belgaum, Goa, Bangalore and Mumbai.

Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (16)

Land of the Royal Bengal Tiger

Largest Delta in the World

The two great rivers, Ganges 2,510 km. (1,560 miles) and Brahmaputra 2,900 km. (1,800 miles), are born in the snowy peaks of the Himalayas. On the last lap of their long journey, just before they enter the Bay of Bengal and merge with the oceans, they meander through the plains of Bangladesh and West Bengal (India) creating the largest delta in the world.

Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (105)

Goa

The Old Portugese Settlement

Goa is a dream world of fun, frolic and leizure – rolling stretches of silver sands, wonderful golden beaches and waving palm trees.

Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (12)

Ooty

The Queen of Hill Stations

The Queen of Hill Stations in South India is Udhagamandalam or Ootacamund. I find both terms far too long and tongue twisting; and prefer the much shorter term Ooty.
Ooty is certainly the most popular hill station in South India.
Ooty, located in the Western ghats at a height of 2240 metres, is the headquarters of the Nilgiris district where the Eastern and Western ghats meet.

Flora and Fauna

Ooty is full of coffee estates and tea plantations. The dense forests around are full of connifers, eucalyptus, pine and wattle; numerous animals and birds.

Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (110)

Hogenakkal Falls

The Cauvery River may be the bone of contention between politicians, but oblivious to all these earthly squabbles, the river passes though some of the most picturesque regions in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in South India.

Hogenakkal Falls is one such place. It is the finest waterfall in Tamil Nadu and one of those places which should not be missed.
Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (11)

A Tropical Paradise

This part contains some rare photographs of the Jarawas.

I have devoted this part to the different tribes of the Andaman and Nicobar Group of Islands because this is the only place in the world where the world’s only surviving Paleolithic age people still survive.
You can also see some of the world’s oldest existing primitive tribes.
Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (124)

The Volcano and some remote locations

Some one asked me how many days can one spend in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The answer is simple. They are so good, you could spend your entire life time.

I have written about some islands close to Port Blair (the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands) in Part I of my blog on the Andamans: http://indianbureaucratsdiary.blogspot.com/2007/12/andaman-and-nicobar-islands-i.html

In this Part II, I am writing about some distant places north of Port Blair;
about the NicobarIslands and about the only active volcano in India.
Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (7)

Only place in the world where you can see the Asiatic Lion in the wild

The only place in the World where you can see the Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) in its natural habitat today is the Gir Forest located in Junagarh district in the State of Gujarat in Western India.

The Asiatic Lion

Until a hundred years ago, the majestic Asiatic Lion roamed over large areas extending from Greece, through West Asia, Delhi, Bihar and Bengal.
Read the rest of this entry »

read comments (15)