LEH, MANALI

Camping Heaven-Side

Travelling from Manali, its not just Sarchu that gives you a high. Bara Lachla Pass & Pangong Tso too offer out-of-the-world experiences

Harsimran Julka

IF YOU are one of those who have always wanted an extreme holiday in the toughest mountain terrain, try Sarchu, a small district in Himachal Pradesh connected to Ladakh on the Manali-Leh route. Sarchu is unique in a sense that it just has an endless road surrounded with cold desert mountains. The absence of trees or habitation in the area makes oxygen levels drop to a bare minimum . For the adventurous, its a high in itself, as it tests the body and the lung power.
The area is completely snow-covered in winters, so much so that the tarmac laid for carrying heavy artillery up to Kashmir may not be visible. Moreover, the sub zero temperature in most parts of the year, may test your bodys resistance to the cold to the extreme.
It is advisable to carry an oxygen cylinder, if you are really not sure of your lung capacity. Diamox (acetazolamide) can speed up the process of acclimatisation, if you are ascending to almost 17,000 ft in the Himalayas from the northern plains (Delhi or Manali), in a single day.
Diamox forces kidneys to excrete bicarbonate . This makes the blood more acidic, which increases the amount of oxygen in the blood. Water bottles are a necessity at such heights. The lack of oxygen in the air, makes the body suck O2 from the blood. Lack of water, may lead to cyanosis (deoxygneation of blood leading to blue coloured skin). Its advised to stockpile a dozen bottles, if you are camping for the night, alone.
Sarchu, has become a favourite with adventure tourists, despite the harsh conditions. There are no mobile towers and no electric poles. So, the three or four camps, which operate in the area, run on diesel power.
Night camps are available at anywhere upwards of Rs 1200 a night. The camps take care of the food and other necessities. There are no petrol pumps in the region. The last petrol pump is in Keylong. So, its advisable to take your own share of gasoline, especially if you are unsure of the mileage your car or bike provides. The only petrol pump you get after Keylong, is after 400 km, in Leh. Hard cash is a must as there are no ATMs. Sarchu, is not the only place which will give you a high, if travelling from Manali. Bara Lachla Pass, which is snow clad in winters, overlooking a frozen Suraj Tal lake, might give the toughest of people jitters when driving on the slippery tarmac. A snow storm makes many an army vehicle topple. Bara Lachla pass is a place to camp only if you have the best protective gear feather coated sleeping bags and wind-proof sleeping tents, and ample woollens to cover yourself against the chilly wind.
Another great place to camp, if youre going towards Leh, is at Pangong Tso (Tso means lake in Ladakhi). The 130-square kilometre wide lake looks crystal blue in the morning. The lake changes colour from blue to purple to light green to dark blue as the sun passes over it. The water is salty sweet, and it is one of the highest salt water lakes in the world. About 70% of it lies in China, only 30% in India.
Make sure to take your provisions along, if you are camping at Pangong Tso as the only inhabitants there are migratory birds. At night, the lake offers a out-of-thisworld view. The clear dark blue sky with stars reflecting in the lake, surrounding snow capped mountains at 21,000 ft offers a camping experience which very few places in the world can offer. Its camping heaven-side !

NAVI GATO R



BY AIR:

Nearest airport is at Leh

BY RAIL:

The nearest railway station is in Kalka.

BY ROAD:

There are regular bus & Tata Sumo services to Leh from Kalka

PACKAGES:

Rs 5,500 per night at The Grand Dragon

Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh

Govinda Govindaa!

Nestled amidst peaks of seven hills of Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati Balaji takes you to another level of faith

Prerna Katiyar

MORNING 5 am, you are standing in a serpentine queue waiting for your turn for the final darshan at Tirupati as the devotees old and young chant in chorus Govinda Govindaa without a pause. Your mind is still confused reflecting on the thought whether all the efforts and the wait is worth for. You are thinking why you are here just because you have heard about the shrine from so many people or is it to satisfy that religious streak that almost every Hindu inherits from birth. What is it that pulls crowds from different faith and religion to this holy shrine, you wonder!
But when you have the final darshan, all your bewilderment, doubts and fatigue is put to rest. Thats the impact Tirupati Balaji has on you.
Our visit to Tirupati Balaji, nestled amidst the peaks of the seven hills of Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, was simply luck by chance . We were on a short trip to Bangalore . Thinking that staying in the malled hi-tech city was not the kind of break we had planned, the idea of visiting the shrine crept in. So we booked the overnight bus and a darshan package for Tirumala-Tirupati reaching there in about seven hours.
Hitting Tirumala, the base station for the final journey to Tirupati temple, our escort took us to a cottage. And after an hours break, we headed for the shrine that is some 20 km from Tirumala. The journey across the sprawling hills and meandering road was quite an experience in itself for us metro-dwellers .
To facilitate the darshan, there is a computerised system allowing pilgrims to book their tickets well in advance and allots a fixed time for the darshan. Our darshan timing according to the token was 7:30 am. An amazing feature of this temple was that you are not rushed off immediately after you have the darshan. The chants that run in the background create a perfect backdrop. Lord Venkateshwara Swamy or Balaji the main deity is said to the incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
Our experience till this point was troublefree but when we exited the main mandapto collect the prasada that you get only in lieu of the token, we realised that it was lost! Hence began the hard part of first trying to figure out were we might have lost it and then to find some alternative way to get Bhagwan ka prasada. To our disappointment, we were told that one cant get the prasada by giving cash. Token we couldnt find but thankfully we were able to find our escort who was waiting for us outside. Some local dialect, some jugaad and some moolah finally did the trick for him to arrange the prasada for us. Thank God we got it!
Our return journey to Bangalore had to start in the night, so we had enough time to visit other temples in the town. The escort told us that close to a lakh pilgrims visited the shrine everyday and on a few occasions , the number even reached six to seven lakh. Being one of the richest shrines of the world, the bhet offered at the temple runs in billions of rupees. It was an experience to watch the counting of the donations that happens in a huge hall. Donation of gold jewellery and coins also form part of the bhet no wonder the temple is the richest of all. Many people get their hair tonsured here too. The amount of hair collected daily is over a tonne. Interestingly , the hair is sold by the temple in a public auction to international buyers for use as hair extensions bringing in over $6 million to the temples treasury.
So when at Tirupati, feel the difference, try the local meals, visit the nearby temples and parks, keep your hair or lose it, but for Gods sake take good care of your token!

NAVI GATO R



BY AIR:

Tirupati airport is at Renigunta, 15 km from town

BY TRAIN:

It is connected to all major towns of Andhra & big cities of South India

BY ROAD:

It is 253 km from Bangalore & 145 km Chennai

PACKAGES:

Rs 1,800 a day at Fortune Kences Hotel

Islamic cultures

Adding Value To Humanity

Islamic cultures have nurtured global trade and civilisation

Raza Elahi


US president Barack Obamas historic speech in Cairo, which called for a new beginning between the United States and Muslims, had references to Islams contribution to civilisation. It is a befitting reply to Islam bashers, who have boxed Islamic culture, particularly Arab culture, into crude stereotypes. Post-9 /11 Islambashing has almost become fashionable among western scholars. A whole bunch of intellectuals has sprung up in the West, linking Arab culture to violence , hate and fanaticism. Any violence committed by any group, or any unrest in Palestine or Iraq, is a specific response to a specific pathological , political circumstance, not an endemic variable of Arab culture as Samuel Huntingdons clash of civilisations and other western theories describe such face-offs .
Since time immemorial the essence of Arab culture has been trade, not war or suicide bombings. The region gave birth to civilisations such as the Assyrian and Babylonian in Iraq, Phoenician and Canaan in Syria and the Pharaonic in Egypt. After the advent of Islam, each of these cities was a major capital of huge empires through various stages of history that presented the world with sciences, art, culture, philosophical thought and civilisations that form the basis of study in all major modern universities.
Islam was an extraordinary gift to the world of business with its pragmatic, tolerant , humane, logical and international ethos at a time when other cultures were busy burning witches and widows in other parts of the so-called civilised world. The evolution of market hubs such as Baghdad and Cairo, the emergence of Arabic as the business lingua franca from Spain to Sindh, the missionary activities of Arab merchants in South East Asia were all legacies of the advent of Islam.
Seven centuries ago, Baghdad and Damascus were world financial hubs. The Arab world, under the Abbasid caliphs, had trade relations with all major nations from China to Italy. The Assyrians mapped out a road network to enable them to transport African ivory, Caspian furs and Indian spices across their empire. Two millennia before the advent of the dollar and pound sterling , the gold coin, Persian daric, introduced by Darius the Great, was the currency of choice from Greece to the kingdoms of India. The financiers of Mecca and Damascus set up letters of credit, bills of exchange, foreign agencies, primitive contract laws and custom duties centuries before the bankers of Renaissance Florence and Tudor London.
Empires came and went, kingdoms were established and fell, but trade remains one of the institutions that truly defines Arab culture . The earliest civilisations of the Middle East evolved on the banks of the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates . Their trading links with Mohenjadaro on the Indus, Dilmun in the Arabian Gulf and the Hellenic ports of the Aegean islands demonstrate that international markets existed centuries before Christ.
The Silk Road to China, the Amber Route to the Baltic, the evolution of trade-linked cities such as Petra, Baghdad, Mecca, Sidon and Damascus were the centres of Arab power politics for centuries. From ancient times till modern days trade activities have always flourished in the region.
The modern example is the rapid progress of the ancient trading and pearling settlement of Dubai , which was on the trade route between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley civilisation. In 1830, it was taken over by a sect of the Bani Yas clan led by the Maktoum family that still rules Dubai. The elders of this family decided to build on the expertise of the inhabitants of Dubai and concentrate on trade. This policy powers the economic miracle of Dubai.
The ruling family recognised the value of international trade as an engine for wealth creation decades before the petrodollar era. When oil was discovered in 1960, the bulk of its revenue was invested in creating the worlds biggest man-made harbour in Dubais Jebal Ali. Today, some estimates peg Dubais non-oil revenues at over 90 per cent of its GDP, and the average per capita income in excess of $19,000.
Excellent infrastructure coupled with business acumen has helped the nationals to expand their trading horizons. Dubai encouraged Indian, Yemeni, Lebanese and Persian traders to settle. At a time when socialism and command economies were prevalent in other parts of the world, Dubai was unique in its preference for an open economy and regional trade. At no time, however, has the Dubai government forgotten its Islamic roots. It is the governments endeavour to ensure that no Muslim will need to travel more than 500 metres to pray in a mosque. Dubai is certainly a winning mix of trade and religion.
Commentators who have concluded the Islamic world is a failed and violent society are wrong as religion and trade walk hand in hand in Islamic culture. Obamas approach to the Islamic world is a positive shift in official US policy, and some compensation for the hostile environment created by Islam bashers.

COORG

The Other Side of Today

Hugh & Colleen Gantzer were fascinated by the traditions and natural charm of Coorg and immersed themselves in its legends and rituals


EMERGING from a road winding through dense plantations of coffee, we drove into the district headquarters of Coorg Madikeri, or Mercara as the British called it. It had the well-ordered gentility of a cantonment . Houses with red-tiled roofs, snuggled in an undulating, wooded, terrain at 1,140 metres above sea level. Clearly, history and a strong martial tradition blend effortlessly in this hill-station
We drove up to the Palace-Fort . Given the Koduvas , or Coorgis , almost spiritual involvement with their heroic traditions, their heritage museum is, appropriately, enshrined in an old Anglican church. Harlequin light from the stained glass windows splashed over memorial plaques to Caucasians who had died in Coorg during the British era. The coloured light also glowed on a great swathe of Koduva history from Hero-stones , through traditional robes and weapons, to a little room dedicated to the memory of the iconic Field Marshal Cariappa.
In the fort, the old palace is now the court of the district administration. It features sculptures of prancing horses guarding its doors, heroic statues of black elephants, and a stone tortoise in a central court. For 150 years the closely-knit Koduva clans accepted the titular overlordship of the Lingayat rulers in much the same way as the Scots clans acknowledge the proclaimed rule of the Windsor family.
Three tombs, the Gaddige, of the Lingayat rulers, sit grey and squat atop a green hill overlooking Madiekeri. Their oddly Islamic features also asserted themselves in the architecture of the Omkareshwar Temple in town. The idol in this Shiva shrine was, reputedly , brought from Varanasi, possibly by Raja Lingarajendra Wadiyar. The Wadiyar rulers were aesthetes and at least one of them appreciated the horizon-spanning views of the rajas seat, now a flower-bright park where the urbane people of Madikeri unwind an evening. Alternatively, they drive out of Madikeri, as we did, to the beautiful Abbi Falls: a cascade of silken tresses over a cliff of black rocks. Legend has it that it was the favourite escape of a girl named Jessie, a chaplains daughter and was, originally, named after her. The cascade turns into a roaring tumult in the monsoon. Deep into the valley, in another direction , and up again, brought us to the unusual Talacauvery: the sacred source of this great river. A broad flight of steps led to terraces with small shrines. The main shrine is a little spring enclosed in an arch and trickling into a small pond from where it fills a larger tank. Once a year, on October 17, thousands of pilgrims stand in awe as the Cauvery renews itself: the spring bubbles, and water gushes out. After a while this subsides and the source resumes its normal flow. The entire temple complex is immaculately clean. As it stands on the slopes of the towering Brahmagiri Hill the views are horizon stretching. The Cauvery vanishes underground , shortly after flowing out of the spring. It emerges at the bottom of the hill, in the green Bhagamandala valley where it joins the Kanika river and the subterranean and invisible Sujyothi river. Many devotees bathe in the tri-confluence , treveni, allowing their sins to be carried away by the ripples of the olivegreen water.
Across the road from the confluence is the enormous complex of the Bhagandeshwara temple. We did a barefoot stroll around the shrines of this complex built in the multi-tiered style of Kerala . This temple, dedicated to all three aspects of the triune deity is said to be particularly powerful. The shrine to Lord Brahma, the Creator, is worshipped only by ritual bathing an abhisheka with Cauvery water and flowers.
At a spirited Koduva wedding, in Madikeri, we saw Punya, a beautiful bride, gracefully attempting to carry a pot of water, symbolically from the Cauvery, to her house. All the while, the male guests took turns to obstruct her passage by dancing in front of her and her two hand-maidens . They threatened to do so for five hours. This tradition, we were told, was to ensure that the bride had the stamina to bring water from the river for her family.
This custom must have originated in a land where the quest for water required a long and arduous trek. The men of that land probably wore long, black coats, turbans, and a sash holding a curved dagger: ceremonial dress for male Koduvas today. They must also have had a strong martial tradition . The Coorgis hold these in common with the ancient people of the Mashriq: the rugged land from the western border of Egypt to the western border of Iran. One group of people from this area are the Kurds who were in Alexander the Greats army when he invaded India. Interestingly , the word Kurd bears a strong resemblance to Koduva....

Q U I C K FACTS



GETTING THERE:



Air:

Mangalore and then 136 km by road or Bangalore and then 260 km by road

Rail:

Mysore and then 120 km by road

MUSSOORIE

RAIN MEME

Misty watercoloured memories drew Deepa Gupta back to Mussoorie to see if the magic still remained...


IT WAS not as if the hills were new. It was not as if it was a place unknown or unexplored. It was not as if it was less frequented. It was more known than any other hill station in the country. And yet, it held and perhaps always shall hold a special place in my heart. It was here that I had spent my summer vacations year after year as a schoolgirl. Mussoorie was like a second home for me and my family.
Tucked away in the hills and very isolated during the late 1970s and 1980s, Mussoorie was the place to be. The Mall Road did not have any crowds, Camels Back Road was more or less deserted, with only a few residents moving around doing their daily chores. And there were hardly any tourists. Back then, that is.
This time, I was ascending the hills to Mussoorie for the first time in over two decades. The climb amazingly sans traffic made me wonder if Mussoorie would be the same. The breeze was cool and the wind in my hair was calming. There is something so soothing about the hills and the greenery that you seem to lose touch with time.
The little cottages enroute, the shacks lined up along the way all were par for the course, as indeed were the occasional couples speeding past us on motorbikes like birds in flight. But at Mussoorie, I was taken aback. The entry to the sylvan hill station was jampacked with cars, far too many for the narrow hilly road. And people hordes of people swarmed around everywhere.
The weather began to play truant , and mist would envelop the entire town one minute, and then the sun would peek from behind the clouds the next. We headed for our hotel for some rest.
An early dinner later we were really hungry, and the mountain air really whetted our appetites we were out on Mall Road. The air had turned cold and light woollens seemed just right. The Doon Valley sparkled and twinkled below us like fairyland as the ice cream melted in my mouth. Yes, Mussoorie still had some remnants of its old charm!
The crowd was young and raucous but the older among them seemed to be touched by the magic of hills. Their bonhomie during late evening hours was infectious.
The next morning was bright and sunny, so we went out looking for a place to have breakfast. Though the famous Sindhi aloo kachori shop no longer existed (so we were informed by locals), there were lots of restaurants on the Mall. We settled for sambhar-vada and dosa, the aroma beckoning us more than the food!
I looked around for Picture Palace, the movie theatre that almost always showed English films. Alas, it had been replaced by a hotel , we were told. As my friend shopped for knick-knacks , I chatted with shopkeepers. Most of the shops had been there for over 50 years and I learnt that Mussoorie residents numbered a mere 40,000. The rest were tourists!
Further along, I found that the Tibetan market now sold wares more in keeping with modern day demands hosiery nightwear, slinky, short dresses... You get the drift. Popcorn vendors lined the track up to Gun Hill. It was always a treat to pop popcorns in the hills. So we did. But Gun Hill had changed. Though the cablecar carried people up, the hill was no longer visible just hotels.







IN HIGH SPIRITS


Just as we began walking, the weather suddenly turned again. Clouds came rushing in menacingly from all directions and it grew dark in the middle of the afternoon . Mist once again enveloped the scenic beauty. And before we scurried to a safe haven in a restaurant, it began to rain heavily. The wind turned chilly and hail followed. Fantastic!
From the Victorian style windows of the restaurant we watched the crowds on the Mall scurry for cover even as a group of young girls tried to hold tight to their umbrellas. They failed in their attempts and finally gave up and let go! Then they did a little jig all of them together and danced in the rain before running for shelter... Monsoon madness!
We dug into corn kababs (the most delicious I have ever had) as a group of youngsters at the next table played the guitar and had a singsong. Though our Kempty and Dhanaulti rendezvous were washed away by the rain, our spirits were high. When the rain did not let up for quite a while, we reluctantly decided to cut short the trip. It slowed to a drizzle by the time we got back to the hotel to collect our baggage, but the chill factor was unmistakeable.
Downhill, we stopped at a shack resting precariously on a rock that served yummy Maggi noodles and tea. It was there that the rain stopped, but the wind shook the cars and seemed to almost pull us into the ravines.
Our truncated trip far from sated my nostalgic yearning for Mussoorie. We would certainly return again, clouds or no clouds!

KATRA

Darshan shastra

Katra, which is a big draw for Vaishnodevi devotees, is now dotted with branded retail outlets and hospitality majors. Namrata Kohli reports

Planning a trip to Vaishnodevi Be ready for some newage interventions along the way. For starters, tickets are available online (jaimatavaishnodevi .com) to simplify the tedious process of coming to Katra and standing in unending serpentine queues, making payments and getting the parchi , your passport to darshan of the divine deity, now a matter of a mouse click. Secondly, be ready to be greeted by branded outlets at the foot of the shrine Katra. Katra, the downhill town on way up to Vaishnodevi shrine, which sees religious tourists thronging in large numbers round the year, is 46 km away from Jammu, and is seeing some heightened real estate activity.
There are already three Cafi Coffee Day outlets, of which one is between Balganga and Adhkawari (which is halfway up the Vaishnodevi mandir), the second one at Adhkawari, and the third one at Katra main market. While Baskin Robbins already has a presence here, Sagar Ratna is opening an outlet at Hotel Subhash International. The place has also been inundated with enquiries from other branded retailers such as Dominoes and Cumsun group. According to Anil Sharma, general manager of Hotel Subhash International , All these outlets bring their own equipment, systems, processes and even manpower. They are surely adding value to the place and are in turn doing brisk business. Landowners here lease out premises to these retailers and they operate as tenants paying a monthly rental ranging from approximately Rs 100-150 /sq ft/month. Shops, showrooms, hotels , and guesthouses are prime drivers of real estate in Katra. The town of Katra comprises four major roads, namely, Main Market, which is the prime commercial space, Balganga road, Jammu road, and Kashmir road. The real estate metric used here is kanal , which is equivalent to 3,600 sq ft. While the main market is choked and with no space left, Jammu road is the next prime location where the values prevailing are anything between Rs 80 lakh and Rs 1 crore per kanal. If one goes down further on Kashmir road, a lot of space is available and transactions happen even at Rs 20-25 lakh per kanal. With over 275 guest houses plus hotels, the place so far had only 20 reasonable hotels, ones which could qualify to be of the 3-star category, with average room tariff at around Rs 1,500 per day. However, three plush hotels have come up in Katra - White Orchid, K C resorts, and Country Inn, whose facilities include a swimming pool, spa, and a helipad for darshan. In residential real estate, a lot of land is available untapped and people currently stay in bungalows of minimum size of 1 kanal or 3,600 sq ft costing approximately Rs 10 lakh.
Apartments are currently not available but there is immense scope for these as well. According to a local who spoke on condition of anonymity, Most of the businessmen have tied up with locals here and set up their projects, whether it is in hospitality, or retail sector . Unfortunately, many locals look at investors as a threat and are not open to entering into partnership with an outsider , and if they do, they hold a heavy premium. But once they are here, there is no looking back and they do brisk business . However, the biggest challenge is to manage a local partner. Land is cheaper than in metros and opportunities are vast and not harnessed.
On the infrastructure front, a stadium is being planned at the Katra bus stand for conducting sports events. A university called Mata Vaishno University is coming up 8 km away and a huge cancer hospital project is in the pipeline. But the biggest infrastructure project is that of the railway station, which will take a year to take off. According to shopkeeper Nahir, The minute that project takes off, the economy of Katra will be on a super fast track and the economy of Jammu will be affected as pilgrims will all come directly to Katra, instead of via Jammu.

HARIDWAR

Holy Footprints

Sound of temple bells, sadhus chanting mantras, gurgling Ganges... Haridwar just leaves you mesmerised

Khalid Amin

MAYBE it was the gurgling Ganges, or the innumerable temples alongside the hills, or sadhus clad in saffron robes chanting holy mantras or simply the divine sanctity of the place the trip to Haridwar was a mesmerizing experience for me.
I reached the city along with my friends at 8 in the evening by train from Delhi. Knowing that you are an outsider, the autos often take tourists for a ride and overcharge on the fares. However, since I knew about this, we ended up with a reasonable bargain. We left for Kankhal, where a guesthouse was booked for us.
I woke up the next morning to the sound of the temple bells and chants from the temples nearby which I had missed the previous night in the darkness. Surprisingly, there was no fatigue from the last days journey and we felt refreshed.
Our day began with a visit to Mansa Devi up in the hills, situated atop the Bilwa Parvat, on Shivalik Hills. Mansa Devi is just 2.5 km from the main township of Haridwar. One of the major Siddhapeeths in India, Mansa Devi has two idols of the presiding deity, one with three mouths and five arms, while the other has eight arms.
We took the ropeway route also called udankhatolaby the locals to reach up there and once we got to the temple we found scores of people offering chadawa. Monkeys were a common sight everywhere. We had to hide the prasad before it was snatched away.
Next, we went to Har ki Pauri. The gurgling sound of the Ganges was audible even before we reached the ghat. Being monsoon season, the water level was high. Clinging to the iron chains provided for safety, we stepped into the holy waters and for a moment experienced a divine spirit running through us.
Believed to be the footprints of Lord Vishnu and a sacred place where Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu appeared in the Vedic era, Har ki Pauri is said to be the exit point of the river Ganges from the mountains and its entry into the plains.
Our next days destination was Rishikesh for which we had to get down from our bus four kilometers before the spot. We went ahead amidst natural beauty and steep hills followed by incessant rains. We reached Laxman Jhula and experienced the heavenly tranquillity surrounded by hills with the cool breeze blowing in from the river.
A halt at Chotiwala a popular food joint for a quick meal was the need of the hour. After some light snacks and a long tumbler full of lassi we moved ahead.
Even with the steady influx of domestic and international tourists, accommodation is never a problem. While there are restaurants which serve international cuisine, people mainly enjoy the local delicacies.
The Ganga Arti at Triveni Ghat after sunset is an experience never to be missed a group of Brahmans holding huge fire bowls in their hands offer holy mantras to river Ganges, Lord Shiva, Lord Surya and the entire Universe.

NAVI GATO R



BY AIR:

Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun is 35 km away

BY TRAIN:

Haridwar railway station is connected with all major cities

BY ROAD:

It is 215 km from New Delhi. It is well-linked to other cities through UP transport service

PACKAGES:

Rs 2,000 per night + taxes at Alpama Hotel