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Travel Tips for First-Time Explorers: Your Ultimate Guide

Things to remember when one is traveling for the first time
Booking airfare 60-90 days out for Thanksgiving will yield better deals.

Things to remember when one is traveling for the first time

Traveling is a truly educational experience, and thus, more and more people are traveling for the first time in their adolescence, even teens. However, it is natural to feel a bit worried in anticipation as one wants to make the most of each trip. So, we have compiled a list of ten tips for first-time travelers.

1. Start with a safe destination

If they still haven’t decided on a destination, first-time travelers are recommended to go for a safe destination; that is particularly recommended if the first-time traveler is a woman, given the increased stances of crimes against them. The following are some of the things that make a travel destination safe:

  • Low crime rates
  • Low gender-based crime rates for women travelers.
  • Good internet penetration so that you can easily contact your loved ones.
  • Proximity to traveler’s home, friends’ home, or relatives’ home. So that they are always within rescuable distance.
  • Should have facilities like A.T.M.s, hotels, etc.

2. Plan the whole trip

While you may take on later trips a little more haphazardly, it is wise to plan the first one thoroughly. Plan everything, including where you intend to eat, where you intend to rest, the financial aspects, how you are going to travel, etc. The whole itinerary should be planned in advance, and consideration should be given to the following:

  • There should be some reserves – of time, packing space, and money. So that you are not always rushing, short on space for carrying things back home, or are caught short on funds respectively.
  • Things you have learned from people around you or in online blogs. Research thoroughly about everything.
  • Your own interests and preferences.

3. Pack smartly

Developing good packing habits is the most essential element of learning to be a traveler. Some of what you pack is determined by the destination and the objective of traveling (clothes, shoes, fashion accessories, etc.), while other goods are essentials that every traveler should always have handy (a water bottle, smartphone, chargers, headphones, power banks, etc.) The following are some of the tips for packing smartly:

  • Target toward planning lightly. It is so much easier to travel when you carry everything in a single backpack or everything on your person.
  • Try to pack only as many changes of dresses as absolutely essential. A single pair of jeans is enough and can be worn with multiple shirts or tops, and you can wear them while traveling so as not to carry them in the bag. Don’t add winter clothes unless there is a chance of a change in climate. In case of a colder climate, take a jacket along.
  • Pay special attention to the toiletries, especially in case you are going to a remote location. Always carry soap, a toothbrush, and sanitary napkins. You can cut on makeup products, and it is highly recommended.
  • When it comes to electronics, avoid carrying non-essentials.
  • Don’t pack a lot of food, and pack only dry food or snacks if you must.
  • Always carry a water bottle.
  • Have enough space left for souvenirs that you may want to bring back.
  • Pack your more valuable goods, like smartphones your, wallets, etc., in a separate travel pouch that can be worn separately.

4. Stay hydrated

As mentioned above, one should always carry a bottle of water with oneself. Staying hydrated can be more difficult when traveling, and thirst can spoil one’s mood. One should always change the water in the bottle wherever possible.

5. Let technology be your friend

Digitalization, internet penetration, and the universal popularity of smartphones have made technology far more accessible and powerful than ever. When traveling, one’s smartphone keeps one connected to one’s loved ones, but it can also do much more. Let’s look at some of the ways you can use them to your advantage:

  • Use google maps to know your exact location
  • Try to carry traveler’s cheques or little cash
  • Use digital payments wherever possible
  • Set ‘Find My Device’ on your phone.
  • Smartphones can also make cameras redundant as they have powerful cameras in them.
  • Use note-keeping apps to remember things.
  • Use cab booking apps to book cabs.

6. Plan last-minute activities

It is easy to forget things in the last-minute panic, so we recommend making a checklist (using the note-keeping apps we just mentioned) of all the things you might want to do in the last couple of hours. Some of the things that can make it to the list include:

  • Packing things that you didn’t pack since you must use them in the interval (like toothbrushes, chargers, etc.).
  • Fully charging phones and other electronics.

7. Considerations for a mode of travel

The mode of traveling will also impact your experience. We recommend choosing the method of traveling that is most convenient for you.

8. Try local cuisine and street food

This is a tip we can’t recommend enough. You should always try local cuisine and street food at every opportunity you get.

9. Considerations for choosing accommodation

The accommodation or hotel you choose should not only have comforts but should also have a good reputation. Try to look for a hotel that offers a free buffet or at least has dining options.

10. Travelling safely.

Above all. You should try to travel safely, especially if you are a woman or an adolescent. The following are some helpful tips for traveling safely.

  • Protect your money, smartphone, and financial and identity documents. You can do so easily by carrying them in cross-body strap bags. Also, prefer digital payments and avoid carrying too much cash.
  • Always keep the batteries of your smartphones and other devices charged. Also, carry a power bank.
  • Use registered taxis. Preferably use one of the popular smartphone apps and always note down the taxi number.
  • Don’t show signs of panic.
  • Never talk to a stranger passerby. If you must ask directions (because you don’t have an internet connection), do it in for a (preferably crowded) restaurant or shop.
  • Don’t accept food or drinks from strangers or accept their invitations to lonely places.

Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.s)

There are several questions that first-time travelers may have. The following are some of the most Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.s) :

 

Question: What are some of the destinations considered safe for first-time travelers in India?

Answer: The following are some of the destinations that are considered safe for first-time travelers in India:

 

Ladakh, Rishikesh, Sikkim, Nainital, Kaziranga, Khajuraho, Hampi, Varanasi, Pondicherry, Udaipur, Goa, Sikkim, Pondicherry, Mysore, etc.

 

Question: What are some of the packing essentials?

Answer: The following is a list of packing essentials that every traveler should carry:

 

A water bottle, a wallet or purse, a fully charged smartphone, a charged power bank, a charger, a pair of headphones, sanitary napkins (for women), a toothbrush, and a jacket (in case you are moving to cooler locations), a pair of jeans, goggles, hat, a pair of walking shoes, etc. Things like jeans, jackets, goggles, hats, etc., can be carried or worn rather than packed.

 

If the reader has any other questions, they should feel free to ask them here.

One can easily wrap up the above discussion by concluding with the hope that these tips will help you have a great traveling experience. Remember, above all, to have fun.

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Corporate Outings Group Travel

Incredible Benefits of Corporate Trips

Travel has acquired many forms, especially corporate travel. Traditionally underrated, it is gaining increasing attention as one of the most incredible team-building experiences. Corporations are earning that investing in these travels can let one reap incredible benefits.

Corporate trips offer incredible benefits for the management and the company as it offers several advantages including the following:

1. Know thyself through corporate trips.

The benefits of corporate travel extend to the teams as a whole and individual team members. At an individual level, it is an opportunity for your employee to discover something about themselves by applying themselves to new things, trying new activities, etc. ‘Know thyself’ is a literal translation depicted on doors of the temple of famous oracles of Delphi and the wisdom of these words has stood the test of time as the first step or gateway to further self-development.

2. Self-development

Corporate development is also an incredible way of developing the personalities of various individuals on the team – that stems directly from self-knowledge but also in other ways as one learns to work better in teams or with other people. Communication skills may improve and individuals may get a chance to develop those aspects of their personality which usually remain undeveloped in their day-to-day life. It must be noted that even these benefits for individual employees ultimately end up helping the company.

3. A break from a monotonous routine.

We hope that your employees love their jobs per se and find them challenging and fun, but one can get bored of doing even the things one loves – like one would if one was to eat one’s favorite dish every day of one’s life. Corporate travel provides a welcome break from that dull routine, and at the end of travel your employees return to their work with new vigor and refreshed energies.

4. Increases motivation of employees

Another incredible benefit of corporate travel is that it increases the motivation of employees. That is the direct consequence of some of the previously mentioned benefits and also due to other benefits mentioned below. Additionally, the very idea of travel is a great motivator for your employees – and it can also be used as a sort of incentive like an on-target incentive.

5. Reduces stress levels

Stress is known to be the most common psychological problem – and unkind work life is one of the leading causes of this problem. Stress is known to cause several physical as well as psychological problems and can also increase human resource costs. Corporate travel is an incredible way of letting your workers have fun and let off steam.

6. Team-building

Corporate travel tips should be comprised of several team activities which shall turn a group of workers into a team. That can later help in their day-to-day work life.

7. Better communication

Team and other games also force workers to open up with each other – that opens informal communication channels, which help provide a better flow of information in the company.

8. Leadership skills

Corporate travel is an excellent way of finding natural leaders in your team and fostering leadership skills in others. Thus your company finds its future leaders.

9. Foster better bonds

Working in teams also helps employees help foster bonds between team members and each team member with the company creating a family-like bond. These bonds can help let you retain your employees longer and reduce labor turnover rates and HR costs resulting from them.

10. Better productivity

Corporate travel leads to better employees due to the above-mentioned reasons who are more productive. The revenue of the company too may increase as a result.

Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.s)

There are several questions readers may have about corporate group travel. The following are some of the most Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.s) :

Question: What are corporate travel managers?

Answer: Corporate travel manager is a new position created in large companies for the sole purpose of managing and organizing corporate travel in their Human Resources development. This is one of the best ways of organizing corporate travel – other ways are to have travel agents, self-planning, or use HR resources.

Question: How does COVID-19 affect corporate travel?

Answer: COVID-19-related restrictions affect corporate travel but it is still possible to have fun travel as long as one chooses the destination carefully and follows instructions carefully.

Question: Isn’t it better if I just give my employees time off instead?

Answer: It is possible and it may save companies some money as well but the benefits such as team-building, personality development, etc. will not be achieved.

If the reader has any other questions, they should feel free to ask them here.

The Bottom Line

One can easily wrap up the above discussion by concluding that corporate travel offers incredible benefits and all corporate whether startups or well-established ones should organize them

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Group Travel Himalayas Rejuvenate Spiritual Hubs

Diskit Monastery Travel Guide

One of the biggest tourist attractions of Ladakh is the Diskit Monastery of Nubra valley.  It has gained popularity because of the famous 106 ft tall Maitreya Buddha it is home to. The statute in gold and red faces Shak river. It was consecrated by none other than the Dalai Lama in the year 2010 as a symbol of the values – world peace, prevention of more wars between India and Pakistan and protection of Dikshit village.

 

About the Monastery

The milky white Dikshit Gompa is located on a high hill and you must hike up the hill to reach it. It has beautiful paintings and images. The cupola or dome that adorns the roof depicts the famous Tashilhunpo Monastery of Tibet. It also has a storehouse that preserves several Mongolian and Tibetian texts. At top of the monastery is Lachung temple with a large idol of Tsong Khapa, the founder of the Gelugpa Sect. It also has a school for Tibetian children run with the help of an NGO called the Tibetian Support Group.

Other Attractions of the region

Another important attraction of the region is that you will get a chance to see Bactrian double-humped camels, The valley has greener vegetation in the whole of Ladakh which has earned it the title of the ‘Orchard of Ladakh’. The river and Hunder village that is located at a distance of 8 kilometers offer stunning views.

How to reach Dikshit Monastery?

It is located at a distance of 116 kilometers from the town of Leh and is best visited on a two-day trip. You can reach it using a cab or personal vehicle. You can also board a bus from Leh to Nubra and get a local taxi there.

Leh airport is the nearest airport and is well connected including to Delhi.

Railway travel is not a very good option as the nearest major railway station is Jammu Tawi which is 812 kilometers from Leh. You will have to depend on the taxi service to reach from there to Leh, this journey in itself takes 3 days and stops at Srinagar and Kargil for the night stay.

Best time to visit Diskit

May to September months is the best time to visit. But if you are willing to face harsher conditions, you might want to visit it in time for Dosmoche which is celebrated in the month of January or February.

Where to stay?

There are many decent accommodation options in Nubra and Hunder villages – guest houses, hotels, etc.

What to eat?

The world’s highest cafe is on the road from Leh but we recommend you start with a full belly and carry some food in the store. Nubra has some decent food option especially Tibetian food. Carry reusable water bottles to keep yourself hydrated but avoid littering.

Other precautions

  1.    Please note that photography is not allowed inside prayer hall and museum. Make sure you are following all the other rules of the place
  2.    The journey might be a strain on your health particularly causing AMS or Acute Mountain Sickness and precautions must be taken in this regard. Consult your doctor to know if you are healthy enough for the journey.
  3.    Mobile connectivity is an issue. BSNL and Airtel work well. And thus take your precautions accordingly

Conclusion

A trip to Dikshit Valley is one of the must-dos if you are planning a trip to Ladakh. The placing is an amalgamation of natural beauty, architectural genius, religion, culture and the pursuit of world peace. We hope this article will help you in planning your trip well.

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Central India Group Travel Itinerary Solo Women Travel Spiritual Hubs

Best of Amritsar in 24 hours

Amritsar in Punjab is more than just a city filled with history, it is the cultural capital of Punjab. When we planned to visit Amritsar, we just had 24 hours to explore the best of the city and since there was so much to do, we prioritized the top-places to see. We landed in Amritsar via road early morning at 6 am. The sky was filled with the hue of sunrise and the entrance of Amritsar is adorned by a beautiful dome-shaped welcome sight. Amritsar, the place that played an important role in Indian history during British Raj got its name derived from a lake surrounding the Golden Temple. Amrit Sarovar, literally meaning a holy pool of nectar surrounds the Harmandir Sahib. These stories were told to us by our cab driver who was a resident of Amritsar, so we left it up to him to let us experience the food, culture, sights of Amritsar in the best ways possible.

1 Golden Temple aka Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara

We started our day with a visit to the iconic Golden Temple. Thankfully, we were already dressed in traditional Indian clothes so we already had a dupatta to cover our heads which is mandatory before you enter the Gurudwara. Since it a popular pilgrimage and we were there on a Sunday, we had to wait in long queues before we got inside. But even there, we were just enjoying the architecture and observing how immersed people were in their prayers. After paying our respects, we moved to the langar area and had prasad. The community meals are offered to every person who visits the Gurudwara and the langar was delicious. Moreover, the halwa (known as kada in Punjabi) is given as prasad to everyone. The Gurudwara also allows people to stay there for free if they offer service at the temple in return. We did not have much time or we would have loved to experience that as well.

  1. Jallianwala Bagh

The next stop on the tour was the infamous Jallianwala Bagh. Though Jallianwala Bagh is just one km away from the Golden Temple, it takes some time to reach there because that area remains quite crowded. As soon as we entered the garden, we were reminded of the heart-wrenching tragedy that took place there back during the British rule in 1919. There is a memorial in the garden commemorating the Martyrs who were massacred there. The well in which people jumped to save their lives can be seen but one look inside the dark well is enough to give you a nightmare for days. We could also see the bullet holes in walls and there are boards everywhere to help tourists who do not know what happened in Jallianwala Bagh. Paying our respects to the martyrs of Jallianwala, we refrained from clicking many pictures there as we usually do. But just being in that space reminded us of how far India has come and how many people have laid down their lives to make it independent.

  1. Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum

After Jallianwala Bagh left us reminiscing on the History, we visited the Maharaja Ranjit Singh palace which is now in the shape of a museum. The Palace is preserved as it was 400 years ago when the king used to live there. Now, the swords, armors and other historical artifacts are kept there for the visitors to see. There were many paintings in the Museum as well, along with other belongings of the King like the old currency. It was quite a quick visit to the museum before we went to the most-awaited spot on our visit to Amritsar- The Wagah Border.

  1. The Indo-Pak Border

Right after our tour of the museum, we went to the Wagah Border. The Wagah Border has a parade that starts at 5 pm and we were lucky enough to reach there by 4:30 pm so we could still watch the hour-long parade live. We could not find good seats since people start coming in from 2 pm to find a seat. There is a huge rush on the Indian side of the border. There is tight security present there but we were allowed to carry essentials like water bottles, our sunglasses, and phones. The entire parade is a sight to behold and afterward, one the crowds started to disperse, we went and clicked some pictures with the soldiers. From the Wagah Border, we could easily see the other side- Pakistan and wondered why there wasn’t as big a crowd gathered on that side of the border as well.

  1. Go shopping

No trip to Amritsar is complete without shopping for Amritsari jutti. There is a Kapra Bazaar near the Golden Temple where we went to buy the famous Phulkari cloth and look for Amritsari Jutti. The -Kameez, Dupatta or Phulkari-cloth. We also bought some dresses from the Kapra Bazaar but the best place to buy Amritsari Jutti, as suggested by many locals there is the Raunak Store in Pink plaza. Amritsari Jutti is leather footwear traditionally called Jutti. It complements the traditional Indian-wear and is a great ethnic-wear accessory.

  1. What’s Punjab without Punjabi Food?

Throughout the day, we munched on local Amritsari cuisine. The day began with Aloo Parantha with extra butter and a glass of Lassi for breakfast at a local Dhaba. Then the langar at Golden Temple worked perfectly as lunch and for snacks, we had jalebi and Amritsari Lassi at a Dhaba near Golden Temple. For dinner, there are plenty of options in Amritsar but it is a bit hard to find pure vegetarian restaurants. There is a place called Brother’s Amritsari dhaba that serves delicious Paneer Butter Masala, Daal Makhani, Channa and Naan. We got the veg thali which had salad and raita as well as Amritsari Papad.

When it was finally time to leave Amritsar, we realized that within 24 hours, we had seen most of the popular places in Amritsar, shopped and enjoyed Punjabi delicacies while being entertained by our cab driver’s Punjabi commentary on everything.

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Adventure Group Travel Himalayas North India Relax Solo Women Travel

5 Must see destinations in North India

North India is one of the most gifted lands when it comes to natural beauty – whether it be in its beautiful Himalayas offering Panoramic views or historical cities like Delhi or Agra. Delhi, Agra, Kashmir, Mussoorie, Chandigarh, Jammu, Nainital, Ladakh, Dehra-dun, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Vrindavan, Rishikesh, Mohali, Amritsar, etc the list goes on and on. Today, we will bring you a list of 5 must-see destinations in North India.:

1.    Mussoorie

Aptly dubbed as the Queen of hills, Mussoorie is the first destination in our list of 5 must-see destinations in North India. It might as well be called the travel capital on North India for it is a favorite tourist spot for people of Delhi, Chandigarh, NOIDA, etc looking for a hills station getaway for a weekend. The Kempty falls of Mussoorie is a really fun picnic spot if you are traveling with family or friends. The spirituality important Jawalaji temple of great spiritual importance for Hindus is not much far. You can do your shopping at Mall road and the best of it all is that you can do all this and much more within two or three days and still be back home in time to find enough rest before you start on your next week.

How to reach Mussoorie?

Mussoorie is connected by roadway to Delhi via Saharanpur-Delhi road – a distance of only two hundred and ninety kilometers from Delhi. The nearest railway station and airport though both at Dehra-dun from where you will have to get a taxi or a bus to Mussoorie – a bus leaves for Mussoorie every hour or two.

2.    Chandigarh

Next, in our list of 5 must-see places in North India is Chandigarh. A union territory and a capital of two states, Chandigarh is one of the few planned cities of the country and one of the cleanest. Thus it is no surprise that it is one of the most favored destinations in Western India. The Rose Garden,  Sukhna Lake are some of the major tourist attraction but its strength lies in its markets (especially popular is the market in Sector-17). Being the educational capital of Punjab and Haryana, It has developed a very active nightlife too.

How to reach Chandigarh?

National Highway 1 connects Chandigarh to New Delhi. The green city is well connected by rail, road, and air with all major cities in the region.

3.    New Delhi

How can the capital of the country be left out of our list of 5 must-see places in North India? New Delhi has a rich history and thus have many historical landmarks – Qutub Minar, Lal Kila, India Gate, Jama Masjid to name just a few and there are several museums making it a great destination if you are interested in country’s rich history. In case you are out for fun and partying, its pubs and nightclubs ensure a rich a nightlife.  The street food here offers a great variety and is a tourist magnet in itself. And there are different markets selling almost everything on the planet and catering to consumers of different budgets.

How to reach Delhi?

Delhi’s international airport connects it to the rest of the world. It also has brilliant road and rail connectivity to the major cities of both North and South India

4.    Jaipur

It seems preposterous not to include at least one of the amazing array of tourist destinations of the Rajput state of Rajasthan in our list of 5 must-see places in North India. And the city to get this credit is Jaipur. Dubbed as the pink city, Jaipur deserves the honor. Its popularity is owed mostly to its forts and historical sites – Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahal, Amber Fort, Jal Mahal,  Jaigarh Fort, City Palace, Nahargarh Fort to name only a few as well as to the friendly people who live here. One also gets a chance to enjoy the delicious street food and you can get photographed in traditional Rajasthani dresses. You can also buy locally handcrafted goods as souvenirs.

How to reach Jaipur?

In terms of convenience, nothing beats traveling by road – by bus. Sanganer airport that is only 12 kilometers away handles both local and international flights. However, we highly recommend trying a ride on Palace on Wheels at least once if you can.

5.    Agra

Any list of 5 must-see places in North India would be incomplete without a mention of Agra – the city that is home to one of the seven wonders of the world – Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory and love for his deceased and beloved wife Nur Jahan. It is a stunning wonder in marble which is said to be the result of the labor of over twenty thousand masons, jewelers, workers, artists, etc whose hands, so the local legend tells us, were ordered to be cut off Shah Jahan after the construction was complete. The city is thus a magnet for romantic and honeymoon tourism among both local and international tourists.

How to reach Agra?

Agra’s airport hs flights to and from New Delhi. By railways, it is connected with major cities throughout the country while by road it is well connected to the surrounding region including Delhi.

Conclusion

How did you like this list? What places will make it to your list of 5 must-see places in North India? Do write to us in comments below. 🙂

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Group Travel wildlife

Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary: Home to wildlife in a state known for its wild lifestyle

Goa is immensely popular in tourists both local as well as international. Its sea Beaches, seafood, laid back values, music and easily availability of alcoholic drinks make it heaven who want to enjoy their life in wild ways. But this wild lifestyle aside, Goa is also home to some exotic wildlife.

When we think of Goa, we are mostly thinking of North Goa – the commercialized party center with all the most popular of beaches. Compared to it, South Goa is relatively unknown to the tourist world and thus lacks commercialization. South Goa is thus more peaceful, clean and less crowded while still carrying some of most beautiful beaches, temples, Waterfalls and, also, wildlife hubs. And one such wildlife hub is what we are going to talk about this time – Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary.

The sanctuary offers a welcome break from sea beaches Goa is famous for.

Location

The Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary is located about at a distance of a mere 70 kilometers from Goa’s airport. Like most of the rest of the places in Goa, the best way to reach here is on a hired two-wheeler if you don’t have a personal vehicle.

The beautiful Konkan vegetation, rice fields, and western Ghar hills greet your eyes on both sides of the road when you are on your way there but the internet might not be most reliable in these circumstances. In such circumstances, we recommend asking a local about the routes to be sure.

Best Time To Visit

Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary is best visited during monsoon season, that is, from late June to August; when vegetation is fresh green and the air is pleasant and you have a chance to see Savari waterfall within Netravali at it’s beautiful best.

You may visit it in winter too but we won’t advise visiting it during summers (March to May)

Where to stay?

You can return to your hotel in North Goa in good time if that is where you intend to return. Otherwise, accommodation is available in forest rest houses run by the GTDC (Goa Tourism Development Corporation). The tourism department of Goa also takes care of food, thus making it an ideal place to spot creatures of the wild in their natural habitat.

The Sanctuary

As we were visiting git in monsoons, Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary greeted us with sense natural vegetation – so dense that though the day was sunny, in some parts sunlight didn’t reach the ground… Well, you are also greeted by a check post where you have to pay the entry fees.

The sanctuary is best explored in two-wheelers and, as far as possible in groups as you might not come across any other humans unless it is a working day.

Flora

This dense deciduous mixed with evergreen/ semi-evergreen natural vegetation is a common characteristic of all Western Ghats and Konkan region in particular.

The Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary is spread over an area of 211 square kilometers and drives its name from Netravali (or Neturli) river – a tributary of River Zuari which originates here.

A wildlife enthusiast will find much to love in surrounding areas too – it has Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve of Karnataka on its eastern side; Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary, Goa on its southern side and Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and Mollem National Park on its northern side. All of these along with Madei Wildlife Sanctuary, Goa and Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka together form an incredible home to protected wildlife.

Among wildlife to be found here are included is a tremendous diversity of mammals including – Gaur (Bos gaurus), Malabar giant squirrel (Ratufa indica), four-horned antelope or chousingha (Tetracerus quadricornis), leopard (Panthera pardus), black sloth bear etc which are sustained by abundant availability of drinking water in the region.

The region is also a home to several aviary life forms like the rare Malayan night heron (Gorsachius melanolophus), grey-headed bulbul (Pycnonotus priocephalus, Nilgiri wood pigeon (Columba elphinstonii), white-bellied blue flycatcher (Cyornis pallipes), great pied hornbill (Buceros bicornis),), Wynaad laughingthrush (Garrulax delesserti), rufous babbler (Turdoides subrufa), white-bellied treepie (Dendrocitta leucogastra), etc.

While during our visit there, we came across a leopard, a Gaur and hornbill; the highlight of the day was some of the beautiful butterflies we came across. We won’t know names of species of these butterflies and a Google search suggested several names of butterfly species be found in here like  the Malabar banded swallowtail (Papilio liomedon), redspot duke (Dophla Evelina), Malabar banded peacock (Papilio buddha), southern birdwing (Troides minos),  Malabar tree nymph (Idea malabarica), black rajah (Charaxes solon), blue nawab (Polyura Schreiber) etc.

We spent our whole day exploring this beautiful natural paradise and only made our return journey at 5 pm.

Conclusion

If you are on a long vacation in Goa, say a week or so you will probably look for a break from its mainstream attractions and a day in this cradle of nature is your best alternative. In its own right, Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary has too much beauty bestowed upon it by nature for one to miss it. J

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Group Travel Himalayas North India Travel Tips

5 reasons to start early and sleep early while in Ladakh

It is as Benjamin Franklin said, “Early to bed, early to rise; makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Well, normally, we would return with “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man an unhappy wife” but if you are traveling Ladhakh the Benjy advice is very important due to a number of factors. Here we bring you a list of 5 reasons to start early and sleep early while in Ladakh:

1. Beautiful Scenarios

For you don’t come this far to visit Ladhakh if you do not love its natural beauty. The breathtaking views nature has to offer are at their best in time for sunrise and sunsets. And so the first of 5 reasons to start early and sleep early while in Ladakh is to have time to go click-happy and ornament your Instagram account.

2. Avoiding delays

There are plenty of construction projects forever in motion in Ladhakh sometimes blocking roads for hours, in fact, there are many scheduled road closures. The later you start, the more chances of being stuck in a road closure. So next in our list of 5 reasons to start early and sleep early while in Ladakh is that it is your best option if you wish to avoid delays or waiting for long hours in traffic. You may as well stay in your urban city if that is what you were going to do. Right? Besides the fact that delays will eat into your precious time (a traveler can never have enough time), they are just annoying and mood killers.

3. Avoiding snow slides and landslides

Another reason in our list of 5 reasons to start early and sleep early while in Ladakh is that it is your best option if you wish to avoid snow slides and landslides. With an increase in temperature during the day, the snow starts melting causing problems on roads and even closing roads especially during the latter half of the day.

4. Avoiding shooting rocks

Yes you heard it, there is such a thing as shooting rocks and it is not a very pleasant thing.  The strong wind can carry stones at the speed of bullets which won’t be good for your cars’ glass windows. The later in the day, the more the speed of the wind. It is thus fourth in our list of 5 reasons to start early and sleep early while in Ladakh. Like with watersides, your car might have to suffer from shooting stars because of your laziness. Show mercy on the poor thing!

5. A contingency plan

With so many factors working against you, it is always good to have a contingency plan. For it is not a very good thing if you end up at nowhere place in Ladhakh in the middle of the night. The cold climate, if nothing else, would bug you. Thus the last of 5 reasons to start early and sleep early while in Ladakh is to make sure to reach your destination well in time before darkness.

Conclusion

So this is all from our list of 5 reasons to start early and sleep early while in Ladakh. We hope this blog helps in planning your trip. In fact, some of these reasons hold good for traveling in rough mountain regions at high altitudes in particular and all kind of travels in general. If you are lazy or a night animal like us, it is easier said than done but we do hope this blog will give even the laziest among you reason to get up early. ☺

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