Witness the Heaven : Keylong

Keylong 

Situated at an altitude of 3350 mtrs., Keylong is the head quarter of Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh lying on Indo-Tebetan Border. The region is strange, exciting, primitive mountaineous and delightful. "Rudyard Kipling said of the region " Surely the God live here thisno place for men. " the route of Lahaul takes a traveller over Rohtang Pass (3980m above the sea level). Koksar ( 1st village of Tandi crossing the river Chanderbhaga.

How to get there
By road the distance from Manali is 115 km. Due to heavy snowfall the Rohtang pass remains closed from Taxis are available from Manali, HPTDC also plies regular buses to Leh via Keylong during season. Nearest airport is Bhunter. 175 km from Keylong. The nearest railhead is at Jogindernagar, 250 km away.

Climate
Lahaul remains cut- off from outside the world till mid June due to heavy snowfall and closing of Rohtang Pass. There is little or no rain in monsoon. The climate remains dry and invigorating. The days are hot and nights are extremely cold. Heavy/Light woollens are recommended.

Places of Interest in and around Keylong
Lahaul is well for its monasteries, locally called gompas, which are great repositories of Budhist faith and art treasures. These are Kardang-8 km. Shasur-3 km. Guru Ghantal - 4 km. And Tyaul 6 km.

Tandi
(2573m) 8kms, short of Keylong, on the Manali-Leh Road, situated on the confluence of Chandra and Bhaga rivers. 

Sissu
(3100) on the bank of Chandra 15 km from Koksar, every spring and autumn wild geese and ducks halt here on their way to and from Siberia.

Gondla
(3110) 18 km from Keylong on the right bank of river Chandra. Famous for ancient Fort.

Udaipur
(2523m) 53 km from Keylong, home of the Mrikula Devi temple, which is famous for wood carvings.

Triloknath
(2760m) 4 km from Udaipur. Famous for Trilokinath temple. Sacred both for Hindu and Buddhist.

Baralacha Pass (4883m)
On the Manali-Leh road this pass was once used by travellers to Central Asia for centuries and now by high altitude trekkers.

Adventure and Fishing
The Manali based Mountaineering Institute organises skiing, rock climbing and mountaineering courses, Numerous treks and adventure trails lead out of Manali.

Shopping
Shawls, Local tweeds, caps, rugs (namdas) footwear, fresh fruit, natural oils (olive and almond), silver jewellery, pullovers, metal craft, woollen jackets and bamboo products.

 863 Temples together : Paltina

A 56 km drive from Bhavnagar, Palitana lies at the foot of the Shatrunjaya hill, with the Shatrunjaya river flowing to its south. 


The sacred hill rises in a crescendo of magnificent temples, 863 in all, that soar in splendour to the summit. These temples were built over a span of 900 years. The 600 m climb to the peak is usually made on foot. 

River Expedition : Brahamaputara (The mighty one) & Discovering Tuting (the amazing beauty of Arunachal Pradesh)

River Expedition : Brahamaputara (The mighty one) & Discovering Tuting (the amazing beauty of Arunachal Pradesh)

The Tsang po river from Tibet flows into India as Siang and after the confluence of Dibang and Lohit becomes the great Brahmaputra. While most Indian rivers bear female names, this river has a rare male name, as it means "son of Brahma" in Sanskrit. The expedition on the great Brahmaputra begins at Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh where it is still called the Siang.

 Tuting is inhabited by adi tribe of tar and tibetan , some localities of this town are named as lali basti, bazar line, bihari line, podung basti. The main festival of tuting is the solung festival which is celeberated in the first three days of september everyyear,besides the local tibetan population celeberates the losar new year festival in february every year.

Get ready for some of the best big white water the world has on offer for rafting. You'll be pumping adrenaline all the way as you hit rapids such as the ‘Pulsating Pulsi’ and ‘Toothfairy’ at Cherring. This self contained river run offers an awe-inspiring journey through tropical forests, gorges and a peek into a rich culture, unlike any other. The Great Brahmaputra is for anyone who is looking for an exhilarating rafting and kayaking experience that is sure to leave you with goose bumps whenever you think about it.

You can camp on a beach beside the river almost every night of the expedition and doze off, gazing at the stars as you slip into dreams of the adventures of the day and look forward to the next.

   

   

Bhangarh Fort : The most haunted place in India

Bhangarh is a place on way from Jaipur to Alwar city in Rajasthan state of India. Today Bhangarh is known for its ruins where nobody dares to stay after sunset. Looking through history we find that this town was established by Madho Singh, younger brother of King Akbar’s General Raja Man Singh, in 1631. But the city seems to have been abandoned in a hurry some centuries later.

The local folks say that due to a curse the whole town was vacated overnight. According to the story of the curse, if the town was ever rediscovered the township would not be found, but only temples would show up.
True to the story only temples dot the landscape and even far up on the mountains only shrines can be seen. It is said that nobody returns from there who stays after dark.
By the Government of India rules there has to be an office of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) beside every historical structure in India. But even government authorities did not dare to open an office there. They opened their office about one kilometer away from the ruins of Bhangarh. Even this office is close to a temple because of this myth. ASI has put a signboard at Bhangarh saying, "Staying after sunset is strictly prohibited in this area."

People who visit this place out of tourist interest say that there is a strange feeling in the atmosphere of Bhangarh, which causes sort of anxiety and restlessness.
The story of this restlessness goes as the following. The charm of princess of Bhangarh Ratnawati was said to be matchless in entire Rajasthan. Being merely eighteen years old, the princess started getting wedding offers from other states. In the same region there also lived a tantrik, a magician using black magic, named Singhia who was desperately in love with the princess and who also knew that king would never even allow him to see the princess.
Once he saw princess's maid in the market buying scented oil for princess. Seeing this he got a wicked idea of getting the princess. He used his black magic and put a spell on the oil which would hypnotise the princess by her mere touching the oil and she would immedialely walk towards the tantrik to satisfy him sexually. But as soon as the princess got the oil she threw it on the block of a stone as she had seen the tantrik eying the oil. As soon as the oil touched the stone, the stone started rolling towards the wicked tantrik Singhia and crushed him. While dying Singhia cursed the palace that there will be such an incident that everybody in the palace would die and their souls will stay there for centuries without rebirth. The very next year there was a battle between Bhangarh-Ajabgarh and no one survived in the battle nor in the palace, not even the princess Ratnawati.Also the prime minister cursed Bhangarh that no one would settle there in future and whoever dares will die as well. It is said by the local villagers that whenever a house has been built there its roof has collapsed. It seems to be true because inside Bhangarh all the houses are without a roof and even at the closest village where people reside, they still have roofs made of straw but not bricks.