A little help for fellow Indians planning a trip to Nepal. Or for foreigners traveling to Nepal from India (with INR currency and Indian SIM etc..) The post Indians Traveling to Nepal: Visa, Currency, Language & Other Information appeared first on MapRoute Travel Blog ..read more

Calmly impressive railway station. Has some old and understated vibe coupled with many modern facilities. It was a good combo. The post Impressive Nasik Road Railway Station: AC Waiting Rooms, Stays & Sleeping Pods  appeared first on MapRoute Travel Blog ..read more

My 10-day intense Nepal Yatra ... here's the itinerary to help you plan yours :) The post My 10-day Nepal Itinerary, An Intense Yatra of Katmandu Valley  appeared first on MapRoute Travel Blog ..read more

I thought there was just one living goddess in Nepal but on my recent visit to Kathmandu, I found out that there are so many. I visited two of them. First, the Kumari of Kathmandu Durbar Square, which online sources suggest is the leader of all the other Kumaris. Second, I visited Patan kumari, which is currently the oldest living goddess at 11 years of age. I didn’t know what to expect. I went out of curiosity. I did feel some energy dynamics and both the kumaris seemed to have a similar energy footprint. That was interesting. Kathmandu Durbar Square Kumari The window where she will appear…th ..read more

A while back I found out about the Hari Om Ashrams in Surat & Nadiad where devotees can go into a few days of maun or silence. Food is provided so devotees are free to spend their entire day by themselves in whatever sadhana and activity they choose. The cost of these rooms are also quite reasonable (about 5 INR per day), thus making it feasible for pretty much anyone from any walk of life to make use of this spiritual support. There are 9 silence rooms in each of these ashrams of Surat and Nadiad. Vegetarian food is provided daily. One condition in these rooms is no fan or cooling methods ..read more

A favourite of the locals, Mahakuta is a group of temples with a lovely water tank amidst them called Vishnu Pushkarni. Located near Badami, Aihole and Patadakal which have many wonderful heritage ruins – it is nice to spend time in this temple space that has heritage ruins and live traditions. (my Badami blog post is here) Two of the biggest temples are Mahakuteshwar and Mallikaarjuna, both are Shiva forms. Maha means great and kuta means group. So, Mahakuta means a ‘great group’ referring to the many shrines and temples in the space. If you prefer to watch a video, here is my vlog on Mahakut ..read more

As I was writing my blog post on Badami, it reminded me of my experience in Hampi, a decade back. When I looked at the blog posts I had written for Hampi, I realized that the most impactful place I visited on that trip was not mentioned anywhere. This is natural because I had always been very hesitant to talk about my spiritual experiences. And this Anjaneya Hill, birthplace of Hanumanji was definitely a powerful experience which I would be hesitant to talk about at that time. Now, however, I am quite forthcoming to share my experiences. Thus, this blog post on Anjaneya hill, most likely Hanum ..read more

In March, during the Holi festival, I began researching Narasimha, the 4th avatar of Vishnu. I thoroughly enjoyed going down this rabbit hole and wish to share my findings with you today! What started this journey was the Holika dahan bonfire. For a large part of India, the Holi festival involves lighting of a sacred bonfire to which devotees offer sweets and medicinal herbs (know more about my Holi experiences in this audio track). This activity is celebrated as Holika dahan (or killing of Holika in the Prahlad story) symbolizing the triumph of good over evil. For those who aren’t aware of th ..read more

On 15th Jan 2023, the second 112 ft Adiyogi Shiva statue was inaugurated at the newly established Sadhguru Sannidhi ashram in Chikkaballapur, roughly 70 kms from Bengaluru city. Since then, many people who had always wanted to visit the Adiyogi, but never ended up going on a trip to Coimbatore, got a chance to visit the Bengaluru Adiyogi. They wonder whether the Coimbatore Adiyogi is any different? Other devotees planning their trip wonder whether they should visit Coimbatore or Bengaluru on their first Adiyogi visit? I will answer these and more questions in this blog post. I also published a ..read more

Are you planning for your first or nth girivalam pradakshina around Arunachala? Here I have listed out a comprehensive preparation checklist for you to use. Being prepared would help you get the best experience of the Girivalam and avoid difficulties like exhaustion, dehydration, injuries and so on. If you don’t know about the Arunachala Girivalam, please refer to my introduction blog post about it: https://maproute.in/discover-the-girivalam-circumambulating-the-sacred-hill-of-arunachala-in-tiruvannamalai-tamil-nadu/ Taking Up a Spiritual Practice Before a Pilgrimage Before you embark on a pil ..read more