In our last holiday trip of 2018, we were returning after a wonderful weekend stay at Attihalli, Sakleshpur. Our hearts still yearned for some more time in the hills. My husband happened to notice a rickety signboard, Western Hills, beside a dusty path that disappeared into the hills. It looked interesting, so we followed our ..read more

                   Memory (Written by Agni Barathi  – Technologist, philosopher, poet, and wanderer.) Who would remember the sighs, the groans the cries, the howls, the laughs, the smiles? Who would remember, the great grand works of he who tilled these fallow lands of he who carved the unyielding rocks of ..read more

Hema Koota is an authentic homestay that offers the simple pleasures of life (delicious food, friendly people, and nature) making for a perfect weekend getaway. Every year, the onset of Christmas vacations heralds an exodus in Bangalore. Some companies shut down for the year-end. IT employees try to use up their remaining leaves. Everyone has ..read more

St. Anne church is a hidden gem in the quiet Olaulim village. We found it while riding around Pomburpa village, during our stay at the Loja. In the evening, churchgoers gather here for mass. The rest of the day, the Church stands quietly. Witnessing life passing by for the last 266 years or so. The gentle sway of ..read more

An old story … long time in the closet. So this happened today while returning from work. I boarded an airport Volvo. Airport Volvos have a strange warmth to them. People heading back home, or people visiting the city to meet their kids or parents or friends. There is always a sense of comfort in strangers that I have felt. I was thinking about all ..read more

The much anticipated annual holidays have given way to the infamous holy-lockdown-days. Instead of visiting a foreign(or foreign to your city limits) land and the side-effects of a “vacay-cay-cay”, commenting on how the locals are rather are in shape despite feasting on the local bread that is high on glutens, paying twice the amount on taxi fare that you usually would or could, testing the ..read more

There’s a beautiful red building in Mangalore’s bustling city center, Hampankatte. Stone arches and green wooden windows seem to hang on to the grace of a bygone era. Around the heritage structure, the city slowly moves towards its millennial aspirations. The institute’s origins can be traced back to 1824 when a group of German Missionaries introduced English language education in coastal Karnataka. Over time, the institution ..read more

Watercolor illustrations and journal entries about a trip to Chitkul (or Chittkul), a scenic village in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. Travel tips and stories to help you plan your Himalayan vacation and solo travel in India ..read more

“Why did we come to Kalpa? There is nothing to see here.” – A frustrated backpacker I met in Kalpa market. Kalpa is a sleepy little village a few kilometers above Reckong Peo, the administrative center of Kinnaur valley. Peo has a major bus depot that provides connectivity to Spiti, Kinnaur, Manali, and Delhi. Travelers on their way to the Spiti Valley reach Reckong Peo ..read more

Treks in India bring to mind snowy cliffs and deodar flanked paths of the Himalayas or the dense mountain peaks of Western Ghats. Which is why the Gokarna Beach trek (or hike if you are a purist) is a delightful surprise. The trail is along the coastline over rocky hills giving way to beautiful coconut tree fringed beaches. About Gokarna Gokarna is a small coastal town ..read more