Scenic Beauty of India- Amazing Uttarakhand-2

Scenic Beauty of India- Amazing Uttarakhand-2
In Continuation to my previous post, Uttarakhand is considered to be divine and auspicious land where many Great Sages have done Sadhana/austerity and this is main reason for considering this place sacred.

In this post we will be virtually travelling to Kedarnath, Badrinath  and  till now relatively less explored place but magnanimous beauty, Valley of flowers.

Kedarnath- This place is abode of Lord Shiva and is one of "Char Dham" for pilgrimage in Hindu belief.

• Architecture of temple is unique and has withstand Might of nature from centuries.
• Aadi Shankaracharya, reestablished glory of temple in 8th century.
• Earlier history of this place dates back to be in era of Great Mahabharat.
• Temple remains open only during April to November due to extreme weather conditions.
• Place is located at Chorabari Glacier. 
• Temple is situated on the banks of river "Mandakini".

Kedarnath Temple

Chorabari Lake

Voyage to Kedarnath in April courtesy indiamile.com

Near Temple courtesy Indiamike.com

Near By area to Temple courtesy Indiamike.com

 Chorabari-Glaciers-Kedarnath courtesy blogs.agu.org

Badrinath :This place is abode of Lord Vishnu and is one of "Char Dham" for pilgrimage in Hindu belief.

• Temple is situated on the banks of river "Alaknanda"
• Two mountains named "Nara" and "Narayana" are situated on both sides of river "Alaknanda".
• Temple of Lord is in lap of Mount "Narayana".
• Mount "Neelkantha" is in background of temple.

BadriNath Temple courtesy incredibleindia.egoldentriangle.com

View from Badrinath -Mount Neelkanth 

Voyage to Temple of BadriNath courtesy retrotexts.net

Bank of river Alaknanda

Valley of Flowers- Must visit place in lifetime.

• Best time to visit July, August and September.
• Valley of flowers is not less than heaven for  nature lovers due to it's scenic beauty.
• Believed to be in area of around 100 sq Kms.
• It is located in Himalayan region and in District Chamauli.
• As per Hindu Belief, it is believed that Lord Parashuram, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, has cultivated this valley and since then, this valley is being nurtured by nature.
• Now this valley is National Park.
• Most important point about this valley is, no one cultivates this valley and this is all NATURAL.

Scenic Beauty of Valley of Flower

Scenic Beauty of Valley of Flower

Scenic Beauty of Valley of Flower

Scenic Beauty of Valley of Flower

Scenic Beauty of Valley of Flower

Enjoy the beauty of Valley of Flower in this beautiful video.

Uttarakhand is mind blowing beauty, So Stay tuned, More to come ...

Scenic Beauty of India-Amazing Uttarakhand

Scenic Beauty of India- Amazing Uttarakhand

• Uttarakhand is an auspicious state in northern part of India and known as "Land of Gods".
• Holy river Ganga originates from this place and  many Great Rishis have done austerity (tapa/sadhana) on the banks of Ganga.
• Tranquility and serenity at the bank of Ganga is just unparalleled..

Holy river Ganga originates from glacier "Gangotri".

Gangotri Glacier courtesy himalayanoutdoors.com

Gangotri Glacier another view courtesy hoparoundindia.com

Gomukh courtesy encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com

Place from where Holy Ganga has originated  is known as Gomukh.

• Gomukh translates to "Mouth of Cow" as place looks like mouth of cow.
• It is believed that water taken from Holy river Ganga does not get polluted for years.

Marvelous Scenic Beauty of Holy River Ganga near Rishikesh courtesy weareholidays.co.in

Another Holy River Yamuna also originates from this state and place is know as "Yamunotri".

Champasar Glacier from where Holy river Yamuna originates courtesy placesfortour.com

Snaps of Voyage of  Holy River Yamuna courtesy static.panoramio.com

Snaps of Voyage of  Holy River Yamuna courtesy placesfortour.com

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  State of Uttarakhand has four major pilgrimage places namely Haridwar, Rishikesh ,Kedarnath and Badrinath, apart from Gangoti and Yamunatri.
• Pilgrimage places are considered to be full of vibrant spiritual energy and any one with receptive mindset can enrich his/her soul as per capacity of individual.

Let's visit these places starting from Haridwar.

Haridwar- Since ages, Haridwar is place for answering spiritual quest across pan India.

Amazing view of Haridwar at Kumbh Mele courtesy easytoursofindia.com

Kumbh Mela in Haridwar courtesy plustoursindia.com

Ganga Aarati at Hari Ki Paudi Haridwar courtesy plustoursindia.com

Aarati view from other side of River courtesy uttarakhandholidays.net

• Haridwar is place where according to belief of Hindu's, "Amrit" /elixir of immortality was dropped and to celebrate this "Kumbh" is organized.
• Famous "Kumbh Mela" is organized every 12 years and millions of Indians take a dip in Holy Ganga.
• Amazing and mind blowing experience of "Aarati" in evening at the banks of "Maa" Ganga.
• Place where Great Sage "Vyasa" have completed world famous book "Mahabharat".

• Various "Ashrams" / places for meditation, one of the Most authentic "Ashram" is "Shantlkiunj", founded by Great sage of modern era and author of around two thousand books, "Pt. Shri Ram Sharma Acharya".

Panoramic view of ShantiKunj Campus courtesy hgsitebuilder.com

One of the Greatest Sage of modern era , Pt. Shri Ram Sharma Acharya courtesy vatikashaktipeeth.com

To know more about Shantikunj please visit,    http://www.awgp.org/

• Center for learning of ancient, genuine and authentic Yoga.

To know more about Yoga and Aayurveda please visit http://www.divyayoga.com/

Rishikesh: Very close to Haridwar, this is first place  to experience Holy river Ganga's blessings.

Patanjali Yoga Peeth courtesy zipmytravel.com

Dip in Holy River Ganga

Yet another amazing view of RishiKesh courtesy bradrockwell.files.wordpress.com

• Place is believed to be "World Capital of Yoga".
• Lord Rama did sadhana /austerity in this place and a bridge is still named after his younger brother Laxman as Laxman Jhula.
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Natural Scenic Beauty

• Recently it has attracted people for water sports like rafting.

Rafting experience for adventure lovers courtesy yohyoh.com

Stay tuned for next part of Uttarakhand as there are many places yet to be explored!!!

Scenic Beauty of India -Amazing Valley of Kashmir

Scenic Beauty of India -Amazing Valley of Kashmir

Valley of Kashmir is refereed to as "Paradise on Earth" by many famous personalities throughout the history.

History of Kashmir dates back to period of  great "Mahabharata" era and many references are found from 3rd century BCE at the time of Great King Ashoka.

Courtesy Michal Svec – Flickr

Valley of Kashmir was believed to be major learning center for Buddhists under Great King Ashoka.

• Great King Ashoka's brother referred to Valley of Kashmir as real Heaven due to it's scenic beauty.
• During Mauryan Empire regime, Great King  Ashoka's brother choose the option to rule the area of Valley of Kashmir and ironically lost the chance to become King of India.

Kashmir the Heaven of the world courtesy travel-tips-to-kashmir.kashmirtourpackage.com

Most sought of tourist spots in valley are listed below and we will discuss what's most famous in the region.

Srinagar- Capital of state Jammu Kashmir.

Place of one of the most beautiful lakes in the world , most important are Dal lake, Nagin Lake.

Kashmir the Heaven of the world courtesy go4anything.com

Enjoying small peddled taxi boats in lake courtesy makemytrip.com

Feel fresh with mother nature courtesy musetheplace.com

Experiencing serene beauty of Himalayas in Dal Lake courtesy cloudninetravelz.com

Experiencing serene beauty of Himalayas in Dal Lake courtesy worldtravel.com

Unique experience of staying in houseboats and enjoy the scenic beauty of Himalayas.

Houseboats of Kashmir courtesy encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com

Houseboats with interconnecting bridges courtesy encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com

• Main point of attraction is unique experience of living in Houseboats nicknamed as "floating palaces".
    Each Houseboat is anchored individually but have interconnecting bridges to provide access from one boat to another. 

  

  Houseboat courtesy t1.gstatic.com

• Each Houseboat has an exclusive small peddled taxi boat for ferrying guests to shore named as "Shikara".

Splendid beauty of Royal gardens such as, Nishat Garden and Shalimar Garden.
Some snaps from Royal gardens.

Royal garden courtesy KVTravelsasr.com

Nishat Grden courtesy mapsofindia.com

Nishat Bag courtesy gardenvisit.com

Gulmarg: One of the most famous hill stations of India.

The literal meaning of Gulmarg is "Meadow of Flowers".

• It is also known as "Heartland of winter sports in India". 

  

  Gulmarg in Winer courtesy encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com

• This place is believed to be one of Asia's best skiing destination.

  

  Skiing locations courtesy t2.gstatic.com

Perfect place fo skiing lovers courtesy courtesy encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com

• Famous for hosting one of the highest cable car in the world.

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  Enjoy the scenic ride in one of highest cable car in the world courtesy encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com

Pahalgam: Another scenic beauty near Srinagar.

• This place is famous for being a starting point for "Amarnath Yatra", a Hindu pilgrimage. 
• "Amarnath Yatra" is a journey for holy cave considered to be holiest shrines in India, associate with Lord Shiva.
• Natural Shiva Lingam is formed due to freezing of water drops.
• There are historical references to this holy place which date back to 300 BCE.

Sacred Journey to Amarnath courtesy himalayanmail.com

Snap of in between during the Journey courtesy photos.outlookindia.com

Kalhoi Glacier- is a hanging glacier which is drying up fast due to global warming.

Kalhoi glacier courtesy indiantrekking.com

Betaab Valley- got it's name due to shooting of a famous movie Betaab. Some of the stills from this valley are below.

courtesy hoparoundindia.com

Destination : Valley of Kashmir
How to Reach :Via Train / Airplane/Bike Ride.
Place to Stay : Many good Hotels in Kashmir
Caution : Region was in influence of terrorist activities in 1990's. Advisable not to be too adventurist.

Google Map for Valley of Kashmir


Hope you enjoyed this Journey..
Stay tuned for my next post of another marvelous scenic beauty of Uttarakhand (known as Land of Gods).