New year escapes from Kolkata The dripping lights of Park Street and the revelry of grand old clubs may define New Year’s celebrations in Kolkata, but what do you do when you want to escape the city and its madness? You make best use of…
New year escapes from Mumbai It’s that time of the year again! New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and everyone’s wondering how to celebrate it. Fret not, as for those looking to head out of the city with family, friends or your better…
Best escapes for January 2016 January may be the perfect time to start making travel plans for the year ahead – but it’s also a wonderful month to put them into action. Why wait to soak up some vitamin D in Guatemala or the Philippines,…
New Year escapes for the wildlife lover 1. Corbett National Park Safari, Uttarakhand BEST TIME TO GO: November–March Established in 1936 as India’s first national park, Corbett takes its name from the legendary tiger hunter Jim Corbett (1875–1955), who put Kumaon (the district in which the forest…
New Year escapes for the spiritual soul For travellers seeking a spiritual experience on the cusp of the New Year, this list offers some great options. Raghunath Temple, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir The most famous temple complex in Jammu and one of the largest in North India, this mid-19th-century…
Escape to a resort from Delhi The next time you have a long weekend to spare but don’t know where to ‘escape,’ consider this list. Te Aroha, Dhanachuli This boutique resort sits on a hillside, looking down into a valley of hamlets, terraced fields and pine…
May Day 2015 weekend trips Unplug. Recharge. Reconnect. Unwind with a trip to these destinations, not far from home, that make for a perfect choice for the upcoming long weekend. When 1 May, 2015 to 4 May, 2015 Where to go Colombo, Sri Lanka Once considered a…
12 offbeat places for long weekends in 2015 If 2014 left you aching for some days off work, 2015 is your year. The upside – the year has plenty of three- and four-day weekends to help you recover from routine. The flipside – you need to get planning…
10 more offbeat places to visit in India Since India is full of unseen places waiting to be discovered, we felt one list would simply not be enough. And so, here’s the second installation of 10 offbeat places waiting to be discovered in India. Loktak Lake, Manipur About…
Hampi Lives On Declared a Unesco World Heritage Site, the magnificent capital of the Vijayanagar Empire is an open-air museum of 20 elaborate temples and other smaller structures. How often have you struggled to understand the adulation a destination commands from travellers —…
A day in Pune Once little more than an army outpost, Pune is a city that epitomizes ‘New India’, with its baffling mix of capitalism, spiritualism, ancient and modern. Whether on a business trip or visiting relatives, here are a few things you should…
Treks and village stays in Kumaon, Uttarakhand Trekking through mountains, crossing streams and villages, enjoying a picnic, staying at village homes, not having the mobile signal for hours – these are definitely the highlights of my trip to Uttarakhand. On this trip I ignore the hill stations…
Mugilu, a quaint homestay in Sakleshpur, Karnataka The last stretch is a dirt track across a kilometer and a half. The car manages to gobble up the road as we reach Bugadahalli village in Sakleshpur district in Karnataka at around three in the afternoon. It is sleepy,…
Best Escape: Shravanabelagola, Karnataka The massive statue of Bahubali, looking out over the town of Shravanabelagola, is often seen in brochures of the Hassan-Belur-Halebidu circuit. It is certainly intriguing enough to merit a detour. 438 feet above looks easy on paper, but as one…
Adventure in Coorg Coorg has earned itself the rightful title of ‘adventure capital of Karnataka’. Located on the eastern edge of the Western Ghats, it has a diverse topography, with mountains, coffee plantations, thick forests, paddy fields and rivers. These form a suitable…
Safari in India: a manual for nature lovers The wildlife of India comprises a fascinating melting pot of animals from Europe, Asia and ancient Gondwanaland all swirled together in a bewildering mix of habitats ranging from steamy mangrove forests and jungles to sandy deserts and icy alpine meadows.…
A day at Kabini River Lodge ‘An erstwhile hunting lodge of the Mysore Maharaja’ – this description of the Kabini River Lodge is enough to conjure visions of grandeur and luxury. Spread over 54 verdant acres near the Nagarhole National Park (also known as Rajiv Gandhi…
Lovely Binsar The ‘hill-station’, that entity which promised us pine forests, log huts and cognac, is an outdated species. Civilization has left us with a more practical version called the ‘hill-city’, which is an elevated hub of commerce and construction. Is it…
Sights around Jodhpur The mainly arid countryside around Jodhpur is dotted with surprising lakes, isolated forts and palaces, and intriguing villages. It’s home to a clutch of fine heritage hotels where you can enjoy the slower pace of rural life. Here’s a look at some of these: Mandore…
Weekend escapes from Kolkata The beauty about a weekend getaway is that everybody has an interpretation of the ideal one. For some it means never getting off the hammock, for others it’s about never getting on it. Some get their joy taking long drives…
Pretty little Sattal Oh joy! August, a month filled with long weekends has finally arrived and since it’s our duty to hand-pick the best places to enjoy these holidays, we will start with Sattal, the perfect refuge from Delhi’s chaos. Scenic long walks…
Dreamy Hampi Surreal, stark and yet stunning – you soon run out of words to describe Hampi and its silhouetted monuments, as they stand vigil over time. An overnight train journey is all that separates the chaos of Bangalore from the haunting ruins.…
Your guide to Myanmar As Myanmar/Burma opens up, sanctions lift and life there rapidly changes, more travellers are venturing into this alluring country. Because changes happen so quickly, it is difficult to find up-to-date information on what to expect when visiting the country. Here…
Mumbai’s Portuguese connection In this excerpt from Short Escapes from Mumbai, journalist and publisher, Frederick Noronha explores the Portuguese remains of Mumbai and its surroundings. The areas in Mumbai and its surrounds were ruled by the Portuguese from 1534 to 1739. Bacaim…
Golf’s own country: India’s best golfing destinations For a country with the oldest golf course outside the British Isles, India doesn’t exactly spoil golfers for choice. But what it lacks in numbers, it makes up in character: from the iconic Delhi Golf Club in the Capital, to…