Top 15 Religious Places In India

1. Golden Temple: Golden temple, which is renowned as Harmindar Sahib or Sri Durbar Sahib is the popular holy shrine of Sikhs, located in Amritsar,Punjab-India. The temple is named after the god Hari. It is the sacred and cultural center of Sikhs. This vital Sikh shrine magnetizes more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 tourists per a day. This is the favorite tourist spot for NRI’s (Non-resident Indians). A holy bath at Amritsar Golden temple is believed to purify the soul of the devotee.
    
2. Badrinath Temple: Badrinath Temple is also known as Badrinarayan temple, situated along the Alaknanda River, in the hill town of Badrinath, Uttarakhand in India. The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and is widely considered to be one of the holiest Hindu temples in India. The temple and town are also regarded as one of the four Char Dham and Chota Char Dham pilgrimage sites. It is one of the five related shrines called as Panch Badri and also one of the 108 Divya Desams, holy shrines for Vaishnavites. 
3. Kedarnath Temple:  Kedarnath temple is one of the holiest Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and also one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India. It is located near the Mandakini River at the Garhwal Himalayan range near in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand in India. The temple is open only between the ends of April to Kartik Purnima (the autumn full moon sometime in November) due to the extreme weather conditions of the place. 
4. Tirupathi/Tirumala:  The sacred and one of the ancient temples of Sri Venkateshwara is nestled in the verdant Eastern Ghats - a mountain range that runs along south-eastern India. These hills are called as Tirumala Hills and are 3200 feet above the sea level. Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala is considered as the world’s richest temple in with an estimated annual income of over 300 crores. 
5. Srisailam: Srisailam is a famous pilgrimage centre known for the abode of Lord Shiva and His consort Parvathi in the form of Lord Mallikarjuna and Goddess Brahmarambika. The temple of Sri Mallikarjuna and Brahmarambika in Srisailam is considered sacred and must-visit after the temple of Lord Venkateshwara in Tirupati. Over years the popularity of this place has increased so much that Srisailam has gained recognition all over India. 
6. Murudeshwara Temple: The Murudeshwar temple situated atop a small hill called Kanduka Giri is a major tourist attraction. A huge towering statue of Lord Shiva, visible from great distances in Murudeshwar is a sight worth remembering forever. The statue is 123 feet (37 m) in height, which took about 2 years to build. The idol is designed such that the sun s rays fall directly on its face. 
7. Mecca Masjid: Mecca Masjid is a magnificent building with a main hall that is 75 feet high, 220 feet wide and 180 feet long. It can accommodate about ten thousand worshippers at a single go. Fifteen graceful arches support the roof of the main hall, five on each of the three sides. 
8. Kali Temple - Kali ghat: Kali temple is dedicated to Hindu Goddess Kalika and is one of the most sacred pilgrimage destinations of India. The Kali Temple (originally a small hut), was built in 1809 by Raja Basanta Roy of the Sabarna Roy Chowdhury clan - who offered 595 bighas of land to the Temple deity. 
9. Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple: Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple at Syanandoora or today’s Thiruvananthapuram has shed its radiance in continuous flow down the annals of oral tradition and written history. Its evolution reflects the social, historic and religious development of the region over which its influence was felt, which often extended to territories lying well inside present Southern Tamil Nadu. Ranking among the best known temples in Kerala, this shrine retains its position as the most important in Travancore standing in majestic splendor in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala. 
10. Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple: Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple is also known as Keshava Deo or Keshava Dev Temple. It is the most sought after devout centers in Mathura city. Its predominance compared to other holy spots is because of the belief that the temple stands on the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Krishna was born to Vasudeva and Devaki in the prison. 
11. Meenakshi Amman Temple: Meenakshi Amman Temple is one of the most important Hindu Pilgrimage places, located in the heart of Madurai, Tamil Nadu. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, who is also known as Sundareswarar (Beautiful God) along with his consort Parvati who is also known as Meenakshi. The Temple was first built 2000 years ago and then expanded substantially during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak in the years 1623- 1655 A.D. 
12. Medak Church: Made of solid white granite Medak Church stands at 173 feet tall. The church, the single largest diocese in Asia and the second largest in the world after the Vatican is built in solid white granite. Medak Church was constructed between 1914 and 1924 and Thomas Edward Harding who is an architect put in all his best efforts building the cathedral.  
13. Shirdi Sai baba Temple - Samadhi Mandir of Shri Sai Baba: The Samadhi Mandir of Shri Sai Baba was constructed by a famous Sai devotee Shreemant Gopalrao. It is said that he wanted to enshrine an idol of Murlidhar there but Sai Baba manifested himself as Murlidhar and the temple became the Samadhi Mandir of Baba. 
14. Vaishno Devi Temple: Mata Vaishno devi Temple – a cave shrine dedicated to the Hindu Mythological Goddess ‘Shakti’ – the All-Supreme Goddess of creative power. Most Hindu traditions believe that the Vaishno Devi Temple is the holiest of all the ‘Shakti peetas’ – places of worship dedicated to Goddess Shakti. Vaishno Devi Temple is also the second most visited temple in India after the Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple in Andhra Pradesh. 
15. Amarnath Yatra: The toughest Yatra of them all – the Amarnath Yatra – the Hindu Annual Pilgrimage of Lord ‘Shiva Linga’ is here, beckoning all the strong-willed on a spiritual journey all the way up to13,000 feet altitude to the 130-foot high Amarnath Cave where the ice Shiva Linga naturally forms every year. Amarnath Yatra is open for 37 days this year between 25 June and 2 August. Registrations – online and over the counter are open. On-spot registrations are also possible.

Author:
Bhanu Teja

Travel Time...

The Theory of Relativity couldn't have been explained better than this.

Get this.

You may think - a road is a road and distance is distance and that it takes the same time to cover the same distance - no matter which road you're on. But I'll have you reconsider your theory shortly. Let me show you how.

Let's look at some of the popular roads of India:
1. Bandra-Worli Sea Link Road - a bypass through the sea.
2. Khardong La Road - one of the highest motorable roads in the world.
3. Stilwell Road - once the most expensive road in the world.
4. Grand Trunk Road - one of the oldest roads in the world.
5. Magnetic Hill in Ladakh - one of the strangest roads in the world.
6. Hyderabad-Bangalore Highway - one of the easiest roads in the world.
7. Rohtang Tunnel Road - the longest tunnel-road in India at 10,200 feet elevation.

Geography. Landscape. Weather conditions. Speed limit. Magnetic forces. Unforeseen and uncontrollable forces.  And the driver's disposition towards driving. All contribute to the variation in driving speed and experience.

Now picture this....
1. Bandra-Worli Sea Link is an 8-lane cable-stayed bridge road which is 5.6 kms long and serves as a bypass to the Mahim Causeway, through the sea and is built to reduce travel time by 20 minutes between Bandra and Worli. Though the road may facilitate 60-km drive-speed, the traffic-congestion still brings the vehicles to a grinding halt for more than 15 minutes at both ends. It is one of the best roads in the world and still can't expect to reach on time.

2. Khardong La Road is perched atop a 17,600-feet high mountain in Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir. Speed is secondary on this road - safety comes first. With all the perennial snow and ice mountains, finding a road beneath the sheets of snow is top priority.

3. Stilwell Road - also called the Ledo Road, was named after U.S. Army General Stilwell and was built during the World War II as an alternative to the Burma Road which was cut by the Japanese Army. In terms of construction costs, this road was once the highest in the world! It's the zigzag that will make you dizzy if you attempt speed on this road.

4. Grand Trunk Road - one of the oldest and longest roads in the world which connects Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. This route was first initiated during the Mauryan Empire  and was renovated and extended during the 16th Century by Sher Shah Suri of the Muslim Sur Empire who took control of the Mughal Empire in 1540. Now this road would be ideal for high-speeds in most parts of its entire length.

5. Magnetic Hill in Ladakh - thousands of curious tourists visit this area to check this strange behaviour of this mountain/hill which is 27 kms west of Leh in Jammu & Kashmir. Tourists who visited this place at 11,000 feet altitude, have reported that this hilly area has magnetic properties which are strong enough to pull vehicles uphill. If this theory is fake, then why do aircrafts increase their altitude while flying over this area? As it is this hilly landscape is not speed-friendly and then this magnetic force which has a mind of its own?

6. Hyderabad-Bangalore Highway - they say you can drive on this road with your eyes closed. There is some reality to that - though should be attempted literally! This is almost a straight road that runs north to south without any deviations. During the day, you would barely see any traffic on the road. And the highway is 4-track road. You can easily cover this 570-km drive in 7.5 hours during the day in a car as opposed to the 12-hour drive in the night. Well.....I did!

7. Rohtang Tunnel Road - the current longest road tunnel of India which is at 10,200 feet altitude under the Rohtang Mountain Pass in the Pir-Panjal Range of the Himalayas on the Leh-Manali Highway. The tunnel is 8.8 kms in length and is supposed to reduce driving distance of 60 kms between Manali and Keylong. 

By this theory, you ought to know better than to apply the same formula of distance, time and speed to all geographies alike!

Madurai Meenakshi Temple

Madurai Meenakshi Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple is one of the most important and historic temple in India which is well known for its amazing and unique architecture. This ancient temple in Madurai has become one of the major center of attraction and devotee and common people visit this religious temple to view its great architecture. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Parvati and is almost 2500 years old, which add more to its historic importance.

People traveling to Madurai never miss out an opportunity to visit this temple and they consider it as a must to visit travel attraction in their travel itinerary. The Madurai Meenakshi temple is home to around 33,000 sculptures and was also one of the nominees for the “New Seven Wonders of the World”. The festivals and fairs associated with this temple are worth attending and people arriving the temple reaches its peak during festive seasons.

Here is a video that has been fetched from YouTube which helps you to know more about Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, its architecture, its inner premises etc. Hope you enjoy watching this video.

Meenakshi Tirukalyanam festival which is celebrated annually during April–May is one of the major festivals of Meenakshi temple and attracts about one million people. As per reliable sources, the Madurai Meenakshi temple attracts around 15,000 visitors per day and during Fridays the number of visitors jumps up to 25,000. So if you are planning to visit this amazing temple in Tamil Nadu with your family, then it is recommended to avoid it during the Fridays, as there will be a huge rush of visitors.

Savaari in Subcontinent: Puranas Describes Historical culture of India - Savaari in subcontinent

Savaari in Subcontinent: Puranas Describes Historical culture of India - Savaari in subcontinent

Favorites in India: Honeymoon at Manali

Favorites in India: Honeymoon at Manali: Manali   is a beautiful honeymoon hill station in the state of Himachal Pradesh . Manali with a population of approx. 30,000 is administ...

Come September

Come September and the seasons change in most parts of the world. And loads of destinations come into the “season “ phase as well. The monsoons will soon get over in most parts of India but it has left behind a lush green country. Readers of this blog are in for a lot of stories this month. Local festivals and memes like Skywatch and India through my eyes series will continue as well. 

The furore around Ganesha festival has already hit the streets of Bangalore and I see large idols of the deity all over the place. While I do soak in the energy here, I feel the idols should not be dumped anywhere and everywhere on the streets and pavements . We should ideally have a designated place – maybe a playground in each area where stalls can be set up . The streets have become a mess with garbage and Ganeshas both sharing the same space unfortunately. 

Meanwhile , August was a great month on Backpacker and I thank you readers for visiting my blog. Stories on Madras did extremely well as the city celebrated its birthday. Its been three years since my last visit to Singapore, but many of you are still interested in my post on the country. Dussera may be a couple of months away, but a lot of you search for golu bommai and land on my post on Navratri. In fact I just picked up a few kondapalli bommais (dolls)for the coming festival. And finally, I always see Chola trail being very popular. I wonder which of these posts will continue to be on the top of the charts in September . So look forward to more of your visits this month. Happy reading, sharing and commenting ! Would love to hear from you.

And yes, I may be travelling too if all goes well..Fingers crossed !

A Backpacker's Guide to his Galaxy

He stands out from the regular pack of travelers who travel on packaged deals to prominent tourist spots. He mingles-not with tourist masses but rather that he jingles with the locals. While most others set off on cozy holidays, he depends on his shoes, strings and their budget! While they take guided tours, he takes the road less traveled. All hail the Backpacker as he changes your definition of a true vacation.

With a growing need to stretch the buck, travelers are getting more and more creative at exploring new travel dimensions and at extracting the maximum out of a minimalistic holiday.

Backpacking is a state of mind. You certainly have to shed your extravagant ways to find out if you enjoy this new phenomenon. And believe me…. it got its own rugged charm! The essence of backpacking is to get as close to the action as possible – be it the local culture, sightseeing or discovery of newer aspects of the place –while sticking to the least possible budget. So seeking newer economical ways and means to doing so in itself is a thrilling experience. At the end of it all, I’m sure you don’t mind the bank-balance that remains. Ofcourse, this could be difficult to do with kids who would require their personal space during the trips and let’s not forget the other travelers who need their personal space from your kids – especially if you opt for the dormitory accommodation.

Whether it’s another cosmopolitan city that you’re visiting or trekking through dense and rugged jungle terrain or scaling up a 14,000-foot snowy mountain, a backpack can be your soul-mate – holding all your ‘inevitables’ on the trip. Here are a few tips for the backpacking wannabies – straight from the seasoned and the newbies:

1. Research about the place that you’re backpacking to. The season; the weather; the landscape; the type of accommodation; the food culture and the duration of the trip will all determine what and how much you need to pack for this trip. You could also rent camping or trekking or rafting gear from the Tourism Departments or private tour operators which would drastically reduce your backpack load. For instance:

a. Mountain-trekking would demand that you carry winter-wear in all seasons plus canned food and camping tents and mattresses as none of these are available on the mountains.

b. Nature-treks in the jungles in tropical forests which are seen mostly on the Western Ghats demand that you wear socks daily per day of trek as these forests have leeches which manage to crawl into the trekkers’shoes. Socks are to be worn and the pants to be tucked into the socks in order to prevent leeches from getting onto the skin.

c. Decide ahead as to the type of the trip – whether plain leisurely or touristy. I cannot emphasize this enough. Read up travel-blogs online to see how many backpackers regret not planning ahead and leaving behind their professional cameras with tripod; or night-vision binoculars or GPS, assuming they wouldn’t need them and then regretting this decision upon reaching the destination.

d. What you carry in your backpack would be determined by the destination you choose. Click these links for destination-specific backpacking:

Mountains # 1

Mountains # 2

Mountain Trekking

Frozen River

Hills

 Hill Station

National Park

2. Do not compromise on the quality of backpacks or haversacks or your travel experience would get compromised. Especially when you go to remote places such as mountains and national parks where you can’t get an immediate alternative, you can’t afford your backpack giving way to sub-standard. Like a seasoned backpacker would say “you’re only as good as your backpack!”.

3. Packing a backpack is not just an art; it’s also a science these days. Distribute load evenly while packing and refrain from overloading with ‘not-imperative-for-the-trip-items’as you need max space for the ‘must-haves’. While medical associations have mapped the weight of the backpack in accordance to the weight of the person carrying it, maybe you cannot be so precise so avoid the unrequired stuff. One of the important chapters in the Mountaineering Course held at the base camp of the Himalayas is training in load-carrying of backpacks on the mountains. There is a reason why training in load-carrying is emphasized. With exception of few places, you have to carry your own backpacks throughout your trip so your shoulder, neck and knees better be up for it. Infact, the Himalaya Institute of Mountaineering in Darjeeling mandates one month of running and strength-training prior to enrolling in the course of mountaineering. And you should see some of the stuff they make you carry!

Travel-guides, medicines, sunblock, water, camera, umbrella and such must go into the outer pockets while the clothes and the likes go into the main compartment of the backpack.

4. Do not confuse ‘backpacking’with ‘flashpacking’. The difference between the both is that flashpackers are not budget-conscious.

5. Smart accommodation is equal to smart savings. Internet, local tourism departments and friends who’ve been there are your best sources of information on accommodation options such as tourist lodges that are alternate to the regular hotel stays. So be aware that in some places which are extremely remote, hotel and tourist lodges and cottages cost the same. Explore the homestay option with the locals which is cheaper than the rest. Opt for stay and dine option instead of buying food in restaurant which would increase your budget. Refill your water bottle at the place of stay.

6. Local travel must be mostly on foot or by bus whether it is in Kalimpong orKolkata. Taxis eat up your money without your knowledge. For a quick tour of the place, opt for the State Tourism Department’s guided tours. For specific destinations, ask your own hotel for their travel options as some provide minivans or sumo at nominal charge. In hill stations, choose pony-rides which would cost lesser than taxis as they take longer to reach. In this case you will need to factor-in more time for travel.

7. Here are popular backpacking destinations of India:

       a.    Leh

b.    Gulmarg

c.    Zanskar

d.    Pahalgam

e.    Hemis National Park

f.     Dras

g.    Kud

h.    Darjeeling

i.      Lolegaon

j.      Kalimpong

k.    Lava

l.      Gorumara National Park

m.   Singalila National Park

n.    Haflong

o.    Majuli

p.    Simen Chapori

q.    North Lakhimpur

r.     Tinsukia

s.    Digboi

t.      Nameri National Park

u.    Dibru-Saikhowa National Park

v.    Rishikesh

w.   Shimoga

x.    Coorg

y.    Kalpetta

z.    Vythiri

aa. Topchanchi

ab. Gangotri

8. Caution:

a. Do not venture off into the wilderness alone. Professional guides are provided by the local tourism departments and private tour operators. Else, request or hire a local to take you around in the forest or on the mountain.

b. Inform of your backpacking expedition to atleast 5 different people who should send out a search-party or rescue-team should you not return on time.

c. Carry the contact information of the local tourism department, local police department, your hotel or lodge, your folks back home –all written down or printed. Also exchange phone numbers of your co-backpackers if you’re going in a group. Most backpacking places would have no cell phone network so you need to keep your folks informed of that.

d. Carry your medicines and your physician-prescribed tabs for unforeseen circumstances as well. Click here for details. Your own first-aid kit is a must. If you are a diabetic, do consult your physician before your trip. Depending on your trip prepare amply to treat nausea, sea-sickness and altitude-sickness. Read the links above for pointers.

e. You must carry 5 photocopies of your ID & residence proof plus your passport-sized photos in your backpack as they would be required to be submitted at several checkpoints especially in the northeast states of India. Take photocopies of all your credit cards and debit cards and leave one set of all your documents at home with a family member. Foreigners need to keep handy their passport photocopies and passport-size photos for submission at the various checkpoints.

f. Credit cards would not work on most backpacking circuits. Carry enough cash to last the whole trip. As for foreigners, exchange your money in big places while you can.

g. Keep your camera loaded and handy and do carry extra batteries.

h. Learn to use the GPS and the compass. They certainly would come handy on backpacking tours.

i. Load your mobile phone with all your favourite music or pack your Ipod.

j. Walking shoes are of paramount importance. But do not wear brand new shoes. Always wear pre-worn shoes while touring places. You don’t need shoe-bites to slow you down.

Author: Kavitha PT

Check it Out

Book Cheap Flights to Malaga CheapOair.co.uk