Hoover Dam & Zion National Park - A Journey Through Nature's Wonders across American Southwest

September 14th: Hoover Dam & Zion National Park

Our next stop was Hoover Dam (HD). We picked some take away breakfast from Starbucks at the rental at Las Vegas airport, picked our rental car and started our drive. HD is about 45 min drive from Las Vegas airport.

Hoover Dam

Our first stop was the walk across the Hoover Dam View Bridge. It's a 5 min walk from the car parking to the bridge. Though it was hot, the strong wind made it tolerable. We got some breathtaking views of the dam and the Colorado River from the Dam View Bridge.

Plant Tour

 

Following this, we parked our car at the visitor center and purchased tickets to Plant Tour, a 30 min guided tour. The tour starts with a short movie covering the history of the dam, followed by the guided tour to the generators through the tunnels. This short tour, gives a good overview of the dam.

Post the tour, we walked on the dam. The dam is so deep, it's quite scary when we bend to see at the view points. We then grabbed a quick lunch at the visitor center cafe. They did have a couple of vegetarian options which was a relief of us.

 

 

After spending about 3 hours at the Hoover dam, we set off on a scenic drive towards Zion National Park (ZNP). ZNP is about 190 miles - 3 hour drive from HD. ZNP is in Utah and in different timezone than Las Vegas (Nevada). The drive is through vast open landscape pretty much nothing around. 

Drive to Zion National Park

All national parks in USA have an entry fee. We can either pay per national park or buy a annual pass at 80$ which will give access to all the 63 national parks. Since we were planning to visit multiple national parks, purchasing the annual pass was best. The annual pass can be purchased at any national park or REI stores. Once pass gives access to one car/people in the car. 

Zion Lodge is the only place within the national park. One needs to book very early to get accommodation here. There are a bunch of good options in Springdale which is the close to ZNP and easily accessible by shuttle.  

Bumbleberry Inn, Springdale

Around sunset, we arrived at the charming Bumbleberry Inn in Springdale, our stay for the night. The orange/red colors of setting sun added more to beauty to the rocky mountains of ZNP. After checking in, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Oscar's Café, indulging in the local flavors. A quick stop at Sol Market allowed us to stock up on snacks and essentials for our road trip before a restful night.S

September 15th: Exploring Zion National Park

Morning started with a hot & yummy breakfast at the Inn. They have a nice cafe where our complimentary breakfast was served. After breakfast we picked trekking poles from the Inn. Most lodgings here provide complimentary trek poles which are to be returned at the end of the day after the hike.

Springdale shuttle stop to ZNP visitor center was right opposite the Inn. We tool the shuttle to ZNP visitor center and there boarded the ZNP shuttle.  These shuttles are every 5-10 min and are most convenient to access all the points on ZNP. Infact, ZNP can be explored only via the shuttle. 

While restrooms and water filling stations are available at all ZNP shuttle stops, there are no food joints/cafes on any stops other than the visitor center and at Zion Lodge. So good to carry food depending on how much time you want spend in the park.

ZNP scenic drive is one of the most beautiful drives and is only accessible by the shuttle. Choose a window seat to get some amazing views on this scenic drive. 

Our first stop on the ZNP shuttle was Stop #6. We planned to do the lower and middle emerald pools on the Grotto/Kayenta trail. This is approximately 2.5 miles/4 KMs easy hike and it took us about 2hrs to complete.

We planned the Emerald pool hike in the first half of the day to avoid the heat. Heat in south-west America is at a different level. The sun is sharp and the wind is cool. So cap/hat, sun glasses, water and light jacket are a must when in outdoors.

 

 

On this trail we got some great views of the gigantic rocky mountains and a thin stream of virgin river flowing along the trail path. Unlike the view points, hiking gives an opportunity to get fully immersed in the surroundings and be part of it.

Emerald Pool

 Emerald pools are nothing but a tiny pool of water formed from the flowing water. Because of the moss/algae in the water, the pools look green and hence the name. There is nothing great about the pools as such, it's a great break-point on the hikes as the water flowing over the rocks to form these pools is very cool and refreshing.

The hike offered us beautiful views of Zion’s waterfalls and pools. We spent some time at the pools soaking in the surrounding and started hiking back to the trail head. The trails here are rocky, uneven and muddy. Having good shoes and trekking pole helped.

Unlike the trails in India, the trails here have no litter, there are washrooms, water and rest area facilities, people are mindful about co-hikers, nobody is playing loud music and more important no place is as crowded as in India. Hiking experience in USA is very different and serene. To get a similar experience in India, we will have to hike an unknown trail :)

 

 

 

After a small snack break, we headed to our next hiking - 'The Narrows'. This is a 16 mile hike in the Virgin river. The trail starts from the last stop of the shuttle - the Temple of Sinawava. From here it's a 1.2 mile / 2 KMs Riverside walk (mud pathway) before we enter the river/narrows.  Doing the entire 16 mile hike is full day activity of walking in waist level water. Generally people do the riverside walk and then walk about 30-40 mins in the water/narrow and return. We decided to follow the same trend.

 

 

 

While early mornings have lesser crowd on the trail and the narrows, the water will be super cold. It is better to hike in the afternoon, when the water temperature is slightly higher. It was great that we planned this in the afternoon, the water was slightly cold but not bad. We hiked on the riverside walk and walked in narrows for 40 mins. We walked in the water until it reached our knee length and returned. Walking in fresh and cool flowing water between the huge rocky mountains was an amazing experience. 

 

 

 

Water proof shoes and socks are available on rent at the visitor center. However, we did the narrows with our regular shoes (sneakers). Some people were managing with sandals as well. The water bed is full of small stones, which are slippery in some areas. A good pair of shoes (even if not water proof) and trekking pole helps a lot to navigate into the water. Also, wearing dry fit clothes works out better. We had also carried an extra pair of footwear to change into post our hike. 

Narrows

It took us about 3 hours to return to the shuttle stop. It was around 4pm when we returned to the visitor center. We were super hungry and went to the first cafe we came across. Late lunch at the Zion Canyon Brew Pub was a perfect break before heading back to Springdale. We had some amazing Mexican food. Since it's very close to the visitor center, this place is very crowded and the service can get slow. We had to wait for 20 mins for our food to arrive. There are a bunch of other restaurants at a couple of minutes walk from the visitor center. We saw them only after we finished our lunch when we headed back to Springdale.

We dropped our trekking poles at the Inn and started our drive to our next destination - Bryce National Park (BNP).

Get Completely Off The Grid @ Off The Grid

Off The Grid - popularly know as OTG (http://www.offthegrid.in/come-and-stay.html) is a completely different homestay experience. This is nestled in the western ghats, close to Londa. As the name suggest, this place is completely "off the grid". Once here, one is completely disconnected from the outside world. OTG can be easily reached from Londa, Goa or Belgaum. This place is surrounded by forest ranges on all 3 sides and has a stream running through their property. ONLY people we meet/see here, are the people working at the homestay or the visitors staying here. Slyvia and John are the owners of this homestay and they are pretty hands-on hosts. During our stay we could only meet Slyvia as John was travelling. We had a most relaxed and memorable 3 days at OTG.

Belgaum, being my home town, we were already there for our summer holidays. We borrowed my sister's car and drove to OTG. This is about 2 1/2 hours peaceful drive from Belgaum. Once we crossed Khanapur, we enter the Dandeli forest and from here the drive is very scenic and peaceful. Its just trees all around and not a soul on the road. Mobile connectivity is intermittent here. Hence recommend to have the maps ready.

We had breakfast at my parent's house and started around 8:30AM from Belgaum. Though it was peak summer (May 7th), we did not feel the heat, as the drive was mostly through the forest ranges. Once we reached castle rock, we followed the directions given by Slyvia. The village where OTG is located has only 2 houses - one is OTG and the other house belongs to the farmer/cook/helper who works at OTG. Unless it is a SUV/4 wheel drive, one cannot take the car upto the homestay. We parked our car at a designated parking and honked few times to attract the attention of the helper from OTG (since there is no mobile connectivity, we were instructed to honk once we reach the parking place). A note of precaution - use proper footware as the road is muddy and full of pebbles. I lightly sprained my leg because of improper footware :(

Scenic drive from Belgaum to OTG

After a few honks, one attendant helped us with our luggage to OTG. There! we see a big white house and couple of cottages by the stream. The place looks exactly as shown on their website. During the booking, I had asked for 2 cottages by the stream. When we reached their, Slyvia gave us an option to change to rooftop rooms on the main building which had attached bath. I think, she was sceptical whether our daughters would be comfortable in an open bathroom which is away from the cottages. But we are seasoned travellers and our kids are used to all kinds of stuff. They were excited with staying independently in a separate cottage and a open roof bathroom. This was best decision. It was a perfect location for us - 2 independent cottages by the stream. One was taken by kids and we had one for ourselves.

In this property there is one main building (white in color) and 2 cottages and couple of tepees. This place is completely aloof from the outside world. It is surrounded by forest on 3 sides and a stream flows through the property. There are lot of fruits trees like mango, gauva, papaya. There are two fire-wood ovens in the open space. Evening dinner is typically cooked in this fire-wood oven. There is a place for camp-fire under the open sky and not a soul around.

Cottages by the stream and open roof bathroom

All types of accommodation are good and each has its charm. We choose to stay in the cottages. The cottages are very rustic, basic, comfortable and clean. They have a queen-sized bed and a open bamboo shelf. There are no glasses to the windows, just the wooden panes with curtains. But it was amazing, we had one of the most peaceful sleep of our lives. No insects bothered us, even though we were in the middle of the forest. That is eco-friendly lodging. The cottages are adjacent to each other. They have a small sit-out with a good lounge overlooking the stream. Best place to unwind with a book.

Stream infront of the cottage

There is a single bathroom, shared between both the cottages and this is few steps away from the cottages. This is an open-roof bathroom. It has a WC. Hot water was provided in a bucket for bathing. There are no lights inside the bathroom. For that matter there are no lights even in the bedroom. Solar powered lamps are provided at dusk. These are pretty handy and double up as torches and lamps for rooms.



We put our luggage into the cottages. Fresh lemonade was served - which was very refreshing. Since there was still some time until lunch time, Slyvia (the host) suggested we go to the natural pool (about 200m from the property - it's like it is a private property, but it isn't). We changed into our swimming costumes. We were also given life jackets as a safety precaution.

Waterfalls and Natural Pool

Just 200m walk in the forest from OTG is this natural waterfalls and pool. The water here was super cool. Slyvia accompanied us to the pool. It's about 15-20 feet deep, hence she recommended we wear the life jackets. Initially we were hesitant to get into the water, but once in, didn't want to come out. Atlast, I felt it was worth learning to swim. I could get into the water and enjoy it. We had super fun floating in the pool and swimming under the water falls. The little fishes in the water made sure we don't stand in one place for more than a minute. As soon as we were still, they would all pounce on our feet to eat the dead cells. We spent about an hour here and did not realize how the time flew.

Dining area surrounded by mango grooves

By the time we returned from a refreshing time at the pool, a healthy delicious meal was awaiting at the table. We had some salad, pasta, rice and curry and some dessert. Everything about this place is unique. The dining area is also out in the open with some shade. There are mango trees all around the dining area. Since this was the mango season, the trees were full of mangoes. Because of the tress and open area, we did not feel the heat much. We were tired with the drive and playing water. After a good lunch, we had a nice nap. Kids however spent time with Slyvia at the pottery studio. Slyvia has a nice pottery studio. She taught the kids how to make small pots, beads and lamps. The kids had great fun at the pottery studio.

Some stuff we tried at pottery studio

Around 4pm, Slyvia suggested that we could go for a small trek. My leg was slightly sore with the sprain. I decided to still go for the trek as it didn't hurt much. The trek was through the forest and we came across some amazing views. Halfway through the trek, my leg pain worsened. I, however, continued at a slow pace as there was no other way to reach back. By the time we returned, it was dusk. My leg pain had worsened and I could barely walk. Slyvia gave some pain relief balm and a wrap. This helped a bit.

As night set in, the fire-wood ovens were lit along with the camp fire. Kids helped Slyvia set up the pizza. Pizzas and vegetables were ready for baking in the oven. The whole place was peaceful and lovely. We could see the clear sky with twinkling stars, there were few fire flies twinkling in the trees, dinner was getting baked in the fire-wood ovens and the camp-fire was keeping us all warm in the cool evening of a summer night. They have a nice sitting area made of clay around the campfire. There are stands to hook the oil lamps in the evening. This place looks more beautiful in the evening. We got our drinks (though there is no power, they manage to get the ice delivered from the nearest town and they have made arrangements to store the ice without electricity) and settled around the campfire, discussing on all kinds of topics. Slyvia was great host. She is very active and up to date on lot of stuff. She kept us entertained on lot of stories at her property.

Fire set in @ firewood oven

We were the only guests at the property. So the whole place was for us. It was amazing. There is absolutely no network in this property. There is only one point from where one can make calls. There is no electricity. Solar lamps are charged during the day and used during night. They also have a TV in the main building which runs on solar power. Coming here gives lot of assurance that great life can be lived without network and electricity.

Campfire and dinner area

Dinner was ready and what a spread it was - my mouth waters even now :). There was hot soup, fresh salad made from the veggies grown on the farm, baked vegetables, fire-wood pizza. Can't describe how yummy the food was. It was splendid. We just could not stop eating. Chocolate brownie with fresh cream was served for dessert. Wow! what a evening. This was classic.

Next day a trek to Vajra falls was planned. We planned to start at 7AM with some packed breakfast. We went back to our cottages and had a great sleep. There were no mosquitoes to bother us, though we were in the middle of the forest. No lights, except for the small solar lights. Yet we felt very safe and slept like a log.

Vajra Falls

We woke up at 6:00 AM to the sound of chirping birds. My leg was not in great shape :( I decided to skip the trek. Pankaj and kids, along with the guide left for the trek to Vajra falls around 7:30am. They carried enough water and light breakfast. I spent my lone time reading a book by the stream and chatting up with Slyvia at breakfast. Slyvia left to Goa after breakfast. My leg was getting back to normal. Pankaj and kids returned from trek around 11:30am. They were pretty tired. But they had a good 4hr trek. Once back it was time to relax. Each one found their favourite book and a nice spot and settled to relax. After a good healthy meal, Pankaj decided to take a nap. Me and kids went to the pottery studio to try our hands on pottery, based on the lessons given by Slyvia the previous day. We tried doing lot of cool things - some turned out good, some were oddly shaped :)

On the way to Vajra Falls

Around 4pm we went again to the natural waterfalls and pool. A dip/swim into fresh and cool water under the shade of trees was very refreshing in the hot summer. As the sunset, the magic of evening set in. Oil lamps were hooked up, fire-wood ovens were lit and there was absolute peace. There was no sound other then the sound of nature. We had a another tasty meal of soup, awesome-tasty pizzas and grilled vegetables, rice and salad, followed by the goan dessert Bebinca with some fresh wipped cream. Yum!!!

After another good night of sleep, we decided to trek to Dudhsagar falls before we checked out. The actual trek is about 2 hours. But overall time to drive to the starting point of the trek, acquiring permissions, trek and return will take about 4 hours. Permissions for the trek can be obtained from the forest department at Castle Rock. The permissions need to be taken on the same day as the trek.

Trek path enroute Dudhsagar falls

This trek to Dudhsagar falls was to the mouth of the falls. We started at 7am. We hired a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Tintin was our driver cum guide. He helped us get the permissions at the Castle Rock forest department. It was about 30-40 min drive to the starting point of the trek. The trek was primarily through the forest and at some point tiring. But was a very beautiful trek. It took us about an hour and half to reach the mouth of the falls. The views from top are breath-taking. The famous railway track looks like a small line from the top. We saw a train pass-by, and it looked like a rope from the top. The view of Dudhsagar falls from here is very different from the view one sees at the bottom of the falls. We enjoyed the views, played in water for sometime, had our packed breakfast of parathas and sandwiches and rested for sometime under the shade of trees. After enjoying the beautiful surroundings to our heart content, we decided to trek back. Trekking back is always less exciting, especially in hot sun and after eating. We wish, the vehicle would just come and pick us up from here. The sun was up and we were tired. Though the trek was through the forest - mostly shaded, it still was very tiring. After lot of breaks, we reached the point where the vehicle was parked. It was now straight drive to OTG.

View of Dudhasagar falls from top

View of train from top of Dudhasagar falls

 Once at OTG, we freshened up, had some fresh juice and ready to check-out. We had another 2 hour drive to Belgaum. We had a lovely time at OTG and left the place with lot of memories to cherish. We reached Belgaum around 2pm. My mom had prepared some delicious lunch. Had a yummy meal, took a nap and pack again to catch Rani-Chanamma express to Bangalore at 6:30PM. Time to say good-bye to Belgaum after another exciting and memorable break during summer.

Kuderemukha - The Green Carpet

Kuderemukha is in the western ghats of Karnataka. About 290KMs from Bangalore. It was earlier known for the famous Iron Ore mining. This place is in abundance with natural resources. The mighty Bhadra river swells in monsoons and gives life to lot of waterfalls. Since this place falls under the western ghats, except during summer months, the whole place is otherwise lush green. After one crosses the Chikkamagular town, the drive is enchanting. There are small water streams dripping all along the road, all the trees are fresh and all the hills are covered with green. It looks like somebody has put a green carpet on all the hills. Since mining has been banned for more than two decades, this place has very less population. The roads are deserted and one will not see anybody for kilometers together.

This October, because of lot of tests/classes, kids got a vacation only for a week. Hence we wanted to do a chota- recharge. We decided on Kuderemukha thinking we will trek to the peak of Kuderemukha. But after talking to a few people and reading lot of reviews, we decided on doing a smaller trek to Galigudda. Trek to Kuderemukha peak will take about 8-10 hours. Many people said because of the duration, it could get tiring and boring for the kids. Hence we dropped the idea of trekking to the peak. But we wanted to do some trek - even if it is just for couple of hours. The place is so scenic - one cannot resist trekking.

Green Carpet - Western Ghats

Unlike Chikkamagular, Kuderemukha does not have many homestays/resorts. We booked our stay at Bynekaadu (http://bynekaadu.com/). We booked the wooden cottage. The location of the resort is great. Bhadra river flows right infront of the resort. Because of bad monsoons, there wasn't much water in the river. The cottages however are basic. Don't expect some fancy beds and comforts. They have 2 wooden cottages, which share a common wall. This can get annoying if the neighbours are noisy. Though they categorize themselves as homestay, I would think otherwise. The food is prepared at some other location and bought at the site. We kind of did not like this. Food was basic nothing to rave about. They have some indoor games like volley ball, badminton, carom etc. Also a personal campfire is provided right in fornt of your cottage. This was great. We stayed here for a 2nights/3days.

Scenic Drive

We started Bangalore at 6AM and reached Bynekaadu a little beyond Noon, with a break for breakfast at Mayura on NH48. We were served welcome drink of lemonade. It was refreshing after a long drive. The drive was very scenic. Chikkamagulur is one district where you don't want to stop driving. Its calm, quite and serene. After checking in, we relaxed for sometime and were served lunch. At 3PM, we were taken on Jeep drive to a waterfalls where we could swim. On the way, it started raining. Though we tried not to get bitten by leeches, but couldn't avoid :(  The waterfalls was secluded. It was just us and another couple. We were given life jackets before we got into the water. We had loads of fun in the water. The water was pretty cold but very very clean and clear. We spent an hour or so. By now it started raining heavily and our guide/driver told us to start so that we reach the resort before dark. This part of Chikkamagulur is pretty deserted. It is recommended to avoid driving after dark as it is difficult to get any help in case of emergency. We reached the resort around 6PM. We played some badminton and soon it was pretty dark.

Waterfalls - where we could swim

A warm camp fire was lit and we were served hot pakodas and some fresh masala banana and jackfruit chips. The resort/homestay is owned by group of 4 friends. One of them, joined us at campfire and we started chit-chatting. It was fun hearing how they started the resort. We spent the evening under star lit sky with warm campfire and some music by DJ Shree and Shrishti. This is always one of our best part of any vacation - campfire, star lit sky, no TV, no network, some remote place, with some snacks and a good drink, each one fighting for their favourite song to be played and just sitting and chatting on random topics.

Trekking @ Galigudda

Next day, we had planned to trek Galigudda. We had an early breakfast and left for the trek. One can experience walking on the green carpet here. It's a beautiful trek. The hill is covered with grassland and as one walks, one can see lots of shrubs with different colour flowers. We can also see the vast western ghats from here -  till your eyes can scan, one can see the lush green mountains. The wind blows pretty strong here and as you reach higher, it just gushes on your face. There is absolutely no one here. When we went it was just us and the driver. Since we wanted to trek, we asked the Jeep to drop us at the base. The Jeep can be taken up to the peak. We got dropped of at the base and started trekking. Loved every bit of it. I was a little disappointed when we decided to drop the idea of trekking to Kuderemukha. But the trek to Galigudda quenched that thirst. Hopefully few years down the line, we will be able to trek to Kuderemukha peak - once the kids are older :)

Hanuman Gundi Falls

After the spending enough time amidst the green hills and soaking ourselves into the majestic western ghats, it was time to head back. Since we had some time on our hands until lunch, we planned to stop by at Hanuman Gundi waterfalls. There are around 320 steps to reach the falls from the main road. It is definitely worth a visit. The steps are well laid and is surrounded by forest. All falls around this area are beautiful. We went down the steps and spent some time with our legs immersed in the cool waters. It brought back memories of 10years back when the kids were younger and we had carry them to get to the falls. It was so tiring then. Now it seemed so easy with everybody walking on their own :)

Hanging Bridge

Scenic Drive from Hanging Bridge

From here, we stopped at a hanging bridge which is built over Bhadra river. Nothing much to do here - it's just a scenic point. This is very close to Kuderemukh Iron Ore factory. Views from here are great. We captured few good pictures and headed straight to our resort. The drive from here to the resort was the most scenic drive. Absolutely not a soul on the road, very good roads, and lush green hills all around with the streams playing hide and seeks through them. It was one epic drive. By the time we reached the resort, we were tired and hungry. We had a good lunch and rested for sometime. By late afternoon, we were ready to venture more. We checked with the resort guys on what else we could do. They suggested we could drive to another view point, but it could be late. We said, we were fine, even if it got late and headed to the view point.

Getting a peek into the steep valley

This place is called Balrayanadurga and is a must visit. Cars cannot be used to reach this place. 4-wheel Jeep is a best option. The driver took us through some great roads to reach this place. Once we reached here, we were left spellbound. Superb location. On one side are the majestic hills and on the other side is a deep steep valley. The driver, held our hand to get a peek into how deep the valley was and Gosh! it was scary. One can trek to the top of Balrayanadurga peak. There is a fort on the top. It is a good 1/2 day trek. Had we know this earlier we would have planned to trek it. We decided to do it in our next trip. It was sunset time and was getting darker. Since it was very cloudy we could not see the sunset. The driver also told us, we can see the coastline of Mangalore from here on a clear day. It was very windy and cold here and it soon started raining.

Balrayandurga View Point - Landscape

By the time we reached the resort, it was 7pm. We had some hot tea/coffee and some refreshment. A campfire was lit in front of our cottage and we found ourselves relaxing and enjoying around the campfire. After dinner, we just crashed.

Next day, we decided to check out the famous Annapurneshwari temple of Hornadu. This is about 20min drive from Bynekaadu. To avoid long queues, it is recommended to visit the temple before 8AM. Since this was close to Bynekaadu, we went around 7:30AM. There was hardly any crowd. We quickly finished visiting the main temple. I was actually disappointed with the amount of construction that has come up around the temple. 10 years back, when we had visited this temple, there wasn't so much of construction. It was beautiful temple complex, surrounded by hills all around. When we visited this time, the construction around the complex has takenover the view of the beautiful hills :(
On the way back to the resort, we stopped by to buy some coffee and spices. The shopkeeper was very friendly and spent some time chatting with us. This is what I like about non-urban places. Life here is  simple and people generally have time and inclination to talk to other people. The shopkeeper even offered us some tea. We returned to the resort in time for breakfast. We had a sumptuous breakfast, so that we don't get hungry until lunch time.

It was time to say good bye to Kuderemukha and head to Bangalore. Another version of Chikkamagulur was explored and as always it left us with lots of fond memories and experiences.

Unique North East (Assam and Meghalay)

It was time to visit that part of India which has its own unique culture and landscapes and gives a completely different experience. Visit to North East leaves one with a feeling - so far yet so close. The cultures, the food, the tribes, the dressing and lot of such things leaves one thinking, how each of the 7 North East states are different from each other and yet some similar when seen from a person who does not belong to these states.

We planned for a 8 day trip to cover 2 states - Assam (Guwahati and Kaziranga) and Meghalaya (Shillong and Cherrapunji). There are direct flights from Bangalore to Guwahati. The flight duration is about 3 hours - which is pretty good. Since the trip was planned during the Navratri festival, we had completed all the bookings well in advance to avoid the last minute rush. Assam has lot of rush during Durga Pooja. We planned to start on Sep 26th and return on 4th Oct and the plan was
Bangalore > Shillong > Cherrapunji > Guwahati > Kaziranga > Bangalore. This was the best way to cover these places, if we have to avoid lot of driving.

Assam is prone to lot of flooding during the months of Jul/Aug/Sep. We were aware of this situation. However since we wanted to time it with the school holidays, we took the risk of travelling in the last week of Sep - assuming the rains would have subdued by then. Kaziranga National Park is closed between May - Oct (Park opens on Nov 1) as Brahmaputra gets flooded. However the National Park is very close to the highway NH 37, because of which spotting of Rihnos while driving through the highway is possible if one is lucky (there is a very high possibility).

TIPS

• Though distances between places are short, it generally takes more time. Avg. Speed typically is around 40 KMs/Hr especially when travelling from Guwahati to Shillong or Cherrapunji
• For best sighting of Rihnos, best time to visit Kaziranga National Park is Nov - Jan
• Good to have a vehicle at hand to move between places rather than using public transport
• Tourist places are not well marked. Best is to list the places you wish to cover and tell it up front to the driver.
• English is very common in Meghalaya. Even the people in remote village understand and speak pretty well in English. They don't follow Hindi. However English is not common in Assam. People do understand Hindi here.
• Vegetarian food option is not common. Even fish is considered as Veg here. Guwahati has options for pure veg restaurants. However other places one needs to be careful

Long vacations are always (most of the time) after the exams. To avoid any kind of distractions or last minute hassles, all bookings and plan was completed much before the vacation. Little did we know, the days before we reached Guwahati would end up with so much of excitement.

Shrishti's exams got over on 20th Sep and her vacation starts. Shree has couple of more more exams to go. On 21st Sep, Shree is down with high fever. The fever continues until 24th. Pankaj also falls ill. In 2 days we would be travelling and both Shree and Pankaj are unwell :(. To add to this, there is huge cloud burst in Assam because of which many parts are flooded, many villages are under water causing deaths. Even Guwahati is flooded. With all the exams, patients at home, we had no clue about this news. On 25th Oct, Shree and Panka are recovered, and that is when we read the news of floods in Assam - in the news paper. What now? Reading news online scared us more - sometimes it is good to know less. After seeing all the videos and situation in Assam, we were in double minds on whether we should even travel at this point. Since our first stop was at Shillong, I called up the cottage we had booked our stay and also the cab travel agent to check on the flood situation. Their assurance, that everything is fine and there will not be any issue, gave us a lot of confidence. We were back to packing in full swing and all excited that the trip is going to happen.

7:00 PM on 25th Sep (the day before we leave for our vacation), heavy rains with thunderstorm start in Bangalore. Within couple of hours the roads are flooded and it still continues to pour. Pankaj is stuck in office and cannot reach home as the roads are all blocked. Power is cut-off and heavy rains continue. What a night this was... There is water everywhere, our portico is flooded and we are wondering how we are going to make it to the airport as we will have to start in few hours. We decide to go to bed, assuming the rains would recede and the roads would be cleared soon. Luckily, as anticipated by 5AM, the roads were cleared and we could reach the airport on time.

Once we reached airport is when I was convinced that we would be actually taking this vacation. We had a good - ontime flight. As we descended at Guwahati, we could see the massive Brahmaputra and impact of the floods. There was water everywhere!

Sep 26th and Sep 27th - Shillong

We had booked a direct flight to Guwahati and reached there around 12 PM. Our cab was waiting when we landed at Guwahati. It is best to have a vehicle pre-booked for the entire trip. We started to Shillong. If Vegetarian, the best option is have lunch at Guwahati and then start to Shillong. Enroute Shillong there are hardly any Veg. eat outs. There is one place called Nogbouh, where there is a food court and good place to stop over. We had our lunch on the outskirts of Guwahati - just as we enter the highway to Shillong.

Though the distance to Shillong is around 120 KM, the drive will easily take 3-4 hours. The highway is prone to landslides and there is always some construction work on. Another interesting point about this highway is, one side of the highway is in Assam and other side is in Meghalaya. The divider on the highway indicates the division of states. On the Meghalaya side of the highway, we noticed lots of liquor shops. This is because the taxation is lower for Mgehalaya and hence alcohol cost is cheaper.

We reached the outskirts of Shillong around 3:30 PM. Once we got closer to Shillong, we felt the typical atmosphere of a hill station - pine trees, lakes, cool weather, narrow-winding roads, people walking around with warm clothes. It gave us a very nice feeling. Unlike other hill stations, this is not over populated. We did not see many tourists. And whatever few were there, were mostly from Assam. This could be because, it was not a peak season. We covered a couple of sightseeing places and then reached our cottage. As these states are on the eastern side of India, the day ends sooner. By 5 PM, it is pretty dark and nothing much can be done. Hence it is recommended to start the day early.

We had booked at homestay at Aerodene Cottages (http://aerodene.in/). The place is very homely, with a nice garden and is very close to the downtown and yet secluded and calm. Our room very comfortable for family of 4. The food served at the cottage was really yummy.

Places to see in Shillong

• Uniam Lake - is bang on the highway which leads to Shillong - one will not miss this. It is huge lake. In summer there are some water sports activities available on the lake. Otherwise it is a just a huge lake which is beautiful
• Don Bosco Museum - Must visit. Will take about 1-2 hours to cover. The sky-walk on the terrace gives a good view of Shillong city. We were during the sunset time and it was a beautiful sight. 
• Sweet Falls - Not very popular, but is a good place to visit. Water drops from huge height. The view from View-point was great. Earlier tourist could trek to the base of the water-falls, however it is no more an option. Trek to base would have been great.

• 

  Sweet Falls - Shillong
  

• Mawlang Sacred forest - Nice small forest. About an 1-1/2 drive from Shillong. This forest is known for medicinal plants and lot of interesting trees. It is good to hire a guide to know the different plants and also some of important places like where the Khasi Tribe Leader would sit and have an assembly, the sacrifice point etc.
• Elephant Falls - Must visit falls. It is beautiful and very well maintained. There are 3 levels and each level has it owns beauty.



Elephant Falls


• Shillong View Point - This view point is in Shillong Air-force area and pretty much gives the glimpse of entire city. However I feel the view from Don Bosco Museum's Sky Walk is much better



Shillong View Point

• Wards Lake - Like any hill station, which has a lake, this is a lake in Shillong, with beautiful landscapes, boating facility on the late, live band in the evening. Good for spending a peaceful evening.

Interesting points of Meghalaya

• Megahalaya is Matriarchy (female dominated) society. You will see women driving all aspects of life
• English is very well known and understood even in the remotest villages. Hindi is not so common
• Most women are dressed in the traditional Meghalaya attire or trousers and skirts. You will not find anybody wearing a Sari or a Salwar
• It is difficult to get vegetarian food. Non-Veg is by default. 
• All cooking is done in Mustard oil and flavours of mustard and turmeric is very very strong.
• As eating meat is common, one can notice lot of butcher shops everywhere. This can make pure vegetarians a little uncomfortable if they are very orthodox
• There are hardly any autos and public buses in Shillong. Most common means is to hire/share a taxi. All taxi's we saw were Martui Alto.

Sep 28th and Sep 30th - Cheerapunji

After having a great time at Shillong, we headed to Cheerapunji - which is about 60 Kms from Shillong. Our host at Areodene had recommended us to visit the Smith - Palace/House of Khasi King, which was enroute to Cheerapunji. We decided to visit this place. When we reached here, we were surprised. We need to be aware that the Palace/House is the King of Khasi Tribes. Hence don't expected it to be the palaces like Nizams/Rajputs. It is huge wooden house, built in traditional Khasi style with a huge compound. The roof is made of hay like any other house of Khasi Tribe. Unfortunately it was locked and we could not see the inside part. We were told that the place will open for visitng only during the festivities. We explored it from outside, took some pics and moved to our next destination - Laitlum Canyons

Laitlum Canyons - This place is out of world. When we went, there was hardly any person in site. Greenery all around. There are hills full of geenery and then there is deep valley and somewhere you will see a stream making its way in the valley. There are no directions to this place. We had ask so many people for direction. Wonder why it has not been publicized. Maybe that is the reason, the place is still serene. We reached this place around 11:30 AM and views were clear and awesome. Did not feel like leaving this place. It is superb!

Laitlum Canyons

After spending a considerable amount of time at Laitlum Canyons, we started driving to Cheerpunji. The drive to Cheerapunji is beautiful. I am falling short of words to describe the beauty. It needs to be experienced! The landscape is very unique. The valleys and gorges are so deep, it is unimaginable and then from nowhere a huge waterfalls. The hills are sliced like a cake and a peep into the valley brings in goose-bumps. Every such hill has a waterfall - which looks absolutely stunning when it falls from such great heights into a deep valley. 

Mawsmai Caves - As we enter the Cheerapunji town (note - it is very small town), we went straight to Mawsmai Caves. Small portion of this cave is open for public to explore. It is well lit and would take about an 30m - 1 hour to cover. One part of the cave is very narrow and can be a little claustrophobic. However the place is definitely worth visiting.  These are living caves and the formation is amazing. The road which leads to Mawsmai caves have Khasi Monolithis. Nothing worth stopping over, you can just see then when driving by.

Mawsmai Caves

Very close to Mawsmai caves is the Seven Sisters falls. This is again a huge falls. By the time we reached here it was 3PM and it view was very foggy. We could not get a good view of the falls. Imp Point: Try to cover all waterfalls before 1PM as it gets very foggy in the afternoon and views are not clear. Since we were in Cheerapunji for 2days, we decided we would come again in the morning on the day we would leave Cheerapunji.

From here, we further drove 10 Kms to the Tangaraksa Park. This park is small eco-park, well maintained and has very good view points. The waterfalls from one of the view points is superb. It is really huge. The views from this park are mesmerizing. It was very relaxing to just sit and gaze through the lush green valleys and amazing waterfalls.

Water Falls view from Tangaraksa Park

From here, we started to drive to our hotel booked in Cheerapunji. We had booked our hotel at "Cherrapunji Holiday Resort". Though the name has resort it is very simple, basic and not very fancy. The location and views are very good from this resort. Also, since we planned to do the "Trek to Double Decker Living Roots Bridge", this place was the best option. The starting point for the trek is very close this resort. The drive from Cheerapunji town to this resort is superb. One one side there are huge mountains which are full of small shrubs of different colored flowers and small waterfalls, which seem to pop from no where. On the other side of the road is very deep valley full of rain forest which are fresh and lush green because of the rains.

Route to Cherrapunji Holiday Resort

By the time we reached the resort it was 5 PM and the sunset looked beautiful. The resort has a huge hall with rooms (6) around the hall - like a heritage house with a common dining hall with entrance to the room from the hall. The rooms very basic but clean. People who stay here typically are the ones who want to do the trek. Our trek was planned for next day (Sep 29th). We met few other people here, who had just completed the trek. We got few tips from them and we were all excited to do this trek.

Evening was spent just relaxing, chatting with other fellow tourists at the resort over a camp fire. We had a early dinner and asked for packed lunch of sandwiches and parathas for the trek. From the time I had read about this trek, I was very excited and had got the entire family excited about this. Initially I was not sure whether the kids could make this trek, but after reading up on google and checking from the resort counter, it was clear that kids can very well do this trek. We slept early as we wanted to be fresh and all charged up for the trek.

Yes, the day had arrived. We had a light breakfast, carried lots of water and packed lunch of sandwiches. We decided to drop carrying our SLR and take pics by our cell phone to avoid any extra luggage. We also had arranged for a guide to come along with us. Our cab dropped us at 8:30 AM at the start of the trek.

Interesting points of the trek (Double Decker Root Bridges)

• Trek is of around 10KMs and includes around 10,000 steps (inclusive of both ways). It takes about 6-8 hours to do the entire trek
• There are 2 hanging adventurous bridges en-route the trek.
• There are couple of villages on the way. One will be surprised how they live at such remote places and climb these steps.
• There are couple of small shops which provide tea and some chocolates/toffees
• As part of this trek, we can cover the Double -Decker living root bridge and a longest living bridge (95 feet). Both these are made by the roots of the rubber tree, which grows in this rain forest
• Carry lots of water and light food
• Good to carry a swim suit. There is nice natural pool below the Double-Decker bridge and one will be waiting to get into the water
• Since the trek is in the rain forest, it will get humid. Hence wear light clothes.
• Good foot-ware (shoes) is a must
• Most of the trek is through the forest, hence the sun will not hit directly
• Kids above 10 years can easily do it. Every younger kids can do it, but they can loose interest as it is for a pretty long duration.
• Take multiple small breaks rather than few long breaks 

Trek to Double-Decker bridge is a must if one is visiting Cheerapunji. It is once in a life time experience. The trek starts with descending of steps. Around 3000 steps to descend. These steps lead to a small village. The steps are constructed few years back and built in the forest. We saw lot of different colored butterflies, Noh Kalikai falls looked beautiful from here. We saw some men carrying a huge log of wood on their back and climbing the steps. Our guide, told us that these men do more than one such trips. It is not very easy to climb up/down with out any luggage and seeing these me do such trips multiple times gave us a glimpse of how their life is full of hardship. At this point, it kind of gives us a reality check on how easy life we are leading and makes us to be thankful for what we have. People living in these villages will have to climb these steps to reach the town to buy any stuff. We saw a pregnant women also climbing the steps to go to Cheerapunji.

Man Carrying a Log of wood and climbing the steps

Once we reach the first village, turning left leads to the path which goes to Double-Decker bridge. Right will take to the longest living bridge. We took the left direction and decided to visit the longest bridge on the way back. From here for sometime the trek is a normal path (no steps). After sometime we came across a hanging bridge - made from few thin (may be 4-5) iron rods held by iron ropes. We need to walk on these rods to cross the bridge. Below the bridge is water and rocks. One by one we crossed the bridge. We loved it - especially the kids, as this was a unique experience and very very adventurous for them.

Adventure Bridges over gorges - enroute to double decker bridge

The whole path is through the forest. We saw lots of insects, colorful butterflies, cool refreshing streams and no people. We look around and we could only see huge mountains with trees and we are in the valley. After some more trekking. we came across the second hanging bridge (little longer than the earlier one) and more adventurous. Here we met one fellow tourist (70yr old man) who was also staying in the same resort as us and was returning back after finishing the trek to Double Decker bridge. At this point we came across a small shop selling tea and toffees. From here, further trekking is by steps (1000 +). We walked over a small living root bridge and after some more walking, we reached the Double Decker bridge around 11 AM. Once we reached this point - only word that came out of our mouth was "WOW". All the tiredness vanished in a min the moment we put our legs in the cool water of the pool. This spot is beautiful. The bridge itself is built by the villagers to help them cross. These bridges are made by the roots of the rubber trees grown in these areas. The roots are directed to grow through the bettle nuts hollow stems to add further strength and support. The roots are very strong. This particular bridge has 2 bridges one above the other, hence the name. The 3rd layer is being slowly coming up. It take 100 years to get a bridge done.

Double Decker Living Roots Bridge

At this point, there is a village with some 30-40 people and a guest house which typically is taken by adventure tourists. These villages are totally disconnected from the main-land. Only people they see are the tourist that come here. They are most self-sufficient and eat only what is grown by them. Can't imagine staying so far away in a remote place.

We spent some time here playing in the pool and refreshing. We had our packed lunch and relaxed for sometime. We wanted to stay here for more time. But reluctantly had to pack to move again as we had a long walk back - wished this place was easily accessible.

We started back at noon. By this time it was hot and humid and our bodies had got used to relaxing. It took some time to get back to the spirit of trekking. After few minutes, we were back with all the zosh and zing. We crossed all the points we had encountered earlier and reached the village from where we could go to the longest living bridge (95 feet). This place was amazing. It felt like the scene in Jurassic park or Amazon forest - out of the world. We spent some time here, took some pictures and started our climb back - 3000 + steps. The kids were more energetic than we thought. They were always ahead. I was the one who was the slowest. I was pretty tired and was taking break after every 50-70 steps. The climb is tiring and as we got closer, I wanted to just sit. Lot of short breaks actually helped.

By the time we reached the top, it was 3PM. We were tried but happy that we could complete it. It was our dream coming true. We went back to our room, refreshed and all the tiredness just seemed to have vanished. We spent rest of the day relaxing. By 5 PM we were relaxed and wanted to walk around. After having walked the whole day, suddenly just sitting was making us uneasy. We went to a view point very close to the resort can then had an early dinner and crashed. Luckily none of us had any kind of injuries or sprains.

Noh Kalkai Falls

Next day we were are all up and charged. We were driving back to Guwahati. Since we had not got good views of the falls because of the fog, we wanted to cover them before we left Cheerapunji. We visited the Seven Sister Falls, Noh Kalikai falls, Wah Kaba Fall and some great view points. Each of these falls is unique and beautiful. They all fall from un-imaginable heights. We also saw some coal mines in Cheerrapunji - though mining is now officially made illegal. From here is was drive back to Guwahati (5 hrs) with a quick stop for lunch at Norbough

Sep 30th - 2nd Oct

We reached Guwahati around 3PM and it was typically city – dusty, noisy, highly populated and polluted and also very hot. Because of the festival time (Durga Pooja) there was additional traffic and chaos. Wonder why all cities have the same atmosphere. However the whole city had a very festive atmosphere – there were pendals everywhere, lot of colorful lightings and decorations, people shopping etc. Once we entered the city, we headed straight to Kalashetra. The museum here is good. They also a museum dedicated to Bhupen Hazarika. This is not a must visit place. We visited the Shilpa Gram opposite Kalashtra. We were disappointed. Absolutely nothing is here. The whole place was constructed to promote north-east art and cluture. However it has deserted look and only a couple of shops are taken up. This can be completely avoided.

From here we went to take the sunset cruise over Brahmaputra. The river is mighty and because of the recent rains it had further bloated. It seemed like a ocean! The cruise claim to start at 5:30, however they start only by 5:45-6PM. The cruise is very relaxing. Option to buy snacks and drinks on board is available. They also have dinner cruises. We took the Afresco Cruise. 45 min of cruise on the river with snacks and drink with cool breeze and twinkling stars was amazingly pleasant and we forgot all the noise and dust of the city. After the cruise we headed straight to our Hotel. We had booked our stay at “Brahmaputra Ashok”. The hotel is at a good location. We were welcomed with traditional hats and shawls of Assam. This hotel is bang on the banks of the river. Our room had a good view of the river and was very comfortable. We were happy to be back in the room as it was quite here (we wanted to get out of the noise) and we wanted to just relax.

Durga Pooa Pendal at Guwahati

We had not planned much for Guwahati as this place is more of a stopover and there isn’t much to do here. Since we had lot of time, next day we visited the zoo in the morning. Like all zoos in India, this is not well maintained and can be avoided. From here we visited the Uma Nanda temple. This temple is on an island and we need to take a ferry to reach here. There are ferries running every hour. The whole visit (waiting for ferry, ferry ride, visit to temple, and back) will take about 1 – 1 ½ hour. This is a good place to visit. Visit in the afternoon can be very hot. We went at noon and it was very hot and to add to this we missed the ferry by some 20 min and had wait for the next ferry.

Island of Uma Nanda Temple - Guwahati

We had lunch at Mohan Bog. The food was great. Guwahati has many chat/sweet veg restaurants. The food here is very tasty.  Assam state museum was closed for the Pooja holidays – hence we missed it. In the evening we visited the Kamakhya Temple. This requires a special details. We had no idea what we would be experiencing here. The only thing we knew was Kamakhya temple is a well know temple in Guwahati and is a must visit. It is also one of the old temples. We reached here around 4PM. There was huge crowd (however we got to know that this is very minuscule in comparison to what was in the morning) as it was Durga Pooja Day (8^th Day of Navrathri). The path that leads to the temple is a narrow lane with steps which are lined with small shops all over. As it was festival time, there was more color. Everywhere there was RED color (KUM-KUM). We reached the temple and were observing the temple when heard a man saying “Baju” (move). We just turned and were shocked to see a buffalo being carried after a sacrifice. We were shocked. This was something we were not prepared not expecting here. Since we had come so far, we entered the main temple and sight was something for which we were not prepared. We came out and my younger daughter asked us did we see the 8-10 heads of buffalos stacked one above the other inside. None of us had seen this as we were already shocked with the earlier sighting. Pankaj went back to check it. Shree and I opted to stay back. Did not have the courage to see it. This whole experience made us rekindle on how different cultures have different beliefs and what is considered as auspicious and good in one culture can completely offend somebody who belongs to a different culture. It is very important to keep an open mind and convince oneself that there is no right or wrong when it comes to religion or culture. After we returned, we googled and found that animal sacrifice is very common and festival days. Had we known about this, maybe we would have chosen another day to visit the temple. Nevertheless, none of us will ever forget this incident in our lives.

Late evening we went to see the Durga Pooja pendals. This festival is done at a very large scale here (similar to the Ganesha festival in Maharashtra). There are pendals with lot of decoration at every junction. Different menus are set in the restaurant for the Pooja. The sweet marts are flooded with people. There are tons of sweets. In all a very festive atmosphere and very unique to West Bengal and Assam states

2nd Oct - 4th Oct

2nd of Oct, after breakfast, we started our journey from Guwahati. Pobitaro National Park is about 50Kms from Guwahati. This is a small national park, but is good for sighting Rihnos. As the park is not wide-spread, spotting of animals is very easy. The park is open from Nov 1 – End of April. We however took a chance to see if we could be lucky. The park was closed because of the floods, however we sighted 4-5 One Horn Rihnos in the fields around the park. We were very excited when we spotted the Rihnos.

Flooded Brahmaputra River

From here, we drove to Kaziranga National Park. This park is about 250 Kms from Guwahati and would take about 4 hours. The highway connecting Guwahati-Kaziranga is very good and there is hardly any traffic. On both sides of the highway, there are paddy fields in different shades of Green – what a lovely treat to eyes. Richness of Brahmaputra river can be experienced here.

Kaziranga National Park is open from Nov 1^st – end of April. This park is known for One Horn Rihnos and Water Buffalos. Since the school holidays will never coincide with the park open schedules, we decided to visit Kaziranga – knowing fully that we may not be able to see any animals. We had our stay booked with “Diphlu River Lodge” (www.diphluriverlodge.com). This is a beautiful resort with excellent location, cottages and food. It is definitely the best place to stay in Kaziranga. The tariff is on a higher side. Since we booked this during off-season, we got good discount.

Diphlu River Lodge - Cottage

We reached Kaziranga around 3PM. The national park runs parallel to the highway and this proved very lucky. One side of the highway there is the National Park and the other side has Tea gardens.  At one point, we saw about 11 Rihno’s grazing the water-filled fields – this was bang next to highway. We were lucky to get such good spotting even though the park was closed. This made our day! As we reached our lodge, we were taken by another surprise. The river lodge was amazing. The cottages are rustic and built in assamese style. Few of the cottages face the river. The whole place gets a magical once the sun sets. You will see fireflies twinkling, stars twinkling in the clear sky and there is absolutely no other noise. Dim electric lanterns are lit which makes the whole place look even more beautiful. A small pond at the center has lilies which bloom fully after the sun sets. The food is very tasty and caters to international tourists. Now that we had spotted Rihnos and very staying in an amazing place, we were no more disappointed nor feeling sad that we had visited Kaziranga during the off-season. Ofcourse visiting the place during the season would have given a whole different experience, as we could have done the elephant safari and spotted Rihnos from very close distance.

For the 2 days we stayed, we went for a Safari (both morning and evening). Every safari we spotted Rihnos, Water Buffalos and couple of Hog Deer’s. One of the mornings we visited a Assam’s Village where they have handlooms and some tribal women work here. Meeting the lady who runs this handloom was an experience in itself. In this remote village, she runs looms and provides employment to women. She also collects the different handmade stuff from different village folks and sells them at various melas. She also runs a restaurant during the season which serves breakfast and lunch of local cuisine and decor  for tourists visiting Kaziranga National Park. She was very enterprising. She explained to us in very good English, how things are made on handloom. Kids tried their hands on it. We also bought some scarfs from her loom shop. After Kaziranaga, it was back to Guwahati airport and then the flight back to Bangalore.

We had an exciting and adventurous trip in Assam and Meghalaya. Cheerapunji and Kaziranga National Park are a must visit places and if at Cheerapunji, trek to Double Decker Living roots bridges is an absolute must.