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The Sar-pass Expedition

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My first trek with Youth Hostel Association of India (YHAI), ‘the Sar Pass Expedition’ was an unforgettable experience. Much spoken about by my travel buddies, Sar Pass trek was something I was keenly looking forward to. Finally, I got the opportunity to do so in the 19th batch of YHAI (SP-19) 2016. I sincerely hope this travelogue will inspire you all to explore unseen wonders; to protect, respect and conserve nature. ‘Sar’ in the local dialect refers to a lake (usually frozen). The lake, which one has to cross to embark on this trek. Sar Pass trail meanders across the Parvathi valley, Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh. A beautiful and challenging trek to amateurs . The trek was to commence from Kasol (6500 ft ASL). I arrived at Kasol by bus at around 1400 hrs. The base camp was at the entrance of the town, along the banks of the  Parvathi river (to the left of the road as you come from Bhunter). It was quite impossible to miss the words YHAI written ove...
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To the highest motorable road in the World

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Ever since my solo motorcycle trip through Ladakh in 2020, when I reached Khardung La (17,982 ft above sea level), I have been fascinated by this region. The sense of peace, the breathtaking landscapes, and the warmth of the people left a lasting impression on me. What stood out even more was the immense respect I have always had for the Indian Armed Forces and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). Seeing, even briefly, the harsh environment in which they work only deepened that admiration. It gave me a greater appreciation of the effort and dedication required to build and maintain such remarkable road connectivity in these remote, high-altitude regions. Since then, I had wanted to reach Umling La—the highest motorable road in the world, at 19,024 ft (5,797 m) above sea level. My first thought was to drive there, but that wasn’t really practical. The journey would have taken too long, and getting that many days of leave wasn’t possible. The second option was what I had do...
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A Family Stay at Aiyur Forest Reserve

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  The Plan (or Lack of One) This trip wasn’t really planned in detail. It was just me, my wife, and our 4-year-old son looking for a quiet break from Bangalore. We had heard about the Aiyur Forest Rest House before, but never managed to find a working website or phone number. Every number we tried was either “switched off” or “disconnected.” Finally, we decided to just drive down, see the place, and take it as it came. If we got accommodation, great. If not, the backup plan was to drive through the forest, check out the surroundings, and be back in Bangalore by night. We started from Bangalore at 8:00 a.m. and reached the rest house around 10:00 a.m. First Impressions The guest house was completely empty when we arrived—probably because it was the day of festivals . A board outside had the same phone number we had already tried (and failed). After a bit of waiting around, a few locals and workers turned up. They were very friendly and quickly connected us to the fore...
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Location: CV94+685 Aiyur Forest Rest House, Gullatty Rd, Hanumanthapuram, Tamil Nadu 635107, India
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A First Adventure: Hiking with our 3-Year-Old - Kailasagiri

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As parents, we look forward to those special “firsts” with our children, and this past weekend, my wife and I had the joy of taking our 3-year-old son on his very first trek. We set out to Kailasagiri, a spot rich with history and nature, just three hours from Bangalore. What made this experience even more memorable was our son’s excitement. He loves to travel and be outdoors. If you're planning a visit, Google Maps will guide you to the starting point of the Kailasagiri cave temple. As we learned from the locals, this particular temple is a more recent creation, blasted and carved out of the rock—though I couldn’t find any official information to confirm this. If any readers have more details or can shed light on this, I’d love to hear from you!. Just before reaching the parking area, you’ll notice a rough road to the left. This road leads 4 kilometers uphill to a much older temple (said to be more than 1700 years old !).  The road is open from 9 AM to 5 PM and is becoming a favor...
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Location: 92RG+P5X Kailasagiri Hill, Kailasagiri Temple Rd, Kavalaganahalli, Karnataka 563125, India
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Solo biking in the land of passes - Ladakh

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Well... first things first... by no stretch of imagination am I what you call a "rider". Frankly speaking, I have not ridden a 'bullet' for more than 10 km at a stretch. So.... this blog is definitely not for the hardcore riders out there! It is a humble narration of my experience of exploring this beautiful part of the world as a rookie biker 😊😊....and.... maybe inspire some novices to attempt something new😇. This has to be the most unplanned trip I  have ever had. The last minute change of plans from a journey to North east India , all I had was 2 hours in the airport to change my tickets to Leh and plan the rest ON THE GO!! It was a mesmerizing experience of  landing in the  Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport in Leh. The landing approach takes you between hills with a final sharp left turn to align with the runway just before landing..... truly spectacular!! Kudos to the pilots!   https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ladakh_Districts_(...
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Location: Leh
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