India - Teronga

Mujib_Sheikh / November 16, 2015

Visit Darjeeling: Queen of Natural Beauty in India

Mankind can find beauty very easily in nature which surrounds them wherever they live or visit. However, visit Darjeeling in North East India and you’ll understand why they call her the Queen of Nature. The serenity and the peaceful environment of this hill station especially of the tea plantations will make you fall in love with this place.

This incredibly beautiful place and popular tourist destination is located in the Mahabharat Range or Lesser Himalya at an average elevation of 6,710 ft (2,050 m). It is noted for its tea industry and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was once a popular hill station during the days of the Raj, a lovely Victoria town built among the Himalayan foothills.

Foreign tourists come to see the beautiful views, visit the tea plantations and resorts, to go trekking at high altitude spots, to go shopping at colorful markets and to experience the cultural diversity. The cultural diversity includes many Tibetan refugees that moved here after Tibet was annexed by China and they co-exist with the descendants of the many Nepali and Bihari laborers brought to work in the tea plantations. The town is also a jumping off point for travelers heading to Sikkim. Obviously, you’ll see many Buddhist monasteries.

It’s a very popular place to visit for your honeymoon, or a relaxing family trip, or even a fun vacation with friends. You can choose to visit there by going on a North East India tour package.

“Flowers are everywhere. The days are cold and the sun almost seems to play hide and seek with us”. – Rabindranath Tagore.

Yes, Darjeeling is a such a place where you can feel and see the unpredictable condition of the weather where the clouds and the suns are busy playing hide and seek.

Main Attractions: Not to be Missed!

The Mall Road, Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Shingamari Ropeway, Zoological Park (Darjeeling Zoo), Mahakal Dara Temple, Tiger Hill, Batasia Loop, Gangamaiya Park, Rock Garden, Happy Valley Tea Estate, Ava Art Gallery, Japanese Temple (Japanese Peace Pagoda), Dhir Dham Temple, Mirik Lake and Darjeeling Tea Estate.

Location: Near the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, India. Darjeeling is one of the country’s most famous hill destinations.

Area: 3,149 Square Km. Location 27 Deg. 13 Min. N to 26 Deg. 27 Min. N Latitude 88 Deg. 53 Min. E to 87 Deg. 59 Min. E Longitude

Altitude: Darjeeling Town: 6710 Feet.

Nearest Railway Station: Darjeeling(Narrow Gauge), New Jalpaiguri(Broad Gauge)

Nearest Airport: Bagdogra

Neighbouring Countries: Nepal, China, Bhutan & Bangladesh

Density: 413 Persons Per Square Km.

Literacy: 57.62%

Languages: Nepali, Hindi, Bengali and English are the prevailing languages. Bengali is the language of the plains. Tibetan is spoken by the refugees and some other tribal peoples.

Festivals: Houses are decorated and the festivities arranged on the eve of Diwali and lasts for about two weeks. It consists of Lakshmi Puja, Bhailo, Deosi and Bhai Tika. There are robust folk dances with the males participating enthusiastically in the ‘Chabrung’ of the Libus, the Tamangs dance, ‘Damfu’, and the most popular of them all, the scintillating Maruni. Gay folk songs fill the air with ‘Jhowre’ relating to the lover, and the ‘Juhari’ which throws questions and answers between the lovesick couple. The ‘Rosia’ is sung in the fields, the ‘Baloon’ extols the deeds of the Mahabharata and ‘Malsiri’ is kept for the Durga Puja. The ‘Rateli’ are nursery rhymes set to music. It seems that the people have saved all their energy for these two weeks which are filled with great rejoicing and celebrations.

Map of Darjeeling and neighbouring cities :

How to reach Darjeeling:

You can reach Darjeeling by air, road or railway.

By Air: The nearest airport to Darjeeling is Bagdogra which is a distance of 90 kms away. Direct flights are available to Bagdogra from New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta) and Guwahati. From the airport, taxis can take you to Darjeeling at a charges around Rs 1,200 on average.

By Rail : It takes almost 12-13 hours to reach Jalpaiguri from Kolkata (Calcutta). New Jalpaiguri is the nearest railhead which is a distance of 88 kms from Darjeeling. Trains come from all parts of India to New Jalpaiguri en route to Darjeeling. The 8 hour journey in the famous toy train from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling is another great option worth exploring.

By Road : Travel from Kolkata (Calcutta) to Darjeeling is about 634 km. Time to travel by road is about 8 hrs, 50 mins. There are direct bus and jeep services to Darjeeling from New Jalpaiguri. As the terrain is hilly, reaching Darjeeling normally takes more time. Regular bus services connect Darjeeling and Kolkata, while taxis can also be hired from Kolkata which costs anywhere between Rs 12,000 to Rs 17,000 for a round trip.

Darjeeling Weather:

Located in very high altitudes, Darjeeling is West Bengal’s coolest destination. Temperatures in summer remain in the range of 15-20 degrees. But winters are very cold with chances of temperature falling to 0 degrees also. Heavy rains occur during the June-September monsoon period sometimes resulting in landslides.

Temperature – Darjeeling Town: Annual Mean Max. Temperature 14.9 Degrees Celsius. Annual Mean Min. Temperature 8.9 Degrees Celsius. Lowest Minimum Temperature -5 D. Celsius was recorded in s11/02/1905.

Rainfall – Darjeeling Town: Average Annual Rainfall : 3092 MM. Average Number of Rainy Days : 126 Days.

Rainfall – Siliguri Town: Average Annual Rainfall : 3620 MM. Average Number of Rainy Days : 113 Days.

lailawati / October 26, 2015

Mystery Skelaton Lake of Roopkund, India

In this world there are many mysterious places that curious to visit, one of the mystery skelaton lake Roopkund in Uttarakhand, India.

This lake is a glacier lake at an altitude of 5.029 meters, in the Himalayas. Glance, nothing special in this lake, but if the ice melts on the lake, visitors can see hundreds of skulls scattered on bottom of the lake, or floating in the water. It was a scary sight

The lake was discovered by a reserve ranger in Uttarakhand at 1942, but been a lot reports about the existence of the lake skeleton since the end of the 19th century.

There are about 500 skeleton were scattered on the lake, many of the assumptions about who’s skeleton it was. Some say that it is the skull of the Japanese soldiers who tried to infiltrate into Indian territory but died due to hostile terrain. Even many who consider mass murders have occurred in the area.

But according to the research team’s investigation of the UK, concluded that the remains of skeleton is not the Japanese.

There are some British researchers who deployed to examine the remains of skeleton, they assume that the skull remains of General Zorawar Singh of Kashmir along with his men, who got lost and died in the middle of the Himalayan region because of bad weather after returning from the battle Tibet in 1841. But the results of radio carbon research in 1961 does not support that assumption.

There’s also assume that the remains of skeleton was the victim of an epidemic that occurred in the region several centuries ago. Even anthropologists say, any ritual suicide in the lake.

The bright spot of who’s skeleton it was and what the cause of of death began to unfold in 2004 when scientists from Europe and India did some deep research in the area by order of the National Geographic Channel.

After DNA tests on the remains of the skull, found there are two different physical categories, the first is quite high human body. Later they were known as the traveler who wants to make pilgrimages to India via the Himalayas. The second type is local people, visible from their posture that is not too high. As well as from the study showed that carbon skeletons was once lived around the year 850 AD.

Strangely, all of these skeleton death in the same way, found a fatal blow on the back of their heads, the wound is not of weapons, or avalanche or landslide, but from something that is round, like a cricket ball. The absence of injuries to other body parts indicated that a hard round object fell from above. And the only explanation that makes sense is that they died because of falling ice balls rain or hailstorm.

Roopkund area is not a trade route to Tibet, but a few centuries ago this area was the cult pilgrimage route of Nanda Devi, who did the celebration every 12 years.

It may be the remains of the skull is a group of pilgrims who numbered about 500-600 people. They hire a porter to carry the bags of their stuff to pass through the high mountains of the Himalayas. When they arrived at the lake to rest and get fresh air, suddenly there came a cloud of hail, while in the area is an open area and there is no shelter, finally a group of pilgrims were killed of powerful hailstorm. And the iced lake has frozen their skulls until hundreds of years, even some of the skull still had hair, nails and clothes.

This story is strengthened also by the stories of villagers around that used as the song of elderly women, which tells the anger of a goddess, which then dropped hailstorm in the holy Himalayan. It may be that this legend is the story of several people who survived from the hailstorm, and safe themselves to the village around the lake.

Teronga Admin / November 8, 2013

Top 10 Amazing Destinations for Photography

If you’re passionate about travel photography and have ever wondered where some of the best places in the World are to take stunning pictures, we have our top 10 picks of amazing destinations that will make you very happy!

1. Milford Sounds, New Zealand

In 2008 it was named the World’s Top Travel Destination and Rudyard Kipling called it the 8^th Wonder of the World. It is New Zealand’s most famous tourist destination. Milford Sound has some of the highest sea cliffs in the world rising 1,200 metres above the water. The sheer rock faces make for dramatic views as they rise up from the blue waters. The sky is a perfect blue with just enough clouds to decorate the scene. There are spectacular waterfalls, glaciers, sea cliffs and overhangs.

Good time to visit: End of March –May

2. Kenya, Africa

For a country of its size, Kenya sure packs a lot in: mountains and deserts, colourful tribal culture, beaches and coral reefs, and some of Africa’s best wildlife attractions. Stunning landscapes set the scene, from Kakamega’s rainforests to Indian Ocean beaches by way of Mt Kenya National Park; the rolling grasslands of the Masai Mara to searing deserts on the shores of the Jade Sea; with the Rift Valley, home to Hell’s Gate National Park cleaving a massive gash through it all.

Good time to visit: January – February & June – October

3. Ladakh, India

‘Otherworldly’ is probably the most appropriate term to define the highest inhabited region of India. The scale of the multi-hued mountains is only really experienced when you whip out your regular wide-angle lens, only to find that what stands before you cannot be captured in its giddy entirety in one frame. The landscape changes from steep lunar rock faces to white sands in the Nubra Valley and to placid blue water in the Pangong Lake. Tibetan Buddhist monasteries hang on steep rock-faces. Carry a sturdy tripod.
Good time to visit: End of July – September

4. Shanghai, China

The most dynamic city in the world’s fastest- changing nation, Shanghai is an exhilarating, ever-morphing metropolis that isn’t just living China’s dream, but is setting the pace for the rest of the world. European-style cityscapes and tempting, tree-lined neighbourhoods rub shoulders with the sci-fi skyline of Pǔdōng. Tucked between the shopping malls and the eye-popping modern architecture is the old Shanghai, where temples nestle down alleys, along with street markets and classical Chinese gardens. Shanghai is a city of stunning contrasts, where visitors can go from sipping a cocktail in a designer bar overlooking the Bund, to eating dumplings at a street stall, or gazing at a 10th-century Buddhist monastery, in the space of a few hours.

Good time to visit: March – Mid May

5. Yellowstone National Park, USA

Yellowstone is a mix of geological wonders like geysers, steam vents, hot springs, rivers, waterfalls, high elevation passes, sweeping vistas as well as wildlife (including elk and grizzly bear). The Midway Geyser is a must-visit location. Spread over two million acres, nature photographers can spend weeks here and still return for more. Avoid it during summer, as the place is swarming with tourists.
Good time to visit: May and late September – October

6. Venice, Italy

This ‘Floating City’, arguably the most beautiful one built by man, is a city of canals, bridges, masks. On a gondola ride or motorboat, a low-noise high ISO camera is your best ally. Venice forces you to explore slowly on foot, translating into thought-out pictures. The Carnival of Venice is a photographer’s must with fancy dress and mysterious Venetian masks.
Good time to visit: Late October – February

7. Mykonos, Greece

The Greek Island of Mykonos is famous for its picturesque Cycladic capital full of mykonian houses, shops, churches, restaurants and windmills which are immaculately whitewashed, with door frames and window shutters highlighted with splashes of sky blue and jade green. The streets are a maze of narrow, winding alleyways – many only two or four feet wide, overhung with dazzling pink and purple blossoms. Of course it has a many of magnificent golden beaches with crystalline blue waters.

Good time to visit: Mid June – Mid October

8. Tahiti, French Polynesia

Sweeping white beaches and vistas over a neon blue lagoon are the heart of French Polynesia and it would be a shame to bypass the waterfall-laden, shadowy mountains, unpretentiously beautiful black-sand beaches and distinctly Polynesian buzz that make Tahiti a gem in its own right. Apart from the beaches, you can hike through archaeological sites, up never-ending river valleys and past coastlines dotted with wild passion fruit.
Good time to visit: End of June – October

9. Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Larger than the Great Wall of China and the only living thing visible from space, the Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world. The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef, covering some 344 400 square kilometres of unparalleled biodiversity and unique ecosystems. It is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the north-east coast of Australia. It contains the world’s largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc.

Good time to visit: Pretty much all year round depending on what you want to do.

10. Rajasthan, India

An undeniable photography haven, steeped in royal history, Rajasthan showcases colourful locals rivalled only by their attire, grand palaces, havelis, festivals and a landscape as barren and harsh as it is beautiful. Jaisalmer’s canvas of sand is dotted with camels, the floating Lake Palace of Udaipur, forts in Jodhpur and Jaipur with sentries standing guard in traditional attire and the Pushkar fair all offer rich pickings for your camera. The hazy morning and twilight light lends itself to surreal images, but then this holds true for most of Rajasthan.
Good time to visit: Late October – February

Tag: India