19: Volunteering in McLeod Ganj with Shikhar Lohia

09/14/17 • 44 min

The Musafir Stories - India Travel Podcast

This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to up and coming instagrammer, Shikhar Lohia, who posts under the handle @upandmeandering. Shikhar is a recent graduate of Delhi university who works for an international property consultant and is based out of Delhi.

Today's destination: McLeod Gunj

Nearest Airport: Gaggal airport Nearest Railway Station: Pathankot railway station is located at a distance of 90 km from Mcleodganj and is the nearest broad gauge rail head to the city. The nearest meter gauge railway stations to the city are Kangra and Nagrota

Prerequisities - n/a

Packing - Some warm clothes and a camera!

Time of the year - Summer is the best time to visit the hills!

Length of the itinerary: 1 week

Itinerary Highlights:

Shikhar sets out on this week long trip from Delhi by boarding a bus at the Kashmere gate
Shikhar explores the city center and local cuisine on the first couple of days
A chance encounter with an American couple led to one of the highlights of this trip - getting to attend the teaching of Dalai Lama!
Shikhar spent more time reading about the Dalai Lama and exploring local cuisine and culture, photographing the city.
Also on the agenda was a visit to the Bhagsu Nag temple, Bhagsu Nag falls and the famous Shiva cafe, spending time sipping on tea and talking about random things under the stars!
Do not miss a visit to the Dal lake, the namesake of the one in Kashmir. It has a unique feel to it nestled in the Deodhar trees in th backdrop of mountains!
Finally, Shikhar spent his final part of the journey volunteering with the Lha charitable trust, teaching conversational english to Tibetan refugees.

Must visit - Jimmy's Cafe for some amazing waffles, Shiva's cafe for some hot coffee by the calming waterfalls, Tibetan kitchen for some mouth-watering momos!

More about the Guest:

Instagram - @upandmeandering Tripoto profile - https://www.tripoto.com/profile/shikharlohia6049496

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's destination: McLeod Gunj

Prerequisities - n/a

Packing - Some warm clothes and a camera!

Time of the year - Summer is the best time to visit the hills!

Length of the itinerary: 1 week

Itinerary Highlights:

Shikhar sets out on this week long trip from Delhi by boarding a bus at the Kashmere gate
Shikhar explores the city center and local cuisine on the first couple of days
A chance encounter with an American couple led to one of the highlights of this trip - getting to attend the teaching of Dalai Lama!
Shikhar spent more time reading about the Dalai Lama and exploring local cuisine and culture, photographing the city.
Also on the agenda was a visit to the Bhagsu Nag temple, Bhagsu Nag falls and the famous Shiva cafe, spending time sipping on tea and talking about random things under the stars!
Do not miss a visit to the Dal lake, the namesake of the one in Kashmir. It has a unique feel to it nestled in the Deodhar trees in th backdrop of mountains!
Finally, Shikhar spent his final part of the journey volunteering with the Lha charitable trust, teaching conversational english to Tibetan refugees.

Must visit - Jimmy's Cafe for some amazing waffles, Shiva's cafe for some hot coffee by the calming waterfalls, Tibetan kitchen for some mouth-watering momos!

More about the Guest:

Instagram - @upandmeandering Tripoto profile - https://www.tripoto.com/profile/shikharlohia6049496

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Previous Episode

18: Sikkim with Sandy & Vyjay

This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to Sandy & Vyjay from the blog Voyager. VOYAGER was born out of a burning desire to share our travel experiences and stories with others. The more they traveled, the more they felt the need to record and share our experiences and this finally led to the crystallization of VOYAGER, a one-stop place for information and stories about travel destinations, food and culture as well as travel tips.

Today's destination: Sikkim

Nearest airport: Bagdogra Airport

Nearest Railway Station: New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri

Prerequisities - permit required for Nathula pass

Packing - warm clothes, pills for AMS

Time of the year - November

Length of the itinerary: 7 days

Itinerary Highlights:

Pristine views of Pelling, the great Kanchenjunga mountains
the sacred khecheopalri lake
Kanchenjunga waterfalls; Singshore hanging bridge
Spending time visiting monastries
The golden Buddha statue at Buddha park - Ravangla; bird watching and hiking; sunrise point and view of the greater himalayas
Spending time in Gangtok - MG road, cafes, Hanuman Tok, Ranka monastery
Namgyal institute of tibetology
Lighting earthern lamps at Do-drul chorten buddhist stupa for world peace
Spending the evening at Banjhakri falls and park
Changu lake, highest ATM, Sherathang, Baba mandir and Nathula pass

Link to Sandy & Vyjay's blog - http://imvoyager.com/

Link to related blogposts -

http://imvoyager.com/a-road-trip-to-die-for-gangtok-to-nathula-at-an-altitude-of-14-400-feet-nathula-gangtok-roadtrip-india-mountains-sikkim-military-china-blog/ p http://imvoyager.com/ravangla-pelling-gangtok-sikkim-buddha-temple-travel-blog/

http://imvoyager.com/pelling-sikkim/

More about the Guest: http://imvoyager.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next Episode

20: Trek to Shrikhand Mahadev with Vijay Sharma

This week, The Musafir Stories speaks to the founder of Travelling Camera Vijay Sharma, a technology professional based in Noida who also has a keen interest in photography. With more than 9 million page views till date, TravellingCamera and VJ Sharma are well known in the Indian Blogging space. Join us as Vijay takes us with him to one of his most epic treks till date - The Shrikhand Mahadev trek!.

Today's destination: Shrikhand Mahadev Trek, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh

Nearest Airport: Bhuntar Airport, Kullu

Nearest Railway Station : Shimla

Nearest Town : Nirmand Village

Prerequisities - trekking stick, water bottle, trekking gear, rain suit and not to forget a cap/hat and sunscreen to save you from sun burns!

Packing - Light weighted warm clothes, energy bars, Energy drinks, Oral Rehydration Salts, dry fruits and a camera!

Time of the year - July to August

Length of the itinerary: 7 Days

Trek Level - Difficult, it is a necessity to be in good physical and mental shape.

Itinerary Highlights:

Shrikhand Mahadev is situated at an height of 18,700 ft. above sea level in the Great Himalayan National Park of Himachal Pradesh, India
Make sure to carry a light weighted water bottle and a lot of energy bars, Energy drinks, Oral Rehydration Salts, dry fruits.
The trek starts from Jaon village in Nirmand region of Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh, porters can be arranged from this location.
Make sure to purchase trekking gear, shoes/boots, caps before hand or at Shimla (nearest)
Beautiful Apple Orchards can be found in Jaon Village and Singh Ghat
Beautiful view of mountains and clouds can be seen from Valley of Flowers
After crossing Thachru Village, most of the hills are at an angle of 75 degree steep
First view of the Shrikhand Mahadev can be seen from Kaali Ghati during morning hours
Bheem Dwari has a number of beautiful waterfalls from hills covered in snow
After crossing Parvati Bag, a number of Rock hills start with clouds at ground level, giving you a view that can be seen from an aeroplane
This Cloud Store can be seen from Bheem Paudi
At the end of the trek you can see a mammoth Rock-made Shivalingam on the mountain.
The Shivalingam is 72 Feet hight and stands still on a mountain top above 18000 feet altitude.

Checkout Vijay Sharma's interesting post about this trek at https://phototravelings.blogspot.in/2008/07/shrikhand-mahadev-25th-30th-july-2008.html

Vijay's Blog : www.travellingcamera.com

More can be read about Vijay Sharma and his team at https://phototravelings.blogspot.in/p/team.html

#trek #adventure #HimachalPradesh #camping #snow #pilgrimage #pilgrims #religion #Shiva #Shivling #Shimla #Shivalingam #Hills #mountain #cloud #Shrikhand #Mahadev #ShrikhandMahadev #VJSharma #TravellingCamera #TheMusafirStories

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.