traveler | On My Canvas

Kalga to Kheerganga via Bunbuni Pass– Offbeat in Parvati Valley

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When I was in Kalga in Parvati valley, I had almost decided to not go for the famous Kheerganga trek because almost every local and traveler I met talked about Kheerganga. As you might already know I don’t like going to the most visited places. This arrogance to avoid the touristy destinations further deepens when it …

The History of Yoga in India and Practising the Art in Dharamshala

When I went to Chile in 2016, many Chileans asked me if I knew yoga. While traveling around South America for nine months, I realized the popularity of yoga in the world.

Apprehending the vast influences of yoga and seeing the craze of the westerners towards India and yoga, I became a wanna be yoga learner.

In those immature years of my life, I wanted to be a solo female traveler who also did yoga. I wished to bend myself one-eighty-degrees on the sultry Goa beaches and the summits of the mighty Himalayas alike.

After all, the social media pictures of yoga teachers and practitioners over the internet kindle enough narcissism that you forget the real purpose of yoga (if you ever knew) and only admire the overwhelming curves on the trending photos.

Yoginis look like the epitomes of Urvashi from the Indra palace. Maybe we can compare the Yogi to Shiva who is said to be the first-yogi or the Adiyogi?

Those yoga pictures look as perfect as the postures held in the frame, but remember that pictures don’t tell the entire story.

Yoga is not about a few jazzy posts on Instagram or Facebook. And I kept this in mind when I traveled to Dharamshala and practiced yoga there.

Yoga, a word derived from the Sanskrit word Yuj meaning join, means union — of the mind, body, and soul.

Yoga is not only comprised of Hatha yoga and physical exercise but it is an ancient science which has various methods to amalgamate mind, body, and consciousness. Practicing wholesome yoga leads one towards personal awareness and development.

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Table of Content

From Bangalore to Coorg by Car – Rendezvous Through Wild Karnataka

I won’t tell you that Coorg is the Scotland of India, as every other Bangalore to Coorg travel guide must have already said this to you. I have not been to Scotland and don’t know its landscape. But I can say that Coorg, also known as Kodagu, is straight out of that movie in which fat cows graze on a grassy carpet while spinach-green hills pose in the background.

I’m not sure if I can call Coorg a quaint town. Everybody traveling in Karnataka go on a road trip from Bangalore to Coorg, at least once. I’ve been to Coorg so many times I now have a list of 15 stunning and secluded coffee estates, home stays, and hotels in Coorg.

A humble request: We overcrowd Venice, Paris, Coorg, Florence, Bangkok as if there is nowhere else to go. Meanwhile, the ecologies of these places suffer due to overcrowding and lack of care, obvious when tourists throng the destination. Let’s try to distribute ourselves through the lesser visited places which all hold, if not more, the similar richness of people, food, landscape, and history.

May I suggest Stuart hill in Coorg instead of Madikeri town, Mandi district instead of Manali, Kalga instead of Kasol, and Chile instead of London and Paris? But let us promise to respect these new places and not turn them into just hangouts to chill. Let’s chill in our backyards. But when we visit, let’s visit to see, know, and understand something unknown to us.

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Update 2024: Malaysia reopened its international borders on 1 April 2022. Get Malaysian government’s complete rules for travelers planning to visit Malaysia on the official Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tourism website. I’ve also listed down the guidelines and compliances in this article on Kinabatangan river. My guide to Malaysia e-visa for Indians is recommended, too. My …

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Covid-Related Travel Update Jan 2024: India is now open to travelers. Find the application process for an e-visa to India on this official Indian government website.

Pushkar City and Pushkar Fair Photography Tour, Rajasthan

I went to Pushkar a few days before the Pushkar fair started.

Nearby villagers had arrived at the Pushkar fair ground with their cattle, and some were still on their way. Though the ground was still being set up, the animal trade had started.

A few hundred thousand tourists, photographers, and locals from nearby villages attend the Pushkar Mela every year (mela is fair in Hindi). But as the big influx of tourists was not to come until the camel fair started, the grounds were yet to fill up.

Even though I was only carrying a phone camera, I decided to treat my visit as a Pushkar photoshoot. While walking in the tiny streets of the Pushkar bazaar and wandering on the ghats of the Pushkar Lake, I not only clicked some Pushkar images I am happy with, but I also captured some deep-felt emotions.

Now without saying much, let me take you on this photo tour of Pushkar.

Related Read: Hampi, Karnataka in Pictures

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Covid Update Jan 2024: Indonesia is now open for all travelers. As per the latest regulations, visitors do not need COVID-19 vaccine certifications either. Do check the official tourism website of Indonesia at the time of travel for the most recent updates. The beautiful pictures of Bali and other islands of Indonesia that I had …

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Spiti Valley is every traveler’s dream.

Why? Because Spiti is stunning.

Have you traveled to the Himalayas yet? Maybe you went on to a travel trip to Dharamshala, explored the many places to visit near Manali, or hiked to the Chandrashila peak in Himachal Pradesh. Or perhaps you visited Uttarakhand: Mussoorie, Landour, Dehradun, or trekked in the valley of flowers.

Vast green pastures, sheep and cow grazing on lush grass, high vegetation-rich mountains, dense jungles, orchards, farms and villages, English houses, churches — this is the typical scene in Himachal and Uttarakhand.

Though Spiti is one of the many Himachal Pradesh valleys, it is nothing like this.

In this Spiti valley trip guide, we will see Spiti is one of the most bizarre and gorgeous places on this planet. The altitude of Spiti is at least 4,000 meters even in the lowest parts of the valley. And don’t forget that Spiti is a Himalayan valley. The high altitude and the Himalayas make Spiti a unique place to live.

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Visas for Indians

When I started traveling with my Indian passport, the first thing I realized was that Indians cannot travel easily without applying for a few visas, no matter wherever we go. Whether I went to Southeast Asia or Europe or the UK, I spent days and months aggregating the required documents for a visa, filling arduous application forms, contemplating if I should hire a travel agent, requesting my employer for a NOC, asking the photo studio to print my ridiculous passport size photos quickly, rushing to the banks to get account statements, and still fretting if I would get a visa or not – I did it all.

The process of getting visas for Indian citizens haven’t relaxed, but as I travel more, I understand the visa requirements for Indian citizens better. Also, I have figured out that Indians can go to many countries which give visa on arrival for Indian passport holders (Thailand, Bolivia, Ethiopia, and more). Indian citizens can also visit countries where Indians can go without visa – nations such as Indonesia, Bhutan, Nepal et cetera. Some countries also give either free entry or a visa on arrival for Indians holding a valid UK, US, or Schengen visa, and Indians should be able to see these countries with ease.

My years of solo travel has allowed me to understand how to cross countries on an Indian passport and the places we can travel to while not feeling burdened by the visa process. I wanted to share this information with other Indian travelers. So I aggregated my personal travel experiences and a lot of research into this guide to visa for Indians.

I promise you that by the end of this article, you will feel much more confident about traveling the world without much hassle.

So what are we waiting for? Let’s go.

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Covid Update Jan 2024 – Peru is now open to international travelers. Travelers must show proof of vaccination. Those who are unvaccinated have to show a negative covid-19 test issued up to 48 hours before boarding. Find the complete information on the official website of the Peru government. My guide to Peru tourist visa for Indians would be helpful, too.

If you are looking for how to visit Machu Picchu on your own, you have come to the right travel guide. As all you dear readers know, I hate the idea of arranging tours, booking trips, and getting into a group. I will be honest I didn’t even look at the options of going to Machu Picchu with a travel agency. But Machu Picchu was on my mind as it was on the best things to do in Cuzco Peru.

I hope you have read my big guide on traveling to Peru and this one on the Manu National park, the Amazon Rainforest. All these travelogues will help you plan your Peru itinerary.

Now if you are looking for the cheapest way to get to Machu Picchu on your own, then let us continue.

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I took a bus ride from Cusco to a town near Machu Picchu known as Hidroeléctrica and then walked and hiked the rest of the way — around 16 kilometers and more than 3000 stairs —to the top of the Incan royal city sitting at an altitude of 2,500 meters.

I wouldn’t have even taken the bus from Cusco to Hidroeléctrica if I knew I could have walked there all the way from Ollantaytambo, a UNESCO world heritage site and a village near Cusco. But I know now, and you, too.

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Covid-Related Travel Update Jan 2024 – Peru is now open to international travelers. And as per Supreme Decree 130-2022-PCM in Peru’s official gazette El Peruano, Covid entry requirements and all other regulations and restrictions were lifted from November 2022. You can also look at the official website of the Peru government for more information. My Peru travel visa guide for Indians is a recommended read.

Traveling in Puno and Lago Titicaca, Peru

When I was doing the Colca Canyon trek near Arequipa, a traveler asked me where I would be going next in Peru. I had heard about Puno and Lago Titicaca. Maybe Puno, I blurted out. She said there weren’t many things to do in Puno, that I could also visit Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, and that she was skipping Puno to travel Cusco.

When she said most travelers skip Lake Titicaca in Peru, I was thrilled. Though I visit both offbeat and touristy places, Peru has some of the coolest and remotest places to see. I wanted to explore all of them. And what could be more remote and chilly than Lago Titicaca? A little intimidated by the idea of being in the big city of Cusco or crowding up to see Machu Picchu, I reserved a bus ticket to Puno.

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I traveled from Cusco to Bolivia on an overnight bus, and Copacabana was, first, just a rest stop before La Paz. While I slept in the bus on an almost full bed, I kept an eye open as travelers had told me that the buses in Bolivia are theft-prone. The bus didn’t stop anywhere, and nothing unpleasant happened. Our minivan crossed into Bolivia, and though the bus driver was reluctant to bring us to Copacabana, he left us in the town( thanks to some Chilean travelers who almost made the fraud driver cry.)

After getting down at Plaza Sucre, I strode straight towards the Casa del Sol homestay that my travel friend Alison had finalized for our Copacabana stay. Things to do in Copacabana Bolivia were many, and she wanted to stay rooted in one place in this lakeside village of Bolivia. That was my first time in Bolivia, and I didn’t know that the country would later surprise me with its indigenous culture, delicious salteñas, historical sites, and relics, imposing mountains that never leave you alone, high cities, and the consumption of an insane amount of coca leaves to keep it all going.

Recommended Read: My Comprehensive Bolivia Travel Guide

I trudged up the cobbled lanes with my rucksack, passed by the main market, crossed the Basilica of the Virgin of Copacabana, turned to the left, and descended a very steep lane to find the homestay nestled in the sunshine for the weather was pleasant at that time of the year (March). I had been used to the high altitude (almost 3900 meters above sea level) for by then I had done many things in Peru, including exploring Cusco and visiting the many islands of Lake Titicaca on the Peruvian side (I had been on a South America backpacking trip for almost seven months).

Covid-Related Travel Update Jan 2024 – Peru is now open to international travelers. And as per Supreme Decree 130-2022-PCM in Peru’s official gazette El Peruano, Covid entry requirements and all other regulations and restrictions were lifted from November 2022. You can also look at the official website of the Peru government for more information. My Peru Visa guide for Indian citizens would be helpful, too.

Daring Colca Canyon, Peru

I did not know about the Colca Canyon in Peru until I reached Arequipa. When everyone in Arequipa asked me if I was going to do the Colca Canyon trek, I nodded. As a lazy researcher, I believe in improvised navigation. I had no idea what to see in Peru and went with the flow.

When I decided to do the Colca Canyon hike, I didn’t know Colca is twice as deep as Arizona’s Grand Canyon. The travel company with whom I booked a two-day Colca Canyon tour asked if I had any trekking experience; I thought about my recent Villarrica Volcano endeavor. I nodded. Though the volcano had improved my confidence, trekking into the 3,300 meters deep Colca sounded ambitious.

But without hiking Colca Canyon, my Arequipa visit would have been incomplete. So I paid 120 soles for the two-day hike, ate a heavy dinner, and hit the bed early.