My Top 10 Travel stories from India

My Top 10 Travel stories from India

Well, the most amazing part of travelling is not just seeing the beautiful places but also the people I meet, the experience I have and above all finding undiscovered places. 

It is not the destination but the journey and the people I meet on my way is what makes my trip worthwhile. 

No two places in India are the same. I see diversity in the tradition, culture, language yet all united in such a beautiful manner. India truly never stops to amaze me. May it be its mouth-watering food or ancient architecture, India is truly a place to be. 

So here are my top 10 travel stories from India. 

1. star gazing at the northern tip of India:

Stargazing at Spiti is a wonderful experience as it’s located at a height of 10,000 – 15,000 above sea level. Ideal locations for the same are Tabo, Dhankar, Losar, Komik and Kibber and the perfect night for the same would be one when the sky is clear.

2. largest free kitchen of the world:

The Golden Temple of Amritsar in Punjab is a Sikh gurdwara, feeds a vegetarian meal to over 100,000 people a day. At Guru Ka Langar of Golden Temple in Amritsar has the largest free kitchen in the world.

3. living bridge of India:

Deep in the dense tropical forest of Meghalaya, and shrouded in cloud and rain for much of the year, are some astonishing man-made natural wonders.

Known as living root bridges, inventive members of the Khasi tribe have trained them to grow from the roots of ancient rubber trees, native to the northeast region. 

The root bridges provide a stable alternative to wooden bridges, which decay and get destroyed during the lengthy monsoon seasons.

4. she is the oldest practitioner of Indian martial art:

At 74, Meena Raghavan is the oldest known practitioner of Kalaripayattu, an ancient martial art from southern India. Since she was 7 years old, Raghavan has trained with the best of them. Now, she runs a school where she proudly trains boys, girls, men and women alike.

5. Marottichal:  India's chess village:

Some 50 years ago, Marottichal, a secluded village in Thrissur district of the southern Indian state of Kerala, was hooked on alcohol and illegal gambling. To shake off the shackles of these addictions, the people of this small hamlet embraced the ancient strategy game of chess. Interestingly, with a population of just 6,000 people, more than two-thirds are now addicted to the pastime!

6. Town with no doors, no locks and no crime:

In the small Indian village of Shani Shingnapur, there are no locks or even doors on any of the buildings. Residents of the village claim it has been completely crime-free for more than 400 years.
Locals occasionally lean wooden panels against their front door frames to keep stray dogs out – but they have no permanent doors, and leave their jewellery and money unsecured, firmly believing that their holy guardian will protect them from any mishap.


7. the great wall of India:

Head to Kumbhalgarh in Rajasthan. There you'll find a 15th-century hilltop fort surrounded by a 22-mile protective perimeter known as the Great Wall of India. 

Built by Rana Kumbha, then ruler of the western Indian region of Mewar, the fort has over 360 temples scattered within its boundary walls. 

Hike the steep hills to the palace up top, and you'll be rewarded with a dazzling view of Rajasthan's mountainous terrain.

8. the worlds highest post office:

At an elevation of 4,440m, the tiny post office in the village of Hikkim connects a cluster of small villages in this isolated region to the rest of the world. 

Villagers come here to post letters or deposit money in their savings accounts, and intrepid travellers who make it this far take pride in mailing their letters from the highest post office on Earth.

9. this couple travels the world by selling coffee:

Married for 45 years now, the couple always dreamt of travelling the world together. Today, they can boast of having holidayed in all corners of the world, including the UK, France, Egypt, Brazil, Argentina, and Peru.

Vijayan has been running Sree Balajee Coffee House in Kochi for over 40 years, with wife Mohana for company. Their shop, though popular with the locals, doesn’t churn enough to fund their wanderlust. 

Their formula? The couple puts aside Rs300 every day. At the end of three years, they pool all their savings, borrow some from the bank and head out to into the world. When they return, they are back to the coffee shop to repay their debt. And then the cycle continues.

10. world's only floating national park:

Afloat on the waters of the Loktak Lake in Manipur, the Keibul Lamjao National Park is the world’s only floating wildlife sanctuary. Known for the patches and rings of biomass called phumdis, the park is a wetland ecosystem. 

A phumdi is a carpet of dead and decaying flora, which floats on the surface of the lake—about a fifth of it is above the surface. Tall reeds and grasses grow on these phumdis, often reaching up to 15ft in height

Literally, I could have made a top 100 list but I think I will save that for some other time. India is truly an amazing country, and no matter how much I travel I don't think I will ever be able to find all the incredible stories from India.