Best PHOTO JOURNEYs of 2016 !




Everyone is recollecting memories of 2016 and gearing up for better 2016. In the same process, Travellingcamera team went through all posts of each month from 2016. We picked those PHOTO JOURNEYs which were most viewed, shared and discussed on the web. We went through 300+ posts and chose these 12 blog-posts which should be checked by everyone. It's your chance to have a look and ensure that you haven't missed these during 2015. It was extremely hard for us to pick one post from each month, but we managed to do so :). We carefully chose these posts on the basis of messages we have received, organic shares/re-shares along with average traffic received per day. There is a complicated formula which we used and stick to that, as a team. There favourites of team-members which are not part of the list, but it was important to set some rule and then follow them. 
Jan'2016 -

My son's first encounter with sea, backwaters and much more in South Kerala (By Bharati Malhotra)

As soon as we found out about my husband Alok' conference in Kerala, scheduled for December, we decided that my 9-year-old son, Nishant, and I will also accompany Alok and make it a work plus leisure trip. We planned to extend the stay to 5 days, out of which one day would be reserved for my husband's conference (we could still do some sightseeing in Kochi though) and the rest of the days could be used to explore Kerala a little. I wished we could extend it further, but both my and my husband's jobs don't allow us to take so many leaves. This is one of the disadvantages of being doctors.

Feb'2016-

Main places to visit around San Francisco Downtown

 Such guides have always been more popular than experience posts, but this was little special. This was first time when US citizens reached us to know more about San Francisco. It was moment of delight when we received first message from a gentleman from New York who was visiting San Francisco for first time and wanted to have more details related to optimising the trip as he had only 2 days to explore the city. There are hundreds of blogs on San Francisco and that too by lot of Americans. Even I don't claim to be expert of the city and I just shared from my experience from last 2 visits. I keep improving these posts on the basis of feedback from friends, followers and fellow travellers. 

Above photograph shows Palace of Fine Arts and it looks brilliant in night. It's near Golden Gate Bridge and you can take the bus from other part of Golden Gate Bridge and get down near this beautiful building. It's usually visible from the road, so you clearly gets an idea where you have to get down. There is nice walking area around the water body. Lot of folks from neighborhood come here during early morning and evening for walk.


Mar'2016-

Most inspiring selfies of an Indian Photographer you definitely don't want to miss

 In terms of total number of views, this post would be one of the top 10 viewed posts in 2016. It's extremely inspiring to see these Travel Selfies by Varun. So do check out if you haven't checked the post yet.

Selfies too can be works of art. Varun Chaudhury proves this by clicking some of the awesomest selfies during his trips to different parts of the country. His selfies are as much about the place he is visiting as they are about the people in them. He manages to capture the spectacular beauty of the places in his selfies which I feel is a very rare quality. Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think.

April'2016 -

The elaborate 'Change of Guards' ceremony at Indian President's House, New Delhi

Long time back when started searching about Change of Guards, goolge was suggesting London or Buckinghom Palce. On searching more I got the confirmation that Change of Guards at Indian President's house is open for public on Sturdays. For a long time, the visit remained in plans till I saw the blog by Ruby Singh. So this saturday we planned to visit President's house to witness Change of Guards in morning. Since the ceremony starts at 8am sharp one needs to plan the day early. All of us were up by 5:30 and started from Noida at 6:30am. It hardly took 30 minutes to reach Rashtrapati House in morning and that gave us enough time to figure out the entry gate and car parking. We followed the road which connects India Gate to President's house. And when we reached at the entry, police directed us to Dalhousie Road and asked to enter from Gate number 37. When I talked to them, it seemed that no one at entry was very sure. They were sure of one thing that some shooting is happening so entry through gate number 2 is not possible. Anyways we headed to Gate number 37. The security man at Gate number 37 was not sure if entry would happen through this gate. So we requested to confirm so that we head towards the right entry gate. There were 5 more cars following us :). He had few calls and confirmed that entry would happen through gate number 37 and car parking is also available inside. That was a great news because finding parking in this region would be a task (because of security reasons). As we parked our car, Vibha and I were thinking about the security. No one checked our car and we were already in President's house premises. While we were discussing this, we saw these jawans going towards the ceremony ground. It was a good indication that we should walk fast as it was 7:50 already. We reached the ceremony and almost all chairs were empty. I headed to the first row and a jawan asked me to move to second row. He mentioned that first row is reserved, while there is no such thing. This is first time I experienced an Armyman cheating in front of me. Anyways, it was not a big deal so I simply moved to second row. By now, only Army band was available at the ceremony ground. And a man was describing about the whole process on loudspeaker. And then Change of Guard Ceremony started. The Army band started playing 'Saare Jahan se Achha' and these Jawans entered the ceremony ground on their magnificent horses. At the beginning of the ceremony who see so much disciplined action and feel energetic. There must be a reason why Army ensures that every Jawan is highly disciplined and energetic. Looking at their each action you feel proud. These horses are amazingly trained. All of them take position and ensure that each one is in row. While standing they hardly do any movement. A few times, you can see some movement around their neck but their legs remain at same position all the time. When we walk, each of them are in sync. I have also seen Beating the Retreat ceremony and was super impressed with camels trained for that ceremony. Guards already on duty came to foreground of Rashtrapati Bhawan and took their place. Soon after the new set of guards joined them on ground and the formalities started. All of them were walking with full energy and enthusiasm. Please note the dirt around their feet. All of them were in sync and accurate. New guards are inspected. It's hard for me to describe each and every ceremony on ground and that's the reason that you should visit Rashtrapati Bhawan on any Saturday to witness the action yourself. I was super happy to see a Photographer and Videographer who were covering the ceremony. I have never seen Army Photographer earlier and wondering what's the eligibility to become a Photographer with Indian Army :). The ceremony concluded with some interesting actions by horses. Do check out the video for full action and I found it very interesting. Some quick details - Time of Change of Guards - 8 am sharp When should one reach - By 7:30am (Reason behind this time is explained above) Nearest Metro Station to Indian President's House - Central Secretariat Car Parking around President's House - If entering from Gate-37, parking is available inside. If entering from main gate (Gate no 2, you need to park near water fountains - As per traffic police, it's allowed in morning although I was not very sure ) . Otherwise you can on the road connecting President's House with India Gate. Entry Ticket for Change of Guards - No ticket or special permission needed Documents to carry - Any valid identity proof in original form. Mom and dad moving back towards the car after witnessing Change of Guard. Selfidow or something else. Some creative suggesstions are welcome. These carved elephants caught my attention and thought of taking a quick shot. The President House has very beautiful carvings all around. While we were heading towards the car parking we noticed these folks taking some rest in shade. This was the troop, which gave charge to the new team. This is how Delhi roads look on weekend morning :) How here is a quiz for you - Which of these photographs are clicked with DSLR and Mobile Camera? Do answer through comment below (And you have to judge through visuals only). The one who answers correctly would get something interesting from Travellingcamera.com Team !!!

May'2016

Tungnath - The third Kedar and Chandrashila (By Raghav Arora)



June'2016

Exploring impossible landscapes on Kheerganga Trek, Himachal Pradesh - By Ankit Gupta

Well this write-up gives you some insight of my experiencewith KheerGanga. I am not a avid trekker but I love to travel. So while lookingfor an outstation trip I was searching some place in Himachal. This time mysearch gave me KheerGanga as an option. I had done Triund trek (Mcleodganj)twice before this.So before finalizing KheerGanga, I have read lot about it. And fromall my reading I concluded that it is more challenging than Triund. Lots ofpeople had mentioned the beauty of this trek. So I decided to do it.We were total three college friends. Its been 7 years sincewe are out of college and since then we were trying to find time to go on atrip together.We started on Friday evening from Delhi at around 8 PM. Wereached Murthal at around 10 PM where westopped for Dinner. After having aquick break we started around 10.45PM and then we drove for next 5 hours. Wethen stopped for a Tea Break. So after crossing Mandi, Sunder Nagar, Kasol wereached Barshaini. Barshini is the point till where you can go by Car/Taxi.Himachal State Transport also ply buses from Mandi to Barshaini.Barshaini gives you option to stay but they give you verybasic facilities. Although we didn’t halt at Barshaini. The point from wherethe Trek starts is basically a Dam construction site. They are constructing ahug dam on Parvati river. We parkedthe car. We then took our trekking bagswith necessary stuff like jackets, extra socks, towels, gloves, cap, torch andthen we headed towards our target. Its been said that the trek is 12 Kms long.The view of the Parvati valley from the point where trek starts wasspectacular. It gives you energy to start the trek. It attracts you and thenyou without wasting any time starts heading towards it.Along the trek you will find good number of shops which are managedby local villagers. They serve you Maggi, omlette chai etc along with dry snacksand fruits as well. You dont really need tocarry any food item for this trek.We started our trek at around 12 noon. After 2 kms we foundone café/shop and we stopped there for a quick break. After having maggi wethen started our trek and reached Rudranag. It is almost at the middle of trek.There is a waterfall at this point which looks like snake and thus this pointis named after it. To reach Rudranag it took almost 90 mins from the last stop.We had fruits/tea at a shop here and then we started again.So, after having a good break of about 20 mins we startedour journey again. And immediately therecomes an interesting wooden bridge over river Parvati. This pics says all. Iwas quite scared crossing this bridge. JAfter this point the terrain becomes more difficult, and it isalmost 2 hours from this point to reach our destination. In this part there arewater streams, steep paths and beautiful views.We reached at around 4 PM to the top. And the view from here are spectacular. Heris a glimpse of that.To my surprise, there were so many eating outlets along withplaces to stay. I must stay rooms and halls for stay were way beyond myexpectations. Here you will even find currency exchange counter as lot offoreigners come to this place.Atthe top there is a temple and close to it there is a Hotwater spring. It has proper arrangements for women. Water is quite hot but itis very very relaxing. We booked one room with three beds. The rent was veryvery nominal. He charged us 200/- per bed. The sky view at night was awesome.It was clear and mind blowing. We slept early as we were really tired. We wokeup at around 4 AM next morning. After roaming here & there for some time,we started our back journey at around 5 AM. Slowly slowly we have reached fromwhere we started. Surprisingly it took us almost 4 hours to descendwhichincludes 40 Mins break for breakfast. On this way we found apple and peachtrees. Kheerganga was a beautiful experience but I was greatlydisappointed after realizing that it is becoming more & morecommercialized. We should respect the nature JI found this written over a rock on the trek.

July'2016

A visit to Konark Sun Temple in Odisha - One of the 7 wonders in India

While in Bhubaneshwar ( Odisha , we planned to drive to Konark Sun Temple and witness it's grandness & heritage.Temple has beautifully carved stone wheels, pillars and walls. A lot of portions of temple are in ruins, although remained part is being maintained. Some work was happening when we visited the temple this month (july’2016).Sun Temple in Konark is 65 kilometers from Bhubaneshwar and 35 km from Puri.ASI maintains the temple and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Konark Sun temple is also featured in the list of 7 wonders in India, along with Meenakshi Amman Temple of Madurai, Dholavira of Gujarat, Red Fort of Delhi, Jaisalmer Fort of Rajasthan, Nalanda of Bihar and Khajuraho of MP.The name Konark comes from Sanskrit words - Kona and Ark. Europian sailors had 2 important temples in this part of India - Konark Sun Temple and Jaganath Temple in Puri, which are called Black Pagoda and White Padoga respectively.Konark Sun Temple has used iron beams for it’s structure. It was made to look like Surya-Rath (Chariot of Sun God). There are 12 carved stone wheels which are 3 meters wide and is pulled by a set of seven horses, which you see on entry gate of the temple. It followed popular Kalinga Architecture.Maintenance of Konark Sun Temple was in progress and it made us feel good about the care ASI is taking of these beautiful heritage buildings in India. Although it made us worry about the way these structures are restored. Plain stones without any carving are being added to give support to the structure. It's understandable that same carving might be difficult to achieve but some creative stuff can be done. More than structure, the craved stones are decaying with time and wondering if there is a good way to avoid it. I am sure ASI must thinking about all these things.Konark Sun Temple is one of the most visited tourist places in Odisha and it's considered as one of the most popular places to visit around Bubaneshwar. We didn't want to miss and happy that it was a nice experience to be there. Although the weather was not suitable, but we had fun.There are some interesting facts about the architecture of Konark Sun Temple. Original temple had one part of the compound, which was 70 mgr high. Now the highest structure of the Sun Temple is 30 meters high, which is essentially the audience hall along with smaller structures like Dance hall and Dining hall.Orissa Tourism website lists few interesting details around history behind this temple.Surrounding of the Konark Sun Temple is pretty green and the weather made it greener for us.We had great time roaming around this beautiful campus of Konark Sun Temple, which has lot to surprise you and make you think how it was built many centuries ago. Here we tried to click family selfie with our DSLR and it came out well :)These are the Ashvas (horses) of Surya Rath. Somehow the faces are different and I am not sure why. There must be some reason behind these shapes.

August'2016

Gateway of India - The most visited place in Mumbai, India

Few weeks back I was in Mumbai for 2 days and had great company to explore this beautiful town in monsoons. This Photo Journey shares about Gateway of India, which is one of the most visited places in Mumbai and things to do around it. Gateway of India is surrounded by some of the best architectures in Mumbai and few popular restaurants & cafes.And if you are visiting Gateway of India, it makes sense to also know about other interesting things to do around it. So this post also talks about main things to do around Gateway of India and the famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.Gateway of India is located on waterfront and was built in 20th century. This beautiful architecture is in south Delhi. I was staying near Airport and it took 1.5 hrs to reach Gateway of India from our hotel. This is most visited place in Mumbai city.If you like knowing or photographing architecture, there are some beautiful buildings around Gateway of India. I highly recommend to walk around Gateway of India on foot and explore some of the beautiful buildings around the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel.There is also a street behind Taj Mahal Palace hotel for people who love to do some shopping. There are lot of kiosks selling artificial jewelry. I didn't do any shopping here, but it seemed that lot of negotiation happens in these street, which is not very surprising.There are lot of beautiful buildings all around. It was my first visit to Mumbai and the city lot of old structures surrounded by high-rise apartments.Here is a photograph of the famous Leopold Cafe & Bar . I am sure you would have heard of this name. If it's getting a little difficult, let me help in reminding that cafe was impacted by terror attack in 2008. I loved these windows. This whole street behind famous Taj Mahala Palace Hotel has beautiful windows. I wish I had more time to observe them in a better way and capture through my Travellingcamera.I know traffic of Mumbai is talked about a lot, but I must say that traffic police does a great job. And most of the drivers are quite disciplined. Lack of these 2 would certainly convert the whole thing into chaos. We drove from Sahar to Colaba in a cab at around 3pm and it took us 1.5 hrs. During evening it may take somewhere around 2.5 hrs to 3 hrs (told by our hotel staff).Above is photograph of famous Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and you can see horse carts in front of it. Tourists can have a tour around this place in these horse carts.When I pointed my camera towards this building, this couple was wondering what am I clicking here. Notice the smile on the face of this boy and girl is looking back to figure out my subject :)Group of photographer friends around Gateway of India. It was time to relax a bit. These guys click photographs of tourists around Gateway of India and hand-over the printouts in few minutes. It's certainly a very tiring job to be on feet all the day, creating beautiful memories for tourists and try best to deliver good quality.


September'2016

आओ लेके चलें आज हिमाचल प्रदेश की बरोट घाटी - Travellingcamera's First Hindi Blog

When it comes to Hill Stations in Himachal Pradesh you will quickly list down Shimla, Dalhousie, Mcleodganj, Dharmshala, Spiti etc, but places like Barot will not come in that list. It's good in one way, but bad for people who like True Natural Beauty with least commercialization and quite peaceful. Nature Lovers want such places to be isolated from tourists more interested in commercial hill-stations with hustle-busstle all around. Let's check out some of the landscapes from Barot Town, which is in Mandi District of Himachal Pradesh (India).Barot is a small town and a popular picnic spot along with a famous tourist location in Mandi district in Himalayan State of India. It is situated 40 km from Jogindernagar, which is one of the big towns in Mandi having historical importance and 66 km from Mandi, which is district headquarters. The road to Barot branches off at Jogindernagar-Mandi highway... The road to Barot branches off from Ghatasni before JoginderNagar while coming from Mandi leading to Jatingri. Further ahead of Jatingri lies Barot at a distance of 14 km. (Info Courtsey - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barot_%28Himachal_Pradesh%29)It is sometimes possible to use the trolley from Jogindernagar which reduces the distance to 13 kilometers, but we were going via car and during that time Trolley was not working due to some technical problem. The route includes terraced fields and thick cedar(Deodar) forests, rising to Jhatingri at the hilltop. The remains of the summer palace of the former rulers of Mandi are located at this place. Through the little village of Tikkan, the road carries on to Barot Town with some hydro plants with beautiful dams under high security. The town has a range of outdoor activities, including a trout breeding center from where fish are released into the Uhl.One can have license to do fishing in this water stream by paying 100 Rs for one day. Tourt Fish of Barot is very popular and there are various places you can get it. There is a Trout Farm and some local folks also sale it in small market of Barot. There are some decent Home-Stay options who have different cooking styles of Trout and we tried some of them during two days stay. Trout Fish of Patli-Kuhl/Preeni in Kullu is also very popular where former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to go for enjoying fish with wonderful weather all around. It seems Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee is staying around Manali onlyBarot Town also forms the gateway to the Nargu Wildlife Sanctuary which lies across the Uhl. The sanctuary is home to the monal, black bear and ghoral. Within this are forest rest houses at Thaltuckhod and Silbandhwari. One Guest House is controlled by DFO Jogindernagar and other by DFO Hamirpur, but be cautious about bookings there. Because high Political pressure may lead to cancellation any time, which happened with us as well :) . Through woods of cedar and pine a trek route cuts across the sanctuary to KulluHistorically Barot region formed part of the Mandi riyasat before and during British times & was governed by the King of Mandi. Pre-Independence, Barot was also on the mule trail connecting Kullu valley to Kangra valley. The importance of this route declined once Kullu was connected to a road from Mandi. There is decent habitat now, but it seems some part of Barot comes in Mandi and other in Kangra.Barot Town is a frequent backpacker and day tourist destination now. Many trekking trails pass through Barot town, including trails to Bada Bhangal, Manali and Kullu etc. Most of the day tourists are attracted by the serene surroundings and cheap availability of accommodation. Although the place can be boring for some folks who also want to do some shopping..The Uhl river, which flows through Barot Town, supports Trout breeding and Barot has a few fish farms as well. Across the river Uhl is the Nargu Wildlife Sanctuary, home to Ghoral, Himalayan Black Bear and a variety of pheasants. While coming back many of pheasants crossed our car from hill-side towards water streams on rightHere is a photograph of HPPWD Guest House of Barot, which is quite decent with 5 rooms in good conditionThe adventurous can also make a part of this journey by the PSEB (Punjab State Electricity Board) run haulage trolley, which may not be functioning all the times. So ensure that you have prior information about it for better planning. This trolley was originally used to haul material upwards for the power houses but is now used to transport peopleIf you planning one day trip to Barot, there is a better option to stay in Jogindernagar town. It's a HPTDC Hotel on main highway - UHL. if you plan to stay at Barot only, there are few decent Homestay at nominal charges apart from three government guest houses - HPPWD & 2 Forest Guest Houses.

October'2016

The Time-Turner Series || Memories of a shrouded, fragrant Dhanaulti

We are a close-knit family. Me and my sister, our parents, our parents-in-law, and our uncle. And at least once a year we try to head out together. The task of finalising the destination, researching and booking a stay option, and even planning the itinerary, invariably falls on my shoulders. While initially it was simple enough - there were many unexplored places nearby and most of us were physically fit - it has become a little challenging over the years. In such a scenario there are some trips that one remembers simply because it was so convenient for everyone. Our trip to Dhanaulti was one such trip.My father hasn't been keeping well for the past few years, and the problem with most good resorts in the hills is that they aren't elderly friendly. Rooms are mostly located at multiple levels and at times the vehicle isn't able to reach the reception and one has to walk down a steep slope to reach the resort. And yet ever since we started travelling, which feels like centuries ago, we have been unable to resist the charms of the hills. So in the year 2014, I found myself trying to search for a resort in Dhanaulti where papa would be able to have as much fun as we would.I chanced upon the Green Forest Resorts . The staff appeared very accommodating. They assured me that papa will not have any problems reaching the property and even the rooms. Moreover, the resort also offered an option to book a cottage with three rooms so we could all be together always. They offered a good deal, and we finalized our trip. When I look back now, the stay was just average. We had planned a trip to Tehri dam , but that proved to be a waste of time. We went for a forest walk and that was fun, but papa couldn't walk much so it was not as exciting for him. The service at the resort was average too. But all was still not lost.The location of the resort more than made up for everything. It was overlooking a lush green valley and had an apple orchard of its own that we could explore. My nephew had too much fun here looking at how apples actually grew. Dense clouds were frequent visitors and we often found ourselves suddenly surrounded by plain, undisturbed whiteness. And to top it all, the fun of staying together and the fact that papa just had to walk a few steps to see a beautiful valley and just a few more to be able to eat with family, just made it all worth it.The fact that we had to drive through dense deodar forests to get to the resort and on our way back was the added bonus. I can still remember the fragrance of pines and deodars. I kept my window open despite the cold wind to be able to savour it.When I look back today, I am able to vividly recall the clouds playing hide and seek and the sweet fragrance of deodars more than anything else. I guess this is the lingering memory of Dhanaulti and probably this will be etched in my mind forever. I would request you to follow these things when traveling -- Manage your waste well and don’t litte- Use dustbins. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin.- Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem.- Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits.- Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite

November'2016

Places to skip when travelling to Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

Many times some queries on google give misleading results. Mainly because of the fact that major websites take place in top searched and some of them don't really care reviewing the content carefully. This usually happens with common places because big websites have tough competition for lesser known places or relatively less popular destinations. You can get misleading results for 'Top 10 places to visit in Shimla', 'Must visit places in and around Shimla' etc. Here is the list of places you may skip, along with my reasoning (please feel free to share your thoughts in comment, if you don't agree. I would really appreciate that. Because idea is not to portray myself correct but to come up with right information for better decision making. ) The details also cover what makes them interesting, so if it aligns with your priorities then why not. 1. Jakhu Temple - Jakhu temple is most popular temple as per web articles and here is why - it's comparatively near to mall road and ridge. But be aware about monkeys around this temple. So it depends about your reason for visiting a place. If you like doing small treks and interested in visiting temple, why not Tara Devi? It also covers your toy train ride from Shimla till Tara Devi (the best landscapes around the rail track). Tara Devi temple is not in the town, but you can take toy train till Tara devi and take the trek to the temple. It's located on a hill which offers panoramic view of Shimla and surrounding valleys. 2. Green Valley - This is one of the most overrated place around Shimla. It's nothing but a view from road, which connects Shimla to Kufri. There is a deep valley full of deodars and called as Green valley because it's green throughout. 3. Summer Hill - Summerhill is mentioned on various website and i have no clue why. It's near Viceregal lodge and himachal pradesh university is here. Summerhill is mainly known because of the huge university campus. There is nice walk from Inidian Istitute of Advanced studies to university but such walks are there all across the place. 4. Naldehra Golf Course - I don't want to give a strong verdict here because different people have different opinions about the place. If you are keen to see a golf course in hills, certainly go there and have some snacks at HPTDC hotel. But son't expect much apart from this golf course. It's little away from the town, so you need to go specifically to visit this Golf Course. 5. Kamna Devi Temple - If you keen to visit lot of temples in and around Shimla, then you may want to visit this place which is on a hill and a little away from Mall road. 6. Kali Bari Temple - Above logic applies to it. But it's near to the mall road and at walkable distance. So if you are around Mall road and walk more, visit this temple. It offers some nice views on one side facing the road & valley. This is one the road which connect Mall Road with Indian Institute of Advanced studies. 7. Be aware of distances of places you chose and accessibility. Some of the places may seem near but traffic may take more time and some of the places are not directly accessible through roads. I couldn't come with a long list here because most of the places are Shimla are beautiful. All depends when you are visiting them. I found this list quite sensible although some of my favourites are missing here - http://traveltriangle.com/blog/best-places-to-visit-in-shimla/ Some time back I had started sharing about some of the hidden and best secrets of Shimla and here is the first part of it - This is Shimla everyone forgets to explore . And if you follow it, you already cover most of the best places to explore and things to do in Shimla Town. We have also received a request for compiling such post about Mussourie but I have explored it much to comment. So if you known someone who ca contribute, please us know. For now, we shall wait for your opinion and comments on this post.

December'2016

2016 Inspirations - Posts that we revisit at every excuse

Few months back when I came across William Dalrymple's profile on Instagram, I was impressed to see photographs by an accomplished writer. Many time popular personalities have portraits or some casual shots, but his feed is class apart and unique. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs clicked by William Dalrymple and what makes his Instagram profile so interesting to be featured on Travellingcamera.com . Check out our next post in 'In the Spotlight ' series and get inspired to click better Travel photographs with eye-catching details.First this first - As you start checking his profile, you would read something like this as introduction - " William Dalrymple - Goatherd and Kabooter baz www.williamdalrymple.uk.com "Apart from being an awesome Travel Writer, he is also a brilliant photographer. This time, we don't have an interview in this series, but we found it quite interesting & inspiring to share with viewers of Travellingcamera. Vibha interviewed him last year and that interview can be checked here . And there is a reason why I have picked only Jama Masjid photographs from William's Instagram feed. These are the photographs which caught my attention when I was going through Jama Masjid photographs on Instagram. And these images stood out in all. And then I found that photographs are clicked by none other than William Dalrymple. Then I started navigating through his Insta-feedLot of historical photographs can be seen in his profile in Black and whites. And there are many interesting wall paintings from different parts of the world. As experienced in his books, he is an avid traveller and a brilliant observer.Carefully notice the compositions of these photographs and you would rarely see such photographs. And in some of these, imagery is telling a lot about the place, people visiting it and action happening.Him Instagram profile can be checked here -
Bonus - 

8 Days road trip to 4 main Hill stations in Himachal Pradesh

Recently Sourav sent us a message - ‘ Hi VJ, i am planing to visit Himachal Pradesh in this January with my friends. We are planing to visit in 4 places. Dalhousie, Dharmashala/Mcleodganj, Manali, Shimla. We have total 7 days in our bucket so can you please tell how we can split 7 days among this 4 places....Thanks in advance….’ and frankly it’s never recommended to plan for 4 places in 7 days and here we are talking about 3 corners of Himachal Pradesh. So I would recommend to skip one of the destination if you only have 7 days.

If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling -

- Manage your waste well and don’t litter
- Use dustbins. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin.
- Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem.
- Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits.

- Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite 

Trending Post Today !

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How to reach Kasol/Malana and top things to do around this stunning hill-station of Himalayan State of India

If you are a regular visitor of Travellingcamera , you must have noticed that title of this Photo Journey is not really matching with what we usually share. This post is inspired by lot of queries which come to us, especially in summer.  One of the mostly asked thing is the options to reach Kasol and Malana . Here we are trying to share some details the option to reach Kasol/Malana, places to stay , things to do and lot more.  Related post -  Kasol: A beautiful Himalayan hotspot
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Main places to see & Top things to do around Dalhousie : Stunning Hill Station in Himalayan State of India

  Dalhousie is one of the most popular Hill Stations in Himachal  and there is lot to explore around Dalhousie. This is small and very well maintained town in Chamba region of Himachal Pradesh . This Photo Journey shares some of the exciting places around Chamba and how to plan a good one day tour through Khajjiar, Chamba & Chamera etc. CHAMERA HYDROLIC PROJECT Chamera Hydroelectric Project is located in Banikhet, 7 kms from Dalhousie. The water body near the lake is very scenic and is a popular boating spot. Chamera Dam is around 40 kilometers from Chamba Town. It takes approximately 1.5 hrs to reach the place is road condition is good. Overall it’s a little dry terrain as compared to Dalhousie and Khajjiar. And temperature also goes up as we go towards Chamera Dam.  As you move out from Chamba town, you follow Ravi river for some time and then take right. After 45 minutes of drive, you get a glimpse of Chemera Dam.