Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad was declared as India's first UNESCO heritage city. The old Ahmedabad is dotted with beautiful monuments and bird feeders. The Sabarmati river which runs through the city is well maintained and clean. I can only compare it with Coovam river of Chennai which stinks when we cross the river. The riverfront park is so nice and seeing people coming there at nights to relax was so relaxing.

Adalaj Stepwell

Sabarmati Ashram

I liked the way, the whole ashram is maintained. Sabarmati Ashram started by Gandhi at the river banks of Sabarmati river. I liked the narrative of the museum. There were questions like

• Why did Dandi March become a milestone in the national struggle against British colonialism?
• Who took over the leadership after Gandhiji's arrest?
• Did Gandhiji settle in favor of the mill owners?

Sabarmati Riverfront

One of the amazing things I witnessed in Ahmedabad is the Sabarmati riverfront. All I would do was compare it with Chennai's own Coovam river.

National Handloom

Fashion Street

Sasan Gir

I have read about the Gir forest lions and I still remember marking Gir forests in India map for my geography class in my school days. So when my friend suggested us to visit the place, I was all up for it.

We had booked the permit a long time back. The safari was supposed to start by 6AM and we were asked to report half an hour earlier. We were so early that we reached by 4.30 AM and waited till the officials showed up.

We had to pay for the safari, guide charges, etc when we were there. Our guide was a nice man who was able to speak a bit of English. He suggested us to be the first one to enter our route so that the probability of spotting a lion is high.

The forest was dry at most of the places. We were able to spot a lot of peacocks and spotted dears, few sambhar deer, and two lions. The forest also has a wide variety of birds. It was good to learn that people stay there and did multiple trips to spot a lion and we were lucky to spot two in a single trip. Alteast that's what our guide made us believe.

So here are some pics from the safari.

One of the lions we spotted

Ghost tree

Sambhar Deer

An Owl

Peacock dancing 

Summer thirst

Looks like they are posing for me

Gandikota - The Great Canyon of India

Yet another last minute road trip to the long-awaited Gandikota.

The last stretch of road to Gandikota is one hell of a ride. We were welcomed with a drizzle and a rainbow which calmed the weather a bit. When we were driving back from Gandikota, we were sent off with lighting all around us. Watching lightning frequently on the horizon from your car is an experience in itself.

And thanks to Google Maps, we got lost in some random village road when it got dark. The only light in the whole vicinity was from our car. We switched off our vehicle lights in the amidst the road and all you could see around is darkness.

Us entering the Gandikota fort

Charminar

The fort wall

Prototype mosque

Mosque

Minaret

Map 

Granary

Gorge

Penna river