NIKKA’s ALWAR TRIP 02 Aug to 04 Aug 2019

NIKKA’s  ALWAR TRIP   02 Aug to 04 Aug 2019

I did a  short Trip to Alwar to see SARISKA  for 2 Days. It was in Summers the heat and Humidity in Aug was bad.

02 Aug 2019. We took the evening we took a train from Gurgaon to Alwar. 

In the Train

We reached Alwar in about 2 Hours and stayed in my Grandfather’s Army Unit.   









The Room was big and very comfortable with a separate Sitting and Dinning Room.

 03 Aug 2019.Today after morning breakfast we went to SARISKA National Park it is about 40 km from Alwar by Road. Nestled in the Aravali Hills over an area of about 800 sq. Km covering the grasslands, forests, cliffs and rocky landscape, lays this  Sariska National Park, now known as The Sariska Tiger Reserve. This area was once hunting preservation of The Maharaja of Alwar. The Reserve is known for its majestic Royal Bengal Tigers

It was declared as a national park in 1982.

Entry Gate of Sariska

Sadly the National park was closed due to Rainy season. We had luck on our side. We were permitted to go to old Hanuman Mandir , called Pandupol Mandir.  This old Hanuman Temple was built by Saint Nirbhaya Das Ji and attracts large number of devotees. Thus we could go into the Park but were forbidden to go on any of the side mud tracks. We hired a guide to help us locate wild life.

Sambhar deer

We had a good journey in the park and managed to see certain wild life. We did try to see the Tigers but were not able to site any. We stayed there till about 2.30Pm

Wild Boars

Dancing Peacock

Looking for Food

Monitor Lizrad

The best way to explore Sariska Sanctuary is by jeep which can be arranged at the Forest Reception Office. Best time to visit Sariska Park is from November to March. 

Safari Timings: 6.30 AM - 9 AM and 3 PM - 6 PM Jeep Safari: Rs. 800 per person .

Then we went to Siliserh Lake Palace was built by Maharaja Vinay Singh of Alwar in 1845 for her beloved wife Sila, this has. presently been converted into a heritage hotel. The lake and reservoir created by Maharaja was the main source of water for the city of Alwar.

The Lake Palace

The  Lake near the Palace stretches over 10.5 square kilometres has Two earthen dams  constructed in order to collect the water of a small tributary of River Ruparel in the Lake.

The Lake

In the Boat

The location of Siliserh Lake is picturesque and it is home to a large number of migratory birds. The  lake has  boating, sailing and fishing. There is a Entry fee of Rs100 per person, which also gives you a Soft drink or Tea at the restaurant.

In the evening we went around the area near our Room to look for Nature. We found few things.

 04 Aug 2019  After breakfast we drove to Bala quila Fort. It is  situated in the Aravalli Range, above the town of Alwar. 

Alwar from the Fort

It was Built in 15th century by Hasan Khan Mewati. The literal meaning of the 'Bala Quila' is the Young Fort. It is perched on a 300m high cliff and is spreads over an area of 5 km from North to South and 1.6 km from East to West and has  six gates.  

On The way to Fort

Bala Quila

The fort also houses Chakradhari Hanuman Temple and Sita Ram Temple. You must listen to the Security In chagre on the Tale of the famous Tree in front of Mandir, which is in its trunk shows a Ganesh Face, and the cut out Cannon, part of which has been taken to Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi. Bala Quila is now in dilapidated condition and houses the radio transmitter station. One can still see the huge gates, arches and battlements.

 

The Cannon

Famous Tree

 With my Grand Pa

On return I went to the Regiment of my Grandfather. It has a long Tusk that the Regiment was given in Congo, Africa. I also saw the Tusk gifted by Karnatka Govt and Pletinum Jubliee Trophy of the Regiment.

The Great Tusk

Proud to be with the Gun

In the evening  we took the train and came back to Gurgaon with lot of memories.

SOUTH TOUR 28 DEC TO 05 JAN 2020

SOUTH TOUR  28 Dec to 05 Jan 2020

We did a small South India Tour revisted some places we had erlier visited in Dec 1987. The Tour from 28 dec to 05 Jan 2020, was organised by a Chennai Tour Company, South India Tours, by Mr Kathikeyan Mob No 9444001117. 

Please note that most of the Temples in Tamil Naidu Close between 12PM to 4 PM and popular Temples do not allow Mob Phones, and any Electronic Gadets insde the Temple. You can deposit your mobile and belongings in Locker / with staff of Temple, just outside the Temples as also the footwear can be kept outside the Temple with the organised place by the Temple. There are various Rates for priority Darshan at Main Temples, you can choose as per the Crowd at the Temple. At times you may have good Darshan without buying any ticket.

Our Tour  Route .

28 Dec 19. Departure from Delhi Airport by Indigo Flt at 08.25 for Madurai with a change at Chennai at 11.30 am. We reached Madurai at 14.20 PM. We were picked up from Airport by our driver and went to check In in our Hotel. 

Hotel Astoria was not far away from Temple. It is good Hotel and had good Breakfast next day. The Room was nice and well laid out.Thereafter went to Meenakshi Amman Temple. There was too much of Crowd in the Temple. We went and saw the Temple but could not have the Darshan.

The goddess Meenakshi is the principal deity of the temple. According to a legend found in the Tamil text Tiruvilaiyatarpuranam, king Malayadwaja Pandya and his wife Kanchanamalai performed a Yajna seeking a son for succession. Instead a daughter is born who is already 3 year old and has three breasts. Shiva intervenes and says that the parents should treat her like a son, and when she meets her husband, she will lose the third breast. They follow the advice. The girl grows up, the king crowns her as the successor and when she meets Shiva, his words come true, she takes her true form of Meenakshi. The marriage of Meenakshi and Shiva was the biggest event, with all gods, goddesses and living beings gathered. Vishnu is believed to be the brother of Meenakshi. Vishnu gives her away to Shiva at the wedding.

Meenakshi temple was hence built here to commemorate the same and to pay respects to the Goddess. The most striking feature of the temple is its exquisite facade, which has highly minute details with great art pieces incorporated in the walls and pillars. Meenakshi Amman temple complex is made in accordance to the Shilpa Shastra and has 14 gateway towers or 'gopurams', golden 'vimanas', holy sanctums and shrines dedicated to the revered Goddess Meenakshi

 

Meenakshi Temple

 29 Dec  Madurai / Rameshwaram – 180Kms   After a good breakfast , at 9.00 am,  we drove to Rameshwaram . On reaching Rameshwaram around 1PM, we checked into Hotel Star Palace. A new and good Hotel.  After check in we drove to Dhanush Kodi. 

 

View Dhanush Kodi

We spent about 40 mins at Danush Kodi and drove to Kothandarmar Temple . 

 

Kothandarmar Temple

 

Thereafter we went to main temple of Rameshwaram. 

The temple and the island of Rameswaram have acquired this name because, Lord Rama worshipped Lord Shiva, the God of Gods here on return from Sri Lanka. According to legend, after killing Ravana Lord Rama returned with his consort Goddess Seetha to India first stepping on the shores of Rameswaram. To expiate the "dosha" of killing a brahmin, Lord Rama wanted to offer worship to Lord Shiva. Since there was no shrine in the island , he had despatched Sri Hauman to Kailash to bring an idol of Lord Shiva. Between 1897 and 1904, the ALAR family of Devakottai completed the imposing eastern tower of nine tiers 126 feet in height from Thiruppani funds. Between 1907 and 1925 they renovated the Sanctum Sanctorum and the prakaram (inner most corridor) by replacing the lime stones by black granite with adequate provision for light and ventilation and also arranged for the performance of Ashtabandana Kumbabishekam in 1925.

World Famous Third Corridor :

     Outer Wing - East_West – 690 feet    North-South - 435 feet

     Innerwing - East_West - 649 feet     North-South - 395 feet

     Total number of pillars – 121    Height of Corridor – 22 feet 7 ½ inch

A perfect blend of mind-boggling architecture and spiritual significance, It also boasts of being one of the 12 Jyotirlinga temples of India. The twenty-two holy water bodies of the Ramanathaswamy Temple come to the rescue of people living a life full of regrets and those who want to absolve their sins. To attain salvation, devotees flock here to worship Lord Shiv and take dips in sacred water.

We had easy Darshan having refused the local pandit demanding 3000.00 for fast Darshan. 

Corridor of Temple

Rameshwaram Temple

Overnight we stayed at the Hotel.

30^thDec – Rameshwaram / Pillayarpatti  / Chettinad / Trichy – 260Kms .After a good Break Fast we started at 9AM and stopped to see Dr.Abdul Kalam Memorial . It is a MUST see, well kept and very well maintained. Entry is Free. 

Dr Abdul Kalam Memorial

We stopped for few pics of Road and Rail Bridge of Rameshwaram.

Enroute we stopped by road side to buy Local Jaggery made from a Palm Fruit Juice and with Ginger added.  I had the juice of the fruit as well,. The top portion of the fruit must be cut off to reveal the sweet jelly seed sockets, translucent pale-white, similar to that of the lycheebut with a milder flavor and no pit. The sweet jelly seed sockets occur in combinations of two, three or four seeds inside the fruit. The jelly part of the fruit is covered with a thin, yellowish-brown skin. These are known to contain watery fluid inside the fleshy white body.The Locals say it it very good for health. 

Palm Fruit on Trees

The Jelly Like Edable Seeds

Fruit Juice

Jaggery

Thereafter we drove to to Chettinad . We reached there around 1 PM and had Chettinad Local  food in one of the old houses converted to a Restaurant after Lunch we visited another old mansion of Chettinad wihich is open to public. We paid Rs 50.00 per person for entry. 

Chettinad House

Interiors

We then drove to  visit to Pillayarpatti to worship Lord Ganesa. It is an old Rock Temple.

Pillayarpatti Temple

 Then we drove to Trichy to hotel Grand Gradenia.  We checked into this Hotel at 6pm. The Hotel is good , well furnised and well maintained Rooms. The Hotel has very good food in its Resturant.

Dawarpal of Temple

31^stDec – Trichy / Tanjore – 65Kms   Today after breakfast we started at 9 am we started for Tanjore. It was a short journey of 1.5 hours. We reached Brihadishvara Temple. There was not much crowd and we had esay Darshan.Brihadishvara Temple, also called Rajarajesvaram or Peruvudaiyār Kōvil, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in South bank of Kaveri river in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the largest South Indian temples and an exemplary example of a fully realized Dravidian architecture. It is called as Dhakshina Meru (Meru of south). Built by Tamil king Raja Raja Chola I between 1003 and 1010 AD, the temple is  known as the "Great Living Chola Temples",

25 Ton Single Stone Nandi

Stone Carvings

Entry to temple

Stone Carvings

The temple is UNESCO heritage site with lot of carvings in sand stone. The Nandi (bull) facing the mukh-mandapam weighs about 25 tonnes. It is made of a single stone and is about 2 m in height, 6 m in length and 2.5 m in width. The image of Nandi is a monolithic one and is one of the largest in the country.The height of Temple is 66 Mtrs.

There after we went to see the the Tanjore Palace. It has 3 sections having collection of relics and statues.

Roof of Palace

Tower n Palace

Front Entrance of Palace

Then we went to see how the famous Five Metal statues are made in a cottage industry. 

Moltan For Statue

Pouring into Mud Mould

Statue Ready for Finishing Work

Having finished this visit we had Lunch. We moved back to Trichy. We now went to see Sri Ranganathaswamy  Temple. Dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the ‘Ranganathaswamy Temple’  is another masterpiece of the Dravidian architecture. Spread across an area of over 150 acres, the temple has 49 sub-shrines and is dotted with 21 brilliantly carved Gopurams (tower gateways) with the main or the ‘Raja Gopuram’ standing tall at 236 ft. making it the tallest in Asia. The temple also has 7 prakaras or enclosures with the presiding deity of Lord Vishnu in the form of Lord Ranganathaswamy reclining on five-headed serpent, enshrined in the innermost prakara. The tower above the innermost prakara is in the shape of ‘Om’ and is completely plated in Gold. Counted as the first amongst the 108 ‘Divya Desams’ or holy abodes of Lord Vishnu,

This temple is big  and there were long lines but few security staff and Priests knowing locals took many for Darshan. We could not get Darshan as Lines for Rs50 and Rs250 were not moving at all.  We came back after seeing a small session of Rath Procession of diety. Overnight at hotel in Trichy.

01^stJan- Trichy / Yercaud – 180Kms    After breakfast we statred for Yercaud  at 9.30AM.  We had a halt for Lunch enroute and  had short Tea break at SALEM.   From Salem it has hilly road with 20 U Bends.  We reached Yercaud around 2.30pm and checked  in to our  hotel . Hotel GRT Great Trails is at very start of Yercaud. It is Best Hotel in this small Hill Station and has Excellent Rooms, Staff and Food. The Room had a unique Floor with Glass to see Flora under the Room , along the Hill side.

Road View to Yercaud

Glass Floor of Room

Lake Boat House

In the Evening we went for a short walk to the Lake Side

02^ndJan – Yercaud

Today was a rest Day. However we choose to drive around at 11AM. First we went to View int on a Hill Top where we just went around for 15 Mins. There after we took the scenic 32 Km route thru Coffee Plantation. In the mid of 32 Km drive we stopped at Cavery Top Coffee Plantation Shop.

32 Km Loop Road 

We bought few packets of Coffee but did not see the Museam which had a ticket of Rs 475 per person.

03^rdJan – Yercaud / Vellore / 230Kms 

The Highway

Today after breakfast we started  at 9.00 am. We drove thru Salem again, as this route being little longer is on Highway thus faster to travel to Vellore. 

View From The Road

We had Lunch enroute and reached Sripuram Golden Temple around 3pm.  The Temple was built only recently in the year 2007, the temple is dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth and prosperity) known as ‘Sri Lakshmi Narayani’. Spread across a sprawling area of 100 acres, the temple is entirely built in pure gold. The total amount of gold used in creation of this temple is said to be around 15000 kilograms and took 7 years for building it. The pathways leading to the main temple is designed in the shape of a star with each pathway adorned with messages from the Gita, Bible and Quran. As you walk along the pathways,. Crossing the pathways and pillared halls, devotees get the darshans of Maha Lakshmi enshrined in the inner sanctum. You would be amazed to know that the deity of Maha Lakshmi itself is made of 70 kilograms of gold.

We went for Darshan and took Rs100 Darshan ticket. There was not much crowd and we had esay Darshan. The Temple has 1500 Kg of Gold. After the Darshan we had the special bathing of Diety which is only for Ticket Darshan devotees. 

There after we drove for another 7 km and just drove thru Vellore Fort which houses Police Academy. We checked into our Hotel around 6pm . The Hotel Khanna Fiesta has Good Rooms and Good Breakfast but hotel needs to upgrade its fittings splecially in Bathroom. 

Golden Temple

04^thJan – Vellore / Kanchipuram / Chennai – 170kms 

After breakfast we started at 8.30 am for Kanchipuram. We were at the First Temple at Kanchipuram at 10.30AM. We saw three Temples till 1PM , ie Kamakshi amma temple, Ekmbareswar Temple and Varadharaja Perumal temple.

In Hindu theology, Kanchipuram is one of the seven Tirtha (pilgrimage) sites, for spiritual release . The city houses Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Ekambareswarar Temple, Kamakshi Amman Temple, and Kumarakottam Temple which are some of major Hindu temples in the state. Of the 108 holy temples of the Hindu god Vishnu, 15 are located in Kanchipuram. The city is well known for its hand woven silk sarees and most of the city's workforce is involved in the weaving industry. 

Kamakshi Temple

Kanchipuram has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.

Kamakshi Amman Temple

Kamakshi Amma temple

Kamakshi Amman Temple is the landmark of Kanchipuram. It is believed that the Kamakshi Amman Temple in Kanchipuram was existing even before Aadi Sankaracharya's period (788-820 AD). It has been said  that there are three major Shakti's (Amman) in India. They are 'Kanchi Kamakshi, Madurai Meenakshi and Kaasi Visalakshi'..
The sannathi (sanctum) is covered with a gold plated roof. The temple has a golden charriot of which the procession takes place during festive seasons.

SRI EKAMBARESWAR TEMPLE

Sri Ekambareswar Temple

Dedicated to Lord Prithvilingam, a form of Lord Shiva, the Ekambareswar Temple is the most popular and the largest temple in Kanchipuram. It is said that the temple dates back to nearly 600 to 700 years and three major dynasties the Chola, the Pandavas and the Vijaynagar Empire contributed towards the construction of this temple. The temple is also considered as one of the Pancha Bhootha Sathalam (five elements) temple existing in Tamil Nadu.

VARADHARAJA PERUMAL TEMPLE

History lies deep within every wall of the Varadharaja Perumal Temple-a major reason as to why it is considered one of the must visit places in Kanchipuram. Dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the temple was built by the Vijaynagar Empire in the 10th century. 

VARADHARAJA PERUMAL TEMPLE

The temple is famous for its 1000 pillared-hall known as Kalyanamandapam. Each of these pillars reiterate the life of Lord Vishnu with the intricate carvings adorning it.. There are infact only 96 Visible Pillars.

Single Stone Ring Chain

 

Stone work

 

We had lunch in one of Restaurants and drove to Chennai. We reached Chennai around 5pm and checked into our Hotel, Quality Inn Sabari. The Hotel is very well located opposite K Kamraj Memorial and in the heart of Shopping area. The Hotel needs a upgrade and as per staff it will be completed in next 4 months. The Break Fast was very good. The Rooms are good and very well appointed.

5 Jan Dep from Chennai  Airport . 19.40  by Flt

We went for shopping around 10 am and came back for check out at 12 PM. We then drove to Tambaram to have Lunch with my Coursemates in Chennai. It was great meeting old friend and spending time with them. We then went to airport and took our flt to Delhi.

NDA Coursemates at Chennai Lunch

We reached back home by 11 PM.

A great holiday, away from cold of North. The Temples were very good and the Hill Station was relaxing. The Car was very good and so were the Hotels. A good pkg by ta very dedicated, sincere and hardworking  Travel Agent Mr Karthekiyan 9444001117 and Company South Tours. Website : www.southindianroutes.in

Cost  For 3 Of Us ( 2 Rooms at each Hotel plus Car  with Driver for Complete Journey)

Paid for Tour                                        70,000

Paid for Rooms Directly Booked          21,000 GRT Great Trail , Yercaud

Paid for Delhi to Madurai Air Tickets    26,500 

Paid for Delhi to Chennai Air Tickets   14,600