In search of the Treasure where the Rainbow meets the Horizon

  Grade: Easy                                      Height: 3579 ft Base Village: Tikona Peth         District: Pune Tikona is a fort in the Lonavala region of Pune district. Its twin fort is Tung. You can do Tikona and Tung together in only one day. Tikona is surrounded by Lohagad, Visapur, Tung, and two lakes on each of it’s sides. One is Pawana lake, and the other is Mulshi. The word ‘Tikona’ means triangle or pyramid. Tikona is also known as Vitandgad. History It is not known who built this fort. In 1485, Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah I captured this fort. Later Shivaji Maharaj took control of the fort in 1657. To know more about the history of Tikona visit this link My Journey I have actually been to Tikona twice. The first on a Saturday, and the second one, just two days later! My friend’s mom was so amazed by the photos, she really WANTED to do ...

More than seventeen years back when my wife and I decided to shift base to Pune, it was driven by the need to move anywhere out of Mumbai and because, it was the closest city to our respective hometowns where I could find an employment. Pune, still a sleepy and quiet cantonment city then, had the small city charm we both were used to. However, we hadn’t given any consideration to some of the other riches the city had to offer in our decision. Over the next decade and a half, as we made Pune our home our love for the city continued to increase, despite its rapid and at times ugly urbanization and growth. What was not to love about Pune. Culturally vibrant, historically significant, economically progressive, climatically pleasant and endowed with the bounties of nature. Seeking Nirvana If you are wondering what these meandering words about my love for Pune has to do with the this blog, let me cut to the chase. But not before I give you some back story. Despite the fact that Pune is...

Krish Iyer is ten years old and loves to trek Forts. He has meticulously made a list of all the forts around Pune that he wants to visit and captured information about them. This is his first blog.  Ghangad Fort Trek Grade: Easy-Medium                                              Height: 2998 ft Base Village: Ekole                                        District: Pune Ghangad fort is located in Lonavala region in the Mulshi Taluka. It has many forts surrounding it like Korigad, Tailbaila, Sudhagad and Sarasgad. But, Ghangad is isolated from these other forts. History A board near the Garjai Devi Temple placed by Shivaji Trails (a trekking group that conserves forts) provides a detailed history about this fort. It was used as a jail and watchtower. My Journey We ...

Re-posting a blog I had done after a visit to Kuman region of Uttarakhand in 2017, for Vibha Ravi in her travel blog https://pixelvoyages.com It is in 2 parts. Do visit these links: In The Lap Of Nature - Kumaon Part1 In The Lap Of Nature - Kumaon Part2 Read on!

Planning for yearly vacations had become quite a routine activity for us. Having membership of a popular Holiday resort chain meant that we invariably ended up choosing a destination where they had a resort. But this time we were determined to try something different. Kerala was quickly rejected because the above reason and as we had been there a few times. Hampi was a hot choice for me, especially after having helped my daughter in researching for a project on Hampi. But that got shot down by the kids (no surprise). Finally, we narrowed down on North East. It was a destination none of us had visited. Well, technically I had been to Guwahati some 25 years back but remembered almost none of it. My familiarity with the region was limited to a few stereo-types. Terms such as ‘Seven Sisters’, ‘Cherrapunji – world’s wettest place’ and Kaziranga (thanks to the Geography books) and some other negative terms such as “neglected states” and "disturbed areas" (thanks to news...