Spectacular flight - Gangotri Glaciers to Bangaram Lagoon
A wikimapia look at the most beautiful sites in India as seen from the sky...
Remember that house you grew up in? Check it out on Wikimapia!!
But first lets start with a tour of India. Amazing places seen from the sky!
Ever been to Dal Lake in Kashmir? Here is the Nehru Park in Dal Lake. From here we go further east to the snow covered peaks of the Himalayas.
Here is the Gangotri Glacier... This huge river of ice melts at Gaumukh where there is a massive wall of ice from the foot of which the ice cold waters of Ganga come gushing out. The river is also called Bhagirathi named after the legend of a sage called Bhagirath who withstood the power of her mighty descent from the heavens by cushioning her in his hair.
The himalayan landmarks around that you have read about in legends (unless you have been lucky enough to be there...)
Now lets go further south along the Ganges. Just as it enters the plains... the town of Hrishikesh, meaning the hair of a hrishi or sage...
Rishikesh - known as the "City of the Divine" - is a spiritual center to which sages, rishis, saints and pilgrims have flocked for millennia. A very beautiful and peaceful city which is also famous for Yoga Teaching. It abounds in natural splendour. The spectacle of the holy Ganga rushing through the Himalayan foothills is an awesome sight. To be a part of Ganga Aarti (which is held every evening) at Parmarth Niketan is an amazing experience
Next up, another religious site >>
The bathing ghats of the holy city of Varanasi. Ganges has become wide and slow moving now. This place with its concentration of temples and brick steps entering the waters becomes crowded with millions of worshippers...
Moving further south lets stop at the most well known landmark in India...
Taj Mahal...
Care for some cricket?
The Eden Gardens cricket stadium in Kolkata. Here river Ganga is known as the Hoogly, snaking through the sprawl of the city.
Going directly south, is a place where few of you have been. But its spectacular natural beauty and access to underwater adventure activity should put it on your agenda.
It is Port Blair in the Andamans. Right at the center is the Cellular Jail, and directly east is Ross Island...
If you think this is the most beautiful marine landscape in India, then you havent seen the gems that the Arabian sea has to offer. Ever heard of Agatti?
It is the 11 km long island, a part of Lakshadweep. It is as beautiful as it looks on the map. The water is really that color!! If you need photographic proof check out this blog - The Delightful Islands of the Lakshadweep. Click on the photos to get a larger image.
Now for some prime real estate in India...
Marine Drive Bombay (Mumbai as it is called now..) has the most expensive real estate in India. Mumbai has the 15th most expensive office space in the world. See if you can spot the houses of any bollywood stars...
Give up? Here is the reigning King of Bollywood himself -
Shahrukh Khan's house...
Heard of those midnight rave parties, Goa trance, and hippy beaches?
This is Baga beach. I think some of the scenes in "Bourne Supremacy" were filmed somewhere here.
Ever seen a Tibetan monastry in India?
Here is one near Mysore called Bylakuppe. Check out photos and read about it at the Mysore, and around blog.
Ever wonder where your jobs get outsourced to? About 200 km from this monastry is a place called Bangalore...
This is a hi-tech hospital located in Whitefield, where the technology park houses the outsourced development centers of the leading IT companies in the world.
Now for something completely different...
According to Indian legend an army of monkeys threw rocks between Rameshwaram in India and Sri Lanka to build a bridge so that they could launch an attack on the island. Here is an aerial photo of the remanents of their effort. Although it is just a story, it is interesting to investigate further if these two land masses were connected at previously.
Here are the Brindavan gardens located next to the KRS Dam near Mysore...
And finally a look at Lok Sabha - the lower house of the Indian parliament
