Chaitanya Travelscapes

  View of Koteshwar Temple from the Lighthouse - Land extending into the sea After a drive through the arid landscapes of Kutch, we eventually reached the western tip of India, where the vast dryness of the land meets the incomprehensible expanse of the Arabian Sea. The scenery here feels dramatically different, with land surrounded by water on three sides, creating a sense of isolation and quiet grandeur. Starting from Dholavira in the Rann of Kutch, we spent considerable time birding in the Banni grasslands and at Chari Dhand, scanning open plains, deserts, and seasonal wetlands for larks, raptors, and wintering birds. From Moti Virani in Nakhatrana taluka, we took a detour to explore Koteshwar, Narayan Sarovar, Lakhpat Fort, and Mata No Madh, before continuing onward to Bhuj. We travelled via GJ SH42 to Dayapar, followed by the Subhashpar-Pandhro-Fulra highway for about 37 km and then GJ SH6 to Narayan Sarovar. We crossed Mata No Madh on the way, but we chose to forego it b...

  When we were planning our trip to Dharamshala in May 2025, we wanted to look beyond the cafés, monasteries, and crowded viewpoints. We were searching for places that carried whispers of the past — the kind of sites that make you pause and imagine the centuries gone by. That’s when two names stood out: the Masroor Rock Cut Temple and the Kangra Fort . Tucked away in the quiet folds of the Kangra Valley, about 40 km from Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, stands one of India’s most astonishing architectural treasures—the Masroor Rock-Cut Temple. Dating back to the early 8th century, this masterpiece of monolithic design feels like a secret carved straight into the mountainside. The complex consists of fifteen sandstone temples sculpted from a single massive rock, each dedicated to different Hindu deities. As you walk toward the site, the shrines seem to rise naturally from the earth, their intricate carvings glowing golden in the afternoon sun. The temples face northeast, ...