Iceland: Hiking an active volcano

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ Iceland is known to be the land of ice and fire, and in the past few years itโ€™s really shown the world what that really means. The country is situated on top of two tectonic plates, the North American and the Eurasian plate, and also right above a hotspot โ€“ a geological term for a volcanic area that has an unusually hot mantle underneath it. With over 32 active volcanic systems in the country, youโ€™d expect there to be a volcanic eruption going on all the time. Hiking to…

Continue ReadingIceland: Hiking an active volcano

Iceland: Laugavegur Trek and Fimmvรถrรฐuhรกls pass

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ Theย Laugavegurย andย Fimmvรถrรฐuhรกlsย trekย has been listed by National Geographic as one of the "World'sย Best Hikes"ย dueย to the unique and extremely diverse landscapeย encounteredย on the trail.ย One can see everything from sizzling hot springs and volcanoes to icy white glaciers. We walked through geothermally active lands of colored rhyolite mountains, obsidian fields, cross glacier rivers, and so much more on our journey. We stay in rustic,ย but charming highland hutsย locatedย in remote areas. Each area is unique, revealing new features in the ever-changing landscapes of the trail. Day 1 Reykjavikย ย to Landmannalaugarย  We departed early in the morning from…

Continue ReadingIceland: Laugavegur Trek and Fimmvรถrรฐuhรกls pass

Aberdeen, Shetland and Inverness

Shetland is an island archipelago between UK and Faroe island in Norway. There is a cluster of 100 islands only 16 of which are populated.ย  So it was a long journey from mainland UK. Day 1: London - Abardeen This was long day started at morning in Hemel Hempstead. We had to travel all the way Kings Cross and then take the train Abardeen. It`s one of the longest train journey in UK ( longest one is ย Aberdeen to Penzance) of more than 7 hour . We reached Abardeen in late afternoon…

Continue ReadingAberdeen, Shetland and Inverness

ลฝabljak and Durmitor National Park

... Continued from Kotor and Budhva Zabljak is a small town in northern Montenegro with a population of less than 2000. We left Kotor mid day . Bus journey itself was about 4.5 hours. Our hotel was just 5 min walk from the bus stop. The town is in the center of the Durmitor mountain region and the highest town in Balkan. We spent the rest of the day walking around and had a nice dinner in the evening. Next morning my first destination was Black lake inside Durmitor national park. This…

Continue Readingลฝabljak and Durmitor National Park

Austria: Innsbruck and Mayrhofen

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡นย ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Innsbruck is a very popular destination of winter sports . It's capital of Tyrol , western state of Austria. Inn is the main river, the name Innsbruck ย means bridge over Inn. My accommodation was very close to the river. My first destination was the cable car up toย Hafelekar. We went toย Nordkette which is a part ofย Austria's largest natural park. Then we went to the 300-meter high mountain station of the cable car Hungerburg (designed by the renowned Zaha Hadid) to enjoy a breathtaking view of the city. After reaching the Hungerburg…

Continue ReadingAustria: Innsbruck and Mayrhofen

Chadar Trek

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณย ย  โ€œLife is an adventure, itโ€™s not a package tour.โ€ ย  ย  ย  โ€“ Echart Tolle When bad luck strikes it takes a moment to change everything. Due to heavy snowfall mountain passes become impassable during winter and some villages in Zanskar valley remainย isolated from outside world. From ancient times frozen Zanskar river is used as a trade route to connect Leh in winter. This trek starts from Leh in Ladakh, literally โ€œthe land of high passesโ€, lies between the Himalayas and the Kunlun mountain range at a height of more than…

Continue ReadingChadar Trek

Haut Route Trek

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญย ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญย ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท This is the Mountaineers' Route covering a distance of 180 Km from Chamonix valley in France to Zermatt in Switzerland. I arrived in Geneva and then transportation was arranged to Chamonix. That day we had an introduction ,equipment check and goodnight's sleep in cozy room. We had six people in our group -ย Randy and Ryan Maksymowich father and son duo from Canada,ย Chris Lennox, retired doctor from Scotland,ย Chris Parks and Rona Hodson British couple staying in New York . Our guide was Andy Perkins, a French national. Day 2 Montroc - Balme…

Continue ReadingHaut Route Trek

Cruz del Condor and Colca Canyon

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ชย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ชย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช This was a 2 day 1 night trek from Arequipa. I arrived Arequipa after a long bus journey all the way from Nasca. The city is located at the altitude of 2,328 M . I was staying at Casa De Avila. The trek started the very next morning at 3AM. ย I booked the trek through my the hotel. The bus arrived at 3 AM to pick me up. We drove to Chivay ย and had our breakfast and then drove another few hours through bumpy road to Cruz-del-Condor for Condor viewing. Andean…

Continue ReadingCruz del Condor and Colca Canyon

Inca Trail : Machu Pichu

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ชย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ชย ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช This is probably the most famous trek in South America and rated by many as one of the top 5 treks in the world. Total length of the trek is about 50 Km. It combines beautiful mountain scenery, lush green cloud-forest, subtropical jungle and, of course, a stunning mix of Inca paving stones, ruins and tunnels. The final destination of the trail just cannot be beaten: Machu Picchu, the mysterious โ€œLost City of the Incasโ€.This is a controlled trek. Only a certain number of people are allowed to trek each day.…

Continue ReadingInca Trail : Machu Pichu

Montreux – Rochers de Naye

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญย ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญย ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ It was a cold and windy night when we started on our journey to Switzerland. Coming out of our apartment, we could feel the chill wind rattling our bones. My hubby looked into his watch n said, โ€œItโ€™s already 3 am and we are late.โ€ So we hurried down the road to catch our night bus towards Heathrow airport. After a sleepy journey of nearly 2 hrs we reached the airport and found that check-in counters do not open before 6:00am. My hubby explained, in London, unlike in India flights do…

Continue ReadingMontreux – Rochers de Naye