1# Visit the Taj Mahal
Waking up at 5.30am in the morning to be the first people in line, entering this beautiful place with the first rays of sunrise and have it all to ourselves (more or less), was one of the most breathtaking experiences we had in India.
The unique architecture and the gardens surrounding it blend together into a unique nature vs man landscape simply fascinating. Not to talk about the history behind it! Honestly, from the beginning till the end of our visit, we throughly enjoyed all that the Taj Mahal had to offer to a couple of travellers like us. We can’t wait to go back and visit it again while not under construction!
It may sounds very cliché but visiting the Taj should undoubtedly be in everybody’s bucket list when planning a trip to India. Trust us, you’ll be rewarded!
2# Boat Kerala’s backwaters
When we first took the public ferry from Kottayam to Alleppey (read our post The Thekkady-Alleppey Route | From Tea Fields to Backwaters), we felt in love with the backwaters of Kerala. In this area locals have created an intricate system of canals and have completely changed their lifestyle in order to adapt with the flow of the river. People move around with boats, the public ferry becomes the school “bus” and after 6pm all goes quiet as everybody starts getting ready to sleep.
You won’t believe how quiet it can gets at night if you’re not in the city center of Alleppey. At night even the beautiful wildlife you might have seen during the day goes quiet and leave space to a complete feeling of tranquillity everywhere you go.
Many local tourist companies will advertise tours of big boats but if you really want to see the true local lifestyle make sure to take a kayak or support a local company like we did.
3# See a Puja in Varanasi
Varanasi, also known by many as the holy city, is one of the most important spiritual places in India. Here you can see monks at every corner, people praying, other finally arriving from a long pilgrimage: all this because of the Ganges.
Apart from the many interesting things about this unique city, the daily night Puja that happens at the Dashashwamedh Ghat was definitely for us a beautiful opportunity to get know the local culture & religion in deep. During the ritual we saw people leaving offerings in the river, then a an actual important communal prayer with monks and at the end another offering time. Truth to be told, we found the ceremony to be highly exploited by tourism by in some way it seems that his has not affected its original meaning.
4# Wander the tea fields
But there’s more! , Munnar is also a great place where to start some great trekking like the Seven Malai (Seven Hills trek) where we trekked over the rim of seven hills enjoying a 360° view of the valleys below. Read about it in our post Munnar | The Tea Paradise!Last but not least, the best thing of this place is that for a very cheap price you can overnight at one of the beautiful hotels located in the middle of tea plantations, like the Grunberg Tea Plantations House which also includes a plentiful tasty breakfast, to relax afford a couple of days. For us it was a blessing spending a couple of days in that complete tranquillity. Trust us, you won’t regret it!
5# See a wild Indian elephant
Travelling to India hoping to see a tiger is definitely the best mindset for those wildlife junkies like us but ending up seeing a huge herd of wild Indian elephant is not that bad, hey?!
The Peryiar National Park in Thekkady is the perfect spot where to observe wildlife and enjoy nature at its fullest. The park offers several trekking possibilities but most importantly certain treks – usually the longest such as the Full-day boating – will give you a slight chance in seeing wild Indian elephants in their natural environment. Seeing this animals from up close as if it was a safari will literally make you jaw drop. Its such a unique experience that everybody should put it on top of the wish-list to India! Read our post about Thekkady: Forest vibes of Kerala.
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