Northern India

November 2005


I travelled with Exodus on their 'Highlights of Northern India' trip.

Friday/Saturday 4-5 November


Arrived in the early hours of the morning at Delhi International Airport after an uneventful eight hour flight from LHR. Rushed off the plane to get to the front of the passport queue but still waited 45 minutes to clear immigration in what was a surprisingly small area for an airport serving a city of 13.2 million people.
Met by the Exodus agent and taken to the Connaught Hotel in the centre of the city. A very entertaining journey! Trucks are not allowed in the Delhi area except between 2100 and 0600 to reduce congestion. Accordingly, all of Delhi’s ring roads are clogged by trucks at night, with little lane discipline exhibited by anybody. Indian driving style is to drive as hard as you dare, leaning on the horn until the vehicle in front yields. No hassle, it’s just the way they do things here.
Comfortable but short night’s sleep (3 ½ hours), awaking to a very hazy sun breaking through the noxious air pollution that pervades Delhi. After breakfast I met Mohan and Ravi Tickoo of KVT, Exodus’ main agents in India before the rest of the group arrived from the Siddarth Hotel about 7kms away (one hour’s drive though!). Then a five to six hour drive to Jaipur, 270kms SW of Delhi and known as the ‘Pink City’.
We passed quite quickly through the suburbs of Delhi, following the wide boulevards of British designed New Delhi, and paralleling miles of new road/flyover construction. Shame they don’t realise that more road capacity = more cars! Smells: exhaust fumes and sulphur dioxide. Sounds: the rumble of the bus engine but overwhelmed by the constant blaring of horns (ours and everybody else’s). Sights: organised chaos!

Proud people, elegantly dressed women in brightly coloured saris (orange and pink seem to be the colours of the season right now), ragamuffin kids begging at intersections, a snake charmer with bedraggled looking cobra, camels and carts taking up the inside lane of the dual carriageway sections, monkeys and kites.
Unbelievable poverty, stoically endured, people living in open ridge tents next to the busy roads, women hunched over tending the crops, men sitting on their haunches or fixing yet another truck.
Buses laden with brightly clothed people, the distinctive white turbans of Rajastani men, shepherds herding goats, and cows grazing randomly everywhere. Dust, increasingly hot sunshine and generally flat plains of sand and clay, punctuated by stands of pampas grass, with occasional sandstone hills in the distance. All in all, an assault on the senses, but with no doubt, much more to come.

Gate to the Pink City of Jaipur

Lunch was taken midway between Delhi and Jaipur, some opting for chips and Coke (!), others going for good vegetable samosas, noodles and our guide Bushan selecting what looked like the best dish, a vegetarian thali.

First night in Jaipur

We had an imposing hotel for the night, 2kms outside of the centre of Jaipur, the Narain Nirwas Palace at Kanota Bagh on Narain Singh Road. Very traditional rooms, but interesting, comfy and with good showers. Had a few beers on the terrace, assaulted by a few mozzies, followed by an excellent dinner in an ornate high ceilinged room. I enjoyed Kair Sangri with chappatis. Kair is a small round desert fruit which grows on a prickly shrub. Excellent!
Then early to bed, with rhythmic local music in the background, punctuated later in the night by peacocks calling each other (at about 0330!).


Sunday 6 November


Breakfast, then on to the bus, joined by a local guide, at 0800. Into Jaipur, first stop to view the Albert Hall (a museum), then through the city gates and immediately into the geometrically planned city of pink painted buildings. They have remained pink since 1876, when Maharaja Ram Singh had the entire city painted pink, traditionally the colour of hospitality, to welcome the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII).
Photo stop at the Hawa Mahal, the Palace of the Winds, constructed in 1799 to enable the ladies of the royal household to watch the life and processions of the city. It is only one room deep.

Jaipur traffic!

Jaipur, the 'Pink City'

Palace of the Winds, Jaipur

Then out of the north gate, passing the Jal Mahal, a water palace situated in the middle of the artificially created expanse of Man Sagar, a lake much overdue for some cleaning!

Jal Mahal, near Jaipur

We followed the Amber Road for a few more kilometres, then parked up and walked up to the Amber Fort, built from red sandstone and white marble, first stopping to take a view of it across the Maota Lake where wild pigs wandered and the tourist elephants bathed. A five minute walk up the steps takes you past numerous beggars and hawkers to the fort, giving splendid views all around. We entered via the Sun Gate into the main courtyard Jaleb Chowk, with elephants carrying tourists up the hill doing a final circuit of the square before decamping their burden. There was a lot to see, including the Hall of Mirrors and Ganesh Pol, decorated with mosaics and sculptures.

Approaching the Amber Fort, elephants bathing in Maota Lake

Amber Fort

Hall of Mirrors, Amber Fort

Great views of the surrounding fortified hills and down to Maota Lake. We visited the ‘zenana’, rooms for the many wives of the Maharajah that could be visited in secrecy.
Then back to Jaipur with a photo stop at the Jal Mahal in more favourable light, before visiting a carpet factory. Impressive silk carpets, handmade by outworkers in the surrounding villages, then finished/burnt in Jaipur, before taking a well earned lunch in an open restaurant complete with an Indian violinist. Good tikka.

The afternoon took us to Jantar Mantar, an observatory begun by Jai Singh in 1728, which recorded time, movement of the earth vs. the stars, and then defined astrological solutions. Clever stuff, more for the mathematicians amongst us, but the biggest sundial in the world, just 2 seconds out, couldn’t fail to impress. A very busy place to visit on a Sunday.

Jantar Mantar

The last stop of the day was the City Palace in the centre of the old city. We went first to the Mubarak Mahal and a tour of the Maharajah Souvai Mansingh II Museum containing a collection of royal costumes, etc. Then on to the Anand Mahal Sileg Khana (armoury) to see daggers, huge swords and large guns. Lastly a quick visit to the Diwan-I-Am, the art gallery hung with fine carpets, tiny scriptures and fine miniature paintings.

Jaipur street scene

City Palace, Jaipur 

Dinner in Jaipur with a rather touristy local dance show at the Indiana Restaurant. Beautiful ladies and good drumming but too much like a cabaret.

Monday 7 November


Up at 0540 for one hour’s yoga. Bushan joined four of us, with a brisk run through many different asanas. Invigorating though.
Breakfast, then on to the bus by 0800 for a four to five hour drive from Jaipur to Ranthambore. Usual chaos on the roads, but after 45 minutes we reached the countryside and had two hours on much rougher roads. Rural India is poor! Many nomadic tents (land workers, mainly).

Local Porsche!

A stop for Chai, another for a leg stretch enabling us to get some great photos of local people in a small farming village. Camels, pigs, goats and cows everywhere. Main crops here are mustard oil (used for cooking), millet, wheat, lentils and potatoes. Hot sun but plenty of water in the lakes still due the heavy monsoon this year (normally July to September).

Friendly villagers en route to Ranthambore

Arrived at our hotel in Ranthambore at 1215 with garlands of marigolds presented to us on arrival and received somewhat embarrassingly. Tea followed by a buffet lunch, then started the game drive in open truck at about 1430.
Ranthambore National Park entrance was 15 minutes up the road and was not too busy inside. We spent three hours in relatively thick bush and saw plenty of chital (spotted deer) and sambar, India’s largest deer. Crocs were seen in rivers and on lakes shores, and there were loads of peacocks, an immature serpent eagle, flocks of green cockateels, and the very large webs of the Common Indian Spider. But, no tiger seen, not surprising at this time of the day.

Ranthambore National Park

Crocodile in Ranthambore

Back to base by 1745 with dinner at 1900. This was a more basic lodge (Ankur Resort), but was perfectly adequate albeit noisy at night with the close proximity to the railway where trains sounded their horns as they passed through Saral Madhgur Junction. The hotel had big gardens and a swimming pool.


Tuesday 8 November


Up at 0545 and tea before setting off for game drive at 0630. Quickly into the park, our guide ensuring that we were ahead of the rest of the pack. We moved quickly to see if we could get a tiger sighting, so there was no time for leisurely game viewing. Then the guide spotted trucks converging on the other side of a lake so we made a quick dash over to see two tigers in long grass about 250m away. Not a great sighting but the best we were going to get. The rest of the time spent in the park concentrated on seeing the elusive tigers in their respective territories, but we only saw a tigress’ paw print (guide said about two hours old) on the sandy track. Very bumpy, rough tracks for a couple of hours through stunning gorges in between sandstone cliffs and the impressive Ranthambore Fort high above us on some sections.

Safari in Ranthambore...not an exclusive experience!

Spot two tigers...

We left the park at 0940, returning to the hotel for breakfast, a freshen up and quick visit to an internet café next door, then on to the bus for an 1130 departure. There followed a long drive north to Dousa – chaotic but fascinating. Rural India has many people! Many irrigation schemes were being operated as we drove past.
We stopped briefly at a school, causing much excitement and some control problems for the one teacher (with about a hundred kids in her charge). We also stopped in a small town and were quickly surrounded by very inquisitive people, before turning east on to the main Jaipur/Agra road. A quick food stop then darkness set in as we passed a large area dedicated to brick making with the resultant decline in air quality as we approached Agra. The road on this section was awful, having been damaged by the heavy monsoon this year, but despite this local drivers insisting on driving as fast as possible, with many near misses as a result.

As we entered Agra we saw two street celebrations celebrating weddings: very jolly!
We finally reached the Mansingh Palace Hotel at 2030 and quickly headed for the bar before a good dinner. A very comfortable hotel.


Wednesday 9 November


Another early start, this time at 0545 for a 0615 bus trip to see sunrise at the Taj Mahal. We watched the sun rise from our position by the west gate, then walked down to see inside this outstanding mausoleum built between 1631 and 1653. Absolutely stunning.

West Gate to the Taj Mahal

Took many pictures inside and out. Shah Jahan built this memorial for his second and most beautiful wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their fourteenth child (!). Fantastic inlaid marble work and with the extra benefit of light effects as the sun rises during the day and illuminates through the translucent marble. Security was very strict, with no mobiles or tripods allowed. Hawkers were not particularly bothersome.

Taj Mahal...the majesty of this site speaks for itself

Back to the hotel for breakfast, then drive to Agra Fort nearby, a huge red sandstone fort and palace built on the banks of the Yamuna River by Emperor Akbar in 1565 (the grandfather of Shah Jahan). Much to see but the highlights were the white marble tower where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his own son, Takhti-I-Jehangir, a huge black soapstone throne which was damaged by British cannon balls, and the harem quarters.

Agra Fort

Then some lunch in Agra – excellent curry again! The afternoon visit was to Fatehpur Singri, about 40kms west of Agra on difficult roads. This was a short-lived capital city of the Mughal Empire between 1571 and 1585 but was then abandoned just after the death of the creator Akbar due to water shortages. We viewed the 57m high ‘Victory Gate’, then toured the fort and palace. A liberal man and great diplomat, Akbar had Hindu, Christian (a Portuguese from Goa) and Muslim wives.

Fatehpur Singri

Back to the hotel for 1830 and had dinner nearby, entertained throughout by a sitar and Indian drum duo, before a one hour drive to the railway station east of Agra. The station was busy and the tracks were teeming with rats, and after a long tired wait, the train for Varanasi eventually pulled in 35 minutes late. A sleeper train, partly affected by cockroaches, so quickly to sleep around midnight…a long day!


Thursday 10 November

Arrival in Varanasi

Awoke around 0600 ready for disembarkation at 0800. We had a 45 minute coach ride, crossing the mighty River Ganges, to the Hotel Surya, with breakfast in the garden then free time until lunch at 1230. A couple of the group were unwell, so this free time was greatly appreciated. 
After lunch we set off with local guide Ongen (very knowledgeable), firstly to the Archaeological Museum at Sarnath containing Buddhist icons as this area is the site where Buddha is said to have spent four rainy seasons and, importantly, delivered his First Sermon. There were some amazing sculptures of the Buddha from 5th and 6th century AD, plus the famous Lion Head sculpture which is now the Indian national symbol (printed on the corner of their bank notes). Then we went on to visit the Buddhist temples of Sarnath, including a view of the inner temple and the imposing Dhammeka Stupa built by the Emperor Asoka. There were many pilgrims visiting this area, including followers from Cambodia. Gold leaf is rubbed on the side of the monuments as a mark of respect. 

The Deer Park, Sarnath

Dhammeka Stupa, site of the Buddha's First Sermon 

We visited the main Buddhist temple donated by Mrs Simon Hewaritane of Ceylon in 1932 and the ‘Grandson of the Old Tree’ (a descendent of the tree under which Buddha meditated and received Enlightenment). On the way back into Varanasi we visited the silk weavers in the alleyways of the Muslin area before a visit to the silk factory shop.

'Grandson of the Old Tree', Sarnath

Muslim quarter, Varanasi

Silk weaving, Varanasi

Varanasi is the Holy City established by Asoka and sits on the confluence of the Ganges, Varuna and Asi rivers. It has 2000 temples, five universities and, as the City of Renunciation, is home to many saddhus. It is a religious obligation of Hindus to visit Varanasi at least once in their lifetime (like Mecca for Muslims).
The final visit of the day was made by rickshaw – hectic, fascinating, amusing (saw cow walk into shop) and spiritual. We visited the ghat (steps) on the Ganges River to watch evening prayers for the Hindus. Much bell ringing, incense, merriment. Very jolly. Back to hotel, meal, collapse into bed. Do have a look at these videos on YouTube: 'Cow Goes Shopping' and 'Varanasi by Rickshaw'.

Evening ceremony on the ghats above the Ganges at Varanasi

Friday 11 November


0500 alarm call. 0530 we set off to see the Hindus abluting in the River Ganges. Groups of people by the ghats say prayers with a priest, then bathe, meditate and read Hindu scriptures. Separate ghats were in use by Sri Lankans and people from S India. We had a boat trip on the Ganges as the sun rose. Magical. We could see several of the ghats and the cremation area also. Note people drink this water!!

Sunrise over the Ganges at Varanasi

Receiving a blessing, Varanasi

Preparing to bathe in the Ganges

The Ghats at Varanasi, a holy place for Hindus

Notable was the height of the river during the monsoon season…it can be up to 40 feet higher than the current level!
We left the boat and walked up through bazaars to see the Golden temple (built on the site of a mosque); heavy security presence as seen as a Muslim target.

Varanasi street scenes 

Back to the hotel for breakfast then pack for home.
Varanasi airport is about 40 minutes from the hotel and took afternoon flight on Jet Airways to Delhi. A quick tour of New Delhi, visited a show of Indian regional dancing with Ravi Tickoo, our tour operator in India, before heading to the International terminal for the 0325 flight. Uneventful trip home on BA with flatbeds.


Summary


India is a full-on experience but has much to commend it. The sights in the town and country are absorbing and you have to admire just how well people get on with the business of life in spite of the appalling conditions many of them live in. Many ‘goose bump’ moments, especially seeing the Taj Mahal at dawn and seeing the Buddhist icons in Sarnath.

Tour of the Oisans (GR54 in the Ecrins)

Trip undertaken 28 August to 3 September 2005


Travelling companions: Richard Pratt and Hayden Measham. Self guided and accessed via Grenoble.


Guide books: Tour of the Oisans by Andrew Harper, and The Ecrins National Park by Kev Reynolds (both Cicerone Press).


Day 1

Left the Hotel Oberland in Bourg d’Oisans at 0830. Adequate hotel with friendly staff and very focused on road biking clientele. Bought food in the town centre and headed across the valley to start the ascent of the GR54 path, leading steeply north in the direction of Huez. Passing the side of la Cascade campsite we were soon ‘enjoying’ slippery rocks and chains to assist on the steeper sections. Then we managed to miss a right hand turn on the path and had an epic on a steep muddy woodland track on the east side of the Cascade de Sarenne. Very unpleasant. Moral of the story is: keep your eyes peeled for the GR red and white markers and if you find yourself on unstable, overgrown and increasingly scary terrain, you’re probably not on a GR path! So we backtracked and after 15 minutes relocated ourselves on to the right path. Rocky scrambles leading to a pleasant woodland path took us to la Ville, then easy forest paths to Maronne and le Rosay before a steep descent to the Sarenne valley, picking up the easy main trail out of Huez.
We climbed up into the narrowing valley with a quick refreshment break at the Gite d’Etape above Combe Haut, followed by a long plod past the Cabanes de Sarenne and Col de Sarenne (1999m), arriving at 1400.
Lunch stop here with big views down into the Ferrand valley and the village of Clarans le Haut, some 600m below our feet. It was a lofty perch for lunch.

View from Col de Sarenne 1999m

A good path takes you swiftly down to Clarans le Haut (one hour) and then there was easy walking down the valley to the very attractive village of Clarans le Bas.
A short descent took us to a river crossing across a footbridge, before the final steep pull up a shaly ridge to Besse at 1530m, our final destination, arriving about 1700. Super little village with nice hotel, Hotel Alpin, with friendly young hosts. Good crepes and Kronenbourg rounded off the day!

Hotel Alpin, Besse

Day 2

Start of day 2

The day dawned clear with bright blue skies. Had a decent breakfast and got going about 0845, taking the valley north east of Besse on a broad easy track for about 1.5 Kms. Then steep contouring path took us to Col Nazie (1902m) with great views N.E. to Pic du Lac Blanc 3323m and the Glacier de Sarenne immediately to the south of it. Then a very sustained zigzag ascent to Col Bichet at 2245m, reaching the top by about 1045 (two hours from start). A 15 minute break in a fresh easterly wind revived us and we then had an easy moorland crossing and slow plod up to Col de Souchet at 2362m, gaining fine views of the northern aspects of the Ecrins, with superb views of the 3982m high la Meije and the steep Glacier de la Girose falling into the heavily wooded Valle de la Romanche.

Ascent to Col Bichet

Moorland crossing to Col Souchet

This was followed by a great ‘balcon’ walk from the col, leading us across the Plateau d’Emparis and the slowly descending to a fine viewpoint above le Chazelet where we had a leisurely lunch out of the wind.

Northern edge of the Ecrins

Towards la Meije 

Path down to le Chazelet

GR54 to le Chazelet

The early afternoon was dominated by a long zigzag descent of about 400m to the beautifully situated le Chazelet (mainly new ski chalets though), then down the road to les Terrasses before a final, weary descent across the meadows to la Grave where we checked in to the Auberge Edelweiss.

Valle de la Romanche

la Grave, Ecrins National Park

Nice beer garden overlooking la Meije. The hotel, run by Dutch lady Marlon and partner Robin Gray (who used to be associated with adventure holiday company Exodus), mainly caters for extreme skiers and the mountain biking fraternity. Hayden invested in new boots, having suffered with his old pair and having resorted to walking in sandals for much of the walk so far (not recommended!).


Day 3


A long day ahead! We left the village after buying some pizza for lunch, getting on our way by 0850. Dropped down to the river, then followed a contouring path through the woods before going more steeply up through the woods to cross the ridge high above the valley, climbing to 1756m on a very quiet path.

Ecrins National Park

We crossed into the Ecrins National Park (which means that the GR red and white waymarks become almost non-existent) and crossed the river again at Pont de Brebis after about 2 hours. Encountering our first tourists for over two days we then walked up a wide valley, before pulling steeply away from the crowds (well, OK, about 10 other walkers), climbing up a rock band on zigzags and surrounded by huge waterfalls in all directions in an area known as ‘Les Voutes’. This was followed by an interminable plod in very hot sunshine, passing the Refuge de l’Alpe de Villar d’Arene (2077m), and eventually reaching the Col d’Arsine (2340m) where we had a well-deserved lunch break.

Zigzags en route to Col d'Arsine

Refuge de l’Alpe de Villar d’Arene (2077m)

Then, moving east, we passed aquamarine blue glacial lakes, before a long series of zigzags down unstable ground brought us to Lac de la Douche. Knees needed a rest here! Then a final drop through the woods on a broad path to le Casset, where the knackered team resorted to Coke and ice cream before the final level valley walk to our destination of the day, the Auberge Choucas in Monêtier les Bains (also known to skiers as Serre Chevalier 1500). A very comfortable hotel, rather more upmarket than we really needed, but lovely all the same, with fine dining and some indulgent wine choices which raised a few eyebrows when we settled the account the following morning! Outstanding cheese. Bed by 2130!

Glacial lakes below Col d'Arsine

View back on day 3 from le Casset

Day 4



We had a slow start as the hotel breakfast only available form 0800…very late for the walking fraternity! Finally got going at 0850, walking across the wrong bridge (Hayden had the map though!!) and crossing over pastureland before climbing up steeply rising woodland tracks for three hours to reach the Col de l’ Eychauda (the last 45 minutes on unpleasant gravel ski lift service roads). An unattractive col, though with big views to the east and west in very hot and dry conditions. 

View from descent after Col de l'Eychauda

We took a traversing path due south, then a long series of zigzags lost us 600m before lunch at 1300 looking down the Vallee de Chambran at ~1900m. Stopped a little later for more ice cream at Chambran before a valley plod in increasing heat, before turning N.W. into the valley leading to Ailefroide. Then came the surprise. Looked simple on the map…but reality on the ground was somewhat different. A nasty little path, with many ups and downs, crossing unstable scree slopes and ravines, plus largely overgrown with spiky plants. Nice! One hour 10 minutes to Ailefroide said the sign. Don’t believe a word of it! One hour 40 minutes later, duly humbled, we arrived in Ailefroide, crossed the glacial torrent and reached our hotel for the night, the Hotel Engilberge. 

Horrible little path to Ailefroide

A fabulous setting though, with towering rock walls, up to 2000m above us, all around. Enjoyed much needed beer and reflected on a walk that started 8 hours earlier.


Day 5


Started at 0830 with the simple objective of climbing up to the Refuge Cezanne, now known as the Refuge de la Pre de Madame Carle, at 1874m. A very easy walk, some on the road but mostly on a rough, overgrown track. After a coffee we set off for the Refuge Glacier Blanc (can’t keep a good team down!) and zoomed up easy zigzag paths to 2380m where we decided we wouldn’t have time to get to the refuge, have lunch and get down in time for a taxi already booked to get us down the valley to our penultimate overnight stop at Vallouise. So, we had a quick stop on the smooth, striated granite blocks overlooking the snout of the fine Glacier Blanc and in sight of the refuge 250m above.

Glacier Blanc

Barre des Ecrins above Glacier Neige

Glacier Blanc

We left our perch at 1115 and reached the valley bottom 400m below just over one hour later, with fine views up to Glacier Neige and the Barre des Ecrins 4102m to the west and Mont Pelvoux 3943m immediately above us to the south. Omelettes and local (Briançon) brewed beer at Refuge de la Pre de Madame Carle, then a 1 ¼ hour yomp back down the valley to Ailefroide. Great scenery here, with marmots and chamois seen below the huge rock walls and cascaded on either side of the valley.
Taxi down to Vallouise where we checked into the Hotel le Vallois. Pleasant enough village with a brew pub and some unusual chalet architecture, with many levels (hay lofts) and use of stone arches on the lower elevations (but we’re now only 50Kms from Italy).


Day 6


Now out of season, so forced to take an early taxi to Briançon and managed to check in to the hospitable Hotel Edelweiss, just below the historic old fortified town.
Impressive town, worth a visit, a decent lunch at a restaurant overlooking the valley to the north of the town and all was well with the world!

Briançon

Summary


A more challenging route than the Tour du Mont Blanc, with some long days and, to the north, more shaly slippery paths than were expected.
We only did the opening sections of the GR54 and it gets more challenging later in the route, with some very long, isolated days with mountain refuges the only overnight options. But we’ll be back…the area is unspoilt, virtually undiscovered by the wider walking community (most Brits going to the Ecrins will be going to rock climb), and spectacular.

Morocco

August 2005

A very brief visit to Morocco, via Marrakech, and then into the High Atlas Mountains for a couple of days walking. We based ourselves in Oukaïmeden, about 80km south of Marrakech, which also happens to be a ski resort in the winter. 

Interesting, rocky walking, passing Berber villages along the way. Kids begging were a problem.

Leaving Marrakech

Entering the Atlas Mountain region

High Atlas, view to Mount Toubkal

Our guide, Haj

Berber village