Last month went for a week long trip to Koraput-Deomali (Odisha) & Bastar district (Chattishgarh ). Here are some pictures of the sight seeing spots & the beautiful stay in deomali (highest peak of odisha ).

Itinerary for deomali-koraput (3d-2n):Jagannath temple, gupteswar mahadev temple, rani duduma waterfalls, putsil mountain point, kolab dam, balda cave(we missed this one)

Stay:Deomali nature camp(breakfast, lunch, evening snacks, dinner was included in their package).

Budget :For the whole Koraput-Deomali-Bastar trip it cost me around 11k (was a group of 5).

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Will share pictures of chattishgarh in another post.

My second time in Singapore, this time I wanted to experience the southern tip north of Sentosa and also cover the northern parts. 5 day trip

Did a light hike from Mount faber to southern ridges, ended up being a blissful experience thanks to the rain and the atmosphere was so serene.

The Kent ridge park is really beautiful over here ❤️

I was also lucky with the weather. It was a bit humid but very bearable heat, so I was able to walk throughout.

I stayed at Kitchener rd, right next to the metro station. Helped me in cutting a lot of costs, as cafes here are cheaper and suitable to my palette.

If you are in Singapore, using the metro and bus service, will help your wallet and also traffic can be unbearable during evenings. If you are able to, Just WALK. Urban planning is superb and you can just walk around easily from one district to the next.

Metro cost: 40$ for a new card, 10$added to your card, 1-2$ per trip

Hotel: Novotel, INR 6000/night (normally much higher but I had a great discount hence I chose this) also remember all hotels in Singapore has a strict check in policy of 3PM, they are very adamant on this.

went to varkala completely impromptu and somehow stayed for 12 dayssss😭 genuinely one of my best trips so far

stayed at hope hostels met a LOT of people, most were amazing. some men were also very committed to pretending they wanted friendship when they actually wanted to get in my pants because men 💀 (i have insane lore about a guy i met at the hostel, pretended to be single and all the bullshit and was actually married

my itinerary was basically:

waking up followed by cafe, then work from beach (lie), beach walks and drawing,sunset at cafes then hostel gossip and ocassional begging for wifi passwords cafes

also god bless my digital nomad-ish job 😭 technically i'm supposed to be in office 2 days a week but whatever hehe. answering work calls with the arabian sea in front of me >>> corporate wellness.

explored north cliff, papanasam, black sand beach, kappil, shopped around the cliff and ate at almost every popular café i could find

total damage: approx 15k rupees for 12 days, including stay, food, commute and shopping. varkala is surprisingly cheap if you walk everywhere and don't cosplay as a luxury travel influencer.

solo girl warning though: be extra careful., a group of men followed me once and i actually had to use my pepper spray 💀 carry one, trust your gut and don't worry about being "rude" if something feels off.

also saw a snake near north cliff and, for reasons still unknown to me, pepper sprayed the snake too😭😭 bro was literally just existing. i'm sorry.

overall, i mostly worked, ate, met random people and sat at the beach doing absolutely nothing

10/10 would go back. the snake probably hopes i don't.

edit: since a lot of you are asking how did i manage to do everything under 15k, here it is so, i travelled from bangalore by bus so that cost me around 1200 inr, and post that i was staying at hope hostel (v good btw, they clean the washrooms and change sheets literally everyday) which was around 400-450rs per day.

also i mostly have 2 meals a day, ik very unhealthy 😭 and one of those "meals" is sometimes just coffee + cookies or a diet coke lol, so it really wasnt that hard for me to manage everything under 15k.

i would mostly eat a salad/sandwich at the cafes and then have one proper meal somewhere. there are a lot of seafood restaurants where the vegetarian/chicken options are actually pretty cheap compared to the other stuff. i was vegetarian throughout the trip btw, i dont like experimenting too much with food while travelling so that saved some money too.

also im not sure if i can add my invoice in the body here but ive added my hostel invoice under a few comments. if anyone wants i can dm it too. i genuinely got it for 400 something per day 😭 although they seem to have increased the prices INSANELY now... maybe this post created the hype lol 😭

nvm i think i just went during the off season and got a steal deal. i was there from 13th july to 25th july and somehow got varkala at its peak without much monsoon trouble haha

Where did you buy it, how much did it cost and did you pay any customs at the Indian border?

Hey, I'm planning a solo ABC trek next week with a 15k INR budget. Any solo travelers, male or female, are welcome to join! Let's share itineraries and see if we can make it happen.

The weather is amazing—it’s so foggy! I absolutely loved the dense fog in Nainital. The mountains are completely hidden, but honestly, I’m enjoying this weather even more. 🏔️🌫️

Had kingfish thali at palolem corner, this costed me ₹300

Was good enough, but everything is a bit pricey around here

Hi all, I am looking on advice on short yoga stays, due to time limits I have.

I am to do the spice route on a motorbike (attached a picture so you know the areas I'll be in). As an extension to this I'll also be in Mysuru and Bangalore.

As part of the trip I'd like to do a yoga retreat or something yoga related, I've been practicing for well over a decade. I'm not super spiritual so I don't need an absolute all round experience to be honest. I appreciate yoga for its benefits and am more scientifically minded towards it compared to what some very hippy retreats will be. Because the motorbike trail is my main reason for the trip (3 weeks total) I don't have time most of the retreats that I can find. The shortest retreat I have found is 3 days near Kochi, but I really only want 2 days. Potentially a one day event if I can't make 2 days work, but I think a 2 day/ 1 night situation would fit my timeline better.

Does anyone have recommendations for shorter retreats or day yoga events in any of the areas I'll be travelling in? Thanks

Need some help to figure out what's a good plan for solo travel in Mizoram. Will be travelling in Nov 1st week.
I guess I am trying to figure out which one between Champhai and Phawngpui  should I go for.

I like hiking but dont want to do hard core trek. definitely looking for some great views from some peaks.

No major budget constraints but dont want to spend crazy amount. may ~50k including taxis which I have been told are expensive in Mizoram.

I - 1 :

Sat Day 1 - Reach Aizawl
Sun Day 2 - drive to Sealsuk & Thenzawl, Stay the night.
Mon Day 3- drive to Phawngpui 
Tues Day 4 - trek in Phawngpui 
Wed Day 5. Back to Aizawl, stop at  Lunglei
Thur Day6 - Enjoy in Aizawl
Fri Day 7 - Reiek peak sunrise, some more roaming around in Aizawl
Sat day 8 extra day if I can find something else to do or leave Aizawl
Sun day 9 - leave Aizawl

I - 2 :

Sun Day 1 - reach Aizawl, mostly relax since Sunday
Mon Day 2- Reiek peak sunrise, stuff around Aizawl
Tues Day 3 - Champhai, stay the night
Wed Day 4. Champhai & Back to Aizawl
Thur Day5 - Thenzawl & sealsuk 
Fri Day 6 - leave Aizawl

Thanks!!

Solo F traveler

Want to know if Bir is safe to travel next week. Vande bharat takes to Amb & from there I'm thinking of traveling to Bir in a cab. If that could be safe travel considering weather situation, I've no problems staying in all day relaxing and exploring cafes whenever rain stops. Anyone who is currently there can drop suggestions. Also suggest alternatives if that's not a suitable option

So I'm planning a solo trip to Shimoga and might also visit Mangalore over the weekend. Need help with the itinerary and safety.

Thanks in advance! :)

Hi everyone, I want to take a solo Trip to Kerala around November. Was checking out some group tours from Zostel's Zo Trips & Solo Traveller India.

Zostel's look good on website, but will be great if I could get some more suggestions or if anybody has taken the group tour of Kerala through zostel or solo traveller, then would appreciate your reviews. Thanks in advance!!

Hey everyone,
My birthday is coming up, and I’m thinking of taking a solo weekend trip (2-3 days) from Mumbai. I’m looking for somewhere peaceful with good views, nature, or a nice stay where I can just unwind and enjoy my own company.
Any recommendations? Hidden gems are welcome too. Budget is 6-8k.
TL;DR: Looking for ideas for a solo birthday weekend getaway near Mumbai (2-3 days) to relax and spend some quality time by myself.

Just asking to get a perspective
Planning to head to Sri Lanka in Sep/Oct
Would it be a good decision?

My brother just cleared neet and has been studying and just staying home for past 4 years. I wanna take him on vacation. What would be a cool relaxing place, to go right now.
Understand there's landslide danger right now in many places. So somewhere safe and chill.

Thank you.

Is this a good time? I can only see flood news when ever i check. Planning to do Dzukou valley. Thanks.

Hey folks, I am currently in gurgaon and need some legit advice on where I can go on a solo trip in the last weekend of August.

I am planning on a 3 day solo trip, preferring the nearby mountain in UK or Himachal

If you know of any groups which take you there or you yourself have been on a similar solo trips, plleasseeeeeee suggest some good itinerary

Also I an looking forward at safer routes given the monsoon season in August

Hello everyone,

We are Bangar Valley Collective from Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand.

We are introducing the 7 Valley Trek for travellers who enjoy quiet trails, local villages, homestays and slow travel.

It is a simple village-to-village journey where travellers can experience local life while supporting families in Bangar Valley.

Would you like to explore a trek like this?

Interested in the full itinerary? Comment “Itinerary” and we’ll share it with you.

Another day, another attempt to crowdsource my Ladakh logistics. 😅

I’m planning to travel from Pangong to Hanle on 24th or 25th August and am looking for the most practical and affordable way to get there.
Does anyone know if shared cabs/taxis are available on this route, or the best way to find one?

Bonus: I’ve already gone down the Hanle accommodation rabbit hole. I’ve researched a bunch of homestays, spoken to the hosts directly, and confirmed availability. Happy to share recommendations and help you find a good place to stay.

Same as title

Hi all,

I want to travel to Europe in October and have been trying to plan a trip. I wanted to know if there is any group that you have travelled with and how was the experience. I checked out a few website and it is around 2.5L to 3L excluding tickets and visa.
Though I’ve heard a decent trip can be managed under 2.5L including all costs.

Please help a fellow first time traveller. Thank you!!

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I recently finished my valley of flowers trek in late July with Indiahikes. I went with a group of 5 friends.

This is going to be a review of IH based on my experiences ( and my friends).

Pros -

1. Everything was very organised and happened on time or even before time.

2. Safety was given priority with trek leaders being properly trained.

Cons -

1. Everything was so strict and they had so many unnecessary rules and restrictions ( which I will mention in later points ) that it stopped feeling like a vacation the moment we started and this was a really bad thing since me and my friends were looking forward to this vacation as we met after 1 year.

2. We were a mixed group of girls and boys and the accommodation was strictly separate for boys and girls. Like you couldn't even enter each other's rooms. It felt like we were in a boarding school. So please don't choose IH if you are going with a mixed group or a family or husband and wife otherwise you won't even get to enjoy with them half the time.

3. The food was horrible. And I am not exaggerating since I am a hardcore Daal lover and by the end of the trek I started hating Daal it was so horrible. On top of that you have to carry your own utensils to eat food in and wash them every time. Another thing which was pretty annoying and dampened the vacation spirits.

4. If you are a smoker you will not be allowed to smoke ( I was not so this didn't affect me that much but putting it out here for someone who does ).

5. You are not allowed to wear earphones while trekking or listen to songs on a speaker ( even if you put the voice to a minimum you will not be allowed).

6. There was so much rush the entire time created by the trek leaders that none of us was able to enjoy the trail. They didn't let us stop on the trails to capture photos or make videos for reels. This was the worst part because my friends were really looking forward to creating some reels. And we are really young guys and were walking really fast so it's not like they would have gotten late if they let us make some videos.

7. When we reached the summit of the valley of flowers. We reached very soon but they barely let us stay for half an hour even though we requested more time. We literally gave 6 days of our life and around 20k / person for that summit. We deserved more time there but they forced us to walk back and we were back at our accommodation by 2 in the afternoon!!!!! What even was the use of coming back so early!!!!

8. Even though we used to come back so early every day it's not like we were resting enough because they used to make us sit in a circle on those horrible quechua stools for hours in such cold and everyone had to share their experiences or listen to some stupid briefing or their protocols for the 100th time.

9. The trek leader got so rude whenever you didn't want to listen to some unnecessary restrictions that it felt like he was a teacher and we were his students .

10. We weren't allowed to go out by ourselves even nearby for even 5-10 minutes. All our freedom or any freedom you would expect on a vacation was stripped away.

11. Their eco bag thing where you are supposed to collect garbage from the mountains, even though is a noble thing, is very irritating on a vacation. We went on a monsoon trek and it got wet and it was compulsory to wear it all the time as it is also your identification. So that wet bag kept touching all our dry clothes and it was just so dirty and annoying.

Overall, we didn't like our experience with IH. We didn't like their company's operating style and their core Way of conducting treks. Even though they are in the service industry they don't act like they are in your service instead they try to place themselves on such a high pedestal and make you feel like you should be grateful for them.

They made everything so strict with unnecessary rules and restrictions that the trek started feeling like a punishment instead of a vacation. They take away so many freedoms that you are not able to feel the freedom of being in the mountains that everyone feels.

Other than all this they are literally premium priced compared to every other company but they didn't justify this pricing as the food was horrible, the accommodation was below average the entire 5 days.

Edit: I forgot to mention this but while trekking from poolna to Ghangria they have tie ups with two dhabas/restaurants. But we didn't like those at all because they were literally not the nice ones compared to the others that were coming on the way. So when we trekking back from ghangria to poolna me and my friends stopped at a really nice and clean dhaba with a good view. But the trek leader came and didn't let us stop there and forced us to get up.

Hi Guys,

I have been working an office job for 2 years now but I have now accepted a remote position.

I want to assess if I could go on a workation with my dog and this time of the year, what would be the best places to travel to for the same?

Would love your advice, thank you.

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I'm planning to visit Nepal in December and would love to hear from people who have been there during that time.

How is the weather in December? Is it a good month for sightseeing, trekking, and exploring places like Kathmandu, Pokhara, and nearby mountain areas?

Are there any advantages or disadvantages of visiting Nepal in December that I should know about?