Ngorongoro crater lodge - Tanzania

Perched high on the Ngorongoro Crater rim, Ngorongoro Crater Lodge overlooks one of the most fascinating volcanic calderas in the world. An important part of Tanzania`s incredible northern safari circuit, on the world's largest unbroken caldera, the Crater Lodge provides extraordinary accommodation in a spectacular situation.

Kerala, India

Kerala Resorts

Typical Kerala Style Home

Kerala is a union state located in the south western part of India. With an Arabian sea coastline on the west, it is bordered on the north by Karnataka and by Tamil Nadu on the south and east. Major cities are Thiruvananthapuram (the capital), Kochi and Kozhikode. The principal spoken language is Malayalam but many other languages are also spoken.
Social and educational reforms enacted in the late 19th century by Cochin and Travancore were expanded upon by post-independence governments, making Kerala one of the most literate, healthiest, and gender-equitable regions in India. Kerala has one of the most advanced educational systems in India. Unlike the other Indian states, Kerala's basic human development indices are roughly equivalent to those in the developed world, and the state is substantially more environmentally sustainable than Europe and North America. A survey conducted in 2005 by Transparency International ranked Kerala as the least corrupt state in the country. Nevertheless, Kerala's suicide, alcoholism, and unemployment rates rank among India's highest.

Kerala Boathouse

Very popular among honeymooners. Affordable and luxurious, Kerala is known for its infamous Boathouse.

People of Kerala

Kerala is rich in tradition and culture. The common attire worn among Keralite women is a creamish, white saree with colorful borders.

Kerala Wildlife

Kerala is rich in greenery and wildlife. It is not uncommon to run into elephants on the roadside of Kerala. They are tamed. Elephant rides are very popular among Kerala tourists.

Taj Mahal, Agra, India

Taj Mahal at Noon

Taj Mahal at Dusk

Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, that was built under Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal (also "the Taj") is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage." While the white domed marble and tile mausoleum is most familiar, Taj Mahal is an integrated symmetric complex of structures that was completed around 1648. Ustad Ahmad Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer of the Taj Mahal.

Pilgrimage Tour of India- Amarnath, Badrinath, and Kedarnath

Amarnath-Cave temple of Shiva

One of the most famous shrines in Hinduism, dedicated to the god Shiva, located in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The shrine is claimed to be over 5,000 years old and forms an important part of ancient Hindu mythology. Inside the main Anarnath cave lies an ice stalagmite resembling the Shiva Linga, which waxes during May to August and gradually wanes thereafter. This lingam is said to grow and shrink with the phases of the moon, reaching its height during the summer festival. According to Hindu mythology, this is the cave where Shiva explained the secret of life and eternity to his divine consort Parvati. There are two other ice formations representing Parvati and Shiva's son, Ganesha.

Amarnath

Badrinath Temple

The holy Dhama temple of Badrinath, far north from Rameshvaram's seaside location, is in the state of Uttar Pradesh, in the Uttarkhand region of the Himalaya mountains. Perched above the Alaknanda River, a headstream of the Ganges, the temple's elevation is 10,248 feet (3050meters). Because of the extreme cold of the high mountain winter the shrine is only open in the summer months. When the first snows fall the sacred statue of Vishnu (seated in the Yogic padmasana pose) is clothed in a thick woolen blanket, the temple is closed and locked, and the priests move down the mountain to the town of Joshimath for the winter. Badrinath has been a well known pilgrimage site for over 2000 years and the Buddhist architectural influence in the shrine shows that Badrinath has also been venerated by Buddhists since very early times. Immediately adjacent to the shrine is the hot spring pool of Taptakund in which pilgrims take a dip before worshipping Sri Badrinatha.

Town Complex and Temple of Badrinath

tweek way from gurikund to kedarnath temple

Kedarnath Temple

Kedarnath is amongst the holiest pilgrimages for the Hindus. It is set amidst the stunning mountainscape of the Garhwal Himalayas at the head of the Mandakini River. The shrine of Kedarnath is very scenically placed, and is surrounded by lofty, snow - covered mountains, and grassy meadows covering the valleys. Immediately behind the temple, is the 7000 mts high Keadardome peak. The temple is situated at an altitude of 3600 mts. It is a 14 km trek from Gaurikund.

Kedar is another name of Lord Shiva, the protector & the destroyer. Shiva is considered the embodiment of all passions - love, hatred, fear, death & mysticism which are expressed through his various forms. This temple, over a thousand years old is built of massive stone slabs over a large rectangular platform. Outside the temple door a large statue of the Nandi Bull stands as guard.

Sudanese Henna:-
Henna has been used for over 5000 years in many countries around the world to decorate women's hands and feet, and especially married women and brides. Some make it light orange, some make it red, but Sudanese like to make it BLACK and shiny! When women get married, big ceremonies are prepared. Their hands will be decorated with beautiful drawings made with henna. The artistry of this, with hundreds of different designs, has no limits.
Zainab Osman

A sandstorm:-Haboob
A "Haboob" or a sandstorm. These storms come most often suddenly, out of "the blue sky". You sit with friends in a café, enjoy coffee, tea or a soft drink, chat and discuss and all of a sudden the bright day turns into night, and covers you with dust.

Zainab Osman

Nile in Sudan
The Nile has two major tributaries, the White Nile and Blue Nile, the latter being the source of most of the Neil’s water and fertile soil, but the former being the longer of the two. The White Nile rises in the Great Lakes region of the central Africa, with the most distant source in southern Rwanda, and flows north from there through Tanzania, Lake Victoria, Uganda and southern Sudan, Flowing into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet near the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

Zainab Osman

United States - Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is located between Ontario, Canada and Niagara Falls, New York. Niagara Falls has three waterfalls; American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and Canadian "Horseshoe: Falls. The Horseshoe is the most popular falls at 180 feet high and 2,500 feet wide with approximately 35,000,000 gallons of fresh water per minute roaring over the edge of this natural wonder of the world.

United States - Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore National Memorial was created by sculptor Gutzon Borglum as a lasting tribute of four former presidents; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Gutzon believed these presidents "commemorate the founding, growth, preservation, and development of the United States."

Kikoti camp in Maasai land - Tanzania

Kikoti is a luxury, tented camp that recaptures the time-honored splendor of the traditional safari camp of yesteryear, when comfort was defined by superior service and campfire hospitality. Each of the tents has sewn-in floors and plumbed en-suite facilities and have been laid out in the traditional safari manner with wooden beds, fresh linen and a verandah from which to admire the views of the Silale wetlands in the valley below.
Kikoti's proximity to Tarangire National Park allows a range of activities that include:

• nature walks
• foot safaris and extended bush trekking with rangers
• all exhilarating ways to get back to the primeval state of nature
• uncovering the dens, feeding habits and waterholes of the African wildlife and learning more about the symbiotic intricacies of the eco-system that surrounds you.

The Maasais invite you into their homesteads for an insight into the customs and lifestyle of this fascinating ethnic group or to join in the traditional dancing around the campfire lit in the kraal area.
A community conservation fee is paid to the local villages for every passenger bednight and is used to develop community-chosen development projects such as schools, water boreholes, roads and dispensaries.

Beach in Zanzibar (The Stone Town) - Tanzania

Zanzibar's brilliant white beaches lapped by the warm turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean provide the perfect place to relax, soak up the sun and take a break from some busy sightseeing.
The Indian Ocean archipelago of Zanzibar, off the east coast of Tanzania, is steeped in a romantic history of traders, explorers, sailors and Sultans, and provides an inspiring backdrop for ultimate island beach experiences. The juxtaposition of a quality Tanzanian safari with time on its unspoilt and exotic Indian Ocean coast or islands is easy, and allows for memorably fine holiday itineraries.

Arriving in Zanzibar by air or by sea, visitors are struck by the translucent hues of the surrounding sea over dazzling coral sands, coconut palms bending improbably over long stretches of beach, and the elegant pale sails of wooden dhows fishing these shores as they have for generations. There is a wide choice of beach accommodation to suit your tastes, from the rustic luxury of Mnemba, an exclusive private island on a coral atoll off the northernmost tip of Zanzibar island, to the five star faciltities of luxury eco resort La Gemma Dell'Est.
Visitors to Zanzibar will notice a large population of ancient Aldabra tortoises.

Tourists & animals in Ngorongoro crater - Tanzania

The crater is the spectactular stalking ground of around 20,000 to 30,000 wild animals at any one time, the most densely packed concentration of wildlife in Africa. The crater thus holds an astonishing microcosm of East African wildlife within its boundaries, and thus has achieved renown as 'the eighth wonder of the world', and attracts a growing number of visitors each year.

The abundant caldera of the Crater is the centrepiece of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, which extends over 8,000 square km of lush, rolling highlands with smaller craters and lakes that may be explored at leisure by vehicle or on foot. This region, roughly the size of Crete, forms an important part of the northern Tanzania safari circuit.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is unique and important in that its aim is to preserve the wildlife and the traditional lifestyles of the tribal pastoralist people who are allowed to continue their way of life here.

Ngorongoro crater - Tanzania