The Grand Tsingy – the ‘out of this world’ rock forest of Madagascar is on Western Madagascar. From Antananarivo, the capital city where your international flights land, there are two different ways of getting to the Grand Tsingy. The first option (and the most frequently chosen) is by flight. The other option is to travel...
Andasibe Matandia National Park is a popular wildlife protected area ‘closest’ to the capital city of Antananarivo. Created in 1989, the park is approximately 150 sq kms in size. Andasibe Matandia is a part of the last remaining eastern tropical rain forest belt of Madagascar. It is home to the largest living lemur – the...
Mountain Gorilla tracking in the Volcanoes National Park is the flagship tourist experience in Rwanda. The opportunity to be in close proximity for a magical hour to a family of our near cousins – the Mountain Gorillas in their natural habitat can be a scary but exhilarating adventure. It is possible to experience this adventure...
Trichinopoly Cigar, the one that Churchill loved and Sherlock Holmes used was from a town in British India that lent its name to it - Trichy What was it that Winston Churchill, Sherlock Holmes and the average Balaji in South India loved? The Trichie or Tritchie. The Trichinopoly Cigar which is a type of cheroot that...
Nyungwe Forest National Park is an ancient Afro-montane rainforest in Southern Rwanda. Famous for its Chimpanzee tracking and the forest Canopy walk experience, Nyungwe is truly a beautiful adventure option during your trip to Rwanda. About Nyungwe Forest Biodiversity Hotspot Nyungwe forest National Park is a part of the Albertine Rift – the western part of Africa’s Great...
This blog will try to help you in planning an optimal itinerary for a Safari / Wildlife focussed trip to Uganda. I have been through this planning exercise myself quite recently before my visit in February 2020. But, in my case, this being a ‘recce’ trip as a travel advisor, I had the advantage of...
I started this blog intending to write about 5 amazing things that surprised me about Rwanda. The count eventually went up to 10! (and more!). I suppose it gives an indication of how amazing my experience in Rwanda was! And yes, how much I genuinely admire this small landlocked African country. Before coming to Rwanda, my...
‘Umuganda’ – the community building initiative in Rwanda came as a special pleasant ‘shocker’ during my visit to Rwanda in September 2020. The concept of ‘Umuganda’ is absolutely beautiful! On the last Saturday of every month, from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM, businesses close and traffic halts as citizens across the country take to their...
During my visit to Rwanda, we went to a ‘Reconciliation’ village in Bugesera, Rwanda. The village is a social experiment - a part of the ‘Unity & Reconciliation’ efforts to unite the citizens and move ahead towards progress of the nation as whole. This is is one of the initiatives by the Rwandan government post the...
Ruins of Mandu, or Mandavgarh, once the capital of Malwa region, a fortified town, was also known as the “City of Joy”. Mandu is not about the ruins of the glorious past , but it is a bouquet of stories and legends. How should I start? Capital of multiple dynasties, a forgotten glorious past, city...
