Category: North India

  • Revisiting Kashi After 10 Years & Finding Self-Transformation

    Revisiting Kashi After 10 Years & Finding Self-Transformation

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in , , ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    What’s a Kashi Yatra after 10 years like? What did I discover on the inside and the outside? Find out in this quick blog post!

  • Prayagraj’s Secret Temple: Rama Bhagwan Consecrated Koteshwar Mahadev at Shivkuti

    Prayagraj’s Secret Temple: Rama Bhagwan Consecrated Koteshwar Mahadev at Shivkuti

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in , , ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    The lovely Koteshwar Mahadev temple consecrated by Bhagwan Rama himself, at Shivkuti, Prayagraj!

  • A Travel Guide to Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, Prayagraj 

    A Travel Guide to Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, Prayagraj 

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in , , ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    Quick travel guide to the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 in Prayagraj

  • Dwadash Madhav Temples of Prayagraj, Historic Parikrama

    Dwadash Madhav Temples of Prayagraj, Historic Parikrama

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in , , , ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    Veni Madhav is the nagara devta of Prayagraj city. There is a dwadash or twelve Madhav temples across the city, which is a history pilgrimage route

  • Himachal & Garhwal Religon, Spirituality & Culture, Common Layers

    Himachal & Garhwal Religon, Spirituality & Culture, Common Layers

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    My first trip to the mighty Himalayas was to Garhwal – Gangotri dham. It was way back in the 2003-ish years. We hadn’t seen a single image of the Himalayas except some calendar brochure shots, which I quickly disbelieved. So, when my mother insisted, and we went upwards from Haridwar to the Gangotri dham, the…

  • Locho: Surat’s Famous Food Dish

    Locho: Surat’s Famous Food Dish

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    As the story goes (partly as I heard from Gujju relatives and partly made up by me), A shop sold really tasty dhoklas in Surat. One day the cook at this shop was making his fresh batch of dhoklas, but he was distracted. We could imagine that it was makar sankranti, and he was totally…

  • Jibhi: A Month in the Mountains

    Jibhi: A Month in the Mountains

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    This Himalayan trip was easily one of my best – a week in the astounding desert of Spiti and then over a month in Jibhi – a beautiful, lush green mountain town at 7,000 ft. The idea was simple, leave the metropolis madness called Mumbai behind and be closer to nature. And so it happened.…

  • Wandering In The Himalayas : 50 Days In Spiti, Jibhi and Shimla

    Wandering In The Himalayas : 50 Days In Spiti, Jibhi and Shimla

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    What is it about ‘a month’ of time, that makes it really exciting to spend ‘a month’ in a place? Wandering in the Himalayas for a month had been on my mind since a long time. Now that it has happened, I am thinking of spending a few more months next time around. :D I think a…

  • Reflections: The People Of The Himachal Villages

    Reflections: The People Of The Himachal Villages

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
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    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    Small friendly gestures, quick laughs, a fleeting romance in the heart or a simple, resonating conversation on the road. Cherished by travellers, these interactions are unexpected and what makes them more special is that they are between complete strangers. You may not know the person’s name, background or any details at all. And yet those…

  • Spiti Valley Travel Guide: Meeting The High Himalayas

    Spiti Valley Travel Guide: Meeting The High Himalayas

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in , ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    योगीश्वराय महादेवाय त्रयंबकाय त्रिपुरान्तकाय त्रिकाग्नि कालाय कालाग्नि रुद्राय नीलकण्ठाय मृत्युञ्जयाय सर्वेश्वराय सदाशिवाय महादेवाय नमः महादेवाय नमः महादेवाय नमः I have explored various parts of the Himalayas in India. The chardham in Uttarakhand, gardens and lakes of Kashmir, Buddhist ambience of Sikkim, amazing hospitality of Himachalis – the diversity and mountain environment make a rich experience. I have…

  • TriMandir – Adalaj, Ahmedabad

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
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    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    Trimandir on the outskirts of Ahmedabad is a unique temple officially called a “non-sectarian” temple. It has three major deities – Simandhar swami, Shiva and Vishnu. Simandhar swami is from the Jain religion is the main deity of this temple with a large idol (about 14 ft). Along with him there are a number of…

  • Kumbh Mela: Ujjain Simhasth, May 2016, Photos

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in , ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    Quick trip to Ujjain for the Simhasth Kumbh Mela happened in early May. I had traveled to Nashik for my first Kumbh Mela experience in 2015 and I deliberately went on the non-Shahi snan days. I was concerned about the crowds and overall facilities. This time for Ujjain I went impromptu on the 7-8th May…

  • Varanasi Calling…

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
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    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    Lately my heart is turning to Varanasi – that crazy, crazy city! I am cooking up plans to visit it again, just to have my thoughts clash about all the various trips I plan to make. It is a common dilemma I think, of travelers who aren’t on the road indefinitely. Don’t get me wrong…

  • Solo in Uttar Pradesh: Vrindavan – Agra – Varanasi

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in , ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    You may recall I had earlier written about how the hospitality and caring culture of Himachal Pradesh SHOCKED me. It was my first experience of random strangers going completely out of their way to help and make me – solo on the road – feel at home! I am remembering that experience as I write this…

  • Take a visual tour of the Hawa Mahal, Jaipur, Rajasthan

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
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    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    Had a great time roaming around in the Hawa Mahal of Jaipur. I spent practically the whole afternoon there (which explains why I have a whole bucketlist of places left to visit) . I took the audio guide. When it is well made I really enjoy the audio guides in India. I listen to it…

  • Manikarnika, The Burning Ghat – Varanasi

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
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    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    Having become Time itself, I destroy the world here, O Goddess! ~Shiva, Padma Purana 1.33.14 As I said Varanasi has been one of the most intriguing trips I have made. Never have I felt a city so full of going ons. Just inane, often crazy, some brilliant, other bizarre going ons. Just going on. Like…

  • A few Photos from Varanasi

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    He must be made of stone whose mind does not melt at the sigh of Kashi and its Lord! ~Swami Vivekananda I wrote a lot in the last blog post on Varanasi… mostly my overall shock with the ambiance of the place hehe So opting for a more wordless version this time…. A few photos from…

  • Kashi, Varanasi, Banaras – It’s All Crazy!

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
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    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    She Said: “You have been to Kashi, how was it?” He Said: “It’s just like any other dusty Indian town” I have been officially solo traveling since March 2009. There were other trips I made much earlier where I was predominantly solo exploring….but today, a week after returning from Varanasi I consider this trip a…

  • Hadimba & Ghatochkach Temple – Manali, Himachal Pradesh

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    Temples in Himachal were a surprise to me as they were not the usual Hindu temples of Shiva or Vishnu – Krishna/Rama or Hanuman I am used to. This where I first saw Shani Dev temples very common place. Dark black idols often women not allowed within the sanctum sanctorum – Shani dev. In Manali…

  • Brahma temple #Pushkar Rajasthan

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
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    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    Being one of the only Brahma temples around the world is very intriguing as it is, but that is not all that is unique to this temple! The whole story that led to Brahma – one of the three main deities of Hinduism, not being worshiped in the world also has its roots in Pushkar!…

  • Jaipur – BucketList for Next Visit

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in , ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    Third day at Jaipur and now I will be pushing off to another nearby destination. It has been an interesting 3 days and this city has lots to be explored! I have poignantly realized that my travel style is slow, relaxed and I just like taking my time with things… I spent a few hours…

  • Sikkim Photos

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    Went to the absolutely stunning Sikkim a few years back. It is also referred to as the Switzerland of India, but I am not sure Switzerland is so awesome! This was a family trip and part of the group had been to most of the places in Sikkim, so they wanted to go specifically to…

  • Chandigarh in 8 Pictures

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    Chandigarh was the stop over for my trip to the Himachal Pradesh, April 2013. It was a good stop over. India’s planned city does come across as planned. The buildings are shorter with a height limit, the roads are really wide, lots of gardens, sectors that are well defined but confusing for outsiders and a…

  • Sangla Pictures after heavy rainfalls – #Uttarakhand Floods

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
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    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    A friend of mine has a quaint little restaurant + home stay called Cafe 42 in Sangla. Sangla is near the eastern borders of Himachal Pradesh hence quite close to Uttarakhand. There were no floods but very heavy rainfall for many days, leading to a power blackout for more than 7 days. Many roads have…

  • 3 Tips for McLeodganj

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    by

    Priyanka Dalal
    in ,

    contact me at inspiritualityblog(@)gmail(.)com for personalized pilgrimage planning for a powerful spiritual experience

    I will quickly jot type some of these tips I had in mind when I was in McLeodganj. Once I come back to Mumbai I get so caught up with things that I barely write half of what I want to about places I have visited. So here goes, Visit the Bookstores I devour books.…