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Top Things to Do in Gulmarg: Saurabh’s Comprehensive Guide for Happy Trips

Gulmarg, the meadow of flowers, is the perfect destination for the discerning traveler. It's verdant landscapes, tall pine and deodar forests, gurgling brooks, and the snow covered mountains make a picture perfect setting while offering  travelers incredible avenues to find adventure, soak in the beauty [...]

By | January 11th, 2016|Adventure, GoMissing in Media, Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, Skiing|0 Comments

11 Places for the Perfect Sleep in Gulmarg: an Exhaustive Hotel Guide

Summers or winters, Gulmarg or the meadow of flowers captivates you with its beauty and charm. Saurabh Kapur, CEO-GoMissing Expeditions spends a good part of skiing season stationed at this beautiful place conducting Skiing Courses. He was asked by Happy Trips to share his recommendations of Hotels [...]

By | December 25th, 2015|GoMissing, Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, Skiing|0 Comments

16 Mountain Biking Tips from Manali-Leh Expedition

The 545 Km Manali-Leh trail is one of the extreme expeditions GoMissing  takes serious cyclists on.  The 12 day trail is replete with steep climbs, rapid descents, disorienting switchbacks and plenty of gravelly terrain. The beauty of the trail, of course lies in unmatchable landscape [...]

Skiing Refresher-1: Revv up your Skiing Vocabulary Ahead of the Season

With the start of Skiing season, GoMissing will have a base in Gulmarg to oversee skiing courses and customized programs. As skiing season hots up, in addition to getting your ski gear in order, its important to refresh your skiing knowledge.  For all those planning [...]

By | November 19th, 2015|GoMissing, Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir, Skiing|Comments Off on Skiing Refresher-1: Revv up your Skiing Vocabulary Ahead of the Season

This Halloween, a Spooky Tale That’s Great for Bonfires and a Bit of ‘Kissa-Goi’ That’s Great for Bonding

It was December of 2013 and we were camping on a craggy stone cliff facing the Arabian Sea, somewhere close to Kashid beach in Maharashtra. We were three families with five children, all of who wanted it to be the night full of scary stories [...]

What’s a Bonfire without these songs?

Come autumn and the trekking season begins at GoMissing! Whether you are on our Lamadug/Pin Bhaba/Kunzum Chandrataal  treks  in Himachal or Kedarkantha/ Valley of Flowers/Nag Tibba treks in Utarakhand, one thing that runs common across all these are the unmissable Bonfire evenings. What roasting marshmallows [...]

10 Cycling Hotspots in Delhi

The cycling ecosystem in Delhi is pretty good and the number of people taking to recreational and professional cycling in the city has increased exponentially over the last few years. Step out early in the morning towards India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhawan and Rajpath, and you will [...]

By | September 24th, 2015|Cyling, Delhi|0 Comments

History of Manali 

  History and mythology have always been intricately entwined in India. The further back one goes, the harder it gets to accurately discern one from the other. Strands of one seep into the other, blending homogeneously. 
Perhaps it’s just as well. Myths spice up the [...]

By | September 9th, 2015|GoMissing, Himachal Pradesh, Travel|0 Comments

Songs for the road

A long road on a barren landscape of red mud, high morning sun filtering through the car window, pleasant ambient temperature inside the car  (air-conditioning, of course!), the dilemma of deciding the next destination and a song playing in the car - Yun hi chala [...]

By | July 19th, 2015|Travel|0 Comments

The Tribes of Dha Hanu

Light-eyed, tall and strong jawed people with aristocratic noses, the Aryans have long been a source of much fascination and study for people in India and around the world. 'Aryan', a term for racial grouping was used to describe people of European and Western Asian [...]

By | July 17th, 2015|Adventure, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh|0 Comments

Experience India by Road with Rahman

Many memories of growing up in Kanpur and Lucknow are related to the road journeys we took in our trusted Ambassador. The car majestically carried us to towns like Rai Bareily, Allahabad, Fatehpur, Benares for many memorable 'mundans', engagements, weddings, housewarming or sometimes, just to [...]

By | June 17th, 2015|GoMissing, Travel|2 Comments

The Nag Tibba Story

As the adventurers that we are, the GoMissing team decided to recce the Nag Tibba which is an easy grade trek in Uttarakhand. So the trip was planned for the weekend and, Monika and I started on the Friday evening.  After a 5 hour journey [...]

By | February 12th, 2015|Trekking, Uttarakhand|2 Comments

Chime Lakhang – Punakha

The Temple of Fertility The Chime Lakhang or Chimi Lakhang is the temple of fertility, dedicated to Lama Drukpa Kunley - the divine madman of Bhutan. The temple is located in the Punakha district, which is about 10 kilometers from the Punakha town. To reach [...]

By | January 25th, 2015|Bhutan|0 Comments

33 Ultimate Travel Tips

Traveling is an art and the more you travel, the better you get at it. Experience teaches you, with time, the skills to become the ultimate traveler. So we decided to compile a list of travel tips from our most seasoned travelers and the tricks [...]

By | July 21st, 2014|GoMissing, Travel|0 Comments

8 awesome and free things to do in Delhi

Living in Delhi or visiting Delhi over the weekend and wondering what to do without spending a bomb? Read on to see how you can spend a great weekend in Delhi without doing the usual pub/ club/ movie/ dinner kind of thing. This post lists [...]

By | August 2nd, 2013|Delhi|0 Comments

11 reasons why you must visit Spiti

Spiti, also known as the middle land, is a beautiful cold desert area in Himachal Pradesh. Spiti is known as the middle land as it lies between India to the South and Tibet to the North. In the past, a large volume of trade between [...]

By | July 2nd, 2013|Spiti|0 Comments

13 reasons why Bhutan is a must visit

Does the idea of exploring a different place, meeting people from different cultures, understanding their lives and finding adventure outside your comfort zone interest you? If you hear yourself saying "yes this is totally me" then read on. And once you're done reading, pack your [...]

By | June 13th, 2013|Bhutan|0 Comments

Mountain biking in Uttarakhand – Kodima

Uttarakhand, the land of the gods as the state is popularly known as typically conjures up images of temples, religious rituals and the Char Dham Yatra (The pilgrimage of 4 temple towns) for most people. For adventure lovers, the state is associated with rafting, kayaking [...]

By | June 11th, 2013|Uttarakhand|0 Comments

MTB ride to Bhardwaj Lake

The Bhardwaj lake is a lesser known wonder on the outskirts of Delhi. Till recently, the lake wasn't on most maps and it was one of those places which couldn't be found except by those who already knew where it is. In recent times, the [...]

By | May 17th, 2013|Adventure, Delhi|15 Comments

Endearing sights

Children offering prayers There seems to be something about some simple sights which just leave an impression on you for a lifetime. The picture above is a simple click of two children playing. Somehow this picture just goes right up in my favorite [...]

By | November 12th, 2011|Ladakh|0 Comments

Yellow Wattled Lapwing

The Yellow Wattled Lapwing (Vanellus Malabaricus) is a fairly common non migratory resident bird found in the dry scrub and open grassland of the Indian subcontinent. Although the bird is non-migratory, it moves seasonally according to rain patterns. You can distinguish it from [...]

By | November 2nd, 2011|Madhya Pradesh, Photography|0 Comments

The Purple Sunbird

    "The purple sunbird dances, dressed in shades of black, then the sun spots her, turning her into a mesmerizing purple, " writes Sreelekha Premjit, in her poem dedicated to the winged creature. True to the words above, this little bird, just about 10 [...]

By | September 13th, 2011|Delhi, Photography|0 Comments

“Tons” of fun weekend – rafting the Tons river

This time around, the GoMissing gang is heading to the Tons river for a weekend of incredible fun, laughter, rafting and giving ourselves a break from the city life. Joining us is a motley crew of professionals, entrepreneurs, special educators and HR professionals. trip details: http://www.gomissingexpeditions.com/expedition/tons-of-rafting-fun/ [...]

By | June 3rd, 2011|Adventure, Tons river, Uttarakhand|0 Comments

A kingdom in the clouds – Bhutan

We're repeating our super successful trip to the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan this year again in April and in May. The Bhutan expedition is a people and culture expedition which will cover the highlights of Bhutan and heartwarming Bhutanese culture over one week. We start [...]

By | February 28th, 2011|Bhutan|0 Comments

GoMissing in Paradise – Gulmarg

If you were to wake up one morning and look outside the window to find that everything was under a thick blanket of white, the trees, the ground, the fields and everything imaginable under a thick sheet of pure white, what would be your first [...]

By | February 17th, 2011|Gulmarg|0 Comments

Nature in all her winter glory

A beautiful memory was created and imprinted in my mind on a very recent trek. We just finished the winter trek to Kuari pass in the first week of December. The trek turned out to be a surreal experience and all along we had the [...]

By | December 15th, 2010|Uttarakhand|0 Comments

Takin – The National Animal of Bhutan

The Takin's unique characteristics make it unlike any other animal Taxonomy The Takin is a one of its kind animal. Due to its uniqueness and lack of relationship with other animals, the Takin has been a bit of a hassle for taxonomists. Since the animal [...]

By | December 13th, 2010|Bhutan|0 Comments

Around Leh – Sindhu Ghat, Shay and Stok

Our journey of exploration around Leh continued with a visit to the Sindhu ghat, Shay palace and Stok village. The Sindhu ghat (Indus bank) is a peaceful riverbank nestled in the surreal landscape of Ladakh. The barren brown mountains, a peaceful river flowing across stones [...]

By | November 12th, 2010|Ladakh, Travel|0 Comments

Around Leh – Thikshay Monastery

The Thikshay monastery rises from the vast brown plains and embraces the open blue skies giving the approaching visitor a feeling of peace and calm. The Thikshay Monastery belongs to the Gelukpa order of Buddhism and was founded in 1430AD by Spon Palden Zangpo, nephew [...]

By | October 27th, 2010|Ladakh, Travel|0 Comments

Around Leh – Hemis Monastery

After a night of blissful sleep we awoke to a crisp October morning in Leh. As the sun started rising over the horizon, the nip in the air gave way to a warm feeling which just made perfect sense. A little while later we got [...]

By | October 27th, 2010|Ladakh|0 Comments

Wild and free

I would imagine that everyone at some point in time has had a dream like this; Run like there is no tomorrow, wind flowing through your hair and flowing through the rest of you, binding and uniting you with the spirit of freedom and with the [...]

By | October 25th, 2010|Ladakh|0 Comments

Baralacha-la pass – pic of the day

From our unbelivably stunning "words can't even begin to describe it" cycling trip from Shimla to Khardung-la last year... the pic of the day of Baralacha-La pass Thanks Shrenik and Mike... you guys are simply the best :) It couldn't have been better. Cheers to [...]

By | September 15th, 2010|Ladakh|0 Comments

Traditional Dances of Bhutan

Bhutanese traditional masked dances The rich cultural and religious history of Bhutan comes to fore during the Tsechu festival when traditional dances based on the lives of Padmasambhava and other saints are performed. On our request, a mini Tsechu festival was re-created especially for our [...]

By | August 3rd, 2010|Bhutan|6 Comments

Bhutan Day 3 – Paro

There is a special charm of doing absolutely nothing and watching the rain fall all over the trees and the mountains. Life doesn't get better at these moments. The joy of traveling and soaking in the atmosphere of the place is pure bliss. After waiting [...]

By | July 15th, 2010|Bhutan|0 Comments

Bhutan Day 2 – An evening in Paro

By the time we reached Paro it was already late evening. While driving through the city to reach our hotel we caught a glimpse of the Paro Dzong and Museum. Both structures looked stunningly beautiful under the starlit sky and with artificial lighting. As soon [...]

By | July 2nd, 2010|Bhutan|0 Comments

Bhutan day 2 – Phuntsholing

With major part of the trade with India being conducted from here, the border town of Phuntsholing is a hub of economic activity. The border is a gate which one can simply walk across. Most of the times papers are not checked, and there is [...]

By | June 24th, 2010|Bhutan|0 Comments

Kuzu Zangpo La

In Bhutanese language - Dzongkha the phrase means "Hello/How are you". La is added as a mark of respect to the person being addressed. The entire Bhutan welcomed us with such phrases spoken in soft voice with genuine warmth. Right from the time we were [...]

By | June 12th, 2010|Bhutan, Travel|0 Comments

Shikra

The place I've grown up in, is thankfully one of the greenest areas of Delhi. Right behind my place there is a huge forest area, which is teeming with bird life. Quite frequently I get to see several species which include raptors, tailorbirds, sunbirds, hornbills, [...]

By | March 26th, 2010|Delhi, Photography|0 Comments

Morning walk at Hauz Khas Lake

This has to be one of the most beautiful places in all of Delhi. A huge artificial lake, the Hauz Khas monuments on one side, large open parks all around. People with cameras, artists with their canvases, children with their cricket bats, laughter therapy groups, [...]

By | March 3rd, 2010|Delhi, Photography|0 Comments

Born free?

One of the most awe inspiring predators ever, the Asiatic Lion was once spread over large parts of the Indian subcontinent. As with most big cats, loss of habitat, merciless hunting and loss of natural prey has led to a massive decline in the number [...]

By | February 22nd, 2010|Delhi, Photography|0 Comments

Born free?

One of the most awe inspiring predators ever, the Asiatic Lion was once spread over large parts of the Indian subcontinent. As with most big cats, loss of habitat, merciless hunting and loss of natural prey has led to a massive decline in the number [...]

By | February 22nd, 2010|Delhi, Photography|0 Comments

The Enchantress… Pushkar

There I was... walking the streets of Pushkar (during the camel fair) mostly minding my own business, when I came across her. For a couple of minutes I continued walking and chatting with my friends after which I realized what that bright, colorful and gorgeous [...]

By | January 27th, 2010|Photography, Pushkar|0 Comments

Wildlifing @ Dandeli…

These pictures were clicked in the thickly forested Dandeli wildlife sanctuary. The entire area is one non-ending forest. Our visit was during (or just after) the monsoons, and thanks to the rains, the entire area looked freshly washed and cleaned. While the rains made the [...]

By | January 23rd, 2010|Dandeli, Photography|0 Comments

and life goes on…

Broken walls, pillars caving in, cracks in structures, warped support beams, dangling electricity wires... ...and life goes on. Would you attribute it to the human spirit? or to the lack of choice? or something else? Clicked in Mussoorie over [...]

By | January 19th, 2010|Uttarakhand|0 Comments

Imagine…

... wilderness all around, peaceful old hills watching over the forest, tall tiger grass shimmering in the late afternoon sun, gentle warm breeze caressing you with the lightest touch, deer grazing in the distance. An atmosphere of complete peace. A moment of just being and [...]

By | January 17th, 2010|Madhya Pradesh|0 Comments

All fake…

except me obviously... I'm the only one putting any real effort here! From the much fun Pondi trip. These fakes were clicked at Mahabalipuram. No help I get, I tell u!

By | November 10th, 2009|Travel|0 Comments

Streets of Pushkar

The streets of Pushkar, especially during the mela, come alive with a myriad array of vibrant colors and sights... From artists performing on streets to roadside food to people selling their wares to camels. Here are a few interesting sights we came across... While walking, [...]

By | November 8th, 2009|Pushkar, Travel|0 Comments

Culinary adventures & fireworks @ Pushkar

The streets of Pushkar, especially during the mela, come alive with roadside cafes, Italian, French, German, Israeli, and every other imaginable eating joint. While walking the streets, I came across restaurants serving all kind of cuisines. Loud signs outside restaurants inviting you inside in all [...]

By | November 7th, 2009|Pushkar, Travel|2 Comments

The Pushkar Lake

The Pushkar lake, which is considered to be the most holy spot in the city, has almost dried up. There are about 1000 temples in Pushkar, but according to the locals, prayers are offered only at the lake. Unfortunately, this is what it looks like [...]

By | November 5th, 2009|Pushkar, Travel|0 Comments

The massive climb to Khardung-la…

What we're here for... we start today. And unlike other days, we're up early, and even managed to leave by 7 AM. Today's ride... 40Kms, 6500ft ascent reaching an altitude of 18380ft. The road... about 26Kms of good road up to south pullu... after that [...]

By | September 12th, 2009|Ladakh|0 Comments

Of prayer flags, wishes and wish factories…

Crossing the Baralacha-la, situated in the Zanskar range, one of the highest motorable passes in the world. Once again, i'm rendered pretty much speechless. All around at the pass there are prayer flags and wishes. The view, nothing short of astounding. Rock structures made by [...]

By | September 5th, 2009|Ladakh|0 Comments

Mountains and life…

What I did not capture was the immigrant laborers toiling away breaking stones for making roads. They come here from as far as Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal to make a living. What I did capture was the rosy picture of life in the mountains [...]

By | September 4th, 2009|Ladakh|0 Comments

Boys will be boys…

At times, there is a sense of something amazing in the air, you just know it and you just feel it without really knowing what it is. At times, you discover, that the feeling is just snowballs, other times hot tea on a chilly day [...]

By | September 4th, 2009|Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh|0 Comments

Changing scapes

From one side of Rohtang, shrouded in thick fog, heavy rain and mountains rising out of clouds we rode into warm evening sunshine, blue skies, white clouds adorning snow covered peaks of the Pir Panjal range. And the icing on the [...]

By | August 29th, 2009|Himachal Pradesh|0 Comments

At Marhi

By the time we reach Marhi it is already night. There aren't too many accommodation options and we shack up at a really run down place. No place for a shower or a clean loo and a room infested with mosquitoes is in store for [...]

By | August 23rd, 2009|Himachal Pradesh|0 Comments

Cycling to the Rohtang pass

The first few kms run along the beautiful beas valley, with a cover of green all along. In the distance shrouded in clouds and mist, there is a sheer wall of rock and snow called the Pir Panjal range. The Rohtang pass will take us [...]

By | August 15th, 2009|Himachal Pradesh|0 Comments

The morning after

Written at 10:45AM on 27th July 2009. Yeah I was writing that time, and NO, we didn’t get late because of the writing. Beautiful morning, it rained all night and now everything around is freshly washed and clean. The trees look greener than usual, the [...]

By | August 10th, 2009|Himachal Pradesh|0 Comments

Of cushions and perspectives

Cycling in the mountains is a whole different experience. What you discover about yourself, and life in general, you just can't beat. I promise you that. A poll conducted by interviewing the members of the team resulted in these top findings. 1. You really discover [...]

By | August 9th, 2009|Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh|0 Comments

Temporal discordance…

24th July – Drive from Delhi to Shimla So, the plan was to update the blog real time during the cycling trip. Since that didn’t happen, I’m going to start the account pretty much from Delhi. Delhi to Shimla – by car with 3 cycles [...]

By | August 8th, 2009|Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh|0 Comments

a new butt please!

I don't think I need to write anything in this post. The topic pretty much says it all. While i'm at it, how about a new set of legs as well. :) The story update will happen soon. Just a quick update for now, we [...]

By | July 31st, 2009|Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh|0 Comments

Day -1 Flight from Hyd to Del

sleepless night, crazy day, long flight... but lots of entertainment. Mike forgets his name when the air hostess asks for him. Air hostess - Edward Mike EDWARD - Who? That's not me Air hostess - Mr. Edward? Mike - no Mike - **zzzzz** Shrenik/Saurabh - [...]

By | July 24th, 2009|Ladakh|0 Comments

Scenes from the past…

A few scenes from the past... can almost feel them calling out :) Water eroding the land Natural soil erosion in Spiti Beautiful natural formations in Spiti valley Dhankar lake - the mirror image Dhankar village - Pin [...]

By | July 22nd, 2009|Himachal Pradesh|0 Comments

The excitement

... can't wait to get there. I have done some crazy stuff before. From cross country drives, to body surfing rapids, to high altitude trekking, to jumping off cliffs. But, this one really does take the cake. In all these trips, I've pretty much questioned [...]

By | July 22nd, 2009|Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh|0 Comments

Cycling to the top of the world…

...Okay, that might sound just a little dramatic, but then again, at 18,380ft Khardung-la is one of the highest motorable passes in the world (the highest according to the border roads organisation). Looking forward to the challenge of conquering Khardung-la or K-top as it is [...]

By | July 21st, 2009|Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh|0 Comments