Heatwaves and holidays
How are you coping?
When was the last time you heard someone complain about the heat and was it five minutes ago?
We’re facing unprecedented levels of heat in India. Parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam, and more are facing the brunt of debilitating and torturous levels of heat.
All this while our elections are going on.
Anyway, we’re not the weather channel. We’re saying this because we want you to know what you’re signing up for when you go to these places on holiday right now. Barely any of our spaces have air conditioning. It’s going to be warm, so check the guidelines, carry a water bottle, sunscreen, a cap, and sunglasses, and wear light clothing. Stay in the shade and drink lots of buttermilk.
The Northern belt of India is still facing more temperate/cool weather. This is a good time to go to the hills - Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand (the Western Himalaya). Here’s a quick round-up of the activities we’ve got planned.
We’re at the beginning of Ladakh szn
We’re back with our personalised journeys to Ladakh between May and October 2024!
Ladakh has been a part of us since before the existence of Knowhere Travel. We’ve been visiting this ancient kingdom for years, and have a strong and vibrant network of partners on the ground to help facilitate a magical, slow, and immersive exploratory journey.
Check out our itineraries here to understand how we plan holidays in Ladakh. We do not plan for less than 8 days. It takes at least 24 hours to acclimatise to these formidable altitudes, so don’t trust a plan that tells you otherwise.
Catch a glimpse of the three journeys we offer - with a fun blend of culture, nature, history, and food! (We’ll customise this based on your preferences after getting on a call with you.)
A perspective from the water: The Brahmaputra Drift (Talo)
We’re back with The Brahmaputra Drift (Talo)!
This January, we launched our most ambitious project yet. A river expedition that takes guests down the Brahmaputra river. This is an 8-day journey using state-of-the-art packrafts to paddle down the last 75 km of the Talo river where it meets the Brahmaputra.
The journey will be bookended by stays in a jungle lodge nestled in the Mishmi hills of Arunachal Pradesh and a heritage tea estate in Assam.
Our dates are limited and so are our group sizes. We’re already nearly booked out for some of our trips! Thank you so much for the overwhelming response. We’re so grateful.
November 9 - November 16 (when the volume of the river is at its highest and the vegetation around is lush after the recent monsoon)
December 25 - January 1 (we can’t think of a more exciting way to end the year!)
January 18 - January 25 (the last trip of the season :’( )
We are also accepting private bookings if you’d like to do this with your own group of friends/family. We can facilitate one private trip each in early November, December, and January.
We’re announcing our new walking holiday dates soon
With a month left for our summer walking holidays, we’re ready to wind down and focus on prepping for the fall/winter season.
Our two walking holidays are Sweet Valley Crossing (an 8-day trail through the valleys of Saryu and Pindar) and The Binsar Forest Trail. For Sweet Valley, think big mountain views, comfortable village accommodation, two nights of camping, and a lot of time for rest and relaxation.
The Binsar Forest Trail, our walking holiday within the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 6-day exploration of primeval forests with nights spent in idyllic hamlets. Have picnic lunches, count the mind-boggling number of birds, spend time bonding with the group, and surround yourself with the sights and sounds of the forest and the Himalayan mountains.
If you don’t want to do our longer journeys and just want to park yourself in one place…
We’ve got some recommendations.
The Hermitage: This stunning renovated shepherd’s home in Himachal is private, cooling, and an excellent place to do absolutely nothing.
Caravanistan: This heritage lodge sits at the intersection of the Karakoram and Himalayan ranges. You might associate the Karakoram with Pakistan, and you’ll be right. This is an amazing place to see what the landscape might be like there, something we’ve always dreamed of being able to do. One day!
The Last Resort: This 100-acre piece of protected forest is a must-visit. Every corner feels like home, and there’s plenty of space to hang around and read a book, enjoy a picnic, and appreciate how cooling a space can be when there’s endless tree cover. We could learn a thing or two from all the spaces mentioned above!
Artists on Holiday
Artists so good we want to feature them twice.
We’re really active on our Instagram. Not two-posts-a-day active, but it is the platform where we share pretty much everything.
Over the course of many holidays with many guests, we started to see a pattern emerge. Our guests were creating art - be it poetry, paintings, sketches, writing, and so much more. We felt we needed to share this with our core audience. A part of this was because we wanted to archive these pieces within the context of art created by Indian travellers, something that we don’t see so often. Perspectives of the Indian subcontinent have long been dominated by the West - (Steve McCurry, Paul Theroux). An Indian perspective, especially in newer forms of media like Instagram didn’t seem to be getting the attention it deserves.
Thus, our monthly series, Artists on Holiday was born.
For our first feature, we showcased the work of photographer Leona Bhuyan:
