National Geographic Traveller India November 2015

NOVEMBER 2015 • `150 • VOL. 4

WINTER SPECIAL

ISSUE 5

ESCAPE TO SANDY SHORES

STILL HUNGRY ANTHONY BOURDAIN’S NEXT CULINARY ADVENTURE SCANDINAVIA’S CAPITAL OF COOL OSLO: EDGY, PLAYFUL AND HEART-WARMING

Island Holidays

TRISTAN DA CUNHA Life at the End of the World

SEYCHELLES Simple Joys on Land and Sea

SOLOMON ISLANDS Music and Lessons in Laughter

PLUS TEN OF INDIA’S SECRET ISLANDS REVEALED

WINTER SPECIAL

n a t i o n a l g e o g r a p h i c t r av e l l e r i n d i a

november 2015

ESCAPE To SANDY SHORES

Contents Vol 4 Issue 5

i s l a n d h o l ida y s

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Catching waves and a scented sea breeze. In Seychelles, sweet dreams are made of these

By Neha Dara Photographs by Dhritiman Mukherjee

Treasured Islands

India has more than 1,200 islands with rich cultures and ecosystems.

Ten of our country’s hidden secrets revealed

By Kareena Gianani Illustration by Gaurav Ogale

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At The End of The World

It can’t get more secluded than Tristan da Cunha, the remotest inhabited island. And that’s just how the locals like it

By Andy Isaacson

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From a parent’s nostalgia-filled trip to the once-battered Sri Lankan city of Jaffna, an unexpected connection emerges

By Vidya Balchander

90 Anse Volbert, Seychelles

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In a Tamil State of Mind

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Lessons in Laughter

In the Solomon Islands, the rhythms and beats are new, but the music is essentially the same Text and Photographs

by Britt Basel

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The Island Way of Life

Simple choices and proximity to the natural world bring the writer back to Havelock, a tiny speck in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

By Neha Dara Photographs by Dhritiman Mukherjee

Dhritiman Mukherjee

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Playing It Cool

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NOVEMBER 2015 • `150 • VOL. 4

WINTER SPECIAL

ISSUE 5

ESCAPE TO SANDY SHORES

36 The View

Snowy Swiss vistas from the comfort of Alpine train journeys

40 Hidden Gem

Exploring the subterranean depths of Jeita Grotto, Lebanon’s geological Disneyland

42 The Explainer

What biodiversity means—and why we should care

44 The Insider

Cosmopolitan, edgy, playful: Oslo serves up Scandinavian cool with heart-warming enthusiasm

52 Experience

Travel back in time with a cyclo ride through Hanoi’s Old Quarter

54 The Inspiration

More than a stroll in the park: 10 travel experiences for garden lovers

58 Quiet Places

Off the Greek tourist circuit, the monastic complex of Metéora sits among the clouds

62 People in Places

A poacher-turned-conservationist scripts a new story in Assam’s Dibru Saikhowa National Park

66 Detour

Time-warped towns and ancient forts near Muscat

STILL HUNGRY ANTHONY BOURDAIN’S NEXT CULINARY ADVENTURE SCANDINAVIA’S CAPITAL OF COOL OSLO: EDGY, PLAYFUL AND HEART-WARMING

Island Holidays

TRISTAN DA CUNHA Life at the End of the World

SEYCHELLES Simple Joys on Land and Sea

SOLOMON ISLANDS Music and Lessons in Laughter

PLUS TEN OF INDIA’S SECRET ISLANDS REVEALED

Wildlife photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee shot this image at Havelock, one of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Visitors can kayak through mangrove channels around the island, snorkel or dive to see colourful fish, or simply laze at any of its white-sand beaches.

70 Geotourism

Tasmania’s cuddly but ferocious marsupial survives by the skin of its teeth

74 Taste of Travel

Anthony Bourdain is hungry for his next culinary adventure

76 Bookshelf

Riveting reads, from the American South to the Middle East

The Icon

The U.K.’s signature red phone booths reconnect with locals

78 Off Track

The Chinese district of Dongchuan has a landscape like an artist’s colour-daubed palette

80 Family Time

Flower-bedecked castles and arches at Dubai’s Miracle Garden

82 Chasing Legends

Trailing 15th-century astronomer Copernicus in Torun, Poland

86 Culture

India’s rich tradition of masked dances, and where you can catch a show

88 The Tune

The humble roots of country singer and a pioneer of rock ‘n’ roll in America, Johnny Cash november 2015 | national Geographic Traveller INDIA

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john hicks/terra/corbis/imagelibrary (sculpture), Dhritiman Mukherjee (cover)

n a v igat e

154

148

voices

30 Tread Softly

Travel preferences can help save habitats.

Choose wisely

32 Book of Hours

S h o r t B r e ak s

regulars 24 Editor’s Note 26 Notebook 154 Inspire 160 Strange Planet

148 From Delhi

Sarnath’s sacred ruins and modern temples represent a mosaic of Asian cultures

Stay

An illustrated travelogue of the Kailashnath Temple in Ellora, near Aurangabad

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34 Clan Rules

153 A peek into everyday life in Panjim’s charming

Ever complained about a vacation? Did your parents secretly smile?

Heritage meets contemporary chic at the Malabar House in Fort Kochi

Latin Quarter

Get Going

145 Active Break

Scenic running routes in Boston, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.

146 Learning Holiday

Momos and conversation: A taste of Tibet at a cooking class in McLeod Ganj

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victor fraile/corbis news/corbis/imagelibrary (station), eonid plotkin/alamy/indiapicture (lamps), andrew zarivny/ shutterstock (running), dinesh khanna/dorling kindersley/getty images (food)

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Editor’s Note |

n i lou f e r v en katra m a n

What the Doctor Should Order

Our miSSiOn

24

We did nothing much. The child had a blast running up and down the stairs, into the loft room, onto the patio, soaking in the tub, ordering room service, and generally monkeying around. i hung out in the hammock, the lounge chair, the bed, the other bed, and the sofa; a walk and yoga session were thrown in. after 24 hours, while i obviously wasn’t totally cured, all three of us felt refreshed and renewed, having done nothing of any real consequence. it was, in short, everything the doctor ought to have ordered but didn’t.

How come medical practitioners don’t actually recommend that people leave town and go on vacation when they’re unwell?

National Geographic Traveller India is about immersive travel and authentic storytelling, inspiring readers to create their own journeys and return with amazing stories. our distinctive yellow rectangle is a window into a world of unparalleled discovery.

national GeoGraphic traveller inDia | november 2015

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andrÈ morris

I

t’s become second nature for me to quiz people i meet about their travels. i want to know where they’ve holidayed, which hotel they stayed at, what experiences they’ve had. i store all these bits of information away, to use in creating this magazine of course, but also to pass on to other friends and family who count on me to give them travel advice. Friends often ask me for suggestions for their next vacation, where to stay or eat, what to do for the particular kind of holiday they’re looking for. one of them calls me “travel doc” and i’ve always laughed at that label, thinking nothing of it, until now. i’ve been feeling under the weather for about two weeks, with a nagging throat issue that won’t go away. The first doctor i consulted prescribed medicines, which frankly, made me feel worse. The second said, “do nothing, it will go away.” When the weekend came around, i packed the family and went off to spend one night in a hotel in the woods near mumbai. it was a lovely room with great views, an open-air bathroom, a hammock on the deck, and lots of trees for company.

Which set me thinking: How come medical practitioners don’t actually recommend that people leave town and go on vacation when they’re unwell? no doctor has ever given me, or anyone i know, a prescription with the words “Travel” or “Head off to a hill station” scrawled on a letterhead. We all know of the convalescent homes and residences the British created in hill stations across india, where military personnel and others were sent to recover from a variety of ailments. This idea, of sending the sick on holiday or to the hills to recover, has somehow not filtered down into the medical practices of the current century. instead, i know the opposite happens. i’ve heard of doctors telling friends not go to jungles as there are too many insects and mosquitoes, not to venture into the hills as the pollen in the air won’t suit them, telling folks, no matter what their ailment, to stay confined to their homes and if possible, glued to their beds. although i don’t have a medical degree, i beg to differ from most doctors and am offering my own (quack) prescription: if you’re not going to spread anything contagious around, and you can, do take a break and head on a short vacation when you’re feeling a bit off colour. it can be a few days at a favourite beach or even one night in a hotel, like i did. sometimes, all we need is to get away from the mundane: What to cook, what to eat, answering the door or the phone. sometimes it’s therapeutic just to stay in an unfamiliar room where you don’t have to think about making the bed or deciding what’s for dinner. and where almost anything you need is either a phone call away or at the nearest buffet table.

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hidden gem Exploring Jeita Grotto’s subterranean depths

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people and places Scripting a new story in ecotourism in Assam

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family time Flower-bedecked castles and arches at Dubai’s Miracle Garden

Winter On Swiss Wheels Soak in snowy vistas while chugging along Alpine railroads By gina tanik

M

uch of Europe gravitates to Switzerland in the winter for its ski slopes and winter sports. But what if you don’t ski or aren’t keen on zipping at high speed down a hillside of white powder?

Cocooned in a Swiss train you can marvel at the coated conifers, the sweeping sheen on the Alps, and shimmering

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glaciers, without your toes freezing over.

Travellers on the Glacier Express cross the valleys of Valais, the 400-metredeep Rhine Gorge, and about 291 bridges as they make a leisurely seven-hour journey from Zermatt, the postcard-perfect, car-free town at the foot of the mighty Mt. Matterhorn to the resort town of St. Moritz (200 km/

national Geographic Traveller INDIA | november 2015

2.5 hr southeast of Zurich). Large panoramic windows, which extend along the length of the compartment, offer uninterrupted views of the frosty Swiss wilderness. Soak in the views with a mug of hot chocolate and plug into the audio guide available onboard. A little bell alerts travellers so they can plug in their earphones every time information

martin ruetschi/keystone/corbis/imagelibrary

The dreamy winter landscape of Oberalp Pass is one of the highlights of the Glacier Express but the little towns the train passes through are equally picturesque.

is being relayed. Tuck into lunch while the smooth, sloping canvas of snow hushes by.

Another way to experience Switzerland’s dramatic winter landscapes is from the warmth of the cheery red Bernina Express. Starting in the town of Chur in northeastern Switzerland (120 km/1.5 hr southeast of Zurich), the train travels on the highest railway track across the Alps, past snow-brushed peaks of the Bernina range, the stunning Morteratsch glacier, and frozen streams and lakes to Tirano in Italy. Most visitors however opt for a shorter section from St. Moritz to Tirano, a popular stretch that has UNESCO World Heritage status.

Though the express runs only once a day during winter, a special Bernina Express panoramic car is attached to all

regular trains between St. Moritz and Tirano, running every hour. The train travels to an altitude of 2,253 metres, journeying through many spiral loops, 55 tunnels, and 196 bridges to reach that

height. Many travellers swear by the words “the journey is the destination”.

The expression may be clichéd, but a trip on these panoramic trains definitely lives up to it.

the vitals The winter service of the Glacier Express will run from 13 December 2015 to 4 May 2016 between St. Moritz and Zermatt. (Adults from CHF149/`10,130; children 6-16 from CHF75/`5,100; children under 6 free; seat reservation charges for winter CHF13/`900 apply for all; meals available on board for extra charges; www.glacierexpress.ch; +41-848642442). The winter service for the Bernina Express will operate from 13 December 2015 to 30 May 2016 from Chur to Tirano once a day. A final leg of the journey that involves a bus journey from Tirano to Lugano only operates in summer. (Adults from CHF72/`4,900; children 6-16 from CHF41/`2,800; children under 6 free; seat reservation charges for winter CHF10/`700 apply for all; there is only a minibar and snack service on board; www.rhb.ch; +41-81-2886565). Seats in the Bernina Express panoramic car that is attached to regular trains running hourly between St. Moritz and Tirano, come at a surcharge of CHF5/`340 over regular fare and should be booked in advance.

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marco bottigelli/jai/corbis/imagelibrary (bridge), sonderegger christof/prisma/dinodia (inside train)

Both the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express travel over the iconic six-arched, 65-metre high Landwasser viaduct (left); The tourist-friendly panoramic trains have large windows, and travellers can enjoy the food and drink sold on board at their seats.

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Exp e r i e n c e

All Aboard the Cyclo A ride through Hanoi’s Old Quarter and a trip back in time By Hema Narayanan dating back to the 13th century, located close to Hoan Kiem Lake (Lake of the Restored Sword). About seven hundred years ago it was the city’s economic centre, and its 36 streets were run by different guilds. Hanoi’s biggest market, Dong Xuan, is still located here. Some may find its chaos overwhelming, but remembering my evening rickshaw rides through Mylapore market, I was thrilled. My seat on the cyclo afforded me a ringside view of Hanoi’s old-world charm, especially on streets too narrow for cars to squeeze through. I felt at the centre of a whirlwind of movement with a cacophony of horns and two-wheelers abruptly zigzagging past.

Local shoppers, wearing conical hats, purchased all kinds of goods from salt to silver at stalls festooned with Vietnamese signs and decorative lanterns. People gathered in front of shops to smoke pipe tobacco, or relish snacks like grilled corn on the cob. Even as I shot photographs of the old city, I tried to commit to memory the wafting smells of spices and the melody of Vietnamese music that my camera could not capture. The lanes near Hoan Kiem Lake were perfumed with the fragrance of pink lotuses and violet banaba flowers that bloom in June. The city revealed itself in these scenes and scents of daily life.

For locals, the cyclo is just a means of transport, but for me it was a chance to relive a childhood fascination while immersing myself in a new culture.

T

hough I grew up in the little town of Davangere in central Karnataka, I spent every childhood summer at my grandmother’s house in the crowded market of Mylapore in Chennai. I looked forward to the evenings, when we would take a cycle-rickshaw ride and enjoy the bustle and chaos of the narrow streets from a safe perch. On my recent trip to Hanoi in Vietnam, I was surprised to see similar rickshaws, called cyclos, or even trishaws or xichlos. They are as essential a mode of transport as the rickshaws of Mylapore. The main difference between

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them is that a cyclo is pedalled by a driver who sits behind the passenger.

The simple design tweak ensures that passengers get an unhindered view. Cyclos can accommodate two passengers, and their owners usually personalise them with bright colours.

Deciding to dive into the soul of Hanoi on a cyclo, I hopped aboard one owned by Tung, a lanky young man in a blue shirt. He greeted me with a bright “Xin chao”, and indicated a latched box where I could secure my camera bag. Then, we set out to explore Hanoi’s Old Quarter, a warren of streets

national Geographic Traveller INDIA | november 2015

ATLAS

SLOVAKIA IA

BANGLADE ADESH

COLOMBIA

LESOTHO

Hanoi, Vietnam One of the attractions of Hanoi’s Old Quarter is water puppetry, a performing art dating back possibly to the 11th century, where wooden puppets are made to dance on the surface of water.

shutterstock/indiapicture

Introduced by the French in the late 1930s, brightly coloured cyclos are as intrinsic to Hanoi’s Old Quarter as its lively markets.

taste o f travel

“i’ve had dinner under a bouquet of human skulls. i guess that was pretty strange,” says uncensored culinary traveller anthony bourdain (left); in Montevideo, Uruguay’s famous Port Market, barbecued meat is king (top right); even the most humble of Tokyo eateries dishes out super fresh, visually pleasing plates. it’s easy to eat ten meals a day in this city (bottom right).

Mr. Iron Stomach Anthony BourdAin is reAdy for his next course by HannaH SHeinberg

T

elevision host, author, and former executive chef, Anthony Bourdain has licked his plate clean all over the world, from soup dumplings in Shanghai to piranhas in Peru. The New York City native’s CNN show, Parts Unknown, headed to locales such as South Korea, Madagascar, and Scotland during its fifth season this year.

Bourdain’s busy in his hometown, too: He plans to open an Asian-style hawker market in Manhattan early next year.

WHICH CITY HAS IT ALL? Tokyo. I mean,

if I had to die mid-meal anywhere, it

would be Tokyo. If you were to ask most chefs if they had to have house arrest for the rest of their life in one city and eat all of their meals there, just about everyone I know would pick Tokyo.

WHAT’S THE WORLD’S MOST UNDERRATED SPOT? Montevideo in

Uruguay, which is to a great extent, undiscovered. Everyone from Argentina knows how cool it is because they fill the place up during the season, but other than them, the rest of the world has yet to catch on. It’s a very laid-back place, the people are really nice, the beaches

are incredible, and there’s great food.

Tough country for vegetarians, though.

DID TRAVELLING FOR WORK CHANGE THE WAY YOU TRAVEL FOR VACATION?

Yes, very much. I tend to stay put for vacation. If my family’s taking a lengthy trip, it’s on a Long Island beach, and I’m driving there and I’m not moving. I’m letting my seven-year-old daughter make all of the major decisions about what we’re doing. You know, are we going to the beach today or not? Are we having hamburgers or hot dogs? I’m as close to a vegetable as I could be.

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isaac brekken/stringer/Wireimage /getty images (men), kobby dagan/vWpics/age fotostock/dinodia (cooking), koji hanabuchi/cultura/corbis/imagelibrary (food)

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Navigate |

DETOU R

Still Standing Time-warped towns and forts on the Arabian Peninsula near muscat By ANDRÉ MORRIS

The tower of Nizwa Fort with its soothing cylindrical shape is a classic example of traditional Omani architecture.

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at bay. On a road trip just a few hours out of Muscat, I caught a sampling of Oman’s rural cultural scene.

from a rock, seemingly out of nowhere.

The concrete pond around the source is crowded with people swimming, but

NAKHAL FORT Abandoned adobe houses

the vitals

and newer concrete ones sit cheek by jowl in the palm-fringed oasis of Nakhal village about 120 kilometres/1 hour west of Muscat. Entering the restored Nakhal Fort that rises above it, I walked past spiked wooden doors and wandered through various carpeted reception rooms lined with colourful satin cushions, towers, and battlements. There are a variety of guns and traditional weapons on display in the museum.

Though this yellow ochre-coloured fort has pre-Islamic origins, it was revamped in the 1990s and is now in great shape. It is built on a rocky hill and its backdrop is the peak of Jebel Nakhal. The view from atop the fort reveals an amazing amount of greenery. Nearby, at the Ain A’Thawwarah hot springs, we walked up to the source of the water, which emerges

Indians travelling to Oman must go through a local sponsor. This could be a friend or relative, or a local tour operator/destination management company based in Oman. Reputed local travel agents in India can assist travellers with getting in touch with Oman government-authorised agents to arrange visas and confirm other bookings, including a guide. Alternatively, travellers can get in touch with the Oman tourist office for a list of travel agents specific to their city (info@tourismoman.co.in; 022-29256965). Documents required for a visa include scanned copies of a valid passport, passport-size photographs with a blue background, return ticket, and hotel confirmation voucher.

It takes about one week to process and costs OMR5/`840 for a 10-day visa (www.rop.gov.om).

national Geographic Traveller INDIA | november 2015

René Mattes/Hemis/Corbis/imagelibrary

O

man’s capital city Muscat is proudly absent of skyscrapers.

By decree of the current ruler Sultan Qaboos, no building may rise higher than the towers of the city’s Grand Mosque. In spite of this directive, Muscat is still a modern city, sprawled along the country’s Arabian Sea coast, with excellent roads, walkways, parks, and an abundance of greenery.

My gypsy feet, however, usually take me beyond cities, and while in Oman, I wanted to venture beyond the bustling capital to get a taste of its heritage.

Given its strategic location for trade, at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, Oman has a long and ancient history. It’s dotted with forts and time-worn villages, irrigation channels, and abandoned settlements that have a distinctive architectural style. Long-forgotten watchtowers still stand guard over old villages of rotting wooden beams and crumbling adobe walls, harking back to a time when they held invading tribesmen

there is also a nice stream which is not so busy. Find a rock to sit on along the course of the stream, dip your feet in, and wait for the fish to arrive: They come to feed off the dry skin on your feet. A fish pedicure that you have to pay money for elsewhere in the world, is a bonus in Nakhal (open Sat to Thur 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and Friday 8-11 a.m.; entry adults 500 baizas/`85).

NIZWA A two-hour drive southwest from Muscat, is the town and ancient city of Nizwa, capital of Oman in the 6th and 7th centuries. It was a centre for trade, culture, and religion, and many a battle was fought over this city. Looking at the surrounding area, which is a verdant oasis, I can see why. The 17th-century Nizwa Fort rises at the centre of this traditional town above green fields, fringed with date palms. Walking around the fort’s crenulated perimeter, I see how difficult it would have been to mount

a surprise attack on this citadel. Built over an underground stream, it has an abundant supply of fresh water, and was built to withstand long sieges. We make a pit stop at the famous Nizwa souq which unfortunately, is almost empty as it’s past lunchtime. A few shops catering to tourists are still open selling an array of earthen pottery, silverware, old guns, khanjars (the traditional Omani dagger), and other knick-knacks. The livestock souq though also closed, is easily identifiable from the heavy, pungent odour and remnants left behind by cattle and goats that must have changed hands here a short while ago.

AL HAMRA An hour’s drive northwest of Nizwa, at the foot of the Al Hajar Mountains, we visit Al Hamra, a deserted 400-year-old village of mud and brick houses and narrow lanes. Al Hamra blends into the mountainside, with terraced fields and date palm

plantations in front, and watchtowers behind standing guard over both the old structures and the new constructions nearby. The village is set amidst an active falaj or traditional canal system built for the distribution of water. Wandering through the alleys I see battered but beautifully carved wooden doors. Behind one of them is the modest Bait al Jabal museum (entry OMR2/`170). There’s another living museum, the Bait al Safah, where the region’s culture and traditions are displayed by locals in a traditional house, but I somehow missed that. It was fascinating to roam the winding streets, ducking in an out of arched two-storey ruins, roofless houses, and rubble-strewn streets, imagining a once-thriving town.

Interestingly, I was told by my guide that Omanis have decided to leave these ruins alone, as they believe that the owners, though long gone, still have a right over their homes.

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jacob maentz/terra/corbis/imagelibrary (buildings), yoko aziz/age fotostock/dinodia (room), Juan Carlos Muñoz/age fotostock/dinodia (pottery)

The ghost town of Al Hamra’s charm is in its dereliction (top left); At Nizwa souq, vendors sell gold and silverware, pottery, traditional khanjar knives, fresh produce and even live animals (bottom left); Nakhal fort’s restored majlis, or reception rooms display what the interiors were like when it was the residence of the governor (right).

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cultu r e

Masks and Mudras

By Rumela Basu Illustration by Dnyaneshwar Kurhade

1 Cham North and northeast India

2 Purulia chhau West Bengal

3 Mukha bhaona Assam

Performed by Buddhist monks, cham is part of monastery festivals in India, Bhutan, and Tibet. The ritual dance form is accompanied by chanting and the sound of cymbals, longhorns, and hand drums. Dancers wear demonic wooden and papier mâché masks that are brightly coloured, intricately painted, and larger than life.

This bold, acrobatic dance form from the Bengali district of Purulia has roots in tribal warrior dances.

Performers do backflips, pirouette mid-air, and stomp their feet to the deep, echoing beats of the dhamsa, a large kettle drum, and the rhythms of the dhol. The masks, fashioned to look like fierce gods and their animal vehicles, make the performance more dramatic.

This Assamese form of folk theatre is closely linked with the river island of Majuli, where the actors’ masks are crafted. Three kinds of masks are used: mukha or face masks, lotokai mukha or face masks with movable eyelids and lips controlled by the wearer, and bor mukha or masks that cover the upper body with moving parts like hands, jaws, and beaks.

Catch a performance at

the Raas Festival in Majuli, Assam (Nov) and the Barechaharia Bhaona Mahotsav in Jamugurihat, Assam, a 200-year-old theatre festival held every 5-6 years.

Catch a performance at

Hemis Gompa during the Hemis Festival (July) or the Stok Monastery during Stok Guru Tsechu Festival (Feb).

Both monasteries are in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. Sikkim’s Ralang Monastery has a cham during the Kayged Festival (Dec).

2

1

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the Chaitra Parva Chhau Festival, which takes place in Mayurbhanj and Koraput in Odisha (mid-Apr), and during the Sun festival (Mar) in Chorida village in Purulia, West Bengal.

Catch a performance at

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India’s rich traditions of masked dances are not well known outside the regions they are from. here’s where you can catch a performance

4 Therukoothu Tamil Nadu

5 Somana kunitha Karnataka

6 Padayani Kerala

7 Saraikela chhau Jharkhand

Koothu is the Tamil word for dance and therukoothu is a form of street theatre that draws from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Tamil epics. Partial face masks are worn by actors whose colourful costumes also include golden shoulder plates, bright skirts, and crowns. Characters use music instead of dialogue to carry the story forward, singing in high-pitched voices as they enact poignant mythological scenes.

The trance-like somana kunitha is a ritual dance performed to honour a village deity. Dancers wear elaborate red sandalwood masks (soma) painted with fangs, flaring nostrils, and big, curly moustaches. The headgear is four times as large as the performer’s head, and has long, brightly coloured fabric tied to its ends, which sways as the dancer moves.

Catch a performance at the temple festivals of Mandya, Mysore, Hassan, and Tumkur in Karnataka.

Masks worn by padayani dancers are more than accessories. They are considered embodiments of the temple’s mother goddess. Made with areca palms, these perishable masks are woven together with thread or coconut fronds, and painted using turmeric, vegetable, and fruit dyes. They tower at least four feet above the dancer’s head and most extend until the waist of the performer.

Catch a performance at temples of goddesses Bhagavati and Bhadrakali in Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, and Kottayam, Kerala (Dec-Apr), and at the annual Padayani Festival in Elanthoor village (Mar).

More sombre than its Bengali counterpart, this form of chhau comes from the Saraikela region in Jharkhand. Dancers wear simple, humanlooking masks to perform stories inspired by Hindu mythology, folklore, and nature. The vanity of man for example, is symbolised in the peacock dance where a dancer emulates the bird’s movements while wearing a feathered waistband.

the Maduravayol and Shakthimariyammam temple festivals in Chennai or in the villages of Thanjavur district.

Catch a performance at

the Chaitra Parva Chhau Festival in Mayurbhanj and Koraput in Odisha (mid-Apr) or the Chhau Mahotsav in Saraikela, Jharkand (Apr).

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Catch a performance at

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Winter Special |

I s l a n d Ho l i days

Lessons in Laughter In the Solomon Islands, though the rhythms and beats are new, the music is essentially the same Text & Photographs by Britt Basel

Often children from the village would paddle over to the OceansWatch boat in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Southwest. Sometimes they would curiously observe us from a distance.

On other occasions, we would play together in the water. Ready to head home, two boys have put their sister’s mini dugout canoe into their boat to make the paddle back to shore easier.

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â– SOLO SOLOMO MON N

IS LAN DS ISLANDS

A young girl from the village of Ngadeli dresses up with a crown made from the vines that grow along the shore.

Winter Special |

I s l a n d Ho l i days

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The villagers of Buma wave goodbye from the shore as we sail away. As the distance grew too great to see our waving arms, both the villagers and the boat crew began waving colourful sarongs that could be seen from far away until, finally, we sailed out of sight.

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■ SOLOMO N

IS LAN DS

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agellan might have proven the world was round, christening the deep waters of the South Pacific a “peaceful sea” along the way, but looking out at the sparkling ocean that separated me from anything familiar, I felt like I had found the edge of the earth. The OceansWatch crew and I had just dropped anchor off Mola’a, a village in the Reef Islands of the Temotu Province in the Solomon Islands, the South Pacific.

Aside from our sailing yacht, the only local transport vessels were dugout canoes, and the occasional banana boat with outboard motor. The cargo boat that delivers mail, passengers, and anything else destined for this little spit of land may come once every couple of weeks. Or four months might pass before there is enough business to justify the trip.

When Chris Bone, the director of OceansWatch, invited me to join his non-profit organisation in the Solomon Islands, it was a childhood dream come true. Growing up on sail boats in the Caribbean, I had dreamt about the South Pacific for as long as I could remember. OceansWatch works with coastal communities around the world to protect their natural resources and develop sustainable livelihoods. I would sail with a small team to work with remote Melanesian villages, helping people there understand and adapt to a changing climate. The trip seemed like a win-win for the little girl I was and the woman I had become. I never have been able to turn down an opportunity to travel, much less an adventure of this magnitude. But, looking out at Mola’a and thinking about the immensity of the ocean boxing me in from every direction, I began to doubt the sanity of coming here.

As the reality of my situation sunk in, I heard the faint sound of light-hearted music floating from the shore. “Come on!” Chris urged us into the sailboat’s dinghy to go on shore, “They’re waiting for us.” On our trip from Lata, the capital of the Temotu Province, we had passed through the rolling seas of the Pacific, by whitenovember 2015 | national Geographic Traveller INDIA

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Winter Special |

I s l a n d Ho l i days

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4 5 1 Children in Buma often fish in the calm, shallow waters near the village. Some fish with lines, others with bows and arrows, and the rest have backflip competitions.

2 A Mola’a matron solemnly smokes a pipe.

As soon as she takes it away from her mouth, she breaks into her customary grin.

3 In Buma, special occasions are celebrated in the shade of the “meeting tree” with a spread of fresh seafood. 4 Music is critical to all gatherings. Using PVC pipes and water barrels, young men in Mola’a play the lively music that the Solomon Islands’ bamboo bands are known for. 5 The people of Buma have preserved an ancient dance that tells the story of when the gods and their ancestors first came to the island of Vanikoro. The women teach Georgia, from our crew, a few steps so she too can join in.

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IS LAN DS ISLANDS

During breadfruit season, the entire village of Otelo is busy harvesting and drying the produce to make the crispy, biscuit-like nambo. If a cyclone or other natural disaster strikes, nambo and coconut will be key emergency foods.

In the meantime, children and adults alike eat nambo as if it were candy.

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Get Going |

Him ac h a l Pra d es h

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Sangye (left) speaks of Tibet fondly as he teaches cooking using his mother’s recipes; Savoury momos (top right) are best eaten with chilli sauce though the chocolate ones are a dessert; Since modern ovens are not used in Tibetan cooking, bread (​bottom right) is baked by burying the dough in embers, or cooking it with dry heat in a covered pot.

Treats and Tales from Tibet In McLeod Ganj, the past and present meet over home-made bread | by Natasha Sahgal

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alf-moons, tear-drops, and round shapes.

Translucent wrappers stuffed with chicken, spinach, vegetables, potato, or cheese. Deep fried, pan-fried, or steamed. After two days in McLeod Ganj, the hilly Himachal Pradesh town as famous for its momos as it is for being the home of the Dalai Lama, I had exhausted every possible variation of the Tibetan dumpling. While walking along Jogibara Road, one of McLeod Ganj’s main streets, I saw a worn-out poster for chocolate momos. This was new. It was a poster advertising Tibetan cooking classes. To try this particular momo, I would have to make it myself.

That evening, I walked to Sangye’s Kitchen. The sign outside read: “Ask me anything about Tibet, let’s enjoy conversation.” Sangye’s three-day Tibetan course would include making noodles, soups, and breads—and chocolate momos. I decided to enlist for the course.

Sangye greeted me with a warm smile when I stepped into the tiny room for my first class. I sat on a

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atlas

McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh

Dharamsala/ china McLeod Ganj Uttarakhand

The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala has over 1,10,000 manuscripts brought in from Tibet.

plastic chair around the main table. Other travellers— three backpackers from Europe and a family of four from Israel—filled the rest of the seats.

Day one was for momo-making. On the menu were spinach and cheese, vegetable, and chocolate dumplings, made of refined wheat flour dough and steamed.

Making momos, I learnt, is rather time consuming.

Sangye told us that in Tibet, families gather in the kitchen to joke and gossip while filling up the pockets of dough. Men typically cut the vegetables and meat while women do the rolling, stuffing, and steaming. A good momo has a thin skin wrapper and is juicy on the inside. For this, fatty pieces of meat are chopped into bits, as grinding them makes the momos less juicy. I learn how to enjoy the perfect momo: Take a small bite at one end, suck out the juice, drop in some chilli sauce, then eat the rest.

We began our class with the dough. “Use only your fingertips to mix,” Sangye instructed, “there is no need

Natasha Sahgal (cooking), brian yarvin/alamy/indiapicture (momos), melinda chan/moment open/getty images (bread)

Learning holiday

Intensity You don’t have to be skilled in the kitchen to enjoy this cooking class, and since each session lasts only two hours, it doesn’t eat up too much of the day either.

to mess up your entire hand.” As I worked on getting my dough to a soft, elastic mass, I looked around at the walls. Posters calling for Tibet’s freedom, photos of the Dalai Lama and monks who had lost their lives protesting Tibet’s occupation covered the walls. A corner shelf held a shrine with more photos of the Dalai Lama and a young monk who has been missing for over 20 years. There were offerings of biscuits, small glass bottles of Coca Cola and Fanta, and sweets.

“This is my own secret recipe.” Sangye chirped bringing my attention back to the class. I watched as he stuffed the last of the momos with cocoa powder and sugar. The momos were steamed and 15 minutes later, we had a feast. A Tibetan rhyme appropriate to the situation translates to something like “Making momos is a lot of work, eating too many will make your stomach hurt.” Given the number of chocolate momos I ate, I deserved to get a bellyache the next day.

Luckily my stomach stayed strong on day two, which was soup day. We made a classic thenthuk, a broth of vegetables, meat, and hand-pulled noodles, which is typical dinner fare in some parts of Tibet. We made the noodles by stretching out the dough and dropping flat, one-inch long pieces into the boiling stew. The result was a warm, wholesome meal in a bowl.

On the third day, while waiting for the class to fill up, I finally built up the courage to ask Sangye about his journey from Tibet to India. I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do or what the proper etiquette for bringing up such a sensitive topic was, but Sangye was unfazed. He told us that he walked from Kham, in eastern Tibet, to Nepal in 1997, when he was 13 years old. His family could only afford to pay a fixer for one person’s passage, so Sangye was sent without his parents or two siblings. For over two weeks, the group of refugees walked across snowy mountains with nothing but tsampa (roasted barley flour) to eat. Every evening they would melt some snow, mix it into the flour, and make little balls of dough to share. Battling frostbite and an inexperienced guide, who ran away mid-journey, the group finally made it out of Tibet into Nepal.

From Nepal, Sangye was sent to a refugee centre in Dharamsala, where he slowly settled in. In 1999, he

The Vitals Sangye’s Kitchen is on Jogibara Road in McLeod Ganj (98161 64540; `250 per class per day; classes held daily 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-7 p.m.; class timings can be adjusted to suit individual schedules).

came up with the idea of starting Tibetan cooking classes in McLeod Ganj. At the time, he had no way of contacting his family. They did not even know if he had made it across the border alive.

The serious atmosphere in the room during Sangye’s story was broken with a fun session of kneading dough.

As we set about making Tibetan brown bread, cookies, and bhalek, a kind of stuffed white bread, our energetic chef promised a prize to anyone who could spot his oven. We looked around his kitchen, filled with basic vessels, vegetables, and a gas stove. Nothing resembled an oven. Sangye pointed to the gas burner and an aluminium vessel, like the one I use to brew tea. “That is my oven,” he said proudly. He coated the bottom of the vessel with oil, threw in the circular stuffed dough, and covered it with a steel plate. As we struggled to make khapse (Tibetan cookies), the comforting smell of baking bread filled the room. And 20 minutes later, we were surprised to find a perfectly risen loaf of bread.

Sangye’s face lit up. “I love bhalek because it reminds me of my childhood,” he said. “Every morning, my mother would make one large bhalek, but every day the filling would change. I still remember holding my food in a bag and swinging it the whole way to school.”

Sangye walked across the room while swinging an imaginary satchel. His eyes twinkled. “I used to really look forward to lunch, to know what the day’s surprise filling was.”

In 2004, seven years after leaving Tibet, Sangye finally spoke to his mother on the telephone. The first time they were both on the line, no one spoke a word— they just cried. Three years later, he received the news that his mother had died. It was too risky for Sangye to visit Tibet for her funeral. The kitchen filled with a sudden heaviness, with not a dry eye in sight.

“But I learned everything I know about cooking from her, and I think of her every day when I teach,” he smiled, his energy rising again. He carefully cut the bread into slices. The crust was crisp and golden, and the warm spinach filling was mushy and savoury. We devoured the loaf within minutes, and felt quite content and full. Just as I imagine the young Sangye must have felt at lunchtime at school. november 2015 | national Geographic Traveller INDIA

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Natasha Sahgal (bread rolls, cookies & stuffed bread), luis martinez/axiom/design pics inc/alamy/indiapicture (noodles)

Tingmo (left) is a steamed bread that Tibetans usually serve with soup or gravy; Tibetan cookies, or khapse (middle) are prepared for special occasions like weddings and the Tibetan New Year; Tuk means noodles, and thukpa (right) is a hearty noodle soup served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner; Bhalek (bottom), which is white bread stuffed with vegetables or meat, was Sangye’s lunch staple while at school in Tibet.

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stay Heritage meets contemporary chic in Fort Kochi

Sarnath, also known as Isipatana, is where the Buddha gave his first sermon after enlightenment. It has many temples, old and new, built by sponsors from Asian countries where the religion is practiced.

This is the Mulagandha Kuti Vihar, constructed in 1931 by Sri Lanka’s Maha Bodhi Society.

The Spell of Sarnath Sarnath’s sacred ruins and modern temples offer a cultural expedition across Asia | By Anjana 148

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stay A glimpse of everyday life in Panjim’s Latin Quarter

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arnath’s current status as a one-horse town belies its religious and historical significance. A bumpy half-hour drive from Varanasi, it is the place where the Buddha preached his first sermon after he attained enlightenment. Shreyansanatha, the 11th Jain tirthankara (one who has detached himself from the material world) was also born here.

Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, deeply moved by the place’s sense of peace, built the famous Ashoka Pillar at this spot.

We arrive at Sarnath in the afternoon, on the recommendation of our driver, who has speedily snaked through the narrow roads packed with buses and bullock carts. Already, some in our party are ruing the decision. “It’ll just be ruins, nothing much to see. We should have taken a boat ride on the Ganges instead.” But Sarnath, one of four major pilgrimage destinations for Buddhists, has surprises in store. Believers from around the world are drawn here. Our guide tells us that the nationalities of the monks who visit are given away by the colours of their robes. Saffron robes are favoured by Indian monks, brown ones are typically worn by Thai monks, red robes suggest a Tibetan background, and the almost purple robes are of Myanmar monks. All these colours swirl through the streets of Sarnath as those who wear them slowly make their rounds, whispering chants and taking their time to connect with spirits of the past.

Storehouse of History

Our driver pulls up at an excavation site beside a modest museum, a hundred-year-old sandstone structure. Perhaps in keeping with the Buddhist ideals of simplicity and modesty, the building offers no indication of

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from delhi Sarnath’s temples and relics are a mosaic of Asian cultures

the treasures within. The antiquities on display date back to between the 3rd century B.C. and the 12th century A.D. Among them is the original capital of the Ashoka Pillar whose design, with four Asiatic lions back to back, was adopted as the India’s national emblem over half a century ago.

The sculpture, chiselled out of a single block of sandstone, isn’t even encased in a glass box, which makes me doubt its authenticity. But this is the real thing. Standing within arm’s length of the carving, the details of the strands of the mane and whiskers on the lions come into view. Other impressive relics are also available for close inspection: ornate Gupta dynasty reliefs depicting the life of Buddha, railings that date back to the Sunga period, statues of Tara and Hindu deities, and elaborately carved artefacts— all unearthed right here in Sarnath. There isn’t even

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Sarnath’s relics include Dhamek stupa (top left) and a sculpture of the Buddha’s feet (top right), a reminder that he once walked this Earth; Rich frescoes colour the walls of Mulagandha Kuti Vihar (bottom right); At Thai shrines, visitors often glue thin, square gold leaves on sculptures (bottom left).

a rope to distance them from the corrosive oils on the fingertips of enthralled visitors.

Incredible as this is, it’s just a prelude to the excavation site next door. Digging has been going on here since the mid-19th century, when General Alexander Cunningham, a senior British officer, discovered a stone chest and an image of the Buddha.

Cunningham and his successors went on to unearth the ruins of once-magnificent stupas, shrines, and monasteries on the site, which are now maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Sacred Ruins

Though a couple of the passages leading underground are closed, visitors are allowed a rare privilege— to explore most of the excavation site. Anywhere else in the world, such centuries-old structures of november 2015 | national Geographic Traveller INDIA

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Heritage Holiday

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sandstone and brick would certainly be cordoned off for preservation. Mud pathways wind between the remains of monasteries, stupas, and temples, which are flooded with people but still imbued with a calm serenity. We stroll in just in time to watch the setting sun, peeking between the bare branches of a tree, its fading light falling on a row of candles whose flames dance in the evening breeze.

A large map chiselled in stone indicates the structures that once stood here: a main shrine, a courtyard, several monasteries, a Jain temple, and stupas. Dharmarajika Stupa, has been reduced by time and raiders to a circular podium just three feet high, but the magnificent Dhamek stupa still stands at nearly 43.6 metres. This structure is believed to mark the spot where the Buddha delivered his first sermon to five disciples at the deer park. Tibetan monks flock towards this stupa. As they circle its base, they twirl bells in their left hands, and dorjes (carved metal ornaments that represent the thunderbolt of enlightenment) in their right hands. Chanting, they walk in a clockwise direction. The gesture signifies that the Buddha is the centre of the universe.

As they walk, some visitors chant, “Buddham Saranam Gachhami. Dhamam Saranam Gachhami.

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Sarnath has statues of Buddha in all sizes and states of mind. At the Wat Thai (top right), a standing Buddha towers over visitors, while the Japanese temple holds a sculpture of the Reclining Buddha (left); Tibetan monks pay their respects at the Dhamek stupa (bottom right).

Sangam Saranam Gachhami,” (I seek refuge at the feet of the Buddha. I seek refuge in reality. I seek refuge in the order of monks.). Some visitors sit by the ruins or under trees nearby to meditate. Some plant incense sticks in the gaps between bricks, and others stick square gold leaves on the ruins, despite a sign cautioning against this practice and emphasising the fragility of these relics.

Temples of design

The gold leaves are a Thai tradition, rooted in the belief that the metal has the power to placate spirits. For example, a Thai Buddhist praying for relief from a painful right knee might place a gold leaf on the right knee of a statue of the Buddha. In the courtyard of the Wat Thai, one of Sarnath’s Buddhist temples, is a tree wrapped in a sparkling shawl of gold leaf. Sadly, few explore the Wat Thai’s lush grounds and manicured gardens.

Most visitors seem content with a photograph in front of the complex’s 80-foot-tall standing buddha monument.

All Buddhist temples have a statue of the Buddha and also weave the five elements of fire, earth, air, water, and wisdom or space into their design.

Tim Makins/Lonely Planet Images/getty images (temple), Tim McGuire/comet/corbis/imagelibrary (garden), olaf schubert/imagebroker/dinodia (women)

Short Breaks |

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But these requirements translate differently in the structure of each of Sarnath’s modern temples, depending on the architectural traditions of its sponsors. Though it requires trekking around the township, for the cultural tourist these architectural differences are just as interesting to note as the distinct modes of worship of each group of monks.

For example, the Nichigai Suzan Horinji Temple, a short walk from the Dhamek Stupa, has typically Japanese aesthetics, with a twin-storeyed pagoda with a sloping roof curving up at the eaves. But to see truly jaw-dropping Japanese art, one must venture over to the Mulagandha Kuti Vihar, built by Sri Lanka’s Maha Bodhi Society. The walls of this monastery display Japanese artist Kosetsu Nosu’s interpretations of the life of Buddha, inspired by the frescoes of Ajanta.

The Chinese temple, just outside the periphery of the excavation site, off Station Road, is stunning in its simplicity. The 107-year-old Migadawon Myanmar Temple in the deer park dazzles visitors with its extravagant red-and-gold interiors and golden roof topped by the hti, or umbrella, one of five symbols of sovereignty in the Burmese tradition.

Half a day spent here is like a cultural expedition across Asia. We leave at sunset to battle the traffic on the road back to Varanasi. Many in our group are still dissatisfied, but this time only because they wish we had more time to devote to Sarnath.

the guide orientation

Sarnath is in eastern Uttar Pradesh, 10 km/30 min northeast of Varanasi and 800 km/13 hr from New Delhi by road.

Getting there

The closest airport is at Varanasi, a 30- to 50-minute drive away, depending on traffic. The train station at Varanasi connects to all major Indian cities. From Varanasi, you can take a bus (a 40-minute to 1.5-hour trip from Varanasi Junction; four or five buses a day, but the schedule is flexible), taxi (`200 one-way; waiting time extra), or rickshaw (`400 return trip, including wait) to Sarnath. It’s best to negotiate a rate for the return trip if hiring a taxi or auto.

seasons

During winter (Oct-Mar), days in Sarnath are pretty pleasant (about 25°C) but mornings and evenings are slightly chilly (around 15°C). In summer (Apr-June), temperatures are generally between 30 and 35°C though it can go up to 45°C in the afternoon. Sarnath receives moderate rainfall from late-June to early-September.

Travellers can plan a day trip to Sarnath from Varanasi and have enough time to explore the museum, excavation grounds, and visit a couple of the monasteries (most shut by 5 p.m.). If you choose to stay overnight, Sarnath has a number of B&Bs and guesthouses. Some of the monasteries also offer rooms at nominal rates.

Srilanka Mahabodhi Society’s Dharmashala Located near the deer park, with functional rooms, and a common bathroom in the courtyard (`50-100 per night per person).

The Nyingmapa Tibetan Monastery Also close to the deer park, the Tibetan monastery offers comfortable but basic rooms for a donation (`200 per night). sumedha sah (map)

STAY

Vajra Vidya Guesthouse next to the Tibetan monastery also offers rooms with en-suite bathrooms (94152 24361; $12/`800, including meals).

Sometimes the Chinese and Burmese Monasteries offer lodgings for a modest donation, but you need to enquire on-site. november 2015 | national Geographic Traveller INDIA

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