Reminiscing on 2007 Travels - Part II

Following Part I, here are the other places that I travelled to in the Year 2007. These are travels of last month to Agra and Jhansi of Uttar Pradesh, and the rest of the places in Madhya Pradesh.

I started off from the capital city of Delhi and then explored the wondrous medieval city of Agra;

An evening at the Taj Mahal

and then proceeded to the historically important Bundelkhand region of Jhansi.

A part of Jhansi Fort

After that, I proceeded to explore quite a few enchanting places of Madhya Pradesh including:-

• intriguing Gwalior, with its magnificent Forts and rich culture;

Man Mandir Palace

• the charming palaces of Datia;
  

Painting on the ceiling of the Datia palace

• the romance of the enchanting palaces and temples of Orchha;

View from Sheesh Mahal

• the delightful Alipura Palace now converted into a hotel;

Alipura

• the awe-inspiring temples of Khajuraho;
  

Adinath Temple of the Eastern Group

• the marvellous national park of Ken Ghariyal;
  

100 feet deep canyon of about 5 kms granite near seasonal Raneh Falls

• the thrill of Panna national park and its tiger reserve;

A tree house near Ken River Lodge

• the exciting Bandhavgarh and its wildlife sanctuary filled with exotic flora and fauna;
  

An elephant ride to explore the forest, also to seek the Royal Bengal Tiger

• the beauty of Bedaghat where the River Narmada flows;
  

Tranquil Narmada along the marble rocks

• the same Narmada cascading powerfully at another location of Bedaghat;
  

Dhuandhar Falls

• the historically important cultural capital of Madhya Pradesh, Jabalpur;

Balancing rocks

• the verdant jewel of the Satpura hills, Pachmarhi hill station;

A scene on the way to Pachmarhi

• Religiously important to some, Bhojpur along the lovely river Betwa;

Incomplete Bhojeshwar temple

• the historic rock-shelters and paintings of Bhimbetka;

On the way to view the rock paintings

• the sunrise hills and rock-cut architectural caves of Udaygiri near Vidisha;
  

A cave cut from rocks on top of the mountain

• the famous Buddhist monuments of Sanchi;

A section of the great Stupa through carved decorated gateway

• and the romantic city of lakes, Bhopal.

Bada Talab just before sunrise during an early morning stroll

The Madhya Pradesh journey was followed by more travels, via Mumbai, to reach in time to celebrate Christmas with my extended family at two of my favourite places, Goa and Mangalore, and to ultimately board a flight back from the metropolitan city of my state, Bangalore.

A good year for a travel enthusiast. What do you think?

Now let me see what 2008 has in store.