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Known as the largest religious gathering of mankind, the Kumbh Mela refers to a great gathering of Hindu pilgrims at auspicious locations. It takes place four times every twelve years, thus every three years, and rotates among four locations.

The most auspicious of these is Allahabad, known as the Prayag, the legendary confluence of the mighty Ganga, its tributary Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati River of the Hindu scriptures. At the Prayag occurs every 12 years the Maha Kumbh Mela, or the Great Kumbh Mela, next being in 2013. It is also at Allahabad that the greatest of the Maha Kumbh Melas is staged every 144 years, as the cycle of 12 Purna Kumbh Melas has been completed.

The last time the Maha Kumbha Mela had taken place was in 2001, when the most auspicious dates signified an exceptionally potent planetary equation of cosmic energy and the count of those in attendance had been given between 80 to as much as 100 million people.

Haridwar, a town on the Ganges river in northern India, Ujjain on the Kshipra River and Nashik on the Godavari River are the other three Kumbh Mela sites. The next Kumbh Mela, following 2004 Ardha Kumbha Mela, half-Kumbh mela, occurring every six years, is once again in Haridwar, the previous of which was in 1998.

Located at the foothills of the Shivalik Range, the front range of the Himalayas, Haridwar is one of the most sacred cities of India. Its religious significance stems from its prominent location where the glacier waters of sacred Ganga reach the plains after having tumbled down the course from the Adobe of Snow. It is for the very essence of constituting a gateway to the Himalaya that Haridwar carries its name, the Dwar of Har or Gateway to God, with its bathing ghat as the ultimate site, the awe inspiring Har-ki-pauri, or Lord Shiva’s Steps, from which pilgrims and holy men alike dip into the freezing waters of the Ganga.

Dates of the Haridwar Kumbh Mela are given as starting from January 14 and lasting until April 28, 2010. In reality the dates of the mela are not arbitrarily set but the starting date of the Kumbha Mela is associated with the astrological alignment of relevant planetary bodies, specifically when the Sun enters Capricorn. By this auspicious date, January 14, 2010, millions of pilgrims are expected to be present already. The date also corresponds with the celebrations of the Makara Samkranti festival throughout India. At the Kumbh Mela the date marks Makar Sankranti Snan, or the date of the First Snan, the First Holy Bath, when countless pilgrims submerge in the Ganga. From this date onwards until April 14, when the most sacred bathing day takes place on full moon day, the Shakh Purnima Snan, and the pilgrims celebrate Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death, a day when all sins are washed away and the soul enters into union with the One, the Oneness of the Universe, the God Almighty. Between these two most auspicious dates, nine other important bathing dates take place.

For the simple reason of just attending the mela pilgrims believe to be honored with the utmost in blessings, not to mention those of the darshan, the blessings bestowed by the revered sadhus and other holy men, many of whom descend from the High Himalayas and remote caves, interrupting their years-long seclusions in meditation to bath in the Ganga and to appear among the mortals. For it is at the Maha Kumbh Mela to bath in the Ganga River is to taste amrit kalash, the nectar of immortality, and to embark on the ultimate in destiny with chance of ceasing the cycle of birth and rebirth and becoming One with God.

Throughout these three months the site of the Haridwar Kubh Mela becomes a photographer’s paradise. The Kumbh Mela is rendered an exceptional event not only for its spiritual significance and the sheer phenomenal number of mankind gathered but for the astounding myriad of gathered holy men, the sadhus, yogis and saints, that arrive from all corners of India and create an unbelievable spectacle especially bewitching for the Western mind.

The radiant ambiance of all imaginable colors and sounds of horns, trumpets, conchels and drums, shouts and mantras, these spectacles are as nourishing for the soul as they are for the mundane mind wishing just to take pleasure in observing the holy bathing rituals, watching the naked ash-smeared sadhus perform stunning feats of mind and body control, while engulfed in the endless gathering of humanity as well as members of animal kingdom, from monkeys to camels, elephants to beasts of burden, pulling chariots of saints and pilgrims too old to walk but having arrived to partake in the powerful energy, the shakti released by the saints, prophets or devotees alike, rendering the gathering the powerful nourishment that it is and has been for millennia.

Needless to say, if you are to come to the Kumbha Mela as visitor rather than a pilgrim, to find and be at certain sacred spots and witness memorable events throughout this enormous gathering you best know how to find your way around. To make the best of your journey you need a private guide – settle for no less than having someone who truly knows to guide you!

To make your trip to Haridwar Kumbha Mela complete, and to experience more of the unique that India has to offer, having a custom luxury tour of India designed to your specifications is your ideal approach to private independent travel in India.

Camping in Egypt's White Desert

Tour of Western Desert of Egypt is a fascinating journey through remote oasis, namely Siwa, Bahariya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga Oasis, the Great Sand Sea or Ramla El Kebir, and Gilf Kebir, a moonscape-like plateau of striking mountain ridges, crater-like formations and rock sculptures. Beyond Bahariya Oasis begins vast Black Desert that turns into surreal environment of the White Desert and makes for a memorable camping site.

The Great Sand Sea, as the name implies, is an endless expanse of sand dunes, in size covering some 70,000 square kilometers, a phenomenal grandeur of Sahara that continues well into Libya. It is a living desert as the dunes move, some of them tens of kilometers long, propelled by the wind, advancing as much as several dozen meters per year.

After the taste of the sea of sand and crossing remote uninhabited desert so much more impressive is sight of a major green oasis with groves of palms, date and olive trees and a clean spring. Such is the sight of Bahariya Oasis, one of the most amazing oases in Egypt.

Bahariya Oasis is not actually a single settlement but rather a collection of several villages, now well connected with the rest of Egypt by good roads. Other than marveling at the oasis architecture and cultivation practices, the discovery of a Greco-Roman necropolis, known as the Valley of the Golden Mummies over a decade ago, a large burial site of several dozen tombs with many more said to be contained within, the Bahariya Oasis has become a prominent archeological excavation site.

The Bahariya Oasis constitutes a great base for exploration of the omnipresent Black Mountains that lie south of the oasis. Among the most memorable is the Valley of Agabat, where the ever encroaching sand dunes meet with impressive yellow rock formations. Not to miss is also the hot spring in the Valley of El Haize. Further on glistens the Crystal Mountain, a rock formation covered with calcite crystals, professed to be once a sub-volcanic vault. The geology of Egypt’s Western Desert mountain formations, in fact of the entire Gilf Kebir plateau is quite remarkable, and the White Desert is its ultimate marvel. The most dazzling part of the White Desert is a snow-white limestone environment of stunning rock shapes created by erosion and weathering, a hydrothermal structures of chalk deposits and limestone carvings, indeed a stunning place to camp for the night.

Under the British Raj you could had ridden a train into India from Lahore in present day Pakistan. Since India’s independence you have to walk across the Wagha border between Pakistan and India, take bus to Amritsar and ride all over India from there. But now, Indian Railways has announced that it plans to establish rail links with Nepal, Bhutan and apparently concrete plans have been also drawn to connect the Indian rail network all the way with the Chinese railways.
With trade and tourism having reached large scale proportions in Kunming and Yunnan province of south-western China, the Chinese have already connected its rail system with that of Myanmar and plans are underway to extend it from there to Bangladesh with Dhaka being only a step from Kolkata, the eastern gateway to India. Once the network is fully in place and operational you’ll be able to tour Assam and Meghalaya from Kolkata and continue all the way to tour Yunnan in China.

With now being able to ride the iron rooster across China to Lhasa in Tibet, Chinese already started on extending the line across the High Himalaya down to Kathmandu in Nepal. Thus obviously after China you’ll be able to tour Nepal and then hop on a train and ride down into the plains of India. Of course this line will cost pretty penny as the road down from Kathmandu to Indian border is not an easy ride but the Chinese engineers have already blasted their way through much worse in Sichuan.

The third route in the works is to link southern Xinjiang Province of Western China with Pakistan. There is indeed another major obstacle in the way there and that’s the Karakoram. But never mind, just imagine, you could ride a train along the legendary Silk Road from Beijing via Kashgar over Kunjerab Pass, and along Karakoram Highway all the way to Deli and Mumbai!

Few years ago this Italian tourist asked me if I could arrange for her to take a taxi from Kathmandu to Mount Everest Base Camp! Now I wonder how soon will this really become possible.

Ever since Tibet first opened to Western tourists in the early 1980s, Kham, the eastern part of Tibet, remained closed. Few hard core travelers tried to bribe their way across in the early years, traveling atop trucks, often needing to keep hidden out of view for most of the journey that could last as long as three to four weeks, freezing, hungry, set to dodge numerous check posts, only to make it through. Getting caught meant getting a heavy fine and instant deportation. Sightseeing was nearly impossible unless the truck driver was willing to stop in the middle of nowhere, or at best perhaps at a small village. Through towns one could pass only by night or early dawn, and only with the utmost cooperation of the truck driver. But even from the back of the truck the scenery was magnificant, and the journey unlike any other.

In recent years as more Chinese tourists ventured to Tibet and started to navigate the Eastern Tibet roads to Sichuan and Yunnan, handful of Westerners have gotten permits as well. Because of protests and calls for Tibetan independence in 2007, Litang and most of Western Sichuan has remained closed since.

Whether travelling the route from Sichuan, from Chengdu via Lithang on to Lhasa, or from Zhongdian in northern Yunnan via Deqin and Markham, the Kham route to Lhasa is simply stunning and an experience not to miss.

Encountering the strong and proud Kampa Tibetans, passing over incredible passes such as Dongda La, Serkhym La or Mila, passing by striking lakes of Ranwu Tso, Rawak Tso, or Draksum Tso, and marveling at glaciers and towering peaks the likes of Namche Barwa is guaranteed to leave one often speechless.

Though the route can be done in either direction, Lhasa to Chengdu, Tibet to Sichuan or Sichuan to Tibet, Chengdu to Lhasa, you’ll need considerably more time for this routing. Aside that, this route through Western Sichuan is also more unpredictable, even if you should be able to get a Tibet Travel Permit. This has been even more so a case since the Lhasa and Litang riots of March 2008 and as a result since much of Western Sichuan has been off limits to Westerners, though in recent weeks few Western tourists are getting through.

The third routing, Lhasa to Zhongdian or Tibet to Yunnan, is just as rewarding, can be done in as few as seven days, though more days will allow for more stops and more enjoyable eastern Tibet traverse. For better acclimatization it is advised to travel the route starting from the lower elevations of Yunnan, thus travel Zhongdian to Lhasa.

Khams or Eastern Tibet
Cavaliers of Kham: The Secret War in Central Asia

Fitz Roy

How best to visit Argentina obviously depends on how much time you have available to travel. Most visitors will arrive in Buenos Aires and begin their trip from there. It seems although many profess wanting to tour Argentina one of the first places they wish to visit is Torres del Paine National Park. There is no question that Torres del Paine is a spectacular park, but the fact is it is in Chile and not Argentina.

Though to fly from Buenos Aires to El Calafate, in the heart of Argentine Patagonia, and overland from there, is geographically straight and shortest way to get to Torres del Paine, the transportation to the park is not exactly overabundant. There is public bus from El Calafate to Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas one can catch and hop off it at the park’s entry, and private transfers are available as well though not plentiful nor cheap.

Hanging glaciers in Torres del Paine

Without a doubt the best access to Torres del Paine is from Punta Arenas, the focal point of Chilean Patagonia. Of course this poses a bit of a dilemma if starting from Buenos Aires. To get to Punta Arenas can be done either by flight via Santiago de Chile or by going to Bariloche in the heart of Argentine Andes first and from there overland across the Andes Lakes District to Puerto Montt and fly to Punta Arenas from there.

If going to Punta Arenas via Santiago may seem like a cumbersome detour, then add a stop and break up the trip by visiting Mendoza first. Mendoza is an easy flight from Buenos Aires and on the way to Santiago. In Mendoza you can tour the best wineries of the region, sample local dishes, lodge at some wonderful hotels, and after three or four days continue on to Santiago.

Another alternative is to forget Torres del Paine altogether, tailor it into your itinerary on a future trip focusing on Chile only, and instead proceed from El Calafate to El Chalten, a base town for treks into the wilds of the incredible Cerro Torre and Mount Fitz Roy. If you may be on a limited time, from El Chalten you can head back to El Calafate and return to Buenos Aires from there. With two weeks to spare you can visit both Fitz Roy and Torres del Paine and you can even add Southern Patagonia, Argentina’s legendary Tierra del Fuego.

Following are the very best three options for experiencing Best of Argentina on 15-days, starting from Buenos Aires.

Option one is to fly from Buenos Aires to El Calafate, overland to El Chaltén, then to Ushuaia and finish with Iguazu Falls. This Best of Argentina itinerary allows for tango in Buenos Aires, seeing the spectacular glaciers, hiking in Fitz Roy National Park, sailing the Beagle Channel, and in the end marvel at the impressive Iguazu Falls.

Another Best of Argentina itinerary on 15 days is a variation of the above with the inclusion of a visit to Mendoza, so in summary the itinerary packs in Tango, Wineries, Glaciers, Tierra del Fuego, Beagle Channel, and Iguazu Falls.

And one more Best of Argentina tour on 15 days can be designed to include Peninsula Valdes, in other words, Buenos Aires, Whales & Penguins, Glaciers, Ushuaia, and Iguazu Falls.

Some would argue I left out Salta and the northwest of Argentina but for logistical reasons best to leave that part for another trip.

Trekking in Torres del Paine