Going on a long weekend trip with family? 05 places to consider

As the lockdown restrictions continue to ease & the world of travel (albeit slowly) opens up with much needed precautions, this surely is a happy time for families who love to travel. And if you are one of them then we are sure that you have already started syncing your leaves and the little ones’ school holidays.

To help you break away from the lockdown blues & to embrace travel safely, we have prepared a list of places that you can consider traveling to on a long weekend or for a short trip with your family.

Lansdowne, Uttarakhand

Image Source: Uttarakhand Tourism

While people residing in North India are often spoilt with umpteen choices from Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir and Rajasthan, we would like to suggest a lesser opted  for option;Lansdowne. Located 258kms away from Delhi, this quaint hill station is nestled amidst nature in Uttarakhand and proves to be a quick escape from the city life for people living in North India.

Your family and you can go for a trek, try leisurely nature walks or a beautiful boat ride. And if your kids love animals then you can also go for a safari in the Kalagarh Tiger Reserve. The reserve covers the northern part of Jim Corbett National Park & apart from tigers one can also spot barking deer, hog deer, sambhar and many more animals.

Kamshet, Maharashtra
Kamshet is a scenic hill station tucked in the Konkan region of the state of Maharashtra. It proves to be an amazing escape for the city dwellers and is located just 100 km and 56 km away from the city of Mumbai and Pune respectively.

When it comes to the number of activities in and around Kamshet then there are quite a few apart from just enjoying the lush green surroundings:

a) Bedse Caves
It is believed that these caves were constructed in the First Century BCE.  Famous for their Buddisht rock cut structures, these caves will surely leave your family spellbound.

b) Trek to Tikona Fort
As the name suggests, this fort is in triangular shape and provides mesmerizing views of Pawna Dam, Kathingad and Lohagad. Graded as an easy trek, you can do this with your little ones.

c) Paragliding

d) Camping at Pavana Lake
Fancy staying in a camp? Located 17kms from Kamshet, you can camp near this beautiful lake which also offers activities such as zip lining and rappelling. It is also a great picnic spot.

Hampi, Karnataka

Dubbed as the Land Boulders, Hampi has its own unique charm. We for one love this humble getaway from Bengaluru and if you like to take the road less traveled with kids then we would definitely recommend you to take them to this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Here is what you can do with children in Hampi:

a) Monkey Temple
Located at a hilltop, Monkey Temple or Hanuman Temple is known to be the birthplace of Lord Hanuman. Once at the top, you will be able to enjoy the scenic beauty of rock terrains, paddy fields, coconut plantations & the Tungabhadra river. And we guarantee that the kids will enjoy the company of monkeys too.

b) Vijayanagar
Hampi also has the ruins of Vijayanagar or the City Of Victory which was a flourishing capital city of Vijayanagar Empire. If your child loves stories or history then this definitely is a beautiful place to visit.

c) Elephant Stables

Elephant Stables that once used to be a place to keep the royal elephants is among the least destroyed places in Hampi. It definitely is a fun place to take the kids.

Sundarbans
Sundarbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located 110 km from Kolkata. Home to the Royal Bengal Tigers, Sunderbans is the world’s largest mangrove forest and boasts of about 78 species of mangroves.

Once in Sunderbans with the kids, you can visit the Sundarbans National Park where you can spot right from majestic Royal Bengal tigers to saltwater crocodiles, hawksbill turtles and river dolphins. This really is a paradise for wildlife lovers. 

Nestled in the northern portion of the Sundarban Reserve, there is also a bird sanctuary named Sajnekhali which has over 200 bird species including herons, white bellied sea eagles and kingfishers.

Post your wildlife excursion, you can also explore the nearby local villages to understand the local culture and lifestyle of the people there.

Nalagarh

As soon as the travel restrictions were eased, everyone residing in North India flocked to  Dharamshala, Shimla, Bir and Manali in Himachal Pradesh. While these are beautiful places, we urge you to take a trip to a relatively unknown place; Nalagarh.

Away from the crowd, you will be able to enjoy a wonderful family time amidst the greenery and the beautiful view of the Shivalik hills. Known as the gateway of Himachal Pradesh, its main attraction is Nalagarh Fort which has been now converted into a heritage and is a loved tourist destination.

While at Nalagarh, you can visit Ramgarh fort and Yadavindra Garden located near Nalagarh. Ramgarh Fort is a historical monument and Yadavindra Garden has three palaces, a mini zoo and nursery of plants to explore.

While these places are some of our favorites, we would encourage you to know the rules of every destination before embarking on your journey and keep your RT PCR test and Aarogya Setu app ready. And since the mercury has dropped, do take appropriate kids clothes on your trips.

Have a destination in mind? Let us know in the comments below.