Córdoba – where the idea becomes a building
A reflective day and a half in Córdoba, where the Mezquita-Cathedral – a cathedral built inside a mosque – makes Andalusia’s layered history visible.
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Valencia – a soft beginning
A relaxed day and a half in winter Valencia – Plaza del Carmen, the Turia Gardens, the cathedral and the City of Arts – opening a Moorish Andalusia rail trip.
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Impressions of Moorish Andalusia
Two unhurried winter weeks by rail through Moorish Andalusia – Valencia, Córdoba, Seville, Granada and Málaga – tracing its Roman, Moorish and Catholic layers.
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Day 5: Dodi Tal – Agoda (2200 m)
6 Nov 2025 My hike captured on Garmin Despite being tired, did not sleep well. And heard from a couple of the others that they didn’t either. We all heard a symphony of barking in the middle of the night, and speculated that maybe a bear had come too close. Once a dog walked past…
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Day 4: Dodi Tal – Dharwa Pass (~4000 m)
5 Nov 2025 I’d slept fitfully the night before. The thunderstorm and pelting rain kept me awake, haunted by the worry that the tent might take off in the night. But at some point I must have actually slept, because I remember waking. 6-ish. The weather had calmed, it wasn’t raining. Pawan had warned us…
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Day 3: Manjhi – Dodi Tal (3050 m)
4 Nov 2025 An easy day with a small ascent and only 5 kms to walk. It was the most enjoyable day of the whole trek. I had enough bandwidth to notice and photograph tiny wild flowers. It wasn’t the flowering season, so only a few inconspicuous blooms were around – but there were plenty…
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Day 6: Agoda – Dehradun – Delhi – Amsterdam
7 Nov 2025 A long, long day of travel for most of us – uneventful, right up to Dehradun. Then things decided to get interesting. A bright blue sky greeted me in the morning. The nearly full moon was slipping behind a hill, still perfectly visible and begging for photos. A small variation in the…
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Day 2: Agoda (2200 m) – Manjhi (2900 m)
3 Nov 2025 Despite the thick duvets, I only managed a so-so night of sleep. In fact, throughout the trek days this was to be the story of my life. And Vinay’s too – we exchanged notes on poor sleep patterns. The call for morning lemon tea came at 6:40, despite being told it would…
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Day 1: Dehradun – Agoda (2200 m)
2 Nov 2025 Somewhere early 2025, Ak showed interest in a Himalayan trek – and we started discussing the idea with Ashok. A “potentials” whatsapp group was created, out of which the final trek group was 6 of us: Ashok & Ashwini (the Ashes!), Vinay, Ram (primary school friend of Vinay, new to the rest…
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Tonglu – May 2025
We hadn’t planned this trek — Sandakphu quotes made us wince, so we winged it in Darjeeling instead. Two hours, 600 metres up through moss-draped ghost trees and cloud cover, Kanchenjunga somewhere behind it all. Hot daal-chawal at the top. Rain on the way down, as predicted.
