Voyage 361

Dandeli : Land of the Hornbills Malabar pied hornbill is a large bird about 26inch long, listed as near threatened species (IUCN 3.1 Red List). Its interesting feature is its large yellow bill with mainly black casque Dandeli is a land of the hornbills and a heaven for bird watchers. This rather popular Tiger reserve is located in the western ghats of Uttara Kannada district. Hornbills here are densely populated and are found in four varieties, including the IUCN Red List vulnerable species Indian Great Hornbill and IUCN Red List near threatened species Malabar Pied Hornbill, the other two are the Malabar Gray Hornbill and Indian Gray Hornbill. Although Dandeli is famous for the Hornbills, but for bird watchers there is much more awaiting. More than two hundred and fifty species of birds are recorded in this region, most of them are a rare sight in urban India. I spotted more than hundred recognizable species of birds during my two visits. It is surely a must visit place f...

Birds in my Backyard: Cinereous Tit, often seen on the trees in gardens and forests, always in a hurry It is not always required to go on for a birding trip to spot new and exotic bird species, sometimes they visit your backyard too. But only if you pay attention to their calls and observe their silent movements across the branches. By doing this I was able to spot more than 20 species of birds just from my windows in Bengaluru. Rose-ringed Parakeet: They are widely found in and around Bengaluru. They have a blend of green and yellow feathers, with traces of blue over the tail. Adult males have black and rose ring around its neck, hence its name. While the Female and juveniles have none or a slight shadow where the neck ring should be. They usually nest in tree holes either naturally occurring or made by other birds like woodpeckers or barbets or sometimes made by themselves. Rose-ringed Parakeet - Male, with its distinctive black and rose ring around its neck  A f...

While the Austrian alps are busy with Skiing in winters, the summers are a hiking paradise. The best part of hiking in the Alps is that the landscape transforms as we hike farther and it's surprisingly safe. These trails are not unexplored and untouched, but untamed and laid down technically to reach various mountain ranges. These network of hiking trails connects between the cable car stations, and are well marked, so it is not always necessary to get back from the same cable car which lifted you to the top. The hiking trails offers various difficulty levels, starting from leisure hikes to alpine climbing or a family stroll across the gorgeous lakes. These rugged mountaintops, alpine lakes and glaciers are a paradise for hikers in summer. Axamer Lizum There are hundreds of hiking trails in Tyrol region of Austria, but the most scenic, easy to hike, trouble-free to access and within the reach are the Zirbenweg trail of Patscherkofel and Hochtennbodensteig trail of Axamer Lizu...

Salzburg and Innsbruck are the most popular destinations in Austria to experience the Apls and a flavor of Austrian history and culture.   Beautiful backdrop of Karwendel mountains of Austria Best of Salzburg: Untersberg  is the highest mountain near the city of Salzburg. Unterbergbahn cable car lifts from the lower terminus at St Leonhard village at 456 m to the top station at 1776 m. The cable car experience was thrilling as it was a quick ascend of 1320 m within less than ten minutes. It stands on the border of Germany and Austria, with spectacular views of both the countries from the talstation. Mountain range of Germany as seen from Untersburg Untersburg How to reach Untersberg? Catch the No. 25 bus from Salzburg and get off at the stop “Grödig Untersbergbahn”. Check OBB app on play store for updated information on Austrian public transport. Also watch out for the bus schedules put up at the bus shelters. On the way back to Salzbur...