Around the nation in 16 days

The second semester MTTM students of the School of Tourism Studies, M.G University, Kottayam, recently went on a 16-day national tour covering 12 tourist destinations and a dozen UNESCO heritage sites. They travelled the 8000 km by booking circular journey tickets in sleeper class coaches of 12 trains.

The trip started off from Kottayam in the Chennai Mail which reached Chennai Central the next morning. From there, the group proceeded to Chennai Airport by suburban train. The Visakhapatnam-bound SpiceJet flight SG - 502 took the team to the coastal capital of Andhra in an hour-long flight, which was the first for most of them. The checked in to the YMCA Tourist Hostel from where they headed towards Rishikonda beach and Kailasagiri. The clean beach and hills offered an ideal spot for photography. On Day 2, the team visited Simhachalam, Submarine Museum, Ramanaidu film studio, Kambalakonda Eco park and Indira Gandhi zoological park. The next day, they boarded the train to Araku Valley. The train journey along the Eastern Ghats was picturesque with manmade tunnels and bridges adding to the beauty of the green route. Coffee museum, tribal museum and Borra caves are the highlights of Araku Valley.

Next, the group travelled to Bhubaneswar where they enjoyed the sights of Nandankanan zoological park famed for white tigers, IITTM, Dhauli, Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves, Lingaraja temple etc. The Chilika Lakenick, also called destination flyways by UNWTO, offered an exciting hour-long boating experience. They also paid visit to the historic Konark sun temple, also known as the black pagoda, Chandrabaga Beach, Puri Beach and Jagannath Temple. The next destination was Bhopal where the students visited the Bhimbetka Caves known for its Palaeolithic rock paintings and the half-built Bhojeswar Temple of Lord Shiva.

At Agra, the team visited the UNESCO heritage Mughal monuments Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri. No words are enough to describe the majesty of the monuments built using marble and red sand stone. Before proceeding to New Delhi, they halted at Bharatpur to visit the largest bird sanctuary in India - the Bharatpur bird sanctuary. In the imperial city of New Delhi, they saw historical monuments Red fort, Humayun's Tomb, India Gate and Qutub Minar. The metro train journey, metro museum and shopping provided an awesome experience for all.

The next halt was at Goa, which is known for its blue beaches, cruises and churches. They strolled along the beaches of Colva, Miramar and Donapaula and marvelled at the Portuguese architectural style of Aguada Fort and BomJesus Basilica. The hour-long sunset cruise in Mandovi River was thrilling. The mangrove walk in Divar Island was also a refreshing one. Finally, the team returned to Kottayam via Konkan rail route along the Western Ghats, an engineering marvel with numerous big and small tunnels and bridges.

The 16-day tour was more than enough to provide a real opportunity for the students to experience the charm of Incredible India.

(The writer is a lecturer at the School of Tourism Studies, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam)