Travel & Adventure Sports Help Desk

Contact me

This section features mails (and my replies to them ) from people looking for some help/travel tips on the places listed on my website. 

Hello Anurag,

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q#2 

Hi! Read your travel page with interest. In fact, after reading your note, I'm planning to go to Devarayana durga tomorrow with  my wife, for a day  trip. We also enjoy travelling. Since you've been there already, I thought I'd ask you a few doubts.

Ans#2 

About mode of transport, if its not sunny, I would  definitely recommend bike as that area is a bit hilly and worth an open air ride. But if there's a lot of sun, then u can save yourself headache by using car.

Monday through Saturday, 10:00 am through 5:30 pm,{ISD} (Greenwich+5:30).

e-mail:- For General Information: infn@kstdcbng.kar.nic.in

KSTDC Central Information Counter City Railway Station,

KSTDC Central Information Counter Bangalore Airport, Bangalore 560 008. Karnataka, India.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope it helps. - AJ
  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Bangalore, we have Jakkur as main airfield for recreational purposes. It also houses office of Agni Aerosports, one of the leading agencies, apart from Deccan Aviation (charter business only) and Govt flying training school (defunct now).

You can go for a fixed-wing aircraft PPL. Rotary (heli) wing aircraft training in India is available only at Rotary wing academy, HAL, Bangalore and relatively more costly. I wud suggest u get in touch with Capt Arvind Sharma of Agni Aerosports or Capt. Ashok Mehta of Bangalore Aerosports for your purpose of flying. Their websites and contact info is given on my website http://www.anuragjain.com/aviation.html These are the right people in Bangalore for instructions in flying. You can cite my reference also, if u wish. And u can of course contact me while u r in Bangalore.

Best of luck.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q#7 

Hey Anurag

I was hunting the whole web down to show a couple of my friends "beautiful Dandeli" when I strayed straight into your album. Felt I was intruding on your private space but the photos of Dandeli you have posted are awesome and the best I have seen so far.

Great job

XYZ

From: Anurag Jain To: XYZ Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 

Hi XYZ:

Thanks for the comments on my website. Dont worry about intrusion. I have put it on the web for people to see. So u have been to Dandeli!! Wonderful place this! Planning to go again or your friends planning to go? I can also suggest a closeby place (60 kms), if u r in bangalore, called Kanwa Reservoir where I have been this Sunday only. U can see the pics at:

http://www.anuragjain.com/cgi-bin/i/PhotoAlbum/At_Kanwa_reservoir.jpg

http://www.anuragjain.com/cgi-bin/i/PhotoAlbum/Kanwa_reservoir_-_all_in.jpg

http://www.anuragjain.com/cgi-bin/i/PhotoAlbum/Kanwa_reservoir_-_the_beauty.jpg

Anurag

XYZ wrote:

Hi Anurag

I am from a place near Dandeli and was describing Dandeli to my friends. I guess I went a bit overboard and they got a bit skeptical that so beautiful a place could exist, so the web search. Your photos helped to convince them.

Thanks for the tip on Kanwa, looks good but I don't stay in Bangalore, though I did before. I will keep it in mind when I am around the area. If you have not already seen these places, they are worth a check, Hogankall falls, 120 kms i think on Bangalore-Madras highway (This place is too good and has some cool camping and rafting spots)and Mekhadhatu about 90 kms somewhere after Kengeri( this is good for rock climbing)

Cheers XYZ
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q#8 

Mohan, Saravana wrote: 

Hi Anurag I chanced upon ur site when i was searching for some information on the Jakkur flying club , you have a pretty neat site, with all that information. Can u please help me out, does JFC have a website where i can view the services they offer . Basically i am interested in knowing the Microlite rides they are offering , and how much are they charging.

Thanks.

Ans#8 

Hi Mohan:

Nice to hear from u..

To the best of my knowledge, JFC dont have a website. U can contact Agni aerosports though, who offer joyrides at JFC. it generally costs 500 Rs for microlite ride and 350 for glider. 

u can talk to Mr. Suban, Manager, Agni Aero Sports -Tel no. 8560060. Details of some organizations are given on my website(www.anuragjain.com/aviation.html). Or maybe u can contact bangalore aerosports http://www.bangaloreaerosports.com/

Best wishes...

Anurag
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q#9 

"Kapil Mittal (ECI)"  wrote: 

Hi Anurag

Got ur reference from ur website (got a link on google while surfing for Binsar). I understand u have been to Binsar. I plan to go to binsar too on the weekend(29 sep), I appreciate ur feedback on Binsar.

Particularly I am looking for info on accomodation (KVMN rest house - but hows it?? I understand there is no electricity etc.) Also any suggestions on other near by places I can trek to. Any good encounters with wildlife etc. I plan to be there for 3-4 days.

Thanking u in advance.

Kapil

Ans#9 

Hi Kapil:

Nice to hear from you. Yeah, I have been to Binsar and I just LOVED the place. Its one of the best places I have been to. But then weather plays a big role. It was cloudy but no rain when I went to Binsar. A sunny day might not be so good in Binsar. Its a wonderful place. Very plush green and relatively unexploited. U can c the Himalayan peaks from there.

U can stay in KMVN guest house. But it has limited capacity. And there's no elecricity (3 years back at least). But thats not a problem, everyone goes to sleep by 8-9pm :) And that is the only place at the top. So u better maybe check with KMVN first for booking.

I did not see any wildlife there myself but my friends did see a bear and clicked it also. Also, when I woke up after an overnite stay, the mess people said there were sounds of lion last nite!

U can trek to so many places nearby: Patalganga, Jageshwar etc. Its a beautiful region!!

Also see http://www.binsarvalley.com/

Best of luck!!!

Anurag

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q#10 

Sucehta Potnis wrote: 

Hi Anurag,

I happened to see your web-site and loved some of the pix of Dandeli.

I am working on a travel portal and wondered whether you would permit me to use some of them? I of course would be happy to credit them to you.

Do let me know what you think,

best regards,

Sucheta Potnis

Ans#10 

Hi Sucheta:

Please go ahead and use them. And let me know about your portal and also when the pics are posted.

Anurag
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An article pointer

Dear Anurag

This page has been sent to you by Anil

Please click on the link below to see the contents of the page.

http://www.indiaprofile.com/transportation/railways/charmingway.htm

Message : Hey Anurag,This is about the lil train I was talking about. You must try it next time, its a link to train no 6277/6227, (0ne of those numbers is correct) called the bangalore shimgoa town express, which leaves Blr at 11pm and reaches shimoga at 5 am, then the link train leavs at 6 and reaches talguppa at 9 am FromIndiaprofile Team

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q#11 

From: Ranganath Ramachandra 

Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2002 12:21 PM 

Subject: need info about bheemeshwari etc

hi,

i came across your site when i was looking for some information about bheemeshwari and surrounding areas for a trek. your site is nicely built, quite informative and hence helpful.

i plan to trek with a few friends in this route, perhaps from mekedatu to muththaththi along the riverside, for 2 days and a night in between. however there are apprehensions that the forest department and jungle lodges may not let us trek through some parts of the route. would you be able to provide any information regarding this ? also any information about where we can stop for the night would be very helpful.

thanks and regards, ranga

Ans#11 

Hi RR:

Thanks a lot for the mail and nice comments. 

However I never undertook the trek that you are planning for. We went for a day picnic kinda thing at Muttati. We did sleep in the nite there but that was at the base camp only. We did a small trek along the river and also up the hilll but that was all in day time and also it was a return trek. So we were generally trekking around Muttati to come back to base camp only, which was a forest deptt's enclosed kinda area at Muttati village. We pitched the tents and slept there in that area near village only.

Hope it helps in anyway. :) All the best.

Anurag

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q#12 

-----Original Message-----
From: senthil sundaram
Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2003 2:23 PM
Subject: reg traveling to tumkur

Hi,

I saw your website...your travels seem interesting.

I am planning to travel to Shivaganga, Devarayanadurga, Namada Chilume, Tumkur
this weekend.

Want to know from you .. how long it took you from Bangalore to Tumkur. Should
I take care of anything else

Senthil

Ans#12 

Hi Senthil:

Nice to hear from you. I think I had started from Bangalore at 0800 hrs and reached Tumkur only by 1430 or so, because on the way I went to Shivaganga and Devarayana Durga. A few things you might want to take care of:

1) Water bottle/Soft drink bottles/beer bottles.
2) If you are on mobike (motorcycle), be aware that Devarayan Durga is kinda isolated place. Hence in case of a tyre flat, u might be stranded.
3) In case u want to stay at Chilume sanctuary, u'll have to book it from Bangalore only. U won't get the accomodation once you are there.

Thats pretty much it. All the best!

Anurag

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q#13 

Hi, I have got the address from ur site and pleased to see the travel decription for south India jain Pilgrimage tour. I will also go with my parents on 18th of this month to these places. I just want to enquire that ***only karkal and shravan bel gola are the only place where there is a hill. 

***If I go by bus to dharmasthal is any transport mechanism (taxi type) which covers venur,moodbidri,karkal and drop us at dharmasthal. 

***how is the transport mechanism?? Is all these places well connected by bus?? 

***Is Jain food available at all places. Actually my parents does not eat onion,garlic,....... Please answer above question if you know about them. 

Thanks for ur help in advance. Regards,

Abhishek

Ans#13 

Hi Abhishek:

Nice to hear from u. Answers:
1) yeah only these places are hills.
2) Not sure about taxi availability from Dharmsthala, but my guess is it should be available as Dharmasthala is a big tourist place (otherwise very small geographically).
3) These places are well connected by KSRTC buses. In 1998, I travelled alone by buses on almost all these places. 
4) Jain food is available at major places like Shravanbelgola (they have one facility in dharamshala itself for visitors and also paid shops). Even in other places, though I am not sure of Jain food, clean vegetarian food is available. If you are too concerned, what u can do is, u can get rotis and food packed from Sravanbelgola for your parents for further journey etc. Thats what we also did for my parents.

Have a nice tour!!

Best wishes,

Anurag Jain

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q#14 a 

Subject: gliding in Bangalore

Hi

as a flying entu was just going thru the google spit out for 'home made parachute' and the like when i dropped at ur site. Great effort for your passion. I was damn impressed with that.

so i am a computer engineer originally from Maharashtra but now in Bangalore for a couple of months. so was wondering of you cud let me get some schools or centres who can give me a course in paragliding. am really looking forward to go for some course in this.

please please mail me some of contact ids of such centres/ppl.

am sure u will mail back. bye 

Q#14 b

Sub: Hang Gliding opportunities in and around Bangalore

Hi Anurag,

Upon exploring aviation and aerosports related information in India, I came across your site. I do admit that it is a resourceful site. 

I want to try hang-gliding and would like to know if there are any hang-gliding centers in and around Bangalore that you know of or can recommend.

Thanking you in advance.
 

Ans#14 

Hi :

If you are looking for paragliding (jumping from a height with a chute), there's a course in Ooty 
organized by Ozone India. Depending on the time of year, they run courses in Ooty, and Wayanad 
and Munnar in Kerala (5-day basic in Ooty is Rs 5,500, all-inclusive; 2/3-day intermediate, 
non-residential course in Nandi Hills is Rs 2,500). Contact: Vinay (Tel: 080-3448054, 3310441; 
e-mail: ozone@ozoneindia.com; www.ozoneindia.com)

best wishes,

Anurag Jain

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q#15 

Subject: Just saw your website


Hi Anurag,

I just came across your website while searching for information on microlight flying at Jakkur. My name is Pavan, I am an aerospace engineer from IIT-KGP, I live in Hyderabad. This weekend I was in Bangalore to meet up with some friends, and one of them -- MG, who was at IIMB (1998-2000) -- told me about Jakkur (which set me searching in the first place.)

Your website is really cool, lots of useful information. But I thought I would impose myself on you and get some advice from you. I have always been fascinated by flying and I want to learn microlight flying. I want to travel to Bangalore as often as possible (may be one extended weekend a month) and take lessons. Can you tell me how much it will cost for me to go solo and how long it will take? (I saw that you do have links to some flying schools, but I didn't find too many details on those sites.)

Sorry for the bother and thanks in anticipation!

Ans#15 

Hi :

Nice to hear from you. MG is my batchmate..

U can go for PPL (Private Pilot License). It usually takes 40 hrs of flying. Total cost should be arnd 2 lacs. And u can buy a microlite for approx 17 lacs, a glider for 9 lacs. U can contact Bangalore Aersoprts or Agni Aerosports. My advice is call them up and talk to them. U can give my reference if u like. Mailing u a mail from Bangalore Aerosports. Hope it'll clarify doubts:

-----Original Message-----
From: Bangalore Aerosports [mailto:amehta@bangaloreaerosports.com]
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2001 5:15 PM
To: Anurag Jain
Subject: Re: inquiry

Dear Anurag,

I would like to thank you for showing so much interest in Flying. This is how I go about trg. I would request that you first come over to Jakkur Aerodrome and have an air experience for about 15 minutes. Once you have seen the aircraft that I would train on and met me in person you could decide to join lessons Typically you would enroll for a 10 hr capsule. At the end of 10 hrs of flying I would be in a position to decide if you can fly solo as well. The DGCA(Director General Civil Aviation) presently is trying to hand ove licensing to an association of pilots, hence we all wait to hear from them. I charge Rs 4000/- a n hour for flying and includes all the time I spend on the ground to train you, besides 10 hrs of flyinf time. Till date I have trained 8 individuals to fly on their own. I am available on all weekdays, morning and evening, at the jakkur aerodrome and on all weekends at my farm, 50 kms North East of Bangalore. If you are keen to fly this weekend please confirm the same on 98452 13374, 3636413 or with my wife Audrey 2290790 or 98451 62501. Vinitha or Vinay, may answer the calls at times. All of us fly!! Cheers! Ashok

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Best wishes,
Anurag Jain

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q#16 

Hi Anurag,
I came across your site while I was looking for Aerosports camps in Bangalore. I am from B'lore and it's a shame that I've never been to any of these places. I went through all the Aerosports links on your website. Looks like AGNI and Bangalore Aerosports are the best camps.

I'd be very grateful if you can recommend a place for Skydiving and Parasailing. I've heard there's one at Nandi Hills too. Have you heard about it?

Thanks and regards,

Ans#16 

Hi:

Nice to hear from you. For parasailing (with jeep) or paragliding (jumping off the cliff) at Nandi Hills, you can contact Bangalore Aerosports or Agni Aerosports. Yeah, I have done paragliding (jumping off the cliff) at Nandi Hills.

For skydiving, contact Ozone. The charges should be around 14-15K for a jump. They do it at Mysore.

All the contact info/links is given at my site.

Best wishes,

Anurag Jain

Contact me

Back to home page

 Last updated: July 08, 2004

Created: July 02, 2001