Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

I went to the Skagit tulip festival from Seattle in April 2009. It was an hour's drive and was pretty easy to get there. The tulips were still not in full bloom in some parts but what we got to see was absolutely beautiful. The tulip festival details can be found here on their official website.

The Story of Tulips:

Tulips were first discovered in Kazakhstan. There are about 35 species of Tulips that grow wild in Kazakhastan. There are over 3000 varieties and hybrids of Tulips found all across the world. When Kazakhstan was conquered by the Ottoman rulers, tulips traveled to Turkey. Eventually, it became the national flower of Turkey. From Turkey, it traveled to the Dutch land and there was a time when it was sold at the price of gold (1634-1637) in the Netherlands - it was the period called Tulip Mania. 

The other famous Tulip festival venues across the world are in the:

1. Netherland: Netherlands is called the Tulip Capital of the World and every year one of the biggest Tulip festivals is organized at the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens in Amsterdam. The Dutch celebrate January 15th as National Tulip Day.

2. India: The Srinagar Tulip Gardens in India is open to public visits around March-April every year.

3. USA: Skagit, Washington, and Holland, Michigan are two of the many places in the US that celebrate Tulip fests. 

4. Australia: The biggest Tulip festival in Australia is held around September / October at Teselaar, Victoria.

5. Turkey: Tulip festival is organized every year at Emigran Park, Istanbul

6. Canada: The Commissioner's Park in Ottawa holds the largest Tulip festival in the world.

7. Japan: There are many Tulip gardens across Japan. This blog has listed some of the best in Japan.

8. New Zealand: Eden Garden, Auckland, organizes one of the big Tulip fests in New Zealand

9. UK: Here is a list of Tulip gardens in the UK, many among them which hold the Tulip festival in April.

PINK TULIPS in Skagit

 

DAFFODILS in Skagit

Kapurthala And Patiala

Patiala Palace

The only Moorish (Moroccon style) mosque in India..the other Mosque of Moorish (Spanish style) is in Hyderabad.

Bazaar of Patiala

Courtyard Architecture

Entrance of Qila Mubarak 

Amidst a colorful, crowded bazaar of bangles and Punjabi jutties is the unassuming Qila Mubarak...on an ordinary day, you might just walk past it without knowing, what a treasure trove of history you might have just missed.

The Main entrance: Take that extra turn and you will be introduced to the Majestic Royal Palace of the Patiala rulers...

This mud and the baked brick fort has been listed among the endangered monuments of India, by the WMF, and a couple years back its restoration works were initiated.

Delhi to Patiala is about 5 hour drive. The nearest airport to Patiala is Chandigarh airport. This small laid-back city finds its name in the global charts because of the famous Patiala Peg.  Patiala is also famous for its handmade leather sandals (jutties), the Patiala salwar, the Patiala turban, the Patiala necklace, and the Patiala Maharajas, Bhupinder Singh being the most famous one. He led a lavish life and his opulent lifestyle makes the background for many stories.

The Patiala Peg was supposedly Maharaja Bhupinder Singh's brainchild as per one of the many stories associated with the origin of this peg of whisky. The giant peg of 120 ml, 4 times the standard 30 ml is a symbol of the extravagant hospitality of the Patiala rulers. A measure of the Patiala Peg is the distance between the little finger and the index finger when kept parallel. 

The Qila Mubarak was built as a Mud fortress by the founder of the Patiala Dynasty Baba Ala Singh. Later it was renovated and reconstructed in baked brick. It had been the main fort of the Patiala Rulers for over 100 years. This fort palace is a fine example of Sikh Courtyard Architecture. The various sections of the palace are flanked by courtyards but tied up by a huge terrace. An article on the fort.

The Kapurthala Mosque built by Maharaja Jagjit Singh of Kapurthala was inspired by the Kutubiyya Mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco and the Court of the lions of Alhambra in Grenada, Spain

Multifoil Arches and Muqarna-inspired design

Arcade with Tuscan style columns
and horseshoe arches

Horseshoe Arch

The Kapurthala mosque is an absolute must visit particularly those who have interest in architecture, since it is one of the two Moorish influenced architectural gems in India. It is about 2 kms away from the main City and has an easy access. 

We stayed at the Baradari Palace, A Nimrana heritage boutique hotel in Patiala and it took us about 3.5 hours (175kms) to reach the Mosque. It was definitely worth the journey. Kapurthala was one of the Princely States of India and was ruled by the Ahluwalia dynasty. The Maharajahs of Kapurthala were great art and architecture enthusiasts and many of the buildings here are evident of that. The Maharaja Jagatjit Singh Palace is Indo-French style, Elysee Palace is Indo-French style, and the Darbar Hall, Currently Kapurthala COurt is Indo-Saracenic Style. 

Other places of interests near Kapurthala are Kanjli wetlands, and Shalimar Gardens.

What is Moorish Architecture?

As the name suggests, Moorish Architecture is architecture style that was developed by the Moors. The Moors, derived from Ancient Mauri, were the Islamic inhabitants of the Maghreb region (North Africa), The region flanking the Iberian Peninsular, Southern Spain, Southern Portugal, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sicily, Malta to name a few.

Zellij tile work

Some Famous Examples of Moorish Architecture:

- Alhambra, Grenada Spain

- Great Mosque of Cordoba, Spain

- Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco

- Great Mosque of Kairouan, Tunisia

Distinct Charateristics of Moorish Architecture:

- Use of Arches - Multifoil, Ogee, Horseshoe, Lancet

- Voussoirs

- Ribbed vaults usually non-radial

- Courtyards and Riad gardens

- Arabesque motifs

- Muqarnas and honeycombed designs

- Crenallated arches and parapets

- Pyramid roofs

- Ribbed Domes

- Zellij (arabic) and Azulejo (spanish) tile work

Intricate geometrical arabesque motifs on ribbed dome. Also apparent in the pic are the crennalated multifoil arches

130 year old Darbar Hall, Kapurthala Court built in Indo-Saracenic Style

10 Days In Chamba and Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh

My interpretation of Khajjiar in Acrylic

Valleys of Himachal Pradesh

Districts of Himachal Pradesh

Trip destinations

Important landmarks of Chamba Valley. Please note that Mcleod Ganj and Dharamshala are in Kangra Valley. The Lower Himalayan range / Lesser Himalayan range / the Middle Himalayan range / the Himachal range passes through Chamba Valley. The Pir Panjal Range and Dhauladhar Range make up this stretch of the Himalayas. The highest peak of Pir Panjal is the Manimahesh Kailash Peak and the second highest pass of Pir Panjal is Chobia Pass

Day 1

Our ten-day trip commenced from Delhi. Our first destination was Khajjar, which is known as the Mini Switzerland of India. However, I did not find it any close to that. Honestly, it's kind of overrated and crowded. Himachal has other prettier less explored places. I personally feel this could have been skipped. We stayed there for a day.

Places of interest in Khajjiar

Mini Switzerland of Khajjiar, Khajjiar Lake, and Khajji Nag Temple

Day 3

On the third day, we headed for Hadsar via Chamba. 

Step farming or terrace farming is widely practiced in Chamba Valley

Places of interest in Chamba

The Confluence of the Ravi River and the Budhil River at Khadamukh on the way to Hadsar

Day 4

On the fourth day, we stayed in Hadsar.

Places of interest in Bharmour and Hadsar

Mahadev temple, Bharmour, a part of the Chaurasi (84) Temple Complex

There were around 84 big and small temples in the Chaurasi temple complex

The Changra Goats are famous for their cashmere wool - known as pashmina wool once woven. They are mostly found in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir 

Hadsar

Hadsar waterfall

Wild horse by the Dancho Khad River

A Chamurthi horse that was on the verge of extinction, Conservation efforts helped to save these rare breeds

A landslide on our way to Dalhousie

Day 5

On the fifth day, we headed for Dalhousie.

Places of interest in Dalhousie

A beautiful sunrise at Dalhousie

The Dhauladar Range seen from our hotel balcony

Dainkund Valley of Flowers

Pohlani mata mandir, Dainkund 

Kali temple at Dainkund

Dainkund means Witch Lake (Dain - witch, Kund - lake). The legend has it, that there was an evil witch who possessed the lake at Dain-kund preventing villagers from using its water. The villagers then built the Pohlani Mata mandir and prayed to her to protect and save them from the witch. The goddess, happy with the villagers, kills the witch and restores peace to the place which was then named Dainkund

The yellow-billed blue magpie is a common bird in this area

Day 8

On the eighth day, we started for Dharamshala.

Places of interest in Dharamshala and Mc.Leod Ganj

Day 10

On the tenth day, we headed back to Delhi with a very short break at the Golden Temple, Amritsar.

The beautiful scenic drive along the Ravi River