aq

Namdapha National Park

2008-07-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

hey guys, did a long solo trip to the great Namdapha in Arunachal Pradesh.... just to get there from pune, it took me 4 nights.... ofcourse i didnt fly coz i cant afford to.... i took d howrah express from pune to kolkata.... from there on i boarded the disgusting train to guwahati. on reaching guwahati i headed straight to the additional commissioner's office to get my ILP for Arunachal. n hey!!! they told me that tourist permits for changlang and tirap districts were banned!!! i was speechless, i had confirmed from Arunachal Bhavan, Delhi and they hadn't warned me of any such development. what was i supposed to do... i had my train bookings from guwahati. i just asked for another office at the border n pressed ahead to tinsukia.... went to d office to get the ilp at mohanbari, but it was closed!!! some festival in assam.... went to the additinal comissioner's place n urged him to write a private letter for me.... also contacted my guy in Miao, the gateway town to Namdapha to let d security people know that im unharmful!! was cleared at d gate n at last landed in Miao... went to Deban, the place where the frh is located.... awesome!!! observed barking deer, hoolock gibbons, assamese macaque, a rare snake called the 'laotian wolfsnake' and many flying wonders... grey-backed shrike, scarlet minivet, uild doves, indian roller, spangled drongo, orange bellied leafbird, lineated barbett, red- vented bulbul, common buzzard n the awesome site of 50 - 60 wreathed hornbills at a time!!!!! no local has seen so many at a single place at one time!!!! also observed some butterflies - green bottle, map, grass yellow, greater orange tip, common mormon, southern birdwing.... jus have a look at d snaps.... cheers!!! n hey while trekking back to Miao, we had to take a long detour coz of a mammoth landslide.... we went down to the river n climbed back from a waterfall!!!! as the undergrowth is so dense that one cannot just walk anywhere.... on that waterfall we found a carcass of a barking deer.... looking at d body my guide n gud frnd, japang pansa, thought its a day old n looks like a tiger kill!!! being only a day old means that the tiger can be in vicinity..... i was thrilled, excited and nothing to hide about even scared!!!! japang had a small knife n i a stick!! moving carefully we came across the skull in a shaded place, that may have been used to sleep.... we returned alive!!!!

about us :-)

2007-07-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

oh... at last i get some space to write about ourselves :-) here i go again!!! AQ is basically sandeep, ashi, guru n parth... n all four of us try to make a perfect team but are always ridden with imperfections like the most of us!!! i am very cranky, they say, about my travel books n my laptop... guru has even started writing '101 protocols to handle MY BHAIYA'S laptop'. the book is being published by harper-collins n is sure to be a bestseller... i am also a keen photographer n all da pics on the blog are taken from my N70, but if u guys are kind enuf to join our trips i'll be able to buy myself a cannon!!! ashi has an infectious smile wid her bunny teeth peeping out!! she is a gud upcoming artist, n all da same :-) suppppperrrrr possessive of her colors n brushes... she makes me travel all da way to chandigarh from manali to watch her fav harry potter flick!!! n yes she is very passionate about environment n wildlife conservation, as a result of which we are in the process of registering a NGO for da purpose... parth... oh what do i say about this wholesome nut!!! he is nuts for wines n gud food... n that makes him think that all gud food shud also contain some wine... ashi prepared a chocolate cake n parth poured some wine n it was all done!!! we had a hard time deciding whether it was a cake, a misattempted brownie, chocolate fudge or a halwai's chocolate mithai!!! or maybe a rocky cake to go wid some awesome rock climbing!!! he even presents everybody on every occasion wid a bottle of wine, even if the person hates it... so what?? he opens da bottle n gulps down to da last drop, after all he's celebrating for the ocassion n da person!!! so dont be surprised if parth serves u on one of our treks a wine naan after all he's da cook n we are so committed to adventure n raising ur adventure quotient!!! n yes even he is a keen photographer, only that his pics are full of electric poles wid some landscape behind, train window grills wid some landscape behind again... n even loads of electric wires wid some landscape behind once more!!! pls try to see da landscape behind... guru is all about 'having none but striving to make some' muscles!!! he comes after an hour at gym hoping to look like mr.rambo in da mirror n is always disappointed at finding himself :-( he wants to be a car designer only dat in the interview, when he was asked to sketch something he ended up drawing a hut!!! wid maybe a river flowing from the twin mountains behind n sun setting wid scale drawn rays!!! but he wudn't accept da river n da mountains n da sun but only da hut :-)

but even after all these imperfections n humanly stupid endeavours, i invite you to join us on our trips cos though we all are different... we share one common passion for real adventure n initiating exploration n conservation... we dont take you on feeble adventures after promising something else. when it's wid us its 'hard, back to basics' experience n we can tell u one thing for sure... ur muscles n bones wont stop hurting soon :-)

p.s. wid us u'll learn to experience adventure in da smallest of things... keep thinking...

2007-06-13T10:22:00.000-07:00

some glimpses of our adventures!!!

fixed departures summer - 2008

2007-03-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

FIXED DEPARTURES SUMMER – 2008

1. Trek from Naggar to Malana over Chanderkhani Pass
7 days ex Manali

8APRIL – 14 APRIL
20 APRIL – 26 APRIL
3 NOV – 9 NOV

2. Chandra Valley Trek
9 days ex Manali

21 MAY – 29 MAY

3. Ladakh Overlanding
11 days ex Manali

21 MAY – 1 JUNE
7 JULY – 17 JULY
5 AUG – 15 AUG

4. Trek to Bhrigu Lake and Beas Kund
11 days ex Manali

7 MAY – 17 MAY
5 MAY – 15 MAY
6 OCT – 16 OCT

5. Spiti Left Bank Trek
14 days ex Manali

14 JUNE – 27 JUNE
12 SEP – 25 SEP

6. Markha Valley Trek (Ladakh)
15 days ex Manali

20 JUNE – 4 JULY

7. Padum to Darcha Trek (Zanskar trek)
14 days ex Manali

25 AUG – 7 SEP

8. Pin Parvati Pass Trek
15 days ex Manali

9 JULY – 23 JULY

9. Hampta Pass Trek
7 days ex Manali

5 JUNE – 11 JUNE

10. Expedition to Friendship Peak
14 days ex Manali

3 AUG – 16 AUG

11. Valley of Flowers Trek (Uttarakhand)
10 days ex Delhi

25 JULY – 3 AUG

12. Ruinsara Tal and Har-ki-Dun Trek (Uttarakhand)
16 days ex Delhi

11 SEP – 26 SEP

13. Kalihani Pass Trek
10 days ex Manali

5 JUNE – 14 JUNE
21 OCT – 30 OCT

identify the knowmad genes in you!

2007-03-19T10:47:00.002-07:00

You may be a seasoned traveller or may have travelled little. How many miles have been clocked hardly matters. What does is, how well you understand travel, how well you know the regions you claim to have visited. How well can you experience the cities when you visit 10 in 10 days? ‘Sight-seeing’ is one thing and discovering another. The right way to travel helps discover not only geography but also its people and oneself. It opens a new window towards the outer and your inner world at the same time. Travelling with a sense of adventure and discovery is about exchanging ideas, believes and aspirations. So start discovering the world around and leave the conventional way for the meek hearted. Skip ‘sight-seeing tours’ and embrace adventure. Lot of time in our lives is dedicated towards developing our IQ. Its time you start working towards a great AQ i.e. Adventure Quotient.

Our team at ‘AQ’ will help you do the same. We work on developing your interest in explorations, adventure sports, expedition travel and the great wild outdoors. We help you identify the knowmad genes in you! Our young organisation consists of innovative and passionate people who have completely abandoned the urban life and surrendered to the call of the wild. Our team consists of no part-timers. Everyone here has only one job, to explore the veiled parts of the world and show you the same. We don’t offer adventures that we don’t enjoy ourselves. We are here to help you make the best of your break if you are willing to abandon the luxuries of air-conditioned room and take on the chills of adventure. We believe that a place and its people are inseparable and take pride in working with the local experts who know their land the best.

We are based in and operate from Manali, the adventure capital of India. We have our own properties in Manali and Solang Valley in Himachal Pradesh. We are well equipped to operate adventures, expeditions, from Himalaya in the north to rainforests of the north-east. We also have an amazing array of adventures lined up for Nepal and Bhutan. We operate fixed departures and customised adventures according to your interests and preferences. So whether you want to trek in the wilderness, raft on the mighty rivers, take a trans-Himalayan overlanding, camp in remote places, cycle up the jagged mountains or go biking, we can execute the best.

Join us on our amazing explorations or let us know of your dream adventure.