Ming Tombs

50 kilometers northwest from Beijing City lies the Ming Tombs - the general name given to the mausoleums of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). The mausoleums have been perfectly preserved, as has the necropolis of each of the many emperors. Because of its long history, palatial and integrated architecture, the site has a high cultural and historic value. The layout and arrangement of all thirteen mausoleums are very similar but vary in size as well as in the complexity of their structures.Of the 16 emperors who ruled China during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), 13 are buried in a box canyon at the southern foot of Tianshou Shan (hence the Chinese name Shisan Ling, the 13 Tombs). The first emperor of the Ming, Hongwu, is entombed in Xiao Ling, near Nanjing. The location of the second emperor's tomb is uncertain, while the unfilial seventh emperor, who usurped the throne after his brother was taken by the Mongols, was buried near the Summer Palace among the graves of concubines. Despite these omissions, this is the most extensive burial complex of any Chinese dynasty. A red gate sealed off the valley, guards were posted, and no one, not even the emperor, could ride a horse on these grounds. The site was chosen by the Yongle emperor, who also oversaw the construction of the Forbidden City. Protected from the bitter northern winds by a mountain range, the tombs are constructed in conventional fashion, with memorial halls at the front and burial chambers to the rear.

It was originally built only as Changling, the tomb of Emperor Zhu Di and his empresses. This is the most magnificent of the tombs. The succeeding twelve emperors had their tombs built around Changling. Only the Changling and Dingling tombs are open to the public. Changling, the chief of the Ming Tombs, is the largest in scale and is completely preserved. The total internal area of the main building is 1956 square meters. There are 32 huge posts, and the largest measures about 14 meters in height.It inhumes Emperor Zhudi, the fourth son of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. This is unique as it is the only huge palace made of camphor wood. It covers about 1956 square meters. The ceiling is colorfully painted and supported by sixteen solid camphor posts. The floor was decorated with gold bricks. Unlike Changling, Dingling is under ground and about 27 meters deep. It is the mausoleum of Emperor Zhu Yijun, the thirteenth emperor who occupied the throne the longest during the Ming Dynasty, and his two empresses. The main features are the Stone Bridge, Soul Tower, Baocheng and the Underground Place, which was unearthed between 1956 and 1958. The entire palace is made of stone. The Soul Tower is symbolic of the whole of Dingling and it forms the entrance to the underground chambers. The yellow glazed tiles; eaves, archway, rafters and columns are all sculptured from stone, and colorfully painted. The entire construction is stable and beautiful! Served by three stone doors, it is divided into three Halls consisting of five high palaces - the front, the middle, the rear, the left and the right palaces. The Gate of the Tomb, the Gate of Eminent Favor and the Lingxing Gate all have the same structural form. The front hall, considered the square of the Palace, has no building within it. No special artifacts remain in either the left and right palaces that are about 7 meters high, six meters wide, and 26 meters long. However, each has a centrally placed white marble coffin bed, the surface of which is covered with gold bricks. On each bed there is a square hole filled with loess. This is the so-called "Gold Well". A paved path leads to the central hall where there are three white marble thrones. Incense, candles and flowers were set in front of the thrones. Before each of them, there are glazed 'Five Offerings' and a blue china jar that would have been filled with sesame oil to be used for lamps. The rear hall is the main and biggest part of the Palace. The coffins of Emperor Zhu Yijun and his two empresses are in this palace. There are also some precious items displayed with these coffins; among them is the gold imperial crown, one of the world's most rare treasures.

Getting There --
Ling also come here, visiting the spirit way and one of the tombs at blinding speed, but if you want time to explore some unrestored tombs (highly recommended), you'll have to make a separate trip. The most comfortable means of public transport is air-conditioned bus no. 845 from the Chegong Zhuang (202) metro stop (a 5-min. walk north of exit B) to Zhengfa Daxue in Changping (daily, about every 15 min.; 1 1/2-hr. trip; ¥9/$1.20/60p), then cross the street and take bus no. 314 to the Nan Xin Cun stop (daily The valley is just off the freeway that goes to Ba Da Ling. Many Chinese bus tours to Ba Da, about every 20 min.; 15-min. trip; ¥1/15¢/10p), which is adjacent to the entrance to the spirit way. From there, you can continue north to either Ding Ling Daokou to visit Ding Ling, a further 2km (1 1/4-mile) walk to the west, or on to the terminus at Chang Ling. It is also possible to take the green-and-white zhi (express) version of bus no. 919 to Zhengfa Daxue from Desheng Men (daily, about every 30 min.; 1-hr. trip; ¥9/$1.20/60p). A taxi hired in Beijing should cost less than ¥400 ($53/£27).

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Ajanta caves; the world heritage site

A two and half hour drive from Aurangabad takes you to the world heritage site of Ajanta. Although it is nearer to the cities of Jalgaon and Buldhana, Ajanta caves are better approached from Aurangabad. The caves are built in a horseshoe shaped curve of the steep rocky gorge that rises above the river Waghore. These rock hewn caves, still glowing in their own natural colours, are the finest achievements of the Buddhist monks who arrived here in 2nd century B.C. and reflect the zenith of ancient Indian art and architecture. Though most were carved in the first 400 years span, but the work continued till 7th century A.D. The caves were suddenly abandoned, most probably to the nearby Ellora caves. They remained unknown and forgotten for centuries, until, in 1819, soldiers from a British hunting party found them, accidentally.
The exquisite paintings on the walls of the caves and some sculptures depict the development in Buddhism, over the span of eight centuries. The central theme of the frescoes remain the life and times of Buddha. Then there are descriptive Jataka tales, when Buddha assumed forms of animals on the earth in his previous births. There are lions, elephants, monkeys, peacocks and geese with human forms of 'Yakshas', 'Kinneras' (half human and half bird) 'Gandharvas' (divine musicians), 'Apsaras' (heavenly dancers), which were of concern to the people of that time. All of them decorated with intricacy. Their half-closed eyes giving an air of meditation.
The most important and better preserved caves are cave numbers 1, 2, 16, 17 and 19.

Cave 1:
The doorway has the most seen Ajanta frescoes of Padmapani and Vajrapani; celestial figures holding Lotus and Thunder bolt respectively in their hands. A court scene, from the Mahajanaka Jataka is depicted here. The Ummaga Jataka and the Champeya Jataka are shown in this cave. Interesting in these frescoes is the head gear of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshwara and the ornaments, clothes hairstyles and the purses carried by the womenfolk. They are drawn and coloured with minute intricacy showing the caliber of the artisans.

Cave 2:
In cave number 2 Buddhist icons were sculpted according to a set of codified rules that used symbolic hand gestures and motifs such as the wheel, the deer, the throne and sacred Bodhi tree. Each represents a stage of Buddha's life. The ceiling and wall paintings illustrate events associated with Buddha's birth including Maya, Buddha's mother. There are many paintings in this cave where the human figures are dressed differently than those of the others. Others are the tales from the Vidhurpandita Jataka.

Cave 16:
In between cave number 2 and 16 are many caves depicting the miracle of Sravasti. A special painting known as the “dying princess” adorns one wall of the cave. This shows Sundari, the wife of Buddha’s half-brother, dying when she is told that her husband was going to become a monk. There are many female attendants besides her, one being a nurse. Astonishingly enough, the nurse is shown wearing the same uniform as of today.

Cave 17:
Stories from the Vishvantara Jataka and the Hamsa Jataka can be found here. One fresco shows Buddha preaching, with his right hand raised and palm facing the viewer, in posture of blessing. Buddha is shown seated in Padmasana- the lotus pose of meditation and is often shown with his hair tied in a topknot surrounded by a halo of light, representing nirvana or enlightenment. Another touching fresco is depicted in this cave when Buddha came back to Kapilavastu after enlightenment. He is shown with his wife Yashodhara and son Rahul. Here the figure of Buddha is tall and his wife and son look like dwarfs in front of him, depicting his knowledge and prominence.
Cave 19:
Just like the caves in Ellora, all the caves in Ajanta are Monolithic and carved from top to bottom. This cave carries huge Stupa structure with Buddha seated in it and celestial figures flying over it.

Cave 26:
Last of the caves which is intricately decorated and carved. The main sculpture here is that of the sleeping Buddha. It is the legend of his Mahanirvana; i.e. his death. While normal humans are seen mourning below, the celestial figures in the heaven are seen rejoicing.
Ajanta is being restored with the same natural colours that were used, where they have been faded.

North Bengal Adventure Tours

The Hills, the jungle and the serene beauty of undulating tea gardens spread to the horizon. From the low lying agricultural fields to the High alpine Mountains of Sandakphu. The Red Panda, the Gaur, the leopards, the Rhinos and an innumerable variety of avifauna all around. From the Mangos of Malda to the Oranges of Kalimpong Hills. The bio diversity of North Bengal is unmatched anywhere. The people of North Bengal are also a varied lot. The tea gardens brought in Tribals from Bengal and Bihar in search of Job. The hill stations attracted people from neighboring Nepal, and the partition of 1947 brought in Hordes of Bengalis from Bangladesh. Along with the local inhabitants known as the Rajbansis, this made a heady mix of culture and traditions.

Trekking
Trekking is the best option to reach many of the destinations of north-bengal. naturebeyond is highly experienced in organising treks for small as well as large groups of Indian and foreign guests.The most common trek is to Sandakphu. The trek passes through the Singalila range (habitat of red panda). Sandakphu is the highest point in West Bengal and a unique place from where one can view both the Kanchenjunga and the Everest range of mountains simultaneously.

There are a large number of other options some of which are briefed below.

Sewak-Loleygaon trek - A low altitude trek in the Kalimpong Himalaya that begins on the bank of River Tista and ends at the famous tourist destination of Loleygaon.
Neora Valley trek - The Neora valley national park is famous for its virgin forests. Trekking inside the core area of the forest is restricted. The periphery of the forest also makes interesting trek. One entry point is Lava near Kalimpong. The other major entry points are Samsing and Todey.
Darjeeling-Tista - The Hill cart road connecting the Hills with plains and the Sikkim-Bengal highway, run almost parallal to one another. At any point the distance between the two arterial roads of the hills is about 8-15 km. The patch of hills provides some of the best treks.
West Dooars treks - There are a number of trek possibilities in this region including trek to Rupam valley in Bhutan, trek to Buxa fort and suntalekhola, trek in the Bhutanghat region, trek in the moraghat or chilapata forests etc.

Mountain Biking
Mountain Biking is the best way to see the most exotic sights of the Himalaya such as ancient trade routes of Trans-Himalayan traders and the mystifying rural life of the hilly towns and villages. Infact, biking and hiking make the best adventure options to witness the timeless cultural celebrations and life styles of the hill people as well as the rich bio-diversity of the Himalayan heritage.You do not require any special permit traveling within North-Bengal. But if you are an International tourist and have plans to move onward to Sikkim or Bhutan, you will need permits for that, naturebeyond also organizes these permits for its guests on request.

Rafting in Tista
White water rafting in Tista was introduced in Darjeeling hills more than a decade earlier and has gained tremendous popularity since then. Several private organisations along with DGHC tourism have set up rafting facilities.River Tista is graded at IV on an international scale. With a series of rapids with varying intensity and character, Tista extends a challenging invitation to the enthusiasts.

Jungle Tour in North-Bengal
North-Bengal is endowed with some of the richest natural forests in India. The forests of the region include Tropical Moist Deciduous, Himalayan Moist Temperate, Himalayan Dry Temperate, Tropical Semi Evergreen, Tropical Dry Deciduous, Subtropical Broadleaved Hill, Subtropical Pine forests. West Bengal has forest cover of 1.19 million ha, much of which is in the Darjeeling and Dooars region of North-Bengal. There is a tiger reserve in the region known as Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR), wild life sanctuaries at Jaldapara and Mahananda, National parks at Gorumara, Neora Valley and Singalila.With such wide and varied forest cover, the region is also home to a large variety of fauna. The animals in the forest include Rhino, Tiger, Leopard, different varieties of Deer, Gaur, Monkey, Bear, the Himalayan red panda and countless other species and subspecies of birds, reptiles and animals.

Camping
The camps offer a tremendous opportunity to know nature first hand, to understand the unique natural eco-systems of North Bengal, to know about the environmental problems and finally to participate actively in programs launched to combat such problems.

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