SNRPersonal travel journal
Amber Fort overlooking Maota Lake in Jaipur, Rajasthan, at sunset

Rajasthan & Kashmir

I travel to read the stories places leave behind.

I’m Suresh Nikhil Reddy. I love discovering new places and learning the history and culture that make each one unforgettable.

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Amer Fort · Jaipur, Rajasthan

01 · Rajasthan

Stone, sand & stories

Six places, many centuries
Amber Fort overlooking Maota Lake near Jaipur in warm evening light
01

A planned city, founded 1727

Jaipur

Rose-coloured streets, astronomical instruments, and a craft tradition that still fills the old city.

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Golden ramparts and old city buildings of Jaisalmer Fort in morning light
02

A desert stronghold, founded 1156

Jaisalmer Fort

Golden stone, intricate havelis, and narrow lanes where a historic fort remains part of daily life.

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Mehrangarh Fort standing above the blue houses of Jodhpur
03

A Rathore citadel begun in 1459

Mehrangarh & Jodhpur

A formidable hilltop fort, blue-washed neighbourhoods, and the enduring courtly culture of Marwar.

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Udaipur City Palace and Lake Pichola glowing at dusk
04

The Mewar capital founded in 1559

Udaipur

Lakefront palaces, miniature paintings, and a city shaped by the diplomacy and artistry of Mewar.

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Chittorgarh Fort walls, temples, and victory tower above a reservoir
05

A Rajput capital across many centuries

Chittorgarh Fort

Vast ramparts, commemorative towers, and sacred places shaped by power, devotion, and memory.

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Pushkar Lake, temple spires, and curved ghats at sunrise
06

A sacred lake town of pilgrimage and exchange

Pushkar

Temple steps, desert traditions, and a lakeside town where ritual and everyday life share the same space.

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A terraced Mughal garden in Srinagar framed by chinar trees and Himalayan mountains
Shalimar Bagh · Srinagar, Kashmir

02 · Kashmir

Gardens, stone & mountain air

Six stories from a valley of many histories
A terraced Mughal garden in Srinagar with water channels, chinar trees, and mountains
01

Terraced gardens shaped in the Mughal period

Srinagar’s Mughal Gardens

Water channels, chinar shade, and an architectural conversation with Dal Lake and the surrounding valley.

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A traditional shikara on Dal Lake with willows, a houseboat, and mountains
02

A living landscape on Srinagar’s waters

Dal Lake

Shikaras, floating gardens, carved houseboats, and a distinctive culture shaped by life on the water.

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Wooden pillars, courtyard, and spired architecture of Jamia Masjid in Srinagar
03

A congregational mosque established in the fourteenth century

Jamia Masjid, Srinagar

Towering deodar pillars, a peaceful courtyard, and an architectural language unmistakably rooted in Kashmir.

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The central shrine and stone colonnade of Martand Sun Temple beneath mountain peaks
04

An eighth-century temple near Anantnag

Martand Sun Temple

A monumental stone courtyard whose broken colonnades still frame the mountains and the open sky.

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Carved stone pillars and early medieval temple ruins at Awantipora in Kashmir
05

Royal foundations of the ninth century

Awantipora Temples

Weathered carvings and quiet ruins recalling the vision of Avantivarman and Kashmir’s Utpala period.

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Verinag's clear octagonal spring, stone pavilion, and autumn chinar trees
06

A spring and garden renewed under Jahangir

Verinag Spring

Clear water, an octagonal stone basin, and a quiet meeting of Mughal design and natural abundance.

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A little about me

Curious about every place’s past.

I’m Suresh Nikhil Reddy. I travel to experience a place for myself, then look closer at the histories, traditions, and everyday details that give it meaning. This journal gathers my notes from twelve places across Rajasthan and Kashmir.