The Students’ Council of the College organized a study tour for the students of the College from 3rd to 13th December 2022 in collaboration with Ashtavinayak Travels. The destination of the tour was Amritsar, Manali, Shimla and Chandigarh. 71 students participated in the tour and were escorted by 6 staff members.
The journey began from Margao Railway Station on the 4th December at 1:30 AM when the group left for Chandigarh by 12217 Chandigarh Sampark Kranti Express. Once the group arrived at the Chandigarh railway station at 11AM, they immediately proceeded for Amritsar on a 6 hours journey by bus, reached Amritsar at 6:15 PM, checked in to the hotel Narula Aurrum, and proceeded to visit the mesmerizing and famous Golden Temple after dinner. The following day, the group visited the Jallianwala Bagh and the Golden Temple again, after which they explored the local Amritsari market where they shopped and relished local cuisine. Later that afternoon, the group visited the Wagah border where they witnessed the rage, joy and patriotic spirit expressed by the Indian soldiers through their March drill. The same night, soon after the dinner, they left for an overnight Journey for Manali by bus. The following morning, after a stop for breakfast at a local restaurant in Manali, the group checked into Hotel Sandhya Resorts. On the way to the hotel, they stopped at a factory manufacturing woolen clothes and observed the process carefully from an educational perspective. After having lunch, the group left for the first site visit at the destination, the Hadimba Temple and the famous Tibet monasteries, and later they spent time shopping in the local markets of Manali.
The next day i.e. on 8th December morning, the group visited Vasisth Kund and left for Snowpoint. They arrived at the most exciting destination of the tour ‘the Snow Point’ at Solang Valley for snow excursion at 12 PM in the afternoon. All the students enjoyed to their fullest in the snow, making snowmen, playing snow fights, sliding on the slippery snow mountains and enjoyed hot meal in the coldest weather (-3°C). This day marked as ‘a day to be remembered for a lifetime indeed!’ in the lives of these students. The night ended with a bonfire and warm dinner. On 9th December, the group left for Shimla by bus. They enjoyed the scenic beauty of Nature on their journey and finally checked into hotel Asia the Dawn. The next day, they visited famous Ridge of Shimla, which was a spectacular view, they also explored the Lakkad Bazaar and the famous Jhaku Temple which is situated on the Jakhu hill, Shimla’s highest peak where they saw the 108 feet tall idol of Lord Hanuman which is usually surrounded by many monkeys. The group left for Chandigarh the same evening by bus which was a 3-4 hours journey. The group reached Hotel Swan in Chandigarh and enjoyed the DJ night. On 11th morning, the group visited the Rock Gardens and Sukhna lake to see the beautiful sculptures made out of pottery, broken pipes and many other waste items. They saw the Doll Museum where dolls are made of out waste cloth, small stones, broken tile pieces, broken bangles etc. They also went shopping in Sector 22 Shastri Market and the Elante Mall as well. They left for their journey back to Goa via Sampark Kranti express at 2 AM from Chandigarh. These 10 days have definitely given each member of the group priceless memories to be cherished for a lifetime. The students appreciated the organizers and expressed how the trip will always be one of the best trips of their lives, where friends turned into family!
