Delhiites head for the hills for extra-long weekend

New Delhi, April 4 (IANS) The capital's weekend travellers have packed their bags to flee the rising temperatures, work e-mails and Blackberry messages from bosses, thanks to two holidays lined up just before the weekend.

'With Mahavir Jayanti on Thursday and Good Friday, this weekend will be an extra long, 4-day weekend that calls for an outing,' an excited Shikha Mehta said.

The 24-year-old primary teacher has planned a relaxing trip to Mussoorie with her college friends. 'It has been a long time since we had such a chance. It will be a bash,' she said.

With the mercury rising rapidly, a lot of weekend travelers have planned for Himalayan excursions.

'It is Manali. We are heading out Wednesday night itself to make the most of the holidays,' Chaitanya Srinivasan, a government employee told IANS.

'When the year had started, I had planned for an outing in May or June. None of my friends had noticed this opportunity so we hadn't planned in advance, otherwise we could have planned out for some place even further,' he said.

'Our agenda is adventure sports and Manali is perfect for paragiding, trekking and I heard that they have started zorbing as well,' Srinivasan added.

Zorbing is an adventure sport where people roll down the hill inside a clear reinforced plastic ball.

Even travel operators have geared up for the weekend to lure as many travellers as possible.

'Now that it is summer-time, most people are opting for mountains. Many people are going to the Corbett National Park. Others are opting for destinations such as Manali, Dharamsala and Nainital,' Atul Gurjar of Shanti Travels told IANS.

According to Mohit Gupta, Chief Business Officer at travel portal MakeMyTrip.com: 'Long weekend holiday packages are popular among urban professionals as it gives them the perfect break from the routine of city life.'

'Barely four months into the year and we are going to have the second long weekend break after Holi (and) MakeMyTrip has created exciting weekend getaway packages that will appeal to different kinds of travellers,' he added.

'A four day break doesn't come often. I and some other friends are heading for a small hill town called Kasol in Hiamchal Pradesh,' bank employee, Sunil Gautam told IANS.

'Full-time adventure freak and part time banker' Vikas Shukla had biked to Ladakh during Holi. For Good Friday, the biker is headed to Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand.

'During Holi holidays, some of my friends had come with me. This time, I am biking alone to Corbett. I have booked a lodge in the middle of the forest and will try to catch some tigers on my camera,' Shukla told IANS.