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Tag Archives: Himalaya
White Throated Tits (Aegithalos niveogularis) of Yamunotri
We reached Janakichatti on a clear and crisply cold December evening at 4pm, about and hour and a half before sunset. Janakichatti is the road head for the trek to Yamunotri, the source of the Yamuna river, and one of the four major centers of Hindu pilgrimage in Uttarakhand (The other three being Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath).
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Posted in Birding, Galleries - Nature and Landscapes, Himalaya, Treking, Wildlife
Also tagged Birding, Trek, Treking, Uttarakhand
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Birding in the Raksham Chhitkul Wildlife Sanctuary, Baspa Valley, Kinnaur
A tributary of the Sutlej, the Baspa river originates at a point near the tri-junction of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Tibet. It flows due west for about 60 kilometers before joining the Sutlej at Kharcham. This is the Baspa valley.
A part of the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh, the Baspa valley lies in the lap of the great Himalayas. Sangla is its largest town, and therefore the Baspa valley is sometimes also referred to as the Sangla valley.
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Exploring the Zanskar Valley
It was late in September 2011. I was in Leh on a dream assignment. The assignment was open ended. I was to make my own itinerary and travel to places of my choice at my own pace. The idea was to make a nice portfolio of images from Ladakh. I was alone in my trusty Bolero 4×4 jeeep and I had already covered the main Indus valley and the Nubra valley.
I was planning to leave for Zanskar when, I came to know that my friend Tribhuvan was in Leh. We met at his favourite restaurant for dinner. When he told me that he and his friend, Charles, were also planning to go to Zanskar, I proposed a joint “expedition” to Zansakar.
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Looking for Argali (Marco Polo Sheep, Ovis Ammon) in Tso Kar
While in Leh, in September 2011, during a chance meeting with an officer from the Forest Department, I asked him whether it was possible to see wild Argali (Marco Polo sheep, Ovis Ammon) in Ladakh. It won’t be easy, he said, but it is possible. He told me that there was a small population of Marco Polo sheep in the Tso Kar Wildlife Sanctuary. Numbering about 150, this flock lived in the northern regions of the sanctuary. But, he added, the Argali were very shy and difficult to locate. He said it might be a good idea to look around for the Marco Polo sheep in the Tso Kar wildlife sanctuary on the way back to Manali.
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Posted in Galleries, Galleries - Nature and Landscapes, Himalaya, Travel, Wildlife
Also tagged Indian, Kiang, Ladakh, Landsacpes
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Looking for the Ladakh Urial (Ovis orientalis vignei)
A young male Ladakh Urial
I started from Leh at about 8 AM. I was alone, as nobody was ready to join me on this wild goose chase. My plan was to head to Gurudwara Pattharsahib and look for Ladakh Urail (Ovis orientalis vignei). During a chance conversation, a forest officer in Leh had informed me that there were a couple of flocks of Urial (a kind of wild sheep) which lived in the hills near the Gurudwara. The drive from Leh to Pattharsahib takes about an hour. I was there at 9 AM after an uneventful drive.
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Portraits of Himalayan Birds
The Himalayas are one the few truly wild spaces left in the world where one can spend weeks without coming in contact with civilization. I try and escape into the Himalayas for a few months every year. Trekking, mountaineering, birding, observing wild animals or just driving through. Some of the most cherished moments of my life have been in the Himalayas, many in the company of wild creatures, especially birds. These images are mementos of such moments. Hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed photographing them …..
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Posted in Birding, Galleries - Nature and Landscapes, Himalaya, Nepal, Wildlife
Also tagged Birding
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Ibex (Capra Ibex) in the Pin valley – Spiti
I made a short trip to the Spiti valley, in April 2011, before the summer tourist rush started. The plan was to survey the valley for Ibex (Capra Ibex) and Bharal (Pseudois nayaur). If lucky we might get to see some before they started moving to higher altitudes. If not we would at least have the snow covered Spiti valley to ourselves and enjoy the stunning scenery.
We based ourselves in Kaza (at the only hotel that was open) and we spent the days driving around, enjoying and photographing the stunning landscape while on the lookout for wild animals.
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Posted in Galleries - Nature and Landscapes, Himalaya, Wildlife
Also tagged Capra Ibex, Ibex, Pin Valley, Spiti
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Kalapathar – Everest base camp – Image Gallery
Ama Dablam
During the Everest base camp – Kalapathar top trek we were treated to two spectacular sunsets. This gallery contains images captured on these two evenings. According to our guide, spectacular sunsets on Everest are quite rare. The best time for a good sunset is late November or early March.
We witnessed the first sunset while at Lobuche. We had reached Lobuche well in time and after checking into our hotel, we had gone for a short walk towards the Khumbu glacier. After the walk we had almost reached Lobuche again when the sky suddenly cleared up and as the sun went down it gave us a fine display of alpenglow on Nuptse and Pumori. The second grand sunset happened when we were at the Kalapathar top.
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Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) at the Daranghati Wildlife Sanctuary
It began with a chance meeting in Sarahan with the Divisional Forest Officer, Mr. B.L. Negi. When I told him that I was a keen birder he casually asked whether I would be interested in doing some research on the Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) ? Off course I would be interested in doing research on the Western Tragopan, I almost shouted. (A PDF of this survey can be downloaded from a link at the end of this post.)
For anyone interested in Himalayan birds the Western Tragopan is like the Holy grail. With less than a thousand breeding pairs left, it is the rarest of five types of Tragopan. It has been voted as one of the top 10 “must see” birds in the world.
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Posted in Birding, Himalaya, Treking, Wildlife
Also tagged Daranghati Wildlife Sanctuary, Treking, Western Tragopan
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Everest Base Camp – Kalapathar trek
A closeup of Mount Everest
In November 2010 I went on a trek to the Kalapathar top near the Everest base camp. The path winds up through some amazing high altitude scenery to one of the best view points in the Himalayas, the Kalapathar top. The trek was not very difficult. If you love mountains and are reasonably fit this is a “must do” trek.
I am posting a brief travelogue of this trek in this post. You can also download a Google Earth kmz file containing the treking routes and locations mentioned in this post from a link at the end of the post.
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Jal Mahal – Jaipur
Exploring the Zanskar Valley
Rushing Torrents: Some abstract black and white images
White Throated Tits (Aegithalos niveogularis) of Yamunotri
White Throated Tits (Aegithalos niveogularis) of Yamunotri