Adventure – Page 13 – VAGABOND IMAGES

Amazing Experience : Fly over the mysterious Nazca Lines in Peru

Upendra SwamiJuly 16, 20161463 Views2

Peru offers a wide spectrum of opportunities for the travellers, right from sight-seeing to gastronomy, everything is magnificent and enticing. It is a country blessed with rich culture, mesmerizing beauty and breathtaking adventure sites. Machu Picchu is one of the major highlights of the trip of South America but there is much more to explore in Peru beyond this place. Tourists can enjoy a boat ride in Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world; enjoy a fancy picnic in the middle of the dessert in Paracas, under the spectacular star-filled sky; exploring the mysteries of the Nazca Lines, tracings of mysteriously preserved drawings in the desert sand; visit the Colca and Cotahuasi Canyons, the deepest canyons in the world; fishing piranhas in the Amazon River, the mightiest

AdventureIndiaPhotogallery

Vagabond in Spiti Valley : Dhankar

Upendra SwamiJuly 6, 20161750 Views8

One of those places which one has to see to believe. In such a fragile ecosystem are preserved some miracles of the nature. Dhankar and its surrounding areas are one of them. On the left bank of the Spiti river at a distance of 32 kms downstream from Kaza, near Shichling at an altitude of 3870 m, nestles the citadel of Dhankar, the erstwhile official capital of Spiti. Needless to say that Spiti valley makes you speechless with its sheer beauty at every step. Dhankar has a fort and a monastery. The citadel is built on a spur which projects into the main valley and ends in a precipice. The location of this fort is strategic as Spiti always had to suffer innumerable aggressions by its neighbours. The location allowed the Spitian to keep vigil on the approaches and to submit ...

AdventureIndiaPhotogallery

Vagabond in Spiti valley : Nako

Upendra SwamiJune 14, 20163499 Views13

On way to Kaza in the Spiti Valley, Nako, at an altitude of 3660 m is the highest village in the valley of Hangrang surrounded by barren and dusty landscape. Nako village is just 20 kms from Ka, once the zigs end. It is roughly four kms before Malling (Nullah) towards Kaza. Kaza is around 110 kms from Nako. Nako is almost a customary stop-over for all adventurists (read: bikers, riders, drivers, tourists) going to Kaza. How much time to spend here? This is upto each traveller because there are different time constraints for everybody coming here. Those who are on a mission to complete Shimla-Kaza in a day, might even give this a miss. Others with more time may stop here for couple of hours and that will also depend on there last stop over and time left for them to reach to Kaza. But...

AdventureInternationalPhotogallery

Volcanic Lives : will & passion through camera!

Upendra SwamiJune 8, 20161295 Views7

Indonesia is a land of volcanos. Its has highest number of volcanos in any country in the world. Out of them more than 125 are active volcanos. Indonesia has suffered most due to volcanic eruptions than any other place in the world. But it seems volcanos are part of their lives. That is why active volcanos are also a place for tourist attraction here. This is the Ratu crater of active volcano at Tangkuban Parahu near Bandung in West Java province of Indonesia. This volcano had last eruption in 1983. Tangkuban Parahu is a natural Park located at the altitude of 2084 metres. There are three main craters here- Ratu, Upas and Domas. Ratu is the main crater, visited most and has the most developed infrastructure around. There are a couple of adjacent craters. There also some hot springs ...

AdventureIndiaPhotogallery

Panna Tiger Reserve : Few images sans tigers!

Upendra SwamiMay 10, 20162610 Views14

This is last post from my visit to Panna Tiger Reserve and National Park last month. And this one is not about tigers. I had always enjoyed wild, whether there is sighting of a big cat or not. Wild is always beautiful. Wanna Tiger Reserve and National Park has a beautiful topography and it owes much to the beautiful Ken river flowing through the reserve. It works as a lifeline for the forest and the wildlife here as you can see in the image below. A pair of Nilgai, no jungle in India is complete without them! A male sambhar crossing the road. This is one of the favourite foods of big cats. Something I captured for the first time- a spotted deer making a mating call to his partner. Novices will often misjudge a deer's mating call as an alarm call for the tiger sighting....

AdventureIndiaPhotogallery

Two cubs on play at Panna – a photo essay

Upendra SwamiMay 3, 20161553 Views10

Tiger is a solitary animal, it likes to be alone in its territory along with his female partners. Often tigers get injured, many times fatally in territorial fights. Even two brothers will search for different territories once they are adult enough to hunt and feed for themselves and hence eventually their mother will leave them. As I mentioned in my last post (Read: Returning to the tiger in Panna) I was fortunate to watch two cubs on play. Mother was around but we couldn't see her as she was down in a nullah at a cooler place. Cubs don't look like cubs as they were almost more than a year old, but were still with their mother. We and the few other tourist vehicles located this family on a grassland right on the banks of the Ken river. Ken river flows through Panna Tiger reserve. So he

AdventureIndiaPhotogallery

Returning to the tiger in Panna

Upendra SwamiMay 2, 20162047 Views10

Panna tiger reserve has a special place personally for me. I have three personal firsts associated with this national park. It was here that I had my very first tiger sighting in the wild. This was also the place where I had my first and only tiger sighting while sitting on an elephant. Lastly, this is the only tiger reserve where I visited twice and had tiger sightings on both the occasions. And this time around, it was fortunate sighting of two cubs (photo above and below). Unluckily though, their mother remained elusive, although she was around. The gap of almost eleven years between these two visits to Panna had been a period of turmoil for this Tiger reserve. The story of Panna Tiger Reserve has not an ordinary one. A story of all hopes lost to an extraordinary resurrection. By

AdventureIndiaPhotogallery

Spot the tiger in this wild image!

Upendra SwamiApril 30, 20164199 Views6

However close you watch a tiger in a zoo, you won’t get that excitement. But you won’t be able to contain your anxiety on the thrill of watching a tiger in wild, in its own territory- however distant it might be. Am I wrong? You won’t say so, when you see satisfied faces coming out of tiger reserves after end of every safari, especially in India- home to most of the tigers in world in wild. Its different every time- the thrill, as I have felt in my all sightings of tiger in wild. This one was no different. So, can you spot the tiger in this photo below, taken on my very recent visit to Panna tiger reserve? Have a closer look- Tough, isn’t it? Spotting wild cats in the wild, especially the elusive ones, need a sharp pair of eyes and a powerful camera to shoot. But even a 400mm tel...

AdventureIndiaPhotogallery

Pandav Falls : Bit myth, bit history and a lot of nature!

Upendra SwamiApril 14, 20165071 Views13

Pandavas can be credited, besides Mahabharata, also for being the earliest tourists. Their 13 years in exile were actually years of travel around the country. Almost in every part of the country we will find a place dedicated to Pandavas- either they visited there, or stayed there or meditated there or did many other type of things. And, all these places were visited by them during their years in exile. Pandav Falls inside the periphery of the Panna Tiger Reserve and National Park is also one of the place associated with this mythological story. Pandav Falls is not a destination into itself, as we can consider Raneh Falls to be. Pandav Falls is part of the bigger itinerary of Panna Tiger Reserve and Khajuraho temples. But it is descent place not to be missed. Pandav Falls is a multiple

AdventureIndiaPhotogallery

Raneh Falls : Rare and Breathtaking!

Upendra SwamiApril 8, 20164932 Views20

This might be one of the most underrated tourist destinations in India. But it is as much rare and fascinating. Raneh falls is just around 20-25 minutes drive from temple town of Khajuraho, which has been among the top destinations for foreign tourists in India. But still, not even ten percent of the tourists coming to Khajuraho go to Raneh falls. Often you might be the only tourist around. As was with us this time around, when we couldn't find any other tourist in the Raneh falls area. Well, obviously, it doesn't have that glamour. But that can't undermine its beauty. Raneh falls are natural. They are actually a canyon formation which you will not find anywhere else in India. It is said that these canyons would have formed because of volcanic eruptions thousands and thousands of years