Almora – VAGABOND IMAGES

When nature has the last laugh

Upendra SwamiDecember 7, 20215451 Views2

I had wished for long to travel to Darma Valley in Uttarakhand, ever since one of our senior photographer friend Jaimitra Singh Bisht from Almora had written about it in my travel magazine Awara Musafir. (You can read the article here.) Planned it a few times earlier, but couldn’t materialise. Two years of COVID only complicated the travel plans. But this year, I finally managed to put together an itinerary. And yes, on my favourite way to travel- my Royal Enfield Thunderbird bike! Majestic view of Darma valley with Panchachuli peaks in background. Photo: Jaimitra Singh Bisht Total trip was going to be long, almost 12 to 13 days, almost same as my bike trip to Ladakh. Well, I am not writing about the different destinations or the route or the biking here, as I will be doing so in co...

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Where the Wilderness keeps whispering in your ears every moment

Upendra SwamiSeptember 5, 20213223 Views0

I was having a stroll just outside my room after dinner, when the caretaker at the property came to clear the utensils from the room. We started having a chat, and then he all of a sudden started focusing on a sound piercing the calmness of the night, coming from some distance, down the hill. He said, it is a ‘call’ for a leopard, and it is probably looking for a hunt. Being a wildlife enthusiast myself, I could easily get it. It wasn’t coming from somewhere very close, but it still sent a chill down my spine. A rugged drive is needed to reach here! It was the thrill of living right inside an uncharted territory. What also thrilled me that I was daily arriving quite late on my bike, alone to the property in pitched dark through this jungle on a rough, rocky mountain path. T...

AdventureIndia

Uttarakhand’s spring up in the flames

Upendra SwamiApril 14, 20215384 Views6

When I planned a quick relieving biking trip to Almora, I had hoped it to be refreshing as it was spring once again. The year before Coronavirus shattered our lives, my last trip to Kumaon was on bike too and almost on the same dates during the spring time. I still had some good reflections of that. I was expecting nothing short of that this time as well and because of all those expectations, this time around, I had planned a slightly longer trip with a plan to go further towards Dharchula or Narayan Ashram. Fire raging right along the main road from Bhowali to Ramgarh in March 2021 But all went up in flames… literally! Spring season this year came and was gone in a flash this year in hills. I was expecting, as earlier, hills turned red with rhododendrons in the Mukteshwar region...

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Chaukhamba : A peak on four pillars and it is not our democracy!

Upendra SwamiJune 5, 20207867 Views2

I couldn’t have missed the satire in the present context as all the four pillars of our democracy are currently on terribly shaky ground. Having said that, this post is definitely not about our democracy but about one of the most beautiful peaks on Uttarakhand Himalayas. It is the World Environment day and what else can we talk about than the most precious gift our nature has given to us! Sunrise on Chaukhamba peak as seen from Almora town in Kumaon The inspiration for this post came from an impromptu comment on one of my Facebook post couple of days back by a renowned photographer friend Jaimitra Singh Bisht, based in Almora. Post was a photo of sunrise on Chaukhamba peak, which I captured a few years ago from Almora. While appreciating the photograph, Jaimitra said that, “Chaukham...

IndiaPhotogallery

Nature’s poet and poet’s museum

Upendra SwamiJuly 19, 20192210 Views0

Pant museum at Kausani in Uttarakhand isn’t a touristy place as such. In my three visits to this place in the course of last few years, I have rarely seen any other tourist there. Despite, this place being in the heart of the Kausani town with just a few steps to walk upto the museum from the road head. I wonder, if even more than five percent of the tourists coming to Kausani would remember the name of Sumitranandan Pant, although surely most of us in Hindi heartland of India have read his poems in school text books. Ancestral house converted into museum Main entrance to the Sumitranandan Pant museum Actually, we don’t respect our literary persons. They are the ones who guide our intellectual discourse, many of them have been leading lights for various movements but we tend to...

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Nature, myth and history of Syahi Devi Temple

Upendra SwamiMay 26, 20197040 Views7

Last year, when we went to Shitlakhet, we headed for an early morning trek to Syahi Devi temple. But we started a bit late, and then we had a packed schedule in the day ahead. And, with some clear view of Nanda Devi range consuming lot of our time, we dropped the idea of going till the top and returned mid-way. I had then decided that, I won’t let that happen next time. Hence, when I visited Shitlakhet again this year, I kept the very next morning after my arrival for the trek to temple. What a beautiful day it was, calm and clear. Now, in the hindsight when I look back at that decision, how remarkable it turned out to be, as the second morning onwards, the weather went for a toss. Sun rises while on trek to Syahi Devi temple Morning colours on the snow peaks It gets brighter a...

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A photo journey to Shitlakhet, a hidden gem in Kumaon

Upendra SwamiAugust 26, 20183802 Views13

I had been hearing about Shitlakhet for almost ten years now, ever since I started visiting the Almora region more frequently. I even made some flying visits to the village, and had some incredibly tasty maggi. But never got an opportunity to stay overnight and explore the place until last month when I was there as the part of the Bloggers Bus of Uttarakhand Tourism. Although a one night stay is just not enough to do any justice to this place, but we tried to extract as much experience as possible. Shitlakhet is certainly not a happening place. But I can bet, it is unimaginably beautiful. It is just a small village at the end of the mountain ridge. But it is full of adventure and it is certainly a photographers paradise. Hence, I though that it is better to talk about this ...

IndiaPhotogallery

A Bougainvillea love story in Almora

Upendra SwamiJune 13, 20153535 Views11

Its rare for a Bougainvillea bush to become a landmark. But it actually is. This is one happy, big Bougainvillea bush right in the middle of the market at Almora in Uttarakhand. Its said that more than 35 years ago, this bougainvillea wrapped itself around a deodar tree. Their love story continues. Actually people in Almora consider this as symbol of love. Now it has turned into a massive bougainvillea on Mall Road. So much so that, one has to actually look deep to search for the deodar tree, beneath it. It has turned itself into an attraction of sort for the tourists coming to Almora. It always fascinated me ever since I had my first visit to Almora, many years back. Its so big, so lush that perhaps it is one among very few things of the city that can be spotted and identified from...

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Photo of the day – Sun sets in clouds

Upendra SwamiOctober 10, 2014861 Views0

Sunlight is such a beautiful artist. Besides giving us a life, it creates paintings and art out of nowhere. Like this one- sun is nowhere to seen but light of the setting sun has created such a nice outline to clouds in the sky... ...

IndiaPhoto Of The DayPhotogallery

Photo of the Day- Beauty and the Peak!

Upendra SwamiJuly 4, 2014938 Views0

A beautiful bunch of flowers with Dangthal (6050 metres) peak of Kumaon Himalayas in the background. This is view from Kasar Devi, Almora in Uttarakhand, India, said to be one of the most beautiful locations to have a panoramic view of Himalayan ranges, especially Trishul and Nanda Devi peaks. ...