After a satisfying fourth day, it was time to move towards the climax on the 5th day of the Kashmir Great Lakes Trek. It was supposed to be the last day of climb. Satsar campsite is at an altitude of 12,000 ft and Gangabal campsite is at a an altitude of 11,500 ft but on the way we have to cross the Zach pass at an altitude of 13,400 ft. How to prepare? Read: Thajiwas is a perfect acclimatisation for Great Lakes Trek So, lets travel through the day's trek in photos. Starting right from the first light of the day- Its early morning after a wonderful night of stargazing. You just can't imagine, how this sky looked like in the night. Its cold still, but all ready to move. Its getting brighter and campsite is buzzing with early morning activities. Also Read: Kashmir Great Lakes-...
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City of Lakes Udaipur is famous for many things but rarely for its birds. Ironically village Menar, 15 kms from Udaipur's Dabok airport is known for many things including its birds. Menar is also called as the bird village. More than couple of lakes in close surroundings of the village are known to host a huge number of migratory birds every year. Menar also has a long history which connects it closely to the Kings of Mewar. Rich in culture, this village also has an honour to produce some of India's finest chefs who have worked in kitchens of many celebrities- home and abroad. Residents of this village have been known as Menarias. But my recent trip to this village, roughly around 45 kms from my hometown Udaipur, was purely to catch some morning light. Capturing birds at sunrise (f...
Read MoreRare phenomenon need to be captured through extraordinary attempts. My extraordinary was to be stationed at same place for more than two hours clicking images at regular intervals. But not a big ask when one has to capture a rare spectacle of Super Blood Blue Moon. To me what was more exciting is the fact that there were many enthusiasts at the India Gate waiting anxiously to watch this rare astronomical event. It was also heartening to see that many had come by shedding their myths about an eclipse. There were many who had a look to the moon through my telephoto lens. 'Space' had also organised this event by putting up a telescope at India Gate lawns along with few scientists to give a pep talk about the event. Although clouds played a spoilsport when they almost hid the ...
Read MoreShades of light are as mesmerising as the shades of life. How often they go hand to hand! I might seem like being too philosophical but often loss of somebody very close makes you so. Its not quite very often that you are able to watch the changing shades of light during the course of the day at an off-routine place, more so at a place worth a zillion images. It happened to be so with me when I was at Ambrai Ghat in Udaipur from morning to sunset for a stretch of more than ten hours at the same place. Udaipur is city of my birth and my education. City Place of Udaipur is one of the prime tourist attractions of the City of Lakes. This more than four hundred years old palace is located at the banks of Pichola Lake in the heart of the city. The palace is best viewed...
Read MoreThough flamingos were my primary interest and they were who actually pulled my all the way to Sambhar, but wintering at Sambhar is not all about flamingos. Flamingos might be very high in count and attraction but there are many other birds coming for winter migration. As I said in my last post, there are more than 70 species of birds coming here every year. So while I was busy admiring flamingos at Sambhar lake, I couldn't have failed to notice and try to click few other migratory birds. Pied avocet (pictured above) was the among the first one to come across and was quite attractive because of its distinctive beak and black & white appearance. Though there were some northern pintail and pochards as well, but I could manage to get close view of only these northern shoveler
Read MoreMoving ahead from Devayani, I was asking every other guy the way to Chatri (cenotaph) of Daadu Dayal. The way wasn't far from Devayani. Just half a kilometre ahead was a railway crossing and the just before the railway line was a dusty path going inside the salt fields along side the now unused railway track. There were many structures in the area, all of them actually remnants of a very well-planned rail network meant for the salt extraction. It looked like a no-man's land. I kept on moving ahead till there was a way. Till that time I didn't even had an idea that how the chatri of Daadu Dayal looked like. Track wasn't easy, but still negotiable and enjoyable. Then, I suddenly saw a man out of nowhere and asked him about the exact location of the cenotaph, and luckily also about the possib
Read MoreWe had already crossed the visible stretch of the Sambhar Lake from railway station to the refinery close to dam. Charmed by the Pink Salt we were on the next part of our evening trail. While crossing the lake bed, we were slowly and cautiously following the path created by jeep tyres, as any attempt to deviate would have been dangerous for our bikes in that slushy mud. Winter sun was quickly moving westwards and I was now getting anxious for some sunset shots in the vast expanse of the lake bed. After pink salt, was it the turn for a pink sunset? You would see for yourself- I somehow believed that sunset would be splendidly beautiful and quite different from sunsets that I have experienced so far at other places. Colours in the sky and on the land had started changing. The a
Read MoreI am not a birder specifically, but being interested in wildlife I love bird watching as much as I love sighting tigers. Both give you equal chance to play with your camera. All the tiger reserves and national parks per say (other than specific bird sanctuaries) too have rivers, lakes, ponds and other water holes which are shelter for waterfowls and migratory birds. Jungle themselves are best places to see the birds. Having been to few bird sanctuaries, this was first time I specifically kept time to see birds in a tiger reserve and I was certainly not disappointed. Hence, comes this fourth post from Sariska visit. Sariska is a big national park and has many perennial sources of water which in turn become good harbouring ground form birds. Hence, when you are close to a water body, ...
Read MoreAlmost six hundred year old Dargah of Haji Ali at Mumbai is not just one of the most important Sufi shrines in India but also one of the most revered religious places in India. This is also one of those popular shrines which have been part of Indian cinema, especially Bollywood a lot. Many sufi songs and qawwali have been filmed here, which went on to become popular musical numbers as well. More recently the shrine has been in news for all the dispute related to entry of women to the inner sanctum sanctorum of the shrine. Putting all this aside, this shrine is going to celebrate its annual URS on 15th January this year. This shrine is also popular for its structure. Dargah is built in Arabian sea, almost half a kilometre offshore from the coast at Worli in Mumbai. A pathway for pedestr...
Read MoreIts fun to be on window seat of a plane, provided you are interested in capturing images. And if images are from a beautiful beach resort like Bali, then you just can’t stop clicking. How different it is to see a place from the top, then being there! A lot perhaps. Lot changes with the change of the angle and perspective. Eye angle is more wide than ever. The view and the perspective, both become more holistic. Hence the idea of beauty also changes! So here starts the fun- Plane looks like walking right into the sea! ... or along it! Is it quite close for comfort or just thrilling!! It looks more normal now- Quite different to see a beach resort from up in the sky! ... but it still looks amazing with all those boats and yachts lined up! The three s...
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