Uttarakhand – VAGABOND IMAGES

The Pied Kingfisher story

Upendra SwamiFebruary 26, 20245865 Views2

Have seen pied kingfisher a few times in all these years, although not as frequent as I have seen our most common, white-breasted kingfisher. White-breasted kingfisher can be easily seen in green areas around water bodies in and around Delhi. But first time, I saw the pied kingfisher was when I was part of an international river expedition on the Ganges from Gangotri to Gangasagar as a media person. There were a few distant sightings along the riverside. Well, that was way back in 2009. Watchful eyes! Then, some years later, I went to Bharatpur bird sanctuary. We had a guide with us on our bicycle safari. Going deep inside the sanctuary to get a close view of sarus cranes, we got a distant sighting again of a pied kingfisher. It was so far that, we needed a binocular to see it...

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Sight of the unexpected! A tiger out of nowhere at Sattal

Upendra SwamiDecember 25, 20227592 Views6

4.33 PM; Nov 7, 2022. Studio region Sattal, Uttarakhand. No one... no one ever told me about presence of any tiger in and around Sattal region. No birder, no friends, no fellow travellers, no officials have in recent memory recorded the presence of any tiger here. And, if they have, then no one probably reported it. Leopards are many, that we know, but tigers? But, this is what I saw and captured on that day, when I was strolling in forest of the studio region for a quick birding trip! Am I the only one to capture a tiger in the region! More than a month and half has passed since the incident, but I still don’t have concrete answers, no responses from any official, district administration, wildlife authorities or even tiger conservation authorities! What everyone—who has seen the ph...

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Mighty and beautiful: Birthi Falls

Upendra SwamiDecember 9, 20224758 Views2

India is a land of mountains and rivers, no doubt that there are many waterfalls and many of them compete with each other in their sheer beauty. Also, we have majestic waterfalls in almost every corner of country. There is no way that you can compare beauty of Chitrakote with beauty of Dudhsagar or of Jog falls with Nohkalikai or of Athirappilly with Hogenakkal. Its pointless to do so. Birthi Falls near Munsiyari Each one has its own magic irrespective of its height or width or volume. Since, a large part of India’s natural treasure lies in inaccessible regions, waterfalls also are among them. So even a waterfall with a small height can cheer you up when it comes right in front of you all of sudden while trekking in a remote region or biking in Himalayas. Birthi is one such falls...

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A big shout-out to all those who help strangers on road

Upendra SwamiApril 5, 20223991 Views2

My bike has always been a trustworthy partner on my road trips. It has taken me to numerous solo trips including trips to Leh and Kaza. There had been challenges from weather, roads and other things, but my Royal Enfield Thunderbird always carried me through on tough roads. Solo rides are always risky, there can’t be any doubt about it. However one might prepare oneself for everything, you never know the unseen. Worst things is, if you are struck in middle of road, you have to look for some help, when the problem is beyond your capacity. My bike has always been trustworthy travel partner for a decade now! I have had my shares of mishaps, falls et al but never the serious ones. On the other side, I have met many others stranded on the way for one reason or another. I rememb...

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When nature has the last laugh

Upendra SwamiDecember 7, 20215360 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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Corbett beyond Tigers and safaris

Upendra SwamiOctober 6, 20214142 Views3

A butterfly trail inside the forest can be equally interesting It wasn’t quite far inside from the main road leading to Haldwani from Ramnagar. We had taken the jungle road from the Chunakhan Forest Rest House. Forest check post is just about a kilometre from here. From the check post you start a 20-25 minutes trek to Barati Rau Waterfall. The forest personnel in-charge of the beat post was initially reluctant to let our group go towards the fall, citing the COVID restrictions. He relented, only after charging the tourist fees, for which I never got the receipt. He insisted on taking a local guide along with us, his argument being that there were bear cubs in a cave close to waterfalls. A local guide will help us in knowing the direction as well as save us from any untoward incident...

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Where the Wilderness keeps whispering in your ears every moment

Upendra SwamiSeptember 5, 20213136 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...

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Uttarakhand’s spring up in the flames

Upendra SwamiApril 14, 20215286 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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170 year old warehouse and an Advaita Ashram nestled in Himalayas

Upendra SwamiAugust 4, 20204387 Views15

Quaint Himalayan towns have always been favourite of writers, thinkers, leaders. Nature has proved inspirational to them. They have also been source of many movements and ideas. Among the big names, Gandhi and Vivekanand were frequent visitors to hills to focus on their thoughts and also to connect with large cross-section of people. Kumaon region of Uttarakhand was one of the most liked places by one and all for its natural beauty, serene environment and close proximity to Himalayas. Main building of the Advaita Ashram at Mayavati There are many places in Kumaon which are known only because of their association with Gandhi or Vivekanand. One prominent among them is Advaita Ashram, Mayavati, near Lohaghat. The same Lohaghat, which is also close to Abbott Mount, known for Abbey...

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

Upendra SwamiJune 5, 20207637 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...