Milky Way

First glows of the moon on the Panchachuli Peaks as the Milky Way stretched across the night sky.

Most people only get a view of Panchachuli from the western side i.e. Munsyari/Kausani/Choukori and similar hill stations. The eastern side, i.e., Darma Valley is untouched territory mostly for hiking parties. Till recently there was no road and it required a multi day trek from Tawaghat to get there.

This picture was taken during a bike ride I did in 2019 to Darma valley and spent two night at Dantu Village. I wasn’t expecting to see the Milky Way and was not prepared with low light lenses. As luck would have it, the band of Milky Way stretched just above the peaks of Panchachuli. And as the moon started rising, the Lunar alepenglow illuminated the top of the peak rendering them bright orange.

Technical details: Pen-F + 12-40mm | F/2.8 | 60s | ISO800
Date: Oct 18, 2019 | 2042

Dhankar Village

A birds eye view of the Dhankar Village with the monastery and the fort in Spiti valley, Himanchal Pradesh.

Having woken up early for the walk up to the Dhankar Lake, I trudge slowly up the steep slope. The village engulfed in the shadows stretched below me. Slowly the sun started to illuminate the hills across the valley. Halfway I took a break to watch the sunlight move across the valley and enjoy the calm of the morning.

The bright yellow building is the new monastery. Behind it is the monastery guesthouse where I stayed. In the middle on a rocky outcrop is the red/white old monastery. 2 o’clock from there is the old fort mostly discarded and dilapidated.

Technical details: Olympus E-M10ii + 14-42mm | F8 | 1/60s | ISO640
Date: Sep 8, 2017 | 0621

Munnar Panorama

A wide panorama of the mountains and tea gardens of Munnar.

Two years ago, after having extended my day ride on a whim to explore the Munnar hills for Neelakurinji flowers, I set out to search for the blue shrub on day two. The Neelakurinji flowers blooms once in 12 years and 2018 was the year of bloom.

On my way to Eravikulam National Park, the road opened up to reveal this larger than life image of tea garden stretched amidst majestic Nilgiris.

This picture is a panorama of 6 images stitched together in post processing. The road snakes through the tree and tea shrubs on the right.

Technical details: Pen-F + 12-40mm | F/4 | 1/1000s | ISO80
Date: Oct 14, 2018 | 0907

This picture is from the Neelakurinji Adventures Bike Ride which is blogged at: https://lokeshshah.wordpress.com/2018/10/20/bike-ride-neelakurinji-adventures-pictures/

Dwarfed

My bike dwarfed by trees on the banks of Tons River near Mori in Uttarakhand.

Northern Uttarakhand bordering Himachal Pradesh is full of wilderness mostly untouched by tourism. The Tons river cuts though this wilderness carving out mountain valleys before joining the Yamuna at Kalsi, Uttarakhand. This area is also a gateway to Govind Balabh Pant Wildlife Sanctuary which is famous for Har Ki Doon Trek and Kedarkantha Trek

This picture was taken during the autumn of 2017 when I was riding though northern Uttarakhand on my way to Spiti. Having stopped the night at Purola, I left early in the morning and was soon at Mori. Here a road forks on the right towards Sankri, where many treks start. I was to go to Tiuni and then cross over to Himachal. Towards Tiuni the road flanks the Tons river before crossing over. Just after Mori, the road is built on the valley floor going through several small patches of grassy areas – just like mini meadows.

Technical details: E-M10ii + 9-18mm | F/8 | 1/100s | ISO200
Date: Sep 05, 2017 | 0750

This picture is from the Spiti Bike Ride which is blogged at: https://lokeshshah.wordpress.com/2017/10/29/2400km-of-solo-spiti-sauntering-compendium/