GHNP Trek Day 6 – Descent or plummet to Lapa?
On Day 6 of our Great Himalayan National Park Trek we detour to Lapa from Dhel Thatch, making a slippery and treacherous descent
Author: Sandy
Sandeep Somasekharan (or Sandy as friends call him) took his headlong plunge into photography with a three-megapixel Nikon point-and-shoot he purchased in 2003. The avid reader and an occasional scribbler started enjoying travel and nature more as he spent more time photographing. Meeting Beej in 2008 helped him channel his creative energies in the form of essays and nature photographs that he started publishing on the Green Ogre. Sandy loves to photograph birds and landscapes, and considers photography and writing as his meditation.
He is an engineer by education, IT professional by vocation, and a hopeless dreamer since creation.
GHNP Trek Days 4-5 – Exploring Dhel and foiled plans
Our Great Himalayan National Park trek plan gets altered, as the path to Ghumtarao is snowed out. We end up doing local excursions at Dhel Thatch on day four and five, trying to spot some wildlife, and enjoying the fauna and the Himalayan sun.
Whiteout: Winter Storm Thor shows his artistic side
As Winter Storm Thor freezes North America in his icy tentacles, Sandeep Somasekharan wriggles free to reveal some stunning snowscapes.
GHNP Trek Day 3: To Dhel, and the layers unravel
Day 3 of our Great Himalayan National Park trek takes us from Humkhani to Dhel Thatch (3500 m) – 7 km and 1400 m to climb. Sandeep Somasekharan continues with Part 4 of the travelogue
GHNP Trek Day 2: Beyond the bridge, the wilderness
Once we are across the bridge, it feels as if behind us a huge wall of forest has grown, shutting us out completely. It is silent, dark and mysterious. Day 2 of our Great Himalayan National Park trek, recounted by Sandeep Somasekharan
GHNP Trek – Day 1: An oxymoron called acclimating
Day 1 was an ‘acclimatizer’. Ha. Acclimating is an oxymoron. Ask those who laboured up the slopes from Neuli to Shakti and ended up painfully breathless by the end of the day. Part 2 of Sandeep Somasekharan’s report of The Green Ogre trek to the Great Himalayan National Park in 2012
Great Himalayan National Park Trek – Day Zero – Warming up
Warming up for our trek to the Great Himalayan National Park, the Ogres spend time in Delhi, waiting impatiently to get there. Part 1 of a new series by Sandeep Somasekharan
Mission (Peak) Accomplished – A Trek Report
A Fourth of July trek report from Mission Peak, California. Warning: Birds inside.
Words of a feather – what birds would say if they could talk
What would birds say if they could talk as humans do? Enjoy these candid moments from the avian world – words of a feather. And don’t forget to share the buzz!
On The Wing: Meet the Grey Plover
You have probably seen the Grey Plover on a sandy beach in Kerala and not paid it any attention. Up close, its grace and beauty are alluring
S.P.R.E.A.D of the Common Kestrel
It is indeed a majestic sight, and you can’t but stand there with your jaw hanging open, watching this glorious common kestrel (falco tinnunculus) hover overhead. You obviously can’t afford…
Raptor Friday: A meeting with a Lesser Kestrel
A birding trip to Koonthakulam, Tamil Nadu, revealed a rare sighting of Lesser Kestrels, seasonal migrants that pass through India en route to Africa
Meluha Moment – In which I blink my third eyelid ;)
The nictitating membrane protects a bird’s eye from dryness and injury. You might call it a Meluha moment, this blinking of the third eye. Take a look and be amazed.
Morning Raga by the Kentish Plover
On the first day of 2014, we found this adorable Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) in half minds whether to sing or not. Warm sunshine, sandy beaches and blue skies – who wouldn’t want to?
Winning The Toss: Blue-tailed Bee-eater pops a meal
Humans toss pancakes but birds like the Blue-tailed Bee-eater grab venomous insect prey like wasps and bees in mid-air and thrash them dead to dislodge the sting before tossing them in the air a la Rajinikanth with the cigarette