Trekking with Griffons: Dodi Tal via Darwa Pass
The trek to Dodi Tal, the lake believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ganesha, is a beautiful introduction to the Western Himalaya for many first-time trekkers
Category: Himalaya
Trip Report – In Pangot, a feast of Himalayan birding… and then some
Cut off from the world, the hours and days were filled with sights and experiences. Birds, inclement weather and elusive mammal sightings made this trip to Pangot memorable. It was digital detox royale!
Encounter – Hoary-bellied Squirrel
Hailing from a family known as the ‘beautiful squirrels’, the Hoary-bellied Squirrel is handsome enough despite the plainness of its coat. To see this mammal in the wild, head for the forests of northeast India
GHNP Trek Day 7-9 – Lapa-Neuli-Kullu and civilization
Back to Kullu — and woeful civilization — after a half-done but nonetheless fulfilling trek in the Great Himalayan National Park. And, with that, we conclude this series by Sandeep Somasekharan.
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
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.
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
Encounter – Himalayan Bulbul
Even birders rarely felicitate bulbuls with a second glance, worse if they are Red-whiskered or Red-vented Bulbuls. But when we head up to the hills, the sight of the Himalayan Bulbul is a joy to us. For it means we are in the hills, and there’s a bounty of birdlife waiting to be discovered.
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
Chuffed by a chough
The first time I came upon ‘chough’ I thought it was a dictionary entry for an act of expectoration by one with a North Indian surname. It would be a few years before I got the hang of what it was really – a kind of crow
Encounter – The Spotted Forktail
For many years, the Spotted Forktail was just an apparition in a dream. Now, happily twitched off the list, it is one of my favourite Himalayan birds.
When a rookie walks the Himalaya
I remembered a little affront I heaped at the mighty mountains when I landed at Aut. Taking a reel out of Apollo 13, I mimicked the scene where Jim Lowell covers the moon with his thumb and looked at a peak far away, murmuring, “As tall as my thumb.” Anand Yegnaswami reflects on his trek in the Great Himalayan National Park, one year later.
Encounter: Rhododendron, sentinel of the highlands
Never mind its cough-syrupy taste, or its tongue-twister of a name, a Rhododendron in flower is inspiration enough to walk the Himalaya, or the Nilgiris