What do you call a bird with no name? Or one whose name has been changed lately? Such questions such briefly but subside when confronted with the dazzling beauty of the Himalayan Bluetail — or whatever they called it earlier … Continue reading Encounter: Himalayan Bluetail
To derive joy from the simple act of birdwatching, all you need to do is wait, watch and listen. Jennifer Nandi reveals the Birding 101 in the third episode of her travelogue on Bedni Bugyal A Blue Whistling Thrush, ever the skulker, trails us as we walk its wooded paths Lots of little surprises greet us the next morning. The Pied Thrush and his companion are in full view; so are the rock thrushes, the blackbirds and the Mistle Thrushes. A new visitor to the campsite is the Variegated Laughing Thrush. A very secretive bird; keeping close to the shrubbery, … Continue reading Odyssey to Bedni Bugyal – A Day at Didana
Walking in the Himalaya offers the pleasure of a constant flirtation with epiphany, learns Jennifer Nandi A stream en route to Didana from Loharjung A morning of magic greets us. Arrogant blue skies goad us onwards. The rugged hill road from the village leads us past an anarchy of rampant secondary growth that stretches into the valley below. This riot of plant and animal life owes its fecundity to hillsides that once supported lush forests of oak and rhododendron. Sandstone country with its covering of alluvium and glacial clays evidently suited oaks and rhododendron allowing them to grow to glorious … Continue reading Odyssey to Bedni Bugyal – Loharjung to Didana
Traipsing in Lord Curzon’s footsteps, we embarked for Bedni Bugyal knowing little of what to expect, and least expecting what was in store for us… Editor’s Note: In April-May 2007, six of us made a trek to the Garhwal Himalaya. Sahastrarashmi, Sunita, Jennifer, Satish, Rajeev and Bijoy walked from Loharjung to Bedni Bugyal, then descended to Wan from where we walked to Kunol and then journeyed onward to Nandprayag. For many of us it was the most intimate encounter with the beauty and power, the fury and the sagacity of the elements in the Himalayan microclimate. Jennifer Nandi wrote a … Continue reading Odyssey to Bedni Bugyal – Part 1
Why call it a chestnut-tailed whatever when no one notices the colour of the tail? Bar-throated Siva? Ah, that’s another story. Continue reading Encounter: Chestnut-tailed Minla or Bar-throated Siva. Or whatever.
Meeting the Bar-headed Goose, arguably the world’s highest flier, in its breeding grounds at 15,000 feet is a rare and humbling privilege Korzok (4,595 m, 15,075 ft), the small settlement on the border of the incredibly blue Tso Moriri was the highest I had even been. So when had my first sighting of the Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus), one of the highest flying birds in the world, on those very waters at a shouting distance from the 300-year old monastery, you can perhaps excuse me for believing that it was probably pre-ordained. The lake, along with several other high altitude … Continue reading Encounter: In Shangri-La with Bar-headed Geese
Ladakh’s bleak and bare landscape springs to joyous life when Himalayan Marmots, these oversized ground squirrels, come out to play. Continue reading Encounter: The Himalayan Marmot
It’s easy to see why Lord Shiva fell in love with the Ganga. Mere mortals can be hopelessly smitten. Continue reading Upriver, a monsoon love affair with the Ganga
Half-mouse and half-hare is the Royle’s Pika. One of the most adorable mammals in the Himalaya Continue reading Encounter – Royle’s Pika
I woke up at half past five to a clear dawn sky. There was a cold edge to the happy laughter of the brook. Ambling down on creaky knees to wash, I heard an excited chirruping and saw two lovely white-capped water redstarts (Chaimarrornis leucocephalus) chasing each other up and down the length of the brook. Continue reading Encounter: White-capped Water Redstart
At 7,138 m, the Chaukhamba massif is huge and cold. The permanent layer of snow on it influences local weather and explains the shroud of clouds around it. Continue reading Encounter – The Mighty Chaukhamba
Our destination is Tungnath, the third Kedar, and my purpose is religious only in a pagan sense. To walk the wild Himalayas, breathe their bounteous air, encounter their wildlife, their trees and wildflowers, rivers and springs, and to be at the mercy of their elements is pilgrimage enough for us. Continue reading In the arms of Shiva – a trek to Tungnath
Like thousands of coins jingling in hundreds of fists, the chirruping of sparrows heralds dusk. Trees quiver as roosting flocks fuss like train passengers arguing over berths. The din dies down with the fading light and all is quiet again. … Continue reading Encounter: Russet Sparrow
Even a peacock must bow to this unchallenged monarch of mountain fowls, the majestic Himalayan Monal Continue reading Encounter – The Himalayan Monal