Uttarakhand

flowers

Rhododendron arboreum or guransh tree in full bloom in Uttarakhand spring, Laughing Thrushes and many other birds get enthusiastic about blooms, their nectar and the insects they invite.

festival · farmland

Priest dances with an axe in hand during a trance stage ritual at Uttarakhand Harvest Festival near Harsil. The crowd goes crazy and whistles him on with encouragement. The palanquin of the goddess is meanwhile jhuloed on the palki.

bazaar · village

Village wool market : Shepherd community of Uttarakhand brings in their freshly sheared sheep wool to the Bhotia market of Bagori near Harsil.

festival

Man tries to cut his tongue during trance state in traditional autumn Uttarakhand Festival near Harsil

hills · flowers

Naresh Aswal of Ghorakhuri and his assistants collect seeds in later summer, in our Uttarakhand gardens. Crimson Sweet William seed heads being harvested at wildfilmsindia Himalayan botanical collections.

wildlife · birds

Monal takes a poop! It lines itself up and then takes a massive dump... This beautiful bird is the Lophophorus impejanus, Impejan / Impeyan Pheasant, Monal Pheasant or Danphe, national bird of Nepal, state bird of Uttarakhand, and a beautif…

farmland · hills

Traditional farming the old fashioned way, using brute human force alone. A farmer couple powers an old style hand powered plough to till their fields: Farming in the hills of Uttarakhand in India.

village · river

Summer-time western disturbance clouds swell up over Saari village near Tungath-Chopta in Uttarakhand, on Deoria Tal trekking route. Notice the telecom tower in a small Garhwali mountain village.

wildlife · hills

Moving its head left to right, this young Panther or Leopard stops right in front of our camera trap, and films itself in failing evening light in the Himalaya, at the wildfilmsindia wildlife sanctuary in Uttarakhand.

hills · river

What arachnid species would this be? Help us identify this Himalayan species from 6700 feet altitude in Uttarakhand.

forest

Lengda - as they are known in Garhwal area of Uttarakhand, or fern fronds, also known as fiddleheads in north America, make for highly nutritious iron rich forest produce.

birds · hills

Deep blue bird catches evening light sitting on a Himalayan Cedar or deodar branch, and looks deceptively like a different bird but is really a Verditer Flycatcher in the Himalay, at our wildfilmsindia sanctuary in Uttarakhand.

hills · highway

Chakrata town in Uttarakhand is a lovely hill station, but long forgotten and ignored except for its Rajma beans, thanks to the Army presence here, including that of Establishment 21, a force to protect Tibet and the Indian Tibet border.

hills

Solar panel arrays sit precariously on an undulating and steep hillside in the Himalayan mountains of Uttarakhand.

birds · wildlife

Deep blue bird catches evening light sitting on a Himalayan Cedar or deodar branch, and looks deceptively like a different bird but is really a Verditer Flycatcher in the Himalay, at our wildfilmsindia sanctuary in Uttarakhand.

village · farmland

Pantwari village in Uttarakhand - The stepped rice and grain fields serve as a base for the trek to Nag Tibba. Pantwari is now a bustling village town in the mountains around and beyond Mussoorie.

birds · forest

What a lovely trilling call this male Verditer delivers, in order to establish its territory and attract a mate.

farmland · river

Juddo dam Hathiyari - Uttarakhand is now a land of dams, endangering riverine systems, with earthquake risk to boot 420MW Lakhwar-Vyasi Power Project in Juddo Lakhwar-Vyasi Hydro Power Project comprises of two dams - the 192-meter high Lakh…

snow · hills

A carpet of freshly-fallen snow with no dirt, mud of footprints can be so inviting! Come scrunch-crunch your way through a carpet of freshly-fallen snow at wildfilmsindia Jabbarkhet forest and mountains in the Uttarakhand Himalaya.

hills

Living above the clouds, with only the sky and sun for company! A view from the wildfilmsindia Himalayan estate in Uttarakhand, as the winterline comes into active mode once the sun has set, and the sky gets emblazoned with a range of colou…

hills

Good morning from wildfilmsindia in the Himalaya: Early morning sunrise over Uttarakhand mountains Stunning colours follow as the sun peeks and shows itself at the horizon as seen from our Wilderness Estate in Uttarakhand.

forest · hills

One carelessly tossed bidi by a villager or a cigarette by a wretched ignorant tourist and hundreds, even thousands of acres of prime Himalayan mixed Oak and Rhododendron forest go up in smoke, in the dead of night, and no one cares or acts…

hills

Sunset over Garhwal Himalaya with a fabulous panorama - Horns of Harsil, Mahla, Shrikantha, Rudragaira / Rudugaira, PK. 6264M, Gangotri I-II-III, Mechha Ridge and Jaonli.