The most remote of all the Panch Kedars in Uttarakhand, situated at an altitude of 3600Mts, an expanse of high altitude Alpine meadows so vast it stretches Kilometers. With the rainy season coming to an end in the months of September/October, clouds paint a landscape which seems to be of a different world altogether. With the haze washed away by rains, Himalayas shine like crystal peaks at very close distances. Situated deep inside the Himalayas, Panar Bugyal offers Majestic and real close up views of the snow clad peaks of Mighty Trishul, Maa Nandadevi, Dronagiri, Hathi and Ghodi and other peaks.
The way from Panar to Rudranath is a stretch of beautiful Alpine meadows for kilometres. A Journey that will test you, stretch you out of your comfort zone, exhaust you but also bless you beyond measure. A place that will leave your camera shutters rolling all day, until your batteries die or memory cards get filled. A journey that will take make you finally realize how exceptionally wonderful and beautiful mother earth is.
What is included in the tour
- Accommodation for 6 nights and 7 days in tents ( Twin sharing basis)
- All meals and tea from 18th September afternoon to 24th September afternoon.
- Camping, Photography, Guide Charges.
- Pickup and drop from and to Haridwar in Non-AC Vehicles.
- All taxes and service charges.
What is NOT included in the tour
- Travel charges from your locations to Haridwar and vice-versa
- Trip to Chopta on the last day is optional one, If we do decide to go, the vehicle booking charges and entry charges (if any) will be extra.
- Mineral Water, Cold Drinks, Laundry Charges, telephone expenses, tips etc.
- Medical and travel Insurance.
Please note:
Gear guide and getting ready for the expedition:
- Carry your wide angle and Telephoto for shooting Landscapes.
- The place would be very cold, do carry heavy woollen clothes for Nights and Mornings.
- Please do carry a sturdy Tripod, for good sharp pictures in low light conditions.
- Carry camera remote, filters and other advisable accessories for landscape photography
- Torch and headlamps is a must.
- A basic first aid kit along with your regular medicines as may be advised (if any)
- Backup memory cards, batteries and Laptop.
- Motion sickness is quite common while travelling on mountain roads, do carry medicines for the same.
Please be advised that this expedition is being carried high in the Himalayas between 2000Mts to 3500Mts. There are no villages around this place for Kilometers, and is a highly remote and isolated place. Please ensure peak Medical and Physical fitness before confirming for the Workshop.
Note:
- Please be advised that weather in high Himalayas is highly unpredictable. Weather is mostly clear this time of the year, but still cannot be guaranteed.
- This is not a luxury trip, the trek would be exhausting and the facilities would be very basic.
- Panar Bugyal has no electricity. Camera Batteries can be charged at Gopeshwar. Post which we will be without electricity for 3 nights.
- Please ensure that you carry at least 2 spare batteries and memory cards in addition to one in the camera.
- Accommodation will be in Tents at Panar Bugyal on twin sharing Basis. We will have Washroom facility till Gopeshwar, post which we will be using a Washroom Tent for the same. Basic Veg food will be Available at all the locations.
- Do carry adequate rain protection for your camera gears and yourself
- For people who have never stayed in tents, please refer the video at the end for how inside of a tent looks like. It will give you an idea of the space inside a tent.
- Please be advised that our daily trails will include Moderate to difficult trekking, hence make sure that you are physically fit to walk uphill and downhill along with your photography gears. Our Luggage will be taken by Ponies.
- If coming by flight, most advisable route will be Delhi-Dehradun (Jolly Grant Airport) followed by a road journey to Haridwar. (P.S Kindly be advised to reach meeting point of Haridwar station or nearby pick up point before 12 PM)
- Plenty of trains are available to travel from New Delhi to Haridwar.
- New Delhi- Dehradun Shatabdi express leaves from Delhi at 6:45AM in the morning and reaches Haridwar by 11:30 AM.
- Or you can travel by bus from New Delhi to Haridwar, plenty of buses are available all the time.
Main points to be covered in this Workshop
- Composing an Image (Various composition tools)
- Using wide and Telephoto lenses to shoot Landscapes
- The Preferred camera settings for shooting a Landscape
- Various creative ways of shooting the same landscape from different perspectives and at different focal lengths.
- The post processing behind the Images(In Gopeshwar)
- Tricks and techniques of shooting landscapes in Moonlit Night.
- Tips and techniques on light painting of landscapes.
- Critical analysis of participants Images on and after the shoot.
- Information on and the significance of the area and some interesting stories about the area.
18th September (Haridwar to Gopeshwar)
Our tour leaders will meet you at Haridwar Station and start our journey from the city of pilgrimage to the mighty terrains of Himalayas. It’s advised to reach Haridwar station before 12PM as travel time to our destination is around 9 Hours and night driving is not allowed in the mountains. Enroute we will have delicious lunch and tea. We reach our destination by around 9PM. After check-in to the hotel, we will have a brief introduction session, dinner and rest for the night.
19th September (Gopeshwar to Panar Bugyal)
Today we wake up Early Morning, get ready and leave for Panar Bugyal by 6 AM. Trek to Panar Bugyal is approx. 15 Kms. Though the trek is difficult, it passes through very dense, beautiful forests, natural streams flowing at numerous locations making the trek a really relaxing one. The nights would be very bright this week as we have a full moon approaching and if participants are up to it we will play with capturing the beautiful moonlit Himalayan landscapes.
20th September (Panar- Rudranath-Panar)
Today again we wake up early Morning before sunrise for beautiful Landscapes, then begin our trek toward Rudranath. We then return for a mesmerizing sunset at Panar Bugyal. Later in the night moonlit Landscapes and discussion on queries and images.
21st September (Taulli Tal)
Half day landscape photography at Panar. Post breakfast we start our descent towards Taulli Taal, a downwards trek of around 4 kms and our stay for the night. Taulli tal is a high altitude lake set up in a dense patch of Jungle. The reflections of Himalayas in Taulli Taal looks amazing and we shoot a beautiful sunset here
22nd September (Taulli Tal to Gopeshwar)
Today post breakfast we leave for Gopeshwar. Shooting and walking through the dense high altitude forests. We reach Gopeshwar by late evening and then retire for the night.
23rd September (Gopeshwar)
We would be really tired by our excursions of the past few days and today we relax and give ourselves some much needed rest. If participants feel fresh, today we go towards Chopta and Tungnath for a one day birding tour. Late afternoon and evening we explore the small town of Gopeshwar, discuss on our experiences of the trip and post-processing of Images.
24th April (Gopeshwar to Haridwar)
Today Morning post breakfast, we leave to Haridwar for our onward journey.
