Tuesday, January 5, 2016

A sojourn in the Kumaon and Garhwal Himalayas : Ancient Adi Badri - (Part 10)


Day 12 - Oct 13th , 2015 

The lodge (Krishna Palace) where we stayed the previous night at Karnaprayag, was on the banks of Pindar river, and very close to the confluence point of the two rivers. The sound of the gushing water of Pindar river was like a lion's roar. 


 Pindar river
Confluence point of Alaknanda and Pindar

On the way back to Nainital from Karnaprayag, we stopped at a place called Adi Badri.

Adi Badri , the first temple complex among the Sapta Badri temples, is an ancient shrine dedicated to Vishnu. It is located in the hill ranges 17 kilometres, beyond Karnaprayag.


According to tradition, Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankaracharya is attributed as builder of all the temples.



In ancient times, when approach to the main shrine of Badrinath was closed due to bad weather conditions, pilgrims worshipped Vishnu at this temple.


There are many temples in the complex at Adi Badri, where gods such as Surya , Kubera , Kali , Ganesh , Shiva etc are worshipped.




  




We then proceeded to Nainital, which was the last leg of our journey.

We reached Nainital by 5.30 PM, met Mr. Anup Sah at his residence, and then proceeded to Kathgodam to catch the Ranikhet express.

Day 13 - Oct 14th , 2015

We alighted at Delhi by 4.30 AM . Myself , Ambika and Akshay proceeded to IG airport to board the return flight to Bangalore, which was scheduled to depart at 8.15AM.

The other members of our team, stayed in Delhi for 2 more days, as they desired to visit Agra and a local tour of Delhi, before they departed to Bangalore.

Getting there ...

By air: Jolly Grant airport, Dehradun is the nearest airport( 190Km from Karnaprayag).
By rail: Haridwar railway station, around 200Km from Karnaprayag 
By road: You can reach Adi Badri from Dehradun , Nainital , Haridwar or Rishikesh. 

Route to Adi Badri

1) Dehradun – Rishikesh – Devprayag – Srinagar – Rudraprayag – Karnaprayag - Adi Badri

2) a) Nainital - Almora – Dwarahat – Gairsain – Karnaprayag 
    b) Nainital – Almora – Kausani – Gwaldham – Tharali – Karnaprayag – Adi Badri

Our Route

Karnaprayag - Adi Badri - Ranikhet - Nainital - Kathgodam

This marks the end of my 10 series blog, and I really thank our team for the company. Special thanks to Satish uncle for making all the arrangements and Sandeep , our driver who accompanied us in the tour.




Sandeep


Equipments that I have used 

1. Nikon D7100
2. Nikon 200-500mm F/5.6 VR lens
3. Nikon 18-105mm VR lens
4. Nikon 24-120mm F/4 VR lens
5. Tamron 90mm F/2.8 VC lens
6. Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8 ATX-II lens
7. Aputure timer remote control
8. Benro A300FN0 Tripod

I hope you enjoyed all the blog posts in the Himalayan series. Thank you for your wonderful time and patience !!

Thank you !!!









9 comments:

  1. great series, amazing photos and excellent details on travel.

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  3. Arjun, your blog posts are getting very professional and detailed from blog to blog. This being the longest blog in series is really an inspiration for those who want to travel to The Abode of Gods " UTTARAKHAND" , and it is one of my most favorite state in India.

    The time you have taken to capture the beauty of not only mountains , but also of animals and birds are spellbinding.
    The compositions are very nice and pleasing . The story line gives goosebumps to the reader, and makes him to visit this place in his/her life time. The fabulous part of the trip was Food, which we enjoyed everywhere, and particularly BULKHAN. The hospitality of the mountain people are most appreciated. Overall, a Well conceptualized Blog.
    Last but not the least :

    your pictures are as beautiful as the MONAL PHEASANT.
    Your story line and information is as lovely as mighty HIMALAYAS.
    Your efforts and humanity are as Divine as BADHRI
    Your thinking and enthusiasm are as Pure as Mother ALAKANADA.

    Wish you all the very Best, and waiting to travel with you again. Yes, HIMALAYAS ARE CALLING US !!!

    Satish

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    1. Thank you very much chikappa.
      Very kind words by you, and I am really humbled.
      Thanks for the guidance and inspiration !!

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  4. Very nice post,.. beautiful photos..

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  5. Good one Arjun and some of the landscape / star trail images are worthy of huge prints.
    I noticed some Id's missing for the birds and also a short write up on shooting star trails/long exposure would help.

    All said, excellent series, way to go!

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    1. Thank you very much Santosh !!
      I have given a link of my earlier post (which describes the process of doing star trail/milkyway photography)

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