Sunrise over the Eastern Himalayas of Arunachal Pradesh

This was possibly one of my best wake-up moments ever. Here is the situation to help you visualize the setting.


I am sleeping inside a canvas tent at Lama birding camp in Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary. Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary borders the country of Bhutan and falls within the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.


I am sleeping in a East-West position with my toes pointed towards East. Me and my friends had dozed off by 8 pm as it was very nippy and there was a constant drizzle. And when I got up at 4:45 in the morning (sun rises early in India’s North East region) to the chirping of birds, I got treated to the best sunrise of my life.


The first golden rays of the sun was falling on the snow covered peaks of the Eastern Himalayas and it seemed like sunlight could never be more beautiful. All I could do was madly stare and admire the splendid sight of the Eastern Himalayan range (green and snow covered) get drenched in the first rays of the sun.

 
Somehow, in the middle of this unfazed admiration, I found the sense to grab my camera and capture these pristine moments to be shared with the world over. Hope you like it!

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Kundadri: The Sunrise Point near Agumbe

Kundadri is supposed to offer the best sunrise views in the entire Western Ghats. It is said that one gets the feeling of watching the sunrise while sitting on top of the clouds. Kundadri is about 13-14 kilometres away from Agumbe in the direction of Teerthahalli and Shimoga.


So when I was recently was at Agumbe, I decided to pay Kundadri a visit along with my friends on our respective motorcycles. Nippy weather greeted us on our early morning start. The weather was quite hazy, but we hoped it would clear soon.



Thus, we made our way through the sharp and steep winding roads to reach Kundadri. The weather turned for the worse once we had made our ascent and foggy weather greeted us. We still did not give up hope on seeing the famous sunrise here and enjoyed the thick mist cover while we ascended the steps to the top of Kundadri.

 
It is here that we came across a Jain temple situated on the edge of the cliff. There was nothing fancy about the temple, though locals mention that it an important monument for the Jains. It is here that we also came across a group of campers who had pitched their tents by the temple side. Just further ahead from the temple is a steep drop and one can actually sit near the steep drop and enjoy a 180 degree view.


We did sit near this steep drop, but unfortunately for us, the weather didn’t clear much and hence we didn’t get to see our sunrise. But, the entire morning motorcycle ride through the misty weather was a refreshing experience. Hopefully, the clouds clear up when I visit Kundadri the next time.

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