Surreal Sunset from a hidden location in the Sahyadri Mountains

6 consecutive ranges of mountains with mist settling fast on them, various hues and shades of orange and red right above it, a lovely waterfall surrounded by dense forest and a cliff edge view point. That was my sunset view from a stunning location in the Sahyadri mountains.



This view point is not known in the tourist circles and therein lies its charm and beauty. Only locals of the Jajjigudde village and nearabouts know of this view point and that is how I got to know about it. In fact, it was the owner of the Tavarumane homestay, where I was staying, who recommended a short evening hike to this view point in the Western Ghats of Uttara Kannada region in Karnataka.

After treating ourselves to some fresh filter coffee and some traditional snacks, we drove through forests, plantations and a few houses before we parked our car and began and uphill and then a downhill walk to this view point. The terrain is steep and raw and it is best to exercise caution. May be, carry a torch and a bottle of water with you in case you wish to stay there till it gets dark.

At the view point, you literally are standing at a cliff’s edge and you are surrounded by pristine forests of the Western Ghats. You can often see and/or hear hornbills here. Straight in front of you lies the Bilihole falls, a jungle waterfall that you can also trek to provided you get permissions from the forest department. And beyond the waterfall lies a wave of mountains. My homestay owner told me that there are 8 mountain peaks and ranges one behind the other, but I could only count up to 6. May be, it was the mist that blocked my view. But, of whatever I saw, I was simply left astounded.



The entire sunset package was surreal and I hoped that the view continued for a few more minutes, but darkness set in and I was forced to make my way back to my homestay, but the sunset memories remain and I hope that I can return to this sunset view point yet again and hopefully see some great hornbills fly while I watch the sun set over the maze of Sahyadri mountains.

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Travel Photo: Sunset at Pakse, Laos

After exploring the Bolavan plateau on a motorcycle for 2 days, I returned to Pakse only to find that most of the budget guest houses were either full or below par for that price. Hence, I started scouring the main street (Route 13) of Pakse. It was during this walk that I saw the beautiful orange red sun set in front of me.


The sight was so beautiful that I could not help, but take my camera out and capture this surreal moment. This was a different sunset for me as I was on the road (east side) and buildings on north and south. This was one of those rare moments that I felt the beauty of the sun over its warmth (The summer in Laos is getting better and all you can feel is the heat constantly).

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Sunset Moment from Ban Kantiang Bay, Ko Lanta, Thailand

When you are on a tropical island, it is a given that you will see beautiful sunrises and sunsets. But, that was not the case to be for me when I was at Ko Lanta, one of Thailand’s best beach destination. The reason was simple. The 9 days that I was at Ko Lanta, the days were more or less cloudy all throughout with heavy winds. And since most of the accommodation was on the west side of the island, I had to ride 15 kilometers in the early hours of the morning and I was simply not prepared to do that.


Hence, I had to chase my sunset moments. One evening, I was at the national park located at the southern most end of the island. Here, I felt that that evening might give me an outside chance at a decent sunset. Hence, I left the national park as the sun starting setting in the horizon. When I do sunsets, I have a certain thumb rule. The best sky, colors and the glow happens about 30 minutes after the sunset, give or take a few minutes. Thus, keeping this thumb rule in mind, I kept watching the sunset and rode north towards the beaches. But, since it was cloudy, my thumb rule fell short by 10 minutes and I had to make a mad dash to the nearest Ban Kantiang bay beach and this is where I got this sunset. Personally, I like it in spite of the clouds spoiling the colors from it. What is your opinion?

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A Mountain Sunset from Ko Phi Phi Island

Watching a beautiful sunset is in itself a peaceful moment, but if you have a beach, ocean and mountains in your sunset then it becomes even more special. I watched such an amazing sunset in the Ko Phi Phi island of Thailand.


I was walking from the Long beach and onto the Ton Sai Bay when I noticed that the sun was right above the mountain and going to disappear behind them. Now the amazing part here is that the mountains are just next to the ocean and I was standing on the Ton Sai bay’s rocky beach.


I was lucky to watch the entire sunset over the mountains and it was great in spite of it being a bit cloudy. I loved the silhouette it formed of the mountains in my frame and when the sun had disappeared behind the hills, I was also able to get silhouettes of the mountains in the background and the long tail fishing boats in the foreground, making it a very special sunset experience for me.

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Sunset from Maasai Mara

I was there at Maasai Mara to see Africa’s greatest wildlife spectacle and I did get to see that. However, I get a bonus in terms of fantastic sunsets.


This is one such sunset over the savannahs of Maasai Mara in East Africa.

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