Last Updated on May 21, 2021
It was like watching a whole Himalayan range wallpapered on the horizon – the Panchachuli vista at Munsiyari – and what a close one at that!
In the November of 2008, the mountains (as it does most months of the year!) beckoned us. And we packed our bags for an impromptu trip to the Kumaon hills. A stopover at Chaukori and onward to Munsiyari was the general plan. Taking in the high altitude air, feeling the warm chill and taking those long walks in the hills had already qualified us to be self-professed mountain lovers. But there is something else, like this ilk, that we thrive on.
The constantly changing angles and vistas of the ranges always mesmerise us. What a range looks like from one place is not what you get to see elsewhere. But on this trip, we got to see something even more arresting.
We had seen the Panchachuli range many a time from Nainital. From that distance, the five peaks in the Panchachuli massif had looked like a faraway grand spectacle constantly goading you on to get closer for a better look. And then we saw them from Chaukori, it was like we just turned the zoom ring on our lens and seen them loom larger.
The Panchachuli vista at Munsiyari
Finally, when we got to Munsiyari, it was as if we had got telescopic! There they were, right before us…almost within a handshake. And that called for a selfie! But we were content with the magnificent range taking the spotlight. As for us, we didn’t mind turning our backs to the camera…the real sight was in front of us! We just had to get the timer on and take in the 70 mm view of the Panchachuli vista at Munsiyari and bask in the cool afternoon sun………..
