Aravind Venkatraman, a birder, writes about his memorable experiences in Chopta near Kedarnath.
My most memorable birding experience was during the trip I did in December last year to Chopta, near Kedarnath. Calling it my favourite, is in fact, a tough choice, as all the trips have been memorable — either in terms of good bird sightings, photography or the people who accompanied me. But the fact was that it was a first-time birding at high altitude with some amazing bird sightings, coupled with the weather (come on I am from Chennai!) — makes Chopta trip one of the best. Six of us from Chennai made this 10-day trip and the planning was made by the expert bird guide, Hari Lama.
We started off from Haridwar towards Chopta. It was of historic and mythological importance, as we crossed places that we often heard of and read about in books — Rudraprayag, Devprayag and Agasthiya Kund were all enroute. We stayed in Chopta for three days and then moved to a village called Mandal. This again is a part of the Chardham route and hence we experienced the importance of these places. These are part of the Gharwal Himalayas, and from there, we moved to Kumoan range and were housed at a place called Sattal, a birding heaven.
In terms of scenic beauty, snow-capped mountains and peaks with the Mandakini and Alaknanda rivers flowing by, was the best. It is always a pleasant sight when one goes towards the edge of the mountain peak and sees the mighty Himalayan peaks with the snow caps. The early morning light glittering on these snow-capped mountains are a sight to behold. The locals were also very warm to us — everyone, including taxi drivers, hoteliers and the general passersby, were helpful. Another thing which made our trip pleasant was that we focused on very rare birds, and were lucky to sight them.
Also, when we were walking down the valley and the meadows, looking at tall mountains and the simple life of people we couldn’t help but notice that there was hardly any materialistic comfort — but everyone always had a smile on their faces. This was inspiring and shows how much we have moved away from being simple.
As far as my recommendations go, my first advice would be to urge you all to visit these places! They are not only a must-visit because of the pilgrimage, but also because of the scenic beauty.
Prepare well for the trip, especially if you plan to make it during the winter months. Multiple layers of clothes are a must and do prepare to have your first aid kit handy. Also try and cover smaller distances by foot as it will be a great experience.
Suggestions to bird watchers and photographers would be to spend time and understand the bird behavior.
As always, pre-tour planning on what to see and what to focus on would be important as that makes or breaks a good birding and a bird photography trip. Please don’t throw garbage or plastic as these places are still undisturbed.
Actually Chopta, Tunganath, and Kedarnath are all year-round places. It depends on what activity one wants to get there to. If it is pilgrimage, then the best time is from mid-April, when the temple opens and if it is a birding trip, then it is indeed all year around. But winter would be the best time as birding during snow, is quite an experience.
I am heading back to the lower Himalayas (Kumaon hills) again in April for a week and I am looking forward to being back in the mountains amidst the winged wonders!
(As told to Balajee C R)
