“We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.”
— Ralph Hattersley
Happy Pixels Photography Club of SLA, Uttaranchal University organized a Photowalk to Chopta – Tungnath, Uttarakhand from 30th September to 3rd October,2021. A serene town located amidst the valley of snow capped Kedarnath hills, Chopta has everything it takes to describe Paradise. The main purpose of this trip was to make the students experience a Nature Photo Walk, Trekking, Exploring the sights of Uttarakhand, Landscape and Travel Photography and understanding the life of Himalayan region. The Faculty Members of SLA, namely, Ms. Smriti Uniyal and Mr. Pawan Dabral accompanied the students.
On the very first day the students visited The Tungnath temple, which has peacefully adorned the Chandranath Parvat and is the highest Shiva temple in the world and the highest Panch Kedar temple of Uttarakhand. It is the third (Tritiya Kedar) in the pecking order of the Panch Kedars. Tungnath is perched at an elevation of 3,680 meters above sea level and is considered to be more than 1,000 years old. The 3.5 km trek has an ineffably beautiful pathway which adds more to the feeling of solace. Students enjoyed the vision of panoramic mountains of Chopta and captured the beauty exquisitely in their cameras. The topic for the Photography Assignment covered during the visit was “Landscape Photography”. Students captured some beautiful pictures of the Peak and were fascinated by the surrounding beauty.
On the second day the students were taken on a Photo Walk from Sari-Ukhimath to “Deoria Taal”. It is a lake about 3 km from the villages of Mastura and Sari on the Ukhimath-Chopta road in Uttarakhand. The lake has heavily wooded, lush green surroundings with snow-covered mountains in the backdrop. The climb to the lake took 2 hours which the students covered enthusiastically. The beauty of the “Deoria tal” thrilled and amazed the students. The students gained a lot through this trip. They explored the culture of Uttarakhand, interacted with the locals and learnt about simple living and ate basic pahadi food. Chopta felicitated the students with new learning and some unique experiences. We travel to let your souls free, finding real peace. And the mission was accomplished successfully as the students acquired a handful of knowledge.
