This month, your challenge was to show your best sunrise/sunset photos -- the magnificent skylines, the alpenglow, the golden hour, the silhouettes, the emotions... And we must admit, several photos completely stole our hearts!

We realized how special capturing those sunrises and sunsets can be for anyone because we received whopping 650 entries this month and engagement for this contest on all platforms was higher than usual. It was a delight going through all the photos. However, shortlisting these top 12 photos was hard.

So here, we announce the Winners of the Trek Photographer of the Month in November 2022.

Winner

Suchandan Bhar - Sandakphu

This is such a beautifully captured photo. This photo is all about emotion. You can see the trekker completely lost in the moment jotting down the thoughts running through her mind. This is probably right after completing the Sandakphu summit when the emotions are high. What a moment to capture! This is a picture worthy of a postcard! This is why we have awarded this picture with this month's winner!

Congratulations Suchandan Bhar! You have won the First Prize, with the terrific ZERO 50-liter Rucksack by Adventure Worx, which they can use on all their future treks.

First - Runner up

Isha Agarwal - Dayara Bugyal

If you've been on any Himalayan trek, you'll know of that moment in the morning when you're waiting for the first rays of the sun to touch you. This is exactly that moment at sunrise captured on the Dayara Bugyal trek. You can see the mighty Gangotri ranges in the backdrop. The photographer has captured the moment so well, showing a lovely contrast of the cold foreground and warm background.

Congratulations Isha Agarwal! You have won the runner up prize, with the wonderful water purifying bottle by Paany, which is a Godsend while trekking and travelling.

Trekkers Choice Award

Suraj Chepyala - Goechala

Looks like the Kanchenjunga peak is on fire. This is a simple yet such a powerful photo because of just how close you get to the Kanchenjunga from Goechala.

We also love the contrast of the sunlight on one side and shade on the other.

Congratulations Suraj Chepyala! You have won the Trekkers Choice Award, gathering a staggering 46.5% of the overall votes! You have won an Indiahikes surprise Goodie Bag from Indiahikes.

Nominations

Arun Venkatesh - Everest Base Camp

This is not something that you witness on a daily basis. On one side, the sun is setting with such beautiful colors and on the other side you see moon rising, not just from anywhere, but from behind Mt Everest. It is truly a blessing to experience such amazing views of nature.

Swati Gavde - Sandakphu

Another Sleeping Buddha capture but with some extra elements, very typical of the Sandakphu trek. This picture has everything in it, from the Sleeping Buddha, some lovely warmth of the sun on it, all of it carpeted by an ocean of clouds.

Nagendra S - Brahmatal

One must trek in winter to see a red alpenglow. What better than enjoying it on Mt. Trishul. This picture is unique because standing at that point, you get to see mountains to the east and sun setting in the west and the colours of these mountains changing slowly as the sun goes down. Beautifully composed photo!

Pritam Sil - Sandakphu

You are seeing the very popular Sleeping Buddha in this picture, as seen from Sandakphu. The cherry on the top is that the early morning rays are falling exactly on Kanchenjunga, while the other peaks are yet to see the sun.

Santhosh Govindrajulu - Kashmir great lakes

This picture is from the very first alpine lake that you get to see at 11,700 ft on the Kashmir Great Lakes trek, Vishansar.
You see such clear water with stunning reflections only during sunrise. After that, the water becomes wavy with ripples, not giving you such crisp reflections. The angle of this photograph too is a rare one, where the photographer has had to walk quite a bit around the lake to frame the moment.

Zubair Motiwala - Kashmir great lakes

Here's a rare sight of Mt Harmukh lit up at the golden hour, with the Nandkol lake at its base. Most of the trekkers reach this campsite late in the afternoon, and click most of their pictures at that time. But here, the photographer has waited for the perfect moment at dawn to capture Mt Harmukh and the water flowing from its glaciers. The colours are simply mind-boggling!

Atal Bajpayee - Gaumukh Tapovan

This picture is from one of the most historical treks of our country - Gaumukh Tapovan. We must admit, this is a trek with one of the grandest sunrises and sunsets. Trekkers are spoilt silly by the terrific alpenglow on the big mountains of the Gangotri ranges. But it takes skill to capture the morning colours, with the right amount of sharpness and contrast. The photographer here has been able to do that beautifully.

Neeraj Bisht - Kuari Pass

We loved this pictures because of all the sunset hues that it captures -- the pink, orange, yellow, purple and blue glow that lights up the sky during sunset. The cherry on top is the top-most tip of Mt Nanda Devi peeking from behind the folds of mountains!

Ashish Tripathi - Kuari Pass

Khullara is one of those magical campsites on the Kuari Pass trek, easily among the Top 10 Campsites among all our treks. This photograph is one of the reasons why. The small pond does magical things during sunrise, with terrific reflections. The photographer here knows his art too, because it takes the right exposure, right timing and the right frame to capture the sunrise so beautifully!

Thank you for participating! We’ll be back with more.