October 2021 Trek Photographer Of The Month Nominations Are Out – Vote For Your Favourite Photographs

October in the mountains makes for stunning shots of landscapes. The grass is a magical sun-baked golden and is sprinkled with fresh frost every morning. You can also see the clearest views of big mountains of our country.

For the October 2021 Trek Photographer Of The Month contest, we received over 500 photographs. Each photograph was unique in its own way – an interesting frame, great perspective shots, unique night photographs, and never-before-seen photographs of some of the world’s highest summits.

There was stiff competition between pictures from the Goechala trek and the Gaumukh Tapovan trek. You will see why!

We have special prizes for our top 3 photographs

• The winner gets a trek voucher of Rs 5,000
• The first runner up gets a trek voucher of Rs 3,000
• The second runner up gets a trek voucher of Rs 2,000

You can use these vouchers to book any Indiahikes trek in the next one year.

We also have a Trekkers’ Choice Award, which will be the photo that wins the highest votes out of our 12 nominations. The Trekkers’ Choice Award Winner gets a Indiahikes merchandise.

Vote for your favorite photographs below. You can vote only once, so take a look at all the entries before you cast your vote

1. Goechala Trek – Ganesh Devadiga

This is one of the rarest views of Samiti lake. We appreciate that the photographer took a different view at the right time. It shows the perfect reflections of snow-capped mountains with autumn colors. This Samiti lake freezes during the winter season.

2. Deoriatal Chandrashila Trek – Sagar Dubey

Usually, trekkers see the reflection of Mt. Chaukhamba from Deoriatal. But there is a watch tower near the lake from where you get the best spot to photograph Mt. Chaukhamba, Mt. Mandani Parvat. Time your short for sunrise or sunset, like the photographer did in this one.  

3. Gaumukh Tapovan Trek – Srikanth Chikkala

This picture shows massif of Mt. Bhagirathi with trekkers in the foreground. The three sisters: Bhagirathi I, II and III are nestled together in one isolated massif. The entire massif stands tall from its base to the summit. This is a different perspective from other photographs. 

4. Goechala Trek  – Prasan Hegde

In this picture, we appreciate the photographer using a triangle composition at the right time. It shows a great establishment shot of the Thansing campsite along with Mt. Pandim in the background.

5. Buran Ghati Trek – Sachin Nayak

It’s been a while since we saw pictures of star trails in our photo contest entries. This nomination is dedicated to the sheer effort it takes to step out of the tent at night, set up the camera in freezing cold and wait for that perfect shot.

6. Gaumukh Tapovan Trek –  Ravi Gupta

You will never see the glittering colours of Mt. Shivling during the sunrise anywhere in the world. It’s a visual treat for the trekkers and photographers. Especially when shot like this with a telephoto lens, the close-up view is stunning!

7. Kedartal Trek – Arjun Prasad

This picture shows a beautiful combination of flowers, autumn colours, green grass and snow-capped mountains on the Kedartal trek. 

8. Goechala Trek – Soumyadeep

Autumn is one of the best trekking seasons. The grassy vegetation at higher altitudes turns red before turning into gold. This picture captures the colours beautifully with a clear blue sky!

9. Kuari pass Trek – Suneel Shah

This is a rare photo that captures the ridge walk experience during the summit day on the Kuari Pass trek. While the ridge walk is short, it offers some stunning views of the garhwal himalaya ranges. 

 10. Gaumukh Tapovan Trek – Dr. Haridarshan

Tapovan is one of the best campsite which is at 14,203ft.  This spectacular photo captures the first rays of the sun lighting up the crown of Mt. Shivling. 

 11. Goechala Trek – Vishal Gupta

Trekkers walking on the beautiful wooden-log trails at Goechala trek. This section is dark and silent. The experience blows your mind away as you trek through thick dense forest. 

 12. Sandakphu Phalut Trek – Sanghamitra Kumar

In this morning shot on the Sandakphu trek, you see a group of trekkers huddled together, watching the magnificent Sleeping Buddha over a bed of clouds. It is one of the best compositions shot through the perspective of trekkers watching the Sleeping Buddha. 

Results will be announced on December 1st

Which one is your favourite shot? Vote for it below!

• Deoriatal Chandrashila Trek - Sagar Dubey (22%, 562 Votes)
• Sandakphu Phalut Trek - Sanghamitra Kumar (18%, 457 Votes)
• Gaumukh Tapovan Trek -  Ravi Gupta (16%, 407 Votes)
• Goechala Trek - Ganesh Devadiga (11%, 288 Votes)
• Gaumukh Tapovan Trek - Dr. Haridarshan (11%, 267 Votes)
• Goechala Trek  - Prasan Hegde (8%, 205 Votes)
• Buran Ghati Trek - Sachin Nayak (6%, 147 Votes)
• Goechala Trek - Soumyadeep (3%, 70 Votes)
• Goechala Trek - Vishal Gupta (2%, 39 Votes)
• Kuari pass Trek - Suneel Shah (2%, 38 Votes)
• Gaumukh Tapovan Trek - Srikanth Chikkala (1%, 30 Votes)
• Kedartal Trek - Arjun prasad (1%, 23 Votes)

Total Voters: 2,533