July 2012
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A journey into Tibet - Kailash Manasa Sarovar
A journey into Tibet - At Kathmandu
Thanks to delay in Tibet permits, I got couple of extra days
in Kathmandu. Having travelled so far, it was not fair on my part to sit idle
and relax. This flight was always my dream and this was an opportunity to
fulfill it.
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Mount Everest and Lhotse as seen from the flight |
What is mountain
flight?
It is an hour long flight journey over the majestic peaks of
Eastern Himalayan area of Nepal. Airlines like Buddha Air, Yeti air and Sita
air provide this service. It is the easiest way to see Mount Everest!! What
else you need? Travel agents charge between INR 5,500-6,000 which includes to
and fro journey from hotel to airport. The best season is April-May and
October-November when weather is clear. It is not very uncommon for the flights
to be cancelled due to bad weather.
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Flight that I travelled |
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At cockpit |
My experience
While the experience viewing the snow clad mountains is
simply great, the same cannot be said about photographing the beauty. First, a
good zoom lens is needed. And you can only take photos from windows. The
moisture on the outer side of the windows is a challenge for photographer.
Luckily, tourists are allowed inside cockpits (only one person at a time) where
it is easier to take snaps.
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Shisha Pangma at the far end |
Within minutes after takeoff from Kathmandu, the flight
entered into clouds. The journey was turbulent and visibility was nil. But a
new world opened once the flight came out of the clouds!! Snow clad mountains
started appearing.
The left most mountain seen was Langtang Lirung (7234M/23734ft) which is in the sub
range of the Nepalese Himalayas.
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Shisha Pangma |
And the right most one was Kanchenjunga (8586M/28169ft) at
Nepal-Sikkim border.
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Kanchenjunga |
Out of 14 eight thousanders (The mountain peaks that are
more than 8,000 meters), 6 peaks could be seen from the flight itself.
The peaks are:
Everest (8848 M/29,029 ft)
Kanchenjunga (8586M/28169ft)
Lhotse (8516M/27,940ft)
Makalu (8485M/27,838ft)
Cho Oyu (8201M/26,906ft)
Shisha Pangma(8013M/26290ft
Out of other eight thousanders, Dhaulagiri I, Manaslu and Annapurna
I are in western side of Nepal. The rest (K2, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Broad
peak, Gasherbrum II) are in Karakoram Range that borders Pakistan controlled
Kashmir and Aksai Chin, India part of Kashmir under Chinese control.
The most beautiful sight was none other than Mount Everest.
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Mount Everest, Lhotse and Makalu (on the right side) in the same frame |