From Krittika to Sunrise on Neelkanth Peak.
This video has been shot from Charan Paduka (God’s Footprint) near Badrinath.
The 2 am trek up to the location of Charan Paduka took more than an hour. We lost our way in the gullies of Badrinath two times as there no soul up at that time to guide us towards the correct way. Going up was slow carrying along the camera bag and tripod. Nevertheless the determination to reach the meadow never waned. We reached the little meadow and immediately put the cameras to good use to get as many frames as possible till sunrise.
Nilkantha is a major peak in the Garhwal. Although substantially lower than the highest peaks of the region, it towers dramatically and beautifully over the valley of the Alaknanda River and rises 3,474 metres above the Hindu pilgrimage of Badrinath.
The sequence started at about 4 am, with a plan to continue till sunrise at 6:22 am Frame was set to include the road leading ahead towards Neelkanth. Soon Double Cluster of Perseus entered the view of the camera. Krittika (Pleiades) entered the view next followed by Rohini (Hyades, Aldebaran). The entire mountainside is being illuminated by the lights shining from Badrinath, right from the growing pines till the Neelkanth Peak in the distance. Several camping tents were setup in the meadow close to our camera location, with some activity going on.
Astronomical twilight was scheduled one hour later at 5am. Numerous satellites appear in the sky around the time of twilight. Krittika starts fading in the blue hour. Several early visitors to arrive, exchange pleasantries and continue their trek to Charan Paduka. The light from Badrinath is diminishing and dawn light is steadily increasing. The temperature at this time drops to fifteen degrees in the negative, the coldest before sunrise.
Finally the spectacle that we had been waiting for, the golden glow on the Neelkanth Peak at 6:20 am. It is quite mesmerising to witness the everyday spectacle of nature in those surroundings.
