Sangla

Photographer's Note

Tucked away in the south-eastern corner of Himachal Pradesh lies the Sangla Valley, part of the region of Kinnaur. The Valley, also known as the Baspa Valley, claims to be one of the `most beautiful valley in the Himalayas’. Stretching for 95 km, the Sangla Valley is watered by the Baspa river, which meets the Satluj at Karcham, and by several smaller streams and springs. The first 18 km of the valley are fairly narrow, with cedar, chilgoza pine and bhojpatra trees covering the slopes on either side. After that, however, the valley opens up and widens into an unforgettably lovely vale, dotted with a pretty-as-a-picture villages, right up to Chitkul (will post pictures later), beyond which habitation is virtually nil.

The Sangla Valley stretches across what was once a glacier moraine but is today a gorgeous swathe of green, dwarfed by the surrounding mountains. The clear waters of the Baspa run between orchards of apple and apricot, through villages where the houses have exquisitely carved wooden doors and steeply sloped slate roofs; an area so amazingly lovely that the natives actually say that this is where the gods live.

In the Tibetan language, the word sang actually means -light- and la means 'pass'. As such, the word Sangla stands for 'pass of light', as on crossing the majestic mountains, one suddenly emerges into a valley filled with bright sunshine and breathtaking natural beauty.

Sangla at a height of 2700 metres (8,900 feet) is the largest & most important village of the Sangla Valley. Though the largest village in the valley, it is not very big but has a sizeable number of small guesthouses and hotels. The valley was closed to outsiders until 1989, and this is one of the reasons for it remaining untouched by the intrusions of the tourism industry till about 5 years back, when a tourism explosion happened thanks to my fellow kins…Bengalis! The small village of Sangla has lost its charm with numerous guesthouse & hotel constructions mushrooming almost everywhere.

Found this niche, away from the new hotels & guest houses, with the typical stone & wood houses of the region, stacked up fuel wood - provisioning for the winter dwarfed by the surrounding mountains in the BG.

fayeulle, jhm, pierrefonds, Bluejeans, nirajsinha, subhendu_bagchi, Graal, papagolf21, josepmarin, pajaran, AiresSantos, Waylim, holmertz, lacroux has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

fayeulle (27823) 2010-07-09 0:27

Hi Angshu
Pleasant picture of this high mountains. A superb note to share with us
Cheers
JP

everlasting (13803) 2010-07-09 2:22

sounds like times have changed in kinnaur Angshu :(
A well balanced composition, (on my monitor it is bordering on oversharpend though)

jhm (122410) 2010-07-09 4:04

Hello Angshu,

Wonderful image with the small houses in foreground, the the valley between the fantastic mountains.
Splendid panorama view in background.
Colorfully and pleasant for look at.
Composition and presentation make this image nice.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

pierrefonds (48335) 2010-07-09 4:49

Hi Angshuman,

The point of view from the valley to the top of the mountains is giving depth to the composition. It is also allowing me to admire the beauty of the scenery. The afternoon light is enhancing the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

Bluejeans (64227) 2010-07-09 5:37

Ola Angshuman ,
Bonita esta zona montanhosa com neve nos picos , interessante a casa no primeiro plano um bom lugar para relaxar depois de uma caminhada e observar a natureza em redor , bom ponto de visão , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

Bom fim de semana

jasmis (57596) 2010-07-09 12:30

Breathtaking view. Superb quality of this incredible shot.
Regards my dear friend.

marietom (34603) 2010-07-09 12:37

hello Angshu,

ce paysage est grandiose. Beau ciel aussi.
Bonne soirée
Marie

subhendu_bagchi (16590) 2010-07-11 20:28

Dear Angshuman Da,
a fine capture of this pass of light. Great to see the valley from your chosen POV. The hut is superbly surrounded by greeneries with a dramatic sky at top. Great composition. Tfs.
Best wishes.
Subhendu

Graal (88852) 2010-07-11 23:32

Hi Angshuman,
amazing mountains landscape. An interesting note about Sangla. Well presentation.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

John_F_Kennedy (41368) 2010-07-11 23:41

Hello Angshuman,
Superb mountain landscape. Excellent clarity.
best wishes,
Achim

papagolf21 (76515) 2010-07-12 0:30

Bonjour, cher ami Angshu,
C'est toujours avec un très grand plaisir que je contemple tes photographies. Tu as l'art de nous faire découvrir des lieux insolites.
Ici, encore, la beauté est bien présente.
Mille mercis.
Amitiés.
Philippe

josepmarin (55023) 2010-07-12 10:58

Namaste, my friend Angshuman,
Impressive sight of the mountains in this low-angle shot.
A good work with the exposure, with the quality of the image and with the fantastic colors in this composition, perfectly executed by means of a good framing.
Well done.
Best wishes,
Josep

pajaran (36190) 2010-07-12 11:22

Pozdrav.
Mnogo lepa priroda i arhitektura koja se uklopila u okolinu, lep prikaz dobrim bojama, tekstom i lepom fotografijom. Lepo je ovo gledati i uzivati u lepote prirode, cestitam vam na radu.
Sve najbolje, lep pogled, Paja.

Google.

Hello.
Many beautiful nature and architecture to fit the environment, nice display with good colors, text and beautiful photography. It's nice to watch it and enjoy the beauty of nature, I congratulate you for your work.
All the best, nice view, Paja.

Fis2 (73084) 2010-07-12 13:09

Witaj Angshu!
Wonderful landscape,
beautiful place and object.
Super colors.
Sharpness and conrast ???
Best regards
Krzysztof

TopGeo (37994) 2010-07-12 13:35

Hi Angshu! Interesting picture of region of mountains and exceptional frame a thoughtless growth tourist perhaps spoil genuine the region other bring income in the residents! A good idea and good note!
Regards
Georgios

Waylim (22349) 2010-07-12 23:55

Hi Angshu,
A very majestic mountain landscape, Light is not ideal, but you managed the best you can with whatever you get when travelling, I know that feeling when you only have a short time in one place you just take what you can. Sharpenss and clarity is not as good as your many others, there is strong edges and the shadow under the house is also too dark because of the light condition and shooting against the bright sky. Still a very pleasant shot.
Way

holmertz (26906) 2010-07-13 1:55

Hello Angshuman,
An interesting perspective showing us the buildings and walls from below, making the hills and mountains really dwarf the people living here. The picture is nicely divided into segments of brown stones, the forested hills, the rugged mountains and the grey clouds. The sharpness is excellent, as always.
Regards,
Gert

ciakgiak (30329) 2010-07-13 6:36

Hello Angshuman,
this is a dreamy place, a fantastic mountainscape very well composed in which the sky created a fantastic effect. The colors are so natural and the quality is perfect. congratulations and TFS.
Best regards
Giorgio

Longroute (19390) 2010-07-13 7:36

To the majesty of these mountains and the gorgious sky here a unusual (for us) architecture is added. A place surely of great interest and beauty captured and composed with your usual mastery. The gods had a good taste for living there! (:-).
Warm regards,
Donato

emjleclercq (15778) 2010-07-13 13:22

Interesting ascending point of view, and good sight of the moutains, despite the cloudy sky.

All the best,

Emmanuel

AiresSantos (56155) 2010-07-15 7:50

Hi Angshu
Fine perspective of the Sangla Valley
Lovely colors and clousy sky
well composed picture
Have a nice day
Aires

lacroux (4562) 2010-07-24 22:55

Bonjour Angshu
A superb photo of the mountain full of color and light despite the clouds. You wouldn't guess by this picture the influx of tourists. This change is today's world is inevitable, and it will soon be more and more difficult to find authentic natural habitats on our planet.
May the inhabitants of these places take full advantage of this trend. But is this true everywhere?
Have a nice day.