At the beginning of the trip we caught a train up to Haridwar and hired a car and driver for a day to drive up into the foothills of the mountains.

The narrow winding roads led us up to the Surkanda Devi temple where we parked and climbed the last 500m or so up a steep, twisting path to the temple at an altitude of 3030m... I was kind of out of breath by the time I got to the top and unfortunately the weather had closed in so that we couldn't see the high peaks of the Himalayas. Unbelievably, hail stones were falling at the top... and you could only enter with bare feet - brrr!

A few days later we saw a newspaper and it was reported that a day or so after we went up there a bus full of people had crashed over the edge and fallen down the sheer side of the road killing everyone on board!

2 looking great ;) shady87 · 2009-04-20: 13:53

all are pretty but 3rd and 5 th really great. gonia · 2009-04-20: 14:10

The terraces are awesome. Great set. dontblink · 2009-04-20: 14:21

Wonderful landscapes noptek · 2009-04-20: 14:23

Wonderful shots. Oweena · 2009-04-20: 14:44

Great set!! peregol · 2009-04-20: 15:31

Wonderful set - I especially like the first two - so much detail to pore over. girafferacing · 2009-04-20: 15:34

Amazing photos and story :) ... And this is just the beginning - #@%*!!! redro · 2009-04-20: 17:19

very nice onlymehdi · 2009-04-20: 18:07

Davids, what an adventurer you are! You've been lucky this time sebelo · 2009-04-20: 18:26

It's always good to return with stories as well as photos! Saved #3 to my favs.... 4 looks windy and cold, love the women's saris blowing around them. DancingDolphin · 2009-04-20: 19:51

oh, the news of the bus full of people...you be careful! sunshineand · 2009-04-20: 20:44

Beautiful landscapes and I love looking through the archway at the hills. ????? · 2009-04-21: 00:18

lovely farming in #5 slowpete · 2009-04-21: 02:47

Beautiful series - and what a story! jet28 · 2009-04-21: 04:47

good to have a guardian angel on your side... will you reveal what profession you practice which takes you to such amazing places all over the world? no. 5 is how i imagine the gate to heaven. longimanus · 2009-04-21: 05:55

Great set... JaCkYe · 2009-04-21: 10:14

Great series!! Primavera · 2009-04-21: 18:55

Haridwar.... another place of my dreams! thanx for the post miltonjacob · 2009-06-02: 05:56