Snow-covered Panchachuli peaks along the horizon under a clear blue sky, with forested ridges below rising out of valleys filled with white cloud, and dark tree branches in the foreground.

The Panchachuli peaks above the clouds, seen from Vriddh Jageshwar

Vriddh Jageshwar, Almora · October 2025

Clouds fill the valleys, and the nearby hills rise out of it like islands. This is the view from Vriddh Jageshwar, an ancient temple in Almora at about 2,400 meters. From up here the clouds stay below you, and the horizon is clear all the way to the snow. The Panchachuli peaks sit on that far edge, already lit while the valleys wait in shade. It is early in the morning, and there is no better place to be awake.

Photograph: Hisalu