Please Note - The following rates exclude Goods and Service Tax (12% on rooms and 5% on food). At the end of the page is a list of inclusive prices
Learn to Capture the Night Sky in The Roof of the World
The Indus River Camp presents an intimate, in-the-field Astrophotography workshop over 7 nights in June in Ladakh, for photographers of any level of expertise
Three days of technical instruction and local exploration at the Indus River Camp precede a trip to Pangong Lake and Hanle, India's first dark-sky reserve, and home to the Indian Astronomical Society. Daily review of fieldwork and post-processing sessions will be conducted throughout the tour, with a small group, to ensure plenty of time with the mentor.
4 nights in the Indus River Camp and travel by Innova Crysta allow for a unique level of comfort for an astrophotography tour. A specialised, local, wildlife guide for the trip to Pangong and Hanle allows us the opportunity to photograph Pallas Cats and other rare wildlife.
Our mentor, Pratap, will teach the following:
Planning the Shoot
Locating the Milky Way, Timelines, Light Pollution and Lens Choices
Camera Function
Finessing Exposure and Focussing in a Low Light Environment, Filter Usage
Sunrise and Sunset Capture
Filter Usage, Photo Bracketing
with Advanced Techniques such as
Startracking, Focus Blending, Mastering the Timelapse and Noise Reduction with Stacking
PRICING
Single
1,24,000
Double
1,84,000
(92,000 per person)
Another option is to sign up for a shared room at The Indus River Camp, yet single rooms in Pangong and Hanle.
This depends on availability of another participant, but would cost approximately 1 Lac per person
PRATAP J
Pratap J is a skilled drone pilot and timelapse photographer, who has an acute understanding of the planning, execution, and post-processing of Milky Way photography. He mentors photographers of night sky online and via his Youtube channel.
You can see his Instagram here
Photos from Prataps Last Trip to Ladakh
CONTACT
LOCATIONS
Pangong
Pangong Lake is vast, brackish high-altitude lake that extends from India into China. The colours of the lake and its surrounding mountains change dramatically throughout the day.
At night, the lake offers an excellent reflective, foregound for astrophotography. Accommodation is decent for the remote location, but we recommend that all guests take single rooms, unless part of a couple
Hanle
Hanle is home to the Indian Astronomical Society and its many telescopes. Its altitude (4,500m), lack of light pollution, and vast foreground offer an unparalleled landscape for astrophotography. In 2022, Hanle became India's first dark-sky preserve.
Its surrounding area is also home to an array of unique wildlife able to thrive in the harsh conditions, including the famous, and rare Pallas Cat. On each of the days in Hanle, the wildlife guide will seek out Pallas Cats and other animals for afternoon photography
THE SCHEDULE
Days 1 to 3
Acclimatising and local sightseeing, using The Indus River Camp as a base. Experiments with astrophotography in the evenings
Day 4
Visit Pangong Lake, with a stay in the Maan village. Lake astrophotography in the evening
Days 5 to 6
It's a 5-hour journey to Hanle. We spend two days here, looking for wildlife and post-processing astrophotos by day, photographing by evening.
Day 7
It's a long, but beautiful journey back to The Indus River Camp
DETAILED INFO
You can find extensive information, inclusions and exclusions in our brochure here
For this tour, carrying a laptop and a digital camera is a basic prerequisite.
You will be staying in some of the remotest parts of India for 3 nights, at extreme altitudes, so you need to ensure that you are well-prepared.
We recommend that you take Diamox to help your acclimatisation. The 3 days at The Indus River Camp (3,200 metres) will help you acclimatise to the altitude at Pangong (4,200 metres), which will in turn acclimatise you for Hanle (4,500 metres).
At both these locations, the weather will be cold at night, especially when doing astrophotography. In the daytime, expect lots of sun.
Only Airtel, BSNL and Jio postpaid sims work in Ladakh and it's unlikely you will have much reception during the time in Pangong and Hanle. There is wi-fi at The Indus River Camp, but not in Pangong or Hanle
For those interested in making a booking we will provide you with a list of what to pack, for the climate, as well as for the photography, as well as other essential information.