Inside The Mysterious Eastern Himalayas

In a land where legends and wildlife merge, we track and photograph the Black Leopard and put few theories to rest.

- Shantanu Prasad

The Eastern Himalayas, one of the most hostile mountains on earth, has distinctive characteristics of its own. Being a global biodiversity hotspot, not only does it harbour an immense variety of flora and fauna but is also home to a diverse group of tribes. Much of these areas have been fairly less explored due to their inaccessibility and political unrest around them. However, over a period of time, since we started exploring these habitats, we realized what this place had to offer. This wild East was enigmatic and indeed bristling with mysteries!

Our quest to find and capture these species in photographs was a team effort, and we started exploring these landscapes through photographs about six years ago. We believed that documenting the richness of this region through high-definition images was vital as visual materials help better in establishing memories not just for us but also for the local communities with whom we were working.

ENIGMATIC EAST

Our story is set in the Temperate Montane rain forest in the Northern part of West Bengal at an altitude of 5000-6500 ft. When we landed here, local anecdotes and wild encounters as narrated by the villagers were instrumental in reviving the “detective” in us. Little did we know that one by one, the animals they described would grace us with their presence in our cameras.