Sweeping across rocky meadowlands below citadel rockface of outer ring of Nanda Devi Sanctuary

Sweeping across rocky meadowlands below the citadel rockface of the outer ring of Nanda Devi Sanctuary, at the foot of the imposing rock edifice of Sunderdhunga Col and the peak of Panwali Dwar, waterfalls cascade down the vertical rock escarpments and walls while a lone shepherd hut sits below a blue tarpaulin sheet in the meadow. The valley features ancient glacial moraine shelves with mud flutings, and tributary streams feed the main Sunderdhunga torrent, flowing past meadows and scree slopes toward the campsite in the upper valley. From the Advanced Base Camp of Sunderdhunga Khal, the surrounding peaks—Banoti, Durgakot, Tharkot, Tent Peak, and Mrigthuni—rise around the sanctuary, with Maiktoli and Panwali Dwar visible from the approach, and a massive icefall lies below the Col.