Kanakchauri (कनकचौरी) is a tiny little charming village, in the lower Himalayas, about 40 kms west of Rudraprayag. Surrounded by thick pine and deodar forest, this village sits on the slopes of a ridge facing east. A 3.5km hike and a moderate climb, cutting through dense wet forest,  lands one on top of the ridge (9500ft) from where you get the panoramic 360deg views of the Upper Himalayas and the Shivalik range. Short of the Edge on top is the small space to local forest deity ‘Okhali’ (वन देवी ओखली) and further up is the Kartik Swami temple. Walking in the moonlight on a slippery trail is scary but thrilling, the strong freezing breeze is a dampener considering that it had been raining non-stop for five days. The picture looks east awaiting the sunrise at 6.20 am.  Rudraprayag – confluence of Alaknanda and Mandakini  rivers- is the first of the prayag in Chamoli/Rudraprayag district. It was an awesome adventure driving/walking under near white-out and rainy skies from Mana Pass (via Ghastoli-Deotaal) to Niti Pass (via Malari) at India-China border.