The Earth Story

paleyphoto

Excited to finally have that story out on National Geographic! I first heard of the mud volcanoes of Balochistan while I was in Pakistan and I just couldnt believe it, I had to see it. Coupled with a Hindu pilgrimage, I managed to convinced my editor that I should shoot a story on it. It was a hard assignment, lots of walking in extreme heat and dust and the madness of any pilgrimage, religious fervour, noise, packed temple... Here is a quiet aerial view, Hindu pilgrims climb the steep flanks of the mud volcano called Chandragup to throw coconuts into the crater—a ritual intended to thank the gods and makes wishes. The trek up to the rim of the volcano is one of the first rituals of the Hinglaj pilgrimage. Infinite gratitude to @muhammadyasirbaloch for opening his homeland to me and all the help in the field and to my editor @jehanjillani for making it (finally) happen! / On assignment for @natgeo

/ For full story, follow link in my bio