Vaanara leaping across a ravine at Badami

We had spent almost an hour at Badami northern hill walking in sandstone ravines, checking out the massive formations and the Chalukyan monuments built on these rocks- lower Shivalaya, the royal mantapa, upper Shivalaya and fortifications. I remember during my earlier visit more than a decade ago the path was quite rough. Now it was well laid slabs, tourists will walk and climb steps without a care. So looking around or shooting while walking is not as risky as earlier. As we descended the hill I happened to notice a few monkeys high up, some 45 feet above the ravine floor. One of them seem to be looking for a short-cut to the neighboring rock. I senses some action and aimed my camera at the scene with multi-shot mode.

Indeed the monkey was looking for a spot to leap and another spot to land. I was wondering if the monkey would really jump across. The other monkeys went out of sight. They seemed to climbing down the face on the other side,

The monkey after positioning itself at the spot was stationery for several seconds. Probably it was making up its mind, relaxing and flexing its muscles.

Get, set, and...

...go!

A close up of the monkey flying sideways and turning right gradually...

...now its preparing for the impact, making sure it lands on all four limbs at that instant.

Safe landing. A very brave Vaanara!

I think this is a rare sight. At least for tourists who spend a few hours here. Probably locals might see this happen one or two times a week.

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