incredible kashmir

Splendid Kashmir 12 June 2014

Guide to Kashmir

Shivangi Dikshit, Page �1


Splendid Kashmir !

Highlights : !Food to Relish - Wazwan ( Rista/Gushtaba/Yakhni/Roghan Josh/

Waaza Chicken etc)

Drink to Relish - Kahwa ( Kashmiri Tea)

Snacks to relish - Trout fish at Abdul Rasheed’s Shikara @ Dal Lake

Cakes - Dry fruit cake and Plum cake

!The scorching sun and the cool breeze…..the lush green

mountains and the grazing sheep……the river flowing by the road and the snaking streets…..Kashmir is a total delight for all those who long for a cool retreat!

…….said, “If there is heaven on Earth, then it is in Kashmir.” The beauty of Kashmir is surreal . It’s beauty is beyond compare. Words fall short when one makes an attempt to describe the beauty of this paradise. Terrorism had infested this divine place in the eighties and nineties, thus bringing tourism to a halt. The divinity of Kashmir could not be experienced by nature enthusiasts for over a decade thus breaking a lot many hearts.

Ever since, I grew up, I garnered a desire to witness the enthralling and rapturing beauty of Kashmir. We planned to visit it for our honeymoon but the fear of getting our lives ended even before we



embarked onto our marital journey deterred us from going there. 11 years later, the opportunity came in the form of an invitation from a family member. Tickets done, packing done, we were all set to explore this gorgeous place on earth. This article deals with our fun and travails during our Kashmir visit.

Day 1 : Flight from New Delhi to Srinagar -

!Tip - Ensure a web check in before your flight.

We forgot to do this and ended up with separate seats. Romance goes for a toss ….sigh!!!! First sign of relief…..a view of the snow covered peaks. Beauty! Reached Srinagar airport and were glad to have a quick checkout. Destination - our houseboat in Nigeen Lake. To reach the houseboat, we had to use the Shikara (first sign of fun). Freshening up quickly, we took a shikara ride to the famous Dal Lake. It was a lovely backwater experience. Wading through the weeded waters of the lakes, having a glimpse of the lakeside locals, the lament at the sight of abandoned houses of the Kashmiri Pundits…..the ride was like a walk through the history of Kashmir.



The backwaters opened up into the happening Dal Lake. It was abuzz with activities. The highlight was the Meena Bazar which was bustling with shoppers waiting to grab a piece of Kashmir for

themselves. The lake was flooded with shikaras all over, with some shikaras also selling food items. Hubby and little boy has a quick bite at tandoori trout fish. The expressions were yummy! Some shopping at the Meena Bazar myself and then dinner at Stream Restaurant. Back to

the houseboat to catch some good sleep in preparation for an action packed day 2.

!Highlight at the restaurant - Pasta

Arabiatta.

Quick tip : Nigeen Lake is a very quiet lake in Srinagar. If opting for a peaceful holiday, stay at Nigeen Lake.

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Day 2 : Day trip to Sonmarg -

Tip - The ghoda-wallahs will pester you like anything. Check out the rates at the Kashmir govt. tourism office right at the foot of the hill from where the journey to Thajiwas glacier starts.

!Booked a taxi for all our forthcoming days in Kashmir. Headed to

Sonmarg to witness our first Kashmiri snow :-) Delight gripped my sonny boy on sighting the very first glimpses of snow. It was

!supposedly his first stint with the white beauty and he was

looking forward to it with much anticipation and excitement. On reaching, we were immediately swarmed by the ghoda-wallahs , all trying to fool us. Not to be taken for a ride, we decided to check out the government rates and then settled in for Rs. 1000/ person return trip to and from Thajiwas Glacier. We booted up to be able to save our shoes from getting wet. The ride was just an average one but as soon as we reached the glacier, we were enthralled! All around there was so much beauty, that our jaws dropped with amazement. For the first time in my life was I encountering such beauty with my own two eyes!



!!The sledge-wallahs, the chai walls, the ski-wallahs, and the kesar/

shilajeet wallahs constantly endeavour to annoy you and spoil your fun. All you need to do is be firm and tell them to move away. You can only absorb the purity of the place when you pave your way up the

mountain, away from the maddening crowd. That’s exactly what we did, and it was indeed sheer bliss. We could have sat there for ages had the time not been pressing us to return. We returned to the base, quickly boarded our taxi and started our drive back to Srinagar. Dinner and then tucked away in beds.

House Boat Meal

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Day 3 : Day trip to Gulmarg -

Tip - Get your Gondola tickets booked at the TRC/ online through travel agents to avoid the ticket buying queue. By all means, avoid the touts.

The third day of our trip was indeed most annoying. Having booked our tickets for the gondola through the government TRC office, we were happy to avoid the long queue at the ticket booking counter but shockingly we were in for something even worse. On reaching Gulmarg, we got to know that the Gondola was not functioning due to some technical fault. Crap! One full day ruined. Anyways, even for getting a refund, we had to get our tickets stamped so we decided to walk up to the office. Reaching there we discovered that there was some scope of restoration so we decided to try our luck. Standing in the scorching sun for 5 hours, we finally got our boarding passes as the gondola had restarted. Heaving a sigh of relief, we sat in the gondola, got down at phase 1 (Gulmarg to Kungdoor) and immediately boarded the gondola to phase 2 (Kungdoor to Apharwat). That was the highlight of the day. Standing at a height of 14,000 ft above sea level, we were marvelled by the aura of the place. The skies resonated with our excitement. LOC was actually visible from

there….Little snow flakes started falling from above as if to bless us. We were lost in our surroundings, when we were told that the weather is worsening and we need to head back. The gondola line was again chaotic and slow. We somehow managed to board one and reached phase 1. Snow eluded us

here as it had melted away and was now at a distance. That too was



dirty and muddy and we had no intentions of spoiling our mood. Next we planned to get back to the base but were informed that the gondola had snapped yet again!

!

Braving the conditions, we decided that we couldn't wait anymore and so planned to walk down. It was an hour long walk down a hilly terrain with obviously not the right shoes (we were wearing gumboots for the snow) and could have proved painful but for our cheery spirits :-) Leading us was Ansh, who almost ran down the entire hill and reached the base a good 15-20 minutes before us. The walk down was great though. Rocks and streams came as hurdles in our way but we overcame then jubilantly. Finally the day ended and we headed back to Srinagar. On the way we stopped to meet relatives at Tangmarg and it was great meeting with them. Later we had dinner at



the famous Mughal Darbar restaurant. Food was good but the service was really slow and inadequate. Hoping for the following day to be better, we quickly made our way to sleep.

Day 4 - Day trip to Yousmarg

Tip - Don’t compare the ghoda-wallahs here with the ones at Gulmarg and Sonmarg. The ones at Yousmarg are way better.

Not wanting a horse ride anymore we were determined to walk our way around in Yousmarg. First, we headed to Doodh Ganga. Ansh was thrilled at the prospect of a horse ride and we wanted him to enjoy his trip to the fullest. So we got him a horse and walked along with him. Reaching the Doodh Ganga, we were glad that there were no annoying tourists around. It was a peaceful place. My hubby and son in fact, had a real time chilling experience when they put their feet in the waters of the stream. It was freezing cold!!!! A ghoda wallah came over to ask us if we were wishing to see a few more beautiful points. Since he didn’t quote any amount, we were convinced that he wouldn’t fool us. We made up our minds to give this ride a try and believe me, This was the best horse ride we had ever had in our entire life till now.

!The men took us through the forests, by the streams, under the trees and by the grazing sheep.



The scene looked straight out of some fairy tale and we felt like king, queen and prince respectively. The sights were captivating. We couldn’t keep our eyes off the beauty that captured our attention. We felt accomplished and satisfied. We felt at communion with nature.

To add to our pleasure, the men here were not greedy hounds like the ones we had encountered in Sonmarg and Gulmarg. There simplicity and undisturbing attitude definitely made them get much more than they had thought of. They really and truly deserved it. We wanted this ride to be never ending but again, we needed to head back to Srinagar and so we bade adieu to this gorgeous place. Returned to Srinagar. Checked into a houseboat on Dal Lake, had dinner and wrapped ourselves in the blankets for some sleep.

Quick Tip - Stay at Dal Lake and see the town bustling with activity.

Day 5 - Day trip to Pahalgam

!Tip : Try to limit yourself to visiting just about 3 points. Too many points will kill the fun and you’ll be like just run run….

!Pahalgam is famous for its several scenic points and so we

decided to explore it too. On the way we got down for some authentic



Kashmiri dry fruits and Kesar shopping. Having filled out shopping bags, we headed towards Pahalgam. The road was paved with apple tress which would be loaded with fruits in August (bad timing….we solo wanted to bite into the juicy - red kashmiri apple).

The taxi union at Pahalgam has its own rule that no outside taxi will be allowed to take tourists to the points. At the taxi office, a board stating the various tourist points, along with the taxi charges were written. We were just 3 and the queue was snaking, so we decided to share the taxi with someone whose number was before us and if they too would want to share. Gladly for us, we were approached by an elderly Gujarati couple for sharing their taxi and we quickly agreed :-D

We arrived at the conclusion that we must just visit 3 points, namely the Betaab Valley, Aru Valley and Chandanwadi. The taxi driver drove rashly with us crossing our fingers to reach safe and sound.

First stop, Aru valley…..just about an average place and so we moved out quickly without wasting much time. Next was Chandanwadi and on the way was Betaab Valley (which we had to visit while returning). Chandanwadi was again a snow clad mountain and by now we were completely not enthusiastic about wearing gum boots again so we ditched the idea of going into the snow but sent Ansh for a sledge ride. He loved it totally and while he had his share of fun, we happily nibbled onto corn on the cob :-) Once he returned, we sat in the taxi and got off at Betaab Valley. This valley was earlier nameless and got its name only after Sunny Deol and Amrita Singh’s debut movie, Betaab was shot at this location. The place was taken over by multiple students from various schools and so we didn't spend much time there though it was definitely better than Aru Valley. Back to Pahalgam, we quickly sat in our own taxi and heaved a sigh of relief after the torturous driving of the Pahalgam driver.



On the way back, we stopped at the ruins of Avantipura temple to click some pictures.

Once in Srinagar, we dined at the famous restaurant, Adoos. Excellent food and an even better hospitality. Must visit. Once we were out of the restaurant, it started raining and then it rained and thundered entire night!!!

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Day 6 - Srinagar local sight seeing :

Our eventful travelling had come to an end and today was the day for our local sight seeing. To our relief, Indra Devta had been merciful enough to stop the rains from ruining our day. Our first stop was Shankaracharya temple. Traffic jam forced us to walk quite a bit before we embarked onto our 256 stairs journey! It wasn’t an easy climb but our youth helped us and we managed :-) The temple was beautiful and even more beautiful was the view of Srinagar from there. The Dal Lake was dotted with houseboats and shikaras and they looked pretty from that distance.

!Next we visited the Chashmeshahi , Nishat and Shalimar

Gardens. They were rich with myriad colours of flowers but were crowded and not that pleasing. Out of the three, Nishat garden was the best. It must have been an eye tonic for the Mughal Emperors.



Having never visited a mosque, I was thrilled at the prospect of getting a chance to visit the famous Hazrat Bal Mosque. We did so and then was time for some quick shopping. Some shawls, some baskets and some Walnut wood showpieces. Shopping was indeed delightful! My boy was obsessed with 6 inches carved chess pieces which he wanted for himself. The price was 40,000!!! On hearing the price, he easily settled for a smaller and cheaper version of chess (the darling that he is).

The day trip came to an end and then we went for a long walk at the edge of the Dal Lake. It was a scenic and soothing walk.

!Day 7 - Back to Delhi

The action packed holiday came to an end and we headed back HOME. Sunburnt and boiling, but still happy to be back home. Kashmir was indeed a pleasure. Our very own Switzerland…..heaven on Earth.



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incredible kashmir

Documents

splendid kashmir

kashmir visit

piece of kashmir

history of kashmir

divinity of kashmir

rapturing beauty of

nigeen lake

quiet lake