My Kashmir Trip log

lakshit

Hey Guys,
Following is what I experienced in the Kashmir valley where I went in the 1st week of February.

Cheers
Lakshit

Those 5 days in Heaven

“Gar firdaus, ruhe zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin asto” (If there is paradise anywhere on earth, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here), was what emperor Jahangir once said about the Kashmir valley. But after being to Kashmir, I’d like to modify his saying. “If there is paradise anywhere, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here”, for the beauty of the place is just ineffable, and even if I try to say it in the best of words, it would be an insult to the place. So I’ll just try to pen down my experience of the 5 days that I spent in the heaven called “Kashmir”

Kashmir, a jewel in India’s crown, or the crown itself ? Well, that was the question that troubled me before the trip, but after I visited the place, there were no qualms left.

The plan was to visit Srinagar and Gulmarg, since only these two fitted in the itinerary of 5 days. The start of the trip was full of hiccups, the first one being the postponing of leaves by one week. The second one came just minutes before I was to leave for Jammu, with my friend canceling his trip due to official reasons. So now, I was left with no choice but to abandon the trip I had been dreaming for so many years. But no, I decided against it, and was ready to explore the valley all alone. I got this inspiration from one of my fellow 60kphers, Dipesh aka Dipsy, who went alone all the way to Zanskar (Ladakh) on a bike, from Mumbai. We both share a common passion, for him it’s “Romancing the roads” and for me it’s “Romancing the roads and the Himalayas”. “You’ve gone nuts”, was the reaction of my family. But I believe that passion without obsession is just like a kiss without a squeeze. And I boarded the bus to Jammu at 5PM.

The journey from Jammu was very lackluster owing to the fact that I had to travel at night. Slept most of the time in the bus and landed at Jammu at 04:15 in the morning, 45 minutes ahead of schedule. The bus for Srinagar left at 07:30, so how do I spend the time now, was the question I asked myself repeatedly. Near the bus stand, found a bonfire that was lit by the CRPF persons guarding the famous Raghunath temple. Got an insight into their tough lives and they also, upon hearing that I was going to the valley alone, must have thought there’s something missing in my head. Time crawled by and eventually the clock struck 07:30 and the journey began. Crossed Jammu city in about half an hour and were on the way to Udhampur, the first big town and a big military base en route Srinagar. A little ahead of Udhampur, the road bifurcates towards Katra. The Vaishno Devi shrine route is visible from this place. And wow, a first glimpse of the snow clad peaks, I just love them. They were bathing in the morning sun and luckily the weather was crystal clear, with a bit of haze, but no regrets.

Had a tea break at Kud, midway between Udhampur and Patnitop. Now a word about Patnitop. Patntitop forms the nearest of all the scenic spots of Kashmir and is visited by many people who come to the shrine of Vaishno devi. It had snowed at Patnitop about two weeks ago and the glimpses were still visible in the form of dirty snow at roadsides. The whole road was surrounded by dense forests of tall deodar trees that made the highway to heaven even more beautiful.

Once we crossed Patnitop, the hills began to become more and more barren, but the river that was flowing deep below, filled up the loss for the boring views. The water was greenish in colour and the river seemed like a serpent from the road.

The journey was quite uneventful till Ramban, and the weather also was very hot, something uncharacteristic during this part of the year. But the place offered a glimpse of what was to follow, the snow capped Himalayas. The river flowing below adding icing to the cake and what a picture perfect shot!

The treacherous part of the journey started after Ramban, the first one being the famous “Khooni Naalah”. It has been named so because the hill adjacent to the road is full of shooting stones and many people have lost their lives while crossing this naalah. But the BRO people have put a mammoth cage to prevent the stones from reaching the main road. Just after the Khooni naalah, is a small waterfall, where one can stop and enjoy nature. There was very little water at this time of the year, but I guess in monsoon, the waterfall must be a delight to watch. The next big halt after Ramban was Banihal and the entire route is a landslide prone area, specially in the monsoon. But as we approached Banihal, the landscape changed by the minute and instead of brown, white became the colour in vogue. The entire mountain range was covered with snow. 16 km from Banihal is the famous Jawahar tunnel, the gateway to the Kashmir valley. The entire route from Banihal to the Jawahar tunnel is an avalanche prone area and the 16 avalanche zones have been identified by the army. There are fluorescent sign boards that warn you of each avalanche zone and parking vehicles for photography or any other purpose is strongly prohibited. Just a few kilometers before the Jawahar tunnel is another famous naalah, the “Shaitaani naalah”. This one also has it’s share of notoriety in the fact that many people have died here also due to landslides and avalanches. But now it has been covered totally and a ceiling provided so that the threat is minimized.

And then we were at the mouth of the tunnel and a titanic sign board read “Photography is strictly prohibited”. And we entered the 2.547 km long, 3.2m wide and 4.5m high Jawahar tunnel, the longest of any type, in India, and it was a feeling that has to be physically felt, because no words can describe it. We were crossing a tunnel, which I had heard of, only in news, with no photograph available anywhere. It took approximately 8 minutes to cross it and as we came out of it, a small board read “Welcome to Paradise on earth”. And wow, what a view that was, wherever I saw, it was white, couldn’t open my eyes as the mountains were glistening in snow. Never had I seen that quantity of snow in my life. The vale wore a white veil, just like a bride ready for wedding!!!!

From just outside the Jawahar tunnel, a route goes to Verinag. Verinag is the place from where the river Jhelum begins. Emperor’s Jahangir’s wife, Noor Jahan, was so fascinated by the place that she requested the emperor that she be buried here after her death. So there is also a mausoleum of the queen at Verinag.

16km from Jawahar Tunnel is Qazikund. And Srinagar is 71 km from Qazikund. The stark difference between all the other hill stations in India, or maybe else where, is that all of them are situated on hills. The hiils have been cut and adjusted to make places for people to live. But Kashmir is a valley, a plain area that is surrounded by hills. It took us only an hour and a half to reach Srinagar from Qazikund.

The bus dropped me at the tourist reception centre, Srinagar. And at last, after a 24 hour journey, I was at the place of my dreams. From here, I enquired about places to stay and a person took me to a houseboat, on the Jhelum river. The place was very quiet and an isolated one and I cursed my senses for choosing that place to stay. After freshening up, I went out to explore the Srinagar market, specially the dreaded Lal Chowk area. There were security personnel guarding every nook and corner of the city and the city bore the look of a bastion. It was very cold outside but walking kept the body warm. Had a few snacks at a restaurant at the Lal Chowk area, followed by pastries. But as the clock struck 7 PM, the markets began to close and by 7:30 PM, the city bore a deserted look. I went back to my house boat, and one more horror struck. There was an electricity cut and the electricity would be restored by 10 PM. It was dark inside, silence all around, and only a lamp to lighten the room. There was a gloomy feeling that was engulfing me, so I decided to sleep. And just then, I heard shrieks from a woman outside. I was really frightening, but I did not pay any heed to it. Just then, the daughter of the owner of the houseboat came to my room and asked me for help, as her mother had slipped outside and had gone unconscious. Later I realized that they were the shrieks of the same woman. And hey that woman was damn heavy. Despite the fact that I squat 90kg at the gym, I couldn’t even move her. She must have weighed at least 150 kg. It was 0ºC outside and by the time I transported that lady monster to her room, I was drenched in sweat. Finally I went to sleep, thinking of a better tomorrow. The temperature inside the house boat was a mere 3ºC.

I woke up to a sunny but hazy morning. The water outside had frozen partially, indicating that the temperature at night was well below zero. Got ready and pushed by 8 AM. The plan was to visit Gulmarg, about 55 Km away. Since the tourist buses were not plying because of the off season, I had to board a taxi ( an expensive one), and I was set to explore a place that boasted of the highest golf course and the highest cable car in the world. Hardly had I begun the trip when we reached a village where the people had blocked the Gulmarg highway, in order to protest against the power cuts in their area. Waited and waited, but no sign of the road being opened. So I took the riskiest decision ever and decided to go from another route, a decision that my taxi driver always opposed. But I was hell bent on reaching Gulmarg at the earliest. So off we went through on one of the most dreaded terrorism prone district of Budgam. Not a single security personnel was to be seen as this was a link road that we followed. But fortune favours the brave and after about half an hour, we were back on the main Gulmarg road. And wow, the Apharwat peak looked me into the face, pure white and laving in snow. Stopped by the roadside to click some photos. Moved further on and reached Tangmarg. The road is totally flat till Tangmarg, and Gulmarg is just 12 km from here. But the climb is steep, so had to change my taxi to a 4x4 vehicle on a sharing basis. The road had recently been cleared of snow as was evident from the amount of snow on the road. Only the place where the tyres of vehicles come in contact with the ground was clear, while the remaining road was snow covered. The tall deodar and willow trees ensured that not a single ray of light reached the bottom. But the whole scene was very picturesque and I wondered why do they shoot Indian movies at foreign locales? After about 40 minutes I reached the meadow of flowers, as it is popularly called, but for the time being the meadow had turned into a gargantuan saucer of snow.

Gave my identity check at the police check post and headed towards exploring the place I had only seen in wallpapers. What a stark difference, between those wallpapers and reality. Actually the pics can only depict 5-10% of the beauty of the place. Saw the famous temple where the Rajesh Khanna movie “Aap ki Kasam”, featuring the famous song “ Jai Jai shiv shankar” was picturised.

And finally moved on to the cynosure of Gulmarg, the gondola that takes one from a height of 9,000 feet to 13,500 feet in over 28 minutes. The whole project has been divided into two phases, the first one taking one from Gulmarg to Kongdoori at 10,000 feet and the second one from Kongdoori to Apharwat peak at 13,500 feet. The second one is rarely used by tourists, as it is only the skiers who go that high to the peak to ski down all the way to Gulmarg. Got my ticket for the first phase and sat in the cabin. This was the second time in my life that I sat in a cable car. And the experience was thrilling, is the least I can say. I faced the hill so didn’t realize how scary was facing downhill. Slowly I began to gain height and the views of the nearby peaks became more and more clear, and within no time the 10 minutes passed and I was at Kongdoori. Had my lunch at the restaurant there and clicked lots of snaps. The Karakoram range was briefly visible and Gulmarg from the top looked like a small saucer of ice. There were lot of kids who were learning skiing.

Again, I was headed for the second phase of the cable car. But before I could proceed, I needed to give a declaration that if any mishap occurred on my way to the Apharwat peak, I would be solely responsible for that. I did that and sat in my cabin and off went the car. The climb now was a very steep one and I could see the cable car swing downwards as it moved up. And a panoramic view of the Karakoram range unfolded right in front of me. In 18 minutes I was at the top of Apharwat peak, and the wind velocity was such that would blow me over. The temperature at the peak was -4ºC, and the wind speed must have reduced it to -10ºC, but the sun shone nice and bright, so I had a good time clicking snaps in that chilly but sunny weather. I stood at the top with all the nearby peaks looking dwarfs in front of me. On the back side of the peak was an army bunker made of fibre glass. Pakistan was a couple of kilometers away from the peak. The quality of snow here was impeccable. It seems as if someone had sprayed tons of talcum powder. I hadn’t seen this type of snow before. Wanted this place to be etched in my memory forever, so clicked many snaps and tried to adsorb the views. The clock was nearing the 4 PM mark so had to return as the cable car is operational only till 04:30 PM. Began to move with a heavy heart towards the return journey, with a promise to myself that I’ll come back very soon. I sat in the car facing downwards this time, and I tell you the first time it rolled out of the shed, and my heart nearly came out of my mouth. Below was a 500 feet fall along with a 60º decline slope of the cable car rope. It seemed that I will go down crashing at 100 kph. And just then right in the middle of the huge fall, the cable car stopped. Must have been a power failure, but it was damn scary hanging out alone at 13,000 feet. But still I managed to gather courage and clicked many snaps of the gorgeous views around coz I wanted Kashmir to be with me always. Anyhow, the return journey started as the electricity supply was restored and I began to enjoy the scare. Time passed quickly and I was back to Gulmarg, and ready to leave for Srinagar. Stopped midway between Tangmarg and Gulmarg and stopped to click a few snaps of the setting sun on the peaks. Reached Srinagar, did some shopping and now it was time to check into a good hotel, as the previous day’s houseboat experience was still haunting me. My taxi driver helped me check into a very good hotel at Boulevard Road, just opposite the Dal Lake, Hotel Zabarvan. Got a good bargain, thanks to the off season, but still it was quite expensive. Also explored a Punjabi dhaba nearby and had a delicious dinner. The day was over with fond memories of the most beautiful spot I ever visited.

Again woke up to a sunny morning. The weather forecast that I had seen a week ago at www.weather.com and www.wunderground.com was flawless. Now it was time to explore the Srinagar city, but first I had to book the return bus ticket to Delhi. Did that, had a stomach full of paranthas at the Punjabi dhaba, and was all set to explore the city in the same taxi that I took to Gulmarg. The first destination was the Shankaracharya temple, located on the top a hill, which gives a bird’s eye view of the Srinagar city. Since the temple is at a great height, I could see snow on the sides of the road that was surrounded by Chinars. The whole ride to the temple is a very scenic one and it takes about half an hour to reach the parking spot, where there is thorough checking done by the army personnel. Then follows a series of around 270 steps that leads one to the temple. Just adjacent to the temple is an army checkpost and a radio station. The top of the temple gives a perfect view of the city and the whole city can be seen from the temple.

Next destination for the day was a the Hazratbal shrine. This shrine is of great importance to the Muslims as one hair of Prophet Mohammed is kept here and is displayed 3-4 times in a year. People were offering namaaz when I reached there. Next on the cards was a detour of the Dal Lake in the taxi. The lake is a huge one and it took me an hour to encircle it. On the way was Nishat gardens, one of the several gardens in Srinagar. Then visited Shalimar Gardens, built by the emperor Jahangir. Many old movies have been shot here. The Mughal gardens were closed as it was Friday and so was Chashm – e – Shahi. The water of Chashm – e – Shahi is believed o have medicinal properties. Then saw the Nagin Lake, but was very disappointed as the people staying on house boats have made it a sewage dump. The sides of the lake were stinking and the lake dying a slow death. Similar was the case with Dal lake.

As someone said that a visit to Srinagar is never complete without a shikara ride on the Dal Lake, I went for a 2 hour shikara ride. The owner of a shikara ride was a young guy who made me enjoy his songs. The first halt was Nehru Gardens, situated inside the lake. But by no means was that a garden. Since we were in the centre of the lake, the water was crystal clear and the sun shining bright made the ride even more enjoyable. Clicked many snaps and had coffee and pakodas in a restaurant made in a boat in the lake itself. I was loving every moment of it. Then went for the famous Char Chinar area. It is a very small island sort of a thing right in the centre of the lake, but this being winter, the Chinars weren’t in their full beauty. And then went for some adventure. Don’t know what this thing is exactly called, but it was sort of water sailing. There was a motor boat in front and I was standing on a wooden platform with my hands holding a rope tied to that motor boat. Then the motor boat started moving and I was able to balance myself properly. But hey, this one’s not for the faint hearted. If you slip, you will be in the lake that’s quite deep and the water will freeze the bones. But it was raw fun. Then went for the market area of the Dal Lake. Everything here is available on the water itself, from food items to shawls to carpets. But this area was a real dirty one as it was at the backwaters of the lake. Gradually passed through this area and came out in open. Here swams were chilling themselves out in the water. Looked really cool!!!! And the ride was over.

Now, again was time to explore the market. So again I was in the Lal Chowk area, this time clicking photos of the army personnel and the houses and hotels damaged during gunfights between terrorists and army. Also bought a road map of Kashmir. The market was crowded, just like the markets of Delhi and the CRPF would frisk any one found suspicious. Again, had some pastries, as there are a number of pastry shops here. It was 6 PM, and I decided to turn back to my hotel to have some rest and do the packing as I was to leave the next morning.

Woke up at 7AM and bid adieu to the hotel and Dal Lake at 8 AM. Reached the TRC and offloaded my luggage in the super luxurious AC sleeper VOLVO coach. Actually it was the first time I sat in such a bus. The return journey began at 9 AM. And before I end, these were some of the captions written by BRO all along the highway :
· Be gentle on my curves
· I want you, but not too fast
· If you sleep, your family will weep
· Whisky, while driving, is risky
These BRO men have done an excellent job maintaining the highway to the standards it is. Hats off to their courage and dedication, coz without these roads the trip would’nt have been that memorable.

By 12 AM I was at the Jawahar tunnel, but this time the feelings were different, I had to say the three letter word that I always hate to say, “BYE”. The tunnel guided me out of the paradise. I had left Kashmir, but the memories were to stay with me forever.

ijustwantotravel

Hey lakshit

Really enjoyed reading your log. It is my dream to be in Kashmir soon - donno how sooon that can be. I plan to do it from the east - through ladakh - into kargril and then come down to srinagar. More I dream - the trip gets longer and longer.

I had been to Kashmir with my parents when I was a small kid of 4 years. That was about 26 year back. And I still have this funny memory with me - on some spot - atop some hill - with snow all around - there was Jitendra with an accompanying actress - was it rekha ? - may be - and there was one actor on a wheel chair - and the shot was about a vicious plot to push that actor on the chair over the edge of the hill !!! .

Only concern is the weather. It is 39 degrees in Kolkata now - and it is just February. The way weather is changing - and everything is warming up - I just hope Kashmir is still Kashmir and Ladakh is still Ladakh when I reach there.

Any body knows anything about Zanskar . Did it actually freeze this year ? It is supposed to be frozen around this time of the year. That is my other dream trip.

(Off to the next dream! )

somnath

What a trip!!!! And a great write up too. It is short but packed with just everything. I had been to Kashmir last October to fulfill my dream but came back with another dream to visit the paradise in winter.
Congratulations for such a wonderful trip and thanks for a beautiful description. I am just able to feel like I am in Kashmir with you. Lovely indeed. Plz do a favor – post your photographs. If you are not using any digital camera, get those prints scanned and plz upload in Indiamike. I did the same. You can see Kashmir without snow and how Khundoori looks during the first snowfall of the season in my photo gallery. Unfortunately I couldn’t go upto Khilanmarg as the gondola service was not available due to heavy snowfall.

Lakshit, I am really waiting for your photographs.

- Somnath

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Callous

I really enjoyed your tale,it took me back to June last year when we visited Kashmir with our children.Oh the joy of the power[or lack of it]at all times and the noise of the generators.We were there in summer and what a warm week we had there,around 32 degs most days.We too enjoyed our trip to Gulmarg and we took the Gondola right to the top for a little bit of snow play,can't wait to go back in winter,thankyou for taking me there.

jyotipg

Lakshit bhai..

Maja aa gaya padh ke.. Post the pics soon yaar...
This time you will have a lot to share when we meet for the trek..

Cheers,
JP

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