Kashmir is a Unique Experience

“Kashmir has always been more than a mere place. It has the quality of an experience, or a state of mind, or perhaps an ideal”. - Jan Morris

Heading into Srinagar from the airport, we crossed a bridge over the Jhelum River which flows through Srinagar and into Pakistan controlled Kashmir.

I was chatting with my driver about all that I wanted to see during my short sojourn in this beautiful part of India and spoke about the Shankaracharya temple which is situated at the top of the hill overlooking the town.

Since there are 240 steps to climb up to the view the deity, I had decided that I could not make the climb, but I did want to see the temple having heard so much about it. Apparently as we drove along towards our hotel, Umar my driver kept pointing it out to me but for the life of me I just could not see it. I finally caught this glimpse during my shikara ride on Dal Lake.

Dal Lake is a freshwater lake in Srinagar. It has been romanticized as the lake of flowers or the crowning jewel of Kashmir. Lined with houseboats, and shikara’s busily ferrying people simply for sightseeing or as a taxi service it is a busy sight during the day.

Its 15.5 kilometers of shoreline are lined with hotels, shops and gardens.

A visit to Srinagar must incorporate all the beautiful gardens created during the Mughal times after the emperor Akbar conquered Kashmir for the Mughal empire, though his son Jehangir is credited with establishing some of the beautiful gardens here.

I of course had made this trip primarily to visit the tulip gardens so made hte most of my day in Srinagar exploring what I could.

The next morning, we set off towards Pahalgam crossing saffron fields and apple orchards. Since the saffron doesn’t bloom till November, we saw the yellow of the blooming mustard flowers instead of the purple of the saffron flowers.

Apples too were not in bloom; the trees were just starting to flower. The locals entice you to stop with fake apples strung on the trees for a photo opportunity and a crop of last year’s apples for freshly squeezed apple juice.

After a quick stop to buy some local herbs and saffron we made it to the snow-covered hills around Pahalgam. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining bright on the Lidder River.

In Pahalgam, we switched cars because our transport from Srinagar is not allowed to drive the inner loop between Srinagar, Aru Valley, Chandanwari and Betaab Valley.

Our first step was the Aru Valley with its beautiful meadows and streams and so many people taking pictures and wandering along the rocks. Even though we were fairly early or so I thought, parking was a huge issue.

We turned around after a brief stop and headed for Chandanwari. Famous for being the starting point for the pilgrimage to Amarnath, the hills and valleys were still covered with snow. With the sun and the heat, you could see the glaciers melting and water trickling down towards the Lidder River.

I decided not to chance walking on the snow and ice and breaking a leg. As we stood in the upper parking lot, locals dragging sleds came to offer to take me for a ride on the sled instead of walking. I passed on that opportunity as well and after enjoying a brief moment in the snow-clad wonder, decided to head back towards Pahalgam.

Betaab Valley is a beautiful destination popular with Bollywood directors. Originally known as the Hajan/Hagan Valley it was renamed to the Betaab Valley after a famous Bollywood movie Betaab.

I’m so not a fan of Bollywood movies so all this came as a big surprise to me. I still have not seen the movie.

Visitors to Pahalgam use ponies to take them to Baisaran a nearby valley which is supposed to be a miniature Switzerland. I passed on the pony ride and off we went along our way.

Just in case there aren’t enough beautiful spots for selfies, the town has posted these little signs and created photo spots for selfies. Yes! of course I took a photo under the Pahalgam sign here.

Pahalgam means the valley of the shepherds. As we drove along the various points of interest from Pahalgam, I did not see any sheep which I made a point of remarking. I got various explanations from the guides stating that it was still cold to take the flocks out and that they were housed at home etc.

Then on our way back to Srinagar we came across several shepherds and their flocks.

The Hazratbal shrine is supposed to house a relic that contains the hair from the Islamic Prophet Muhammed. Due to it being Ramadan with Eid approaching we could not find the right time to visit.

In the end we did visit but only from the outside because prayers had already begun when we arrived there.

As we headed towards our car, I was struck by these piggy banks. I would have loved to buy one for my grandkids, but these were made of fired mud, and I was afraid they wouldn’t survive the journey home.

My trip had been short to begin with and then losing a day because my flight couldn’t land due to bad weather gave me a pause but all’s well that ends well and I crammed as much as I could in the two days that I was there.

I did not get a chance to stop at Lal Chowk and explore this central city square so on the way to the airport Umar stopped here and suggested that we take some pictures at least. We were running late, and I was a basket case, so I refused to step out of the car, so Umar took this picture for my memories.

What a beautiful sojourn, I am definitely richer from having spent time here in this beautiful part of the country.