Paradise on Earth – Jammu and Kashmir (Part 1)
Jammu and Kashmir has seen a long period of ruthless militancy, resulting in the killing and torture of hundreds of innocent people. And now,…
Read MoreGulmarg
Gulmarg… this beautiful name brings forth images of thousands of flowers of myriad colours reaching till as far as the eyes can see. Indeed, Gulmarg literally means Meadow of Flowers and is a hill station in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a popular skiing destination and has a cable car for reaching the start of the skiing slope. Gulmarg can be accessed from Srinagar, which lies 50 km to the east.
The peak season for skiing, starts with the snowfall in December and lasts until March. Other months of the year it is the beautiful meadows and enchanting view of Snow Mountains that attracts tourists. Surrounded by dense forests, Gulmarg is also famous for golf hikes and its beautiful highland golf course.
Best time to visit: September to March
Languages spoken: Kashmiri, Hindi
Climate: Pleasant summers and very cold winters with snowfall
Adventure tourism and Sport: Skiing slopes, Golf course
Gulmarg – The Meadow Of Flowers
DAY-3 GULMARG Our taxi driver came at our hotel at 8am. We were ready by this time. We ate our breakfast in the Hotel…
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Kashmir – The Paradise on Earth
It was about 2 months when I had not travelled outside Delhi. So it was in Oct’09 that we decided to go to KASHMIR….
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A Journey as Magical as its Destinations
They left every thing on me- planning entire route, night halts, bookings,
sight seeing, servicing of the Neerja’s diesel SUV up to the extent searching out 4
dumped sleeping bags from old cupboards for emergency. The final tight itenary
schedule was got finalised after endless mobile talks, smsing and emails, kind
courtesy Maj Gen Nawnit Kumar, SM Commandant, High Altitude Warfare
School(HAWS) ,Gulmarg and Lt Gen Bobby Mathews ,AVSM**, VSM ,the Colonel
of the Regiment (COR).
With Love from Kashmir…
Continuing my exploration of the beautiful valley of Kashmir, my second visit was more like returning back to my second home. The enthralling beauty and the warmth of the people haunted me long enough to make me revisit Kashmir and I boarded the indigo flight for a 5 day visit.
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To Leh by road : Journey from Chandigarh – Srinagar – Kargil
Had a lunch/prayer break at world’s second coldest inhabited place Drass (after Siberia). Winters in Drass are cold with average lows around −22 °C and as low as −45 °C at the peak of winter. The lowest temperature was recorded around −60 °C during 2005. We were told by some locals that everybody in mountain keeps at least 4 to 6 months food stock for emergencies.
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Paradise on Earth- Part 4
Pahalgam turned out to be very beautiful too, with the roaring Lidder and the rocky snow clad mountains complimenting each other. After finishing our breakfast, we headed for our first destination, Betaab Valley. It is so called as it was once the location for the filming of the film, “Betaab”. It was also the background in many scenes from the Ranbir Kapoor starrer, Rockstar. To reach the valley, a detour has to be taken from the road leading to Chandenwadi. It is located beside a much calmer portion of the Lidder, and with its artificially planted forest, does give the feel of being in the UK. Although Betaab valley is slightly commercialized, it has a very calming effect on the nerves.
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Top reasons to visit Kashmir
Other Other famous cuisines include: Kahwah (GreenTea) and Noon Chai. Kashmiris are heavy tea drinkers. Over 20 varieties of Kahwah are prepared in different households. One must taste the unheard “Kamal Kakri ke Pakore” near Nishat Gardens in Srinagar. Kashmir offers a vast variety of Kebabs. Non-Vegetarians must enjoy the mouth watering Chiken,Kebabs etc. But then, Nothing can beat the very own Lucknawi Kebabs! (Seriously),
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Sonmarg to Srinagar – All that one can do
We reached straight at Mughal Garden Shalimar, Srinagar at 2.20 pm. As we were touring during Id festival, plenty of local people were there. All the fountains were in operation. The garden was flooded with glowing flowers.
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Kashmir – The crown of India
Sindhu was flowing just behind the hotel. So the sound of the full flowing river was continuously available. We saw the setting sun in its full glory. Entire surrounding was magnificent with absolute calmness, except chirping of birds and roar of the
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Explore hill stations in the foothills of the Himalayas
Kullu is by the River Beas. It has the Kali Bari temple, Raghunath temple, Bijli Mahadev temple, Akhara Bazar and the Bhutti Weavers Colony. Manali is closer to the snowline and towering peaks. It is ideal for trekking and has many orchards.
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