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. We booked our flight tickets and the date to leave was 28th Oct. I was really excited to visit this place. I was with my family. Our Flight time was 9:30 am. We left our house at 7:30 and reached the airport at 8:15 am. The flight was on time. The flight landed Srinagar at 11 am. Some pics from top…

After we reached Srinagar , we booked a prepaid taxi to go to our hotel. We had booked our Hotel from Delhi. Was amazed to see such high security in Srinagar.It was Meridian Hotel at the Museum Road. The room cost was 2000 bucks per day.The Hotel is really in a very posh place of Srinagar and is one the most safest place of Srinagar.

Hotel suite

Hotel Lawn

Aftert reaching at our hotel we took the lunch there and decided to visit Lal Chowk , the most sensitive place of Srinagar. It was at a walking distance. Lal Chowk or the focal point of Srinagar city.It is located in the comercial Hub With Vitasta on one side , Amira Kadal bridge on the other side , Maisuma area on the third side and residency Road or the posh area in its fourth direction.The area is Busy with Shopkeepers , Shoppers , Reddi walas , Footpath Shopkeepers and Commuters . The Jammu Tata Sumo service operators have their stand near this clock Tower .

Jhelum River is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District. It is a tributary of the Chenab River and has a total length of about 480 miles (774 kilometers).The river Jhelum rises from a spring at Verinag situated at the foot of the Pir Panjal in the south-eastern part of the valley of Kashmir.It flows through Srinagar and the Wular lake before entering Pakistan through a deep narrow gorge. The Kishenganga (Neelum) River, the largest tributary of the Jhelum, joins it, at Muzaffarabad, as does the next largest, the Kunhar River of the Kaghan valley.

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Srinagar is mainly famous for its handicrafts and the Dry Fruits.
By this time it was late evening, we came back at the hotel. Day-1 just ended like this. For tomorow we had booked a taxi.

Day -2 MUGHAL GARDENS OF KASHMIR

Our taxi driver came at 8am in the morning.First place was –
1. DAL LAKE -The shore line of the lake, about 15.5 kilometres (9.6 mi), is encompassed by a boulevard lined with Mughal era gardens, parks, houseboats and hotels. It has houseboats and the colourful Shikaras sailing all around in the lake.The lake is also called as the Srinaga’s Jewel. The average elevation of the lake is 1,583 metres (5,194 ft). The ecosystem of Dal Lake is ecologically rich in macrophytes, submerged macrophytes, floating macrophytes and phytoplankton.We took around in the Shikara. The trip was really nyc in the lake.

2. NEHRU PARK – It is situated inside the Dal Lake, where we have to go by Shikara. It is not a Mughal Garden . This garden was laid out in middle of the 20th centuary.It is about 6 Kms from main city ( Lal Chowk ) and just 50 yards away from the main Boulevard. located just below the Zabarwan mountain range ,the Shiva temple on the Top of the shankaracharya hill can also be seen from this park .

Some more pics of the awesome views

The next place to visit was –
3. SHANKRACHARYA TEMPLE. This place is always at the Hit list of terrorists as it is a very sensitive place. No camera / mobile is allowed there. The Temple is of Shivji and is at an altitude of 1100m above sea level. One has to walk up 243 stairs to reach the temple. It is situated at the Suleiman Hill.
One can see the beautiful Srinagar from the Top.

Then we visited –
4. SHALIMAR BAGH – Beautiful Infrastructure and simply awesome sorroundings. and a well maintained garden.
The Bagh was built by Mughal Emperor Jahangir for his wife Nur Jahan, in 1619. The Bagh is considered the high point of Mughal horticulture.

the main channel running through the garden axially from top to the lowest point. This central channel, known as the Shah Nahar, is the main axis of the garden. It runs through three terraces. This layout saved on radial arms and the shape became rectangular.The garden, as finally laid, extends to an area of 12.4 hectares (31 acres) built with a size of 587 metres (1,926 ft) length on the main axis channel and with a total width of 251 metres (823 ft). The garden has three terraces fitted with fountains and with chinar (sycamore) tree-lined vistas.The first terrace is a public garden or the outer garden ending in the Diwan-e-Aam . In this hall, a small black marble throne was installed over the waterfall

My family was just enoying the beautiful flowers.The Shalimar Bagh is well known for chini khanas, or arched niches, behind garden waterfalls
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the next place was –
4. NISHAT BAGH –
The NISHAT BAGH has Zabarwan Mountains as its backdrop, Nishad Bagh is a garden of bliss that commands a magnificent view of the lake beneath the snow capped Pir Panjal mountain range that stands for away to the west of the valley. The Bagh was designed and built in 1633 by Asif Khan, elder brother of Noor Jehan.

Simply no words to descibe the Park. Beautiful Flowers. Simply awesome.

Then just got the chance to visit the –
5. TULIP GARDEN – And trust me it was really very beautiful.The sprawling Asia’s biggest tulip garden holds thousands of flowers impart a mesmerising ambience to this 90-acre tourist attraction.Nearly 1.3 million tulip bulbs comprising 70 varieties of various colours have been grown in the garden, Some pics

Then we stopped for Lunch at Krishna Dhaba ( one of the best veg restaurants in Srinagar).
Then we visited
6. CHASHMA SHAHI – Chashma Shahi (“Royal Spring”) received its name from its water source, a spring located on its uppermost terrace.Chashma Shahi was built by the Mughal governor Ali Mardan Khan under the emperor Shah Jahan in 1632-1633. Instead of a flat ground plane, the garden is composed of three terraced planes. An axial water channel runs the length of the garden, from the spring source on the third terrace to a five-fountain-pool on the first (lowest) terrace.

This place has purest Indian water coming from hills. Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru used to drink only the water from Chasmashahi. for him the water was everyday sent via flight to Delhi.We too drank th water and trust me it was really pure.

The next place in our list was –
6. PARI MAHAL – The place is situated at the top of Srinagar from where we can see the beautiful view.Pari Mahal (House of the Fairies) is situated just above Chashma Shahi Gardens.Pari Mahal is a historic monument as well as a well-laid spacious garden. Situated around a small spring, the garden has beautiful flowering plants.The Pari Mahal in Srinagar was founded by Dara Shiko, the eldest son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan’s

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Every Garden here has a minimal entry fee of 10-20 bucks per person.Only the ticket of Tulip Garden is Rs. 50 per person.till this time it was late evening . We came back at the Hotel And took Rest as next 2 days were for GULMARG and PAHALGAM.
Will describe later.