AGAR FIRDAUS BAR ROE ZAMINAAST, HAMINAAST HAMINAAST HAMINAAST was an old saying.
Chilgoze ka baachi ! ! ! , PARADISE ka jhol malum asti .
KASHMEER TRIP WAS A MUCH AWAITED TRIP, I WAS PLANNING TO GO TO KASHMEER VIA BIKE WHEN I USED TO LIVE IN PARVATI VALLEY, KULLU, HIMACHAL PRADESH. I PLANNED TO TOUR LADDAKH FIRST AND THEN ENTER KAASHMEER BUT THE PLAN DIDNOT SUCCEEDED, PLANNED IT VIA BUS TOO BUT DUE COMMON COLD AND BLOCKED NOSTRILS, I CANCELLED THE TRIP IN MANALI .
AFTER HAVING SEEN THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF MEGHALAYA, I CANCELLED MY PLAN OF TOURING NAGALAND, TRIPURA, SIKKIM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH BECAUSE OF THE NEED OF INNER LINE PERMIT, I STRAIGH AWAY HEADED FOR SRINAGAR VIA DELHI AND THEN JAMMU.
TRAFFIC IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM OF KAASHMEER VALLEY. THERE ARE ONLY TWO ROUTES THAT TOO ON THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN, TRAFFIC OFTEN JAMS WHEN THERE’S ANY LANDSLIDE OR SIMILAR ACTIVITIES.
APART FROM THOSE, NEW ROADS AND TUNNEL CONSTRUCTION ALSO DISTURBS THE TRAFFIC.
FROM JAMMU TO SRINAGAR VIA CAB, TOOK A HOUSEBOAT IN THE DAL LAKE WHERE I STAYED FOR ABOUT FOUR DAYS.
HAD SHIKARA RIDE IN DAL LAKE TWICE TO EXPLORE THE MARKET WITHIN THE DAL LAKE.
WENT TO THE MUGHAL GARDEN, ROSE GARDEN, SHANKARACHARYA TEMPLE, MANAS BAL LAKE, AKBAR FORT/HARI PARBAT, SHARKRA DEVI TEMPLE, KHEER BHAVANI TEMPLE.
THERE WAS NOTHING EXCEPTIONALLY SPECIAL IN SRINAGAR APART FROM THE LAKE AND THE SHIKARA RIDES AND OFCOURSE THE HOUSEBOATS.
ON THE FIFTH DAY I LEFT FOR PAHALGAM WHICH WAS ABOUT 80 KM AWAY AND TOOK THREE HOURS BY CAB.
WHEN WE REACHED PAHALGAM, IT STARTED RAINING.
THE FIRST DAY, I RELAXED .
THE NEXT DAY I WENT TO THE CHANDANWADI WHERE THE FIRST SNOWFALL OF PAHALGAN HAPPENED THE LAST NIGHT.
SAW THE TREKKABLE ROUTE TO AMARNATH CAVES, TASTED SOME SNOW AND LEFT FOR BETAAB VALLEY WHERE I TOOK A HORSE(SULTAN),S RIDE TO SEE BETAAB VALLEY, AFTER THAT WE WENT TO THE ARU VALLEY WHERE THERE WERE CLOUDS SIMILAR TO THAT OF MEGHALAYA, THE VISIBILITY WAS VERY LOW.
NEAR TO MY ACCOMODATION WAS AN OLD TEMPLE NAMED MAMLESHWAR MAHADEV, MAMLA BEING THE NAME OF THE VILLAGE.
THE THIRD DAY, I WENT TO THE LIDDER/AMARGANGA RIVER TO HAVE SOME PLAYTIME WITH LIDDER’S WATERZ.
SINCE IT RAINED THE LAST TO LAST NIGHT, THERE WAS MUD ON THE TREKKABLE ROUTE TO THE BAISARAN VALLEY OF PAHALGAM AN SO, I CANCELLED THE PLAN.
THE FIRST TIME WHEN I WENT TO THE PARVATI VALLEY, KULLU IN 2019, THE PARVATI RIVER WAS AS CLEAN AS LIDDER RIVER AND NOT MUCH ESTABLISHMENTS WERE PRESENT, WHEN I WENT TO KULL THE SECOND TIME IN 2022, I FOUND NUMBER OF HOTELS, RESTAURENTS, CAMPS BSESIDE THE PARVATI RIVER MAKING IT A PARTY PLACE, THE SERENITY AND SOLACE OF THE PLACE AND RIVER GOT PERMANENTLY LOST.
FROM PAHALGAM, I HEADED TO SONMARG, THE PLACE OF GOLDEN MEADOWS.
WENT TO THE ZERO POINT VIA ZOJILA PASS, SAW THE WATERFALL EMENATING FROM THE AMARNATH GLACIER.
TOOK A HORSE RIDE TO THE THAJWAS WILDLIFE SANCTUARY, TOOK BATH IN A STREAM EMANATING FROM THE SNOWPEAKS, FELT THE NATURAL VIBES OF THE AREA.
SAW THE NEARBY FISH POND/LAKE AND SAW THE SINDH RIVER, DIDNOT TAKE BATH IN IT DUE TO HEAVILY SILTED BANKS.
PLAN TO ENTER LADDAKH VIA KARGIL GOT CANCELLED BECAUSE THE PANGONG LAKE STARTED FREEZING.
PLAN TO GULMARG CANCELLLED BECAUSE I PLANNED TO VISIT KAASHMEER AGAIN .
VIA JAMMU WENT BACK TO DELHI FROM WHERE I BOOKED THE TICKETS TO ” DATIA ” TO SEE THE LEVEL OF CLEANLINESS OF PEETAMBARA DEVI’S TEMPLE COMPLEX_DATIA .
