Kashmir: Jannat-e-Jahan

From Kolkata, as usual, the first stop was Delhi. From Delhi we took another train to Jammu and reacher Katra by 5:30 pm. We started our journey to the abode of Vaishno Mata. The walk was not tiring enough with well- maintained roads which makes it too simple to call it a trek. Nevertheless, we were walking with sinuous occurrences of uphills and downhills. One is bound to enjoy the divine walk with sudden hails of Vaishno Devi from groups of devotees walking along... and you won't be able to escape the temptation from joining them. We reached the mandir at around 1:30 am which did not, by the least, past midnight. They were huge number of devotees still standing in the line and at a distance we could see many still walking in. It will take maximum of 5 seconds to have a 'darshan' of Vaishno Mata. *Photography not allowed* We returned by sunrise to Katra and booked a bus to Srinagar.

Beware to be clothed adequately because it will be chilling out there if you are planning to go in May. Srinagar is quite as much a city in contrast to a common illusion that it is a hill station. First day at Srinagar: In and around the city, we went to the tourist spots like Pari Mahal, Nishat Bagh, Tulip Garde( whcih ofcourse was not decored with Tulips but it is worth visiting because the tulips are replaced by other flowers which is equally beautiful; for Tulips the season is around March), Shalimar Bagh, Harwan and Hazratbal Mosque.

Fro Srinagar we visited Gulmarg. The mountain top offered a 360 degree view of the snow fed Himalayan mountains. It was sunny and the each tourist was ebullient at such a wonderful location. While in May it was entirely snow covered, visiting in late July and August the scenery will be more lush and greener. We returned back to Srinagar after a happy en tourage to the Gulmarg: An Avenue of floowers!

Sonamarg is named so because when the sun's rays fall on the mountain cliff it appears bright and golden, hence a road of gold, Sonamarg (And not Sonmarg). Beware that the tourists are not allowed to Sonamarg in their own vehicle. They are forced to use the local transport which is basically business for the local residents. We again came back to Srinagar for the final stay.

Next morning we were off to Pahalgam bidding a tough good bye to Srinagar. At pahalgam we visited the local spots and explored the beauty of River Lidder. It was heavily raining since we arrived at Pahalgam. The evening was misty and clouds hovering above us . The greenery was boosted to maximum and thus provided a seraphic vision of the mountains.

This was a serendipitous stop; a heavenly stop while declining from Pahalgam to Jammu which is too lengthy. We stayed at the JnK Tourism cottages, cooked our meals and roamed around.It is a summer retreat from the scorching heat of Delhi, Punjab, etc.