Story Behind The Trip Plan
Kashmir is one of the dream destinations of the world, which fascinates the tourists coming here to explore and experience its hospitality. Since childhood we have witnessed beautiful places, gardens, valleys, lakes, House Boats in movies, serials, pictures. From all, Kashmir spoke to me the most, motivating me to explore and feel its beauty.
Trip Research & Planning
After much research, I decided to plan the trip in the month of April because that when the Tulip Festival in Srinagar occurs. This is Asia's largest tulip festival that happens from 1 April to 15 April every year. I booked the hotels online and hired a Xylo for 6 adults and 2 child for entire journey.
Mumbai To Udhampur
We started our 30 hours journey by train from Bandra Terminal. During this long journey we crossed many states, rivers and tasted flavors of delicacy.
Once our train reached the north side, the climate began to become pleasant. I used the IRCTC E-Catering app for lunch & dinner, it was very helpful and I highly recommend it if you want to try different outlets. The food was very tasty. In the E-Catering app there are many outlets through which you can order food. We ordered lunch at Vadodara (Gayatri Bhavan), Dinner in Kota Jn (New Amar Punjabi Dhaba) & the next day lunch at Pathankot (Green Street).
Through the train journey we saw Kota Jn and Ratlam station which brought back fond memories from the movie Jab We Met. We spent our time playing UNO and Antakshari.
We reached Udhampur the next day at 4 pm, arranged a Tavera and started our road journey to Srinagar.
This road crossed 5 major districts of Udhampur, Ramban, Kulgam, Anantnag and Pulwama.
I witnessed some interesting stops such as the Syama Tunnel, which is India's longest road tunnel with a length of 9.28 km. It is one of its kind with a fully integrated tunnel control system.
However, when reached Banihal we were met with a landslide. Unfortunately, our 7-8 Hours journey doubled in duration.
When Pullwama-Srinagar highway starts every after 1 km one Militant with AK47 in hand and finger on trigger, it was so shocking moment for me but car driver say, here it is normal for us. I couldn't sleep till reaching Houseboat.
Sightseeing In Srinagar
The Houseboats in Kashmir are not only competitive but also luxurious and comfortable in all respects, satiating the tourists at the end of the day. The houseboat is furnished in a grand style, with carved furniture and kashmiri carpets with intricate work on them.
After an hectic travel almost we reached the houseboat in the morning. We woke up feeling refreshed. In front of the household we were met with a large garden with a platanus orientalis(Chinar) tree which was a very nice combination.
We met our house boat owner, Captain Hameed in the morning and discussed our tour plan, he was great help in figuring things out for us. He provided some valuable and helped plan our trip taking the external factors into consideration.
Next stop on our trip was the Tulip Garden. It was truly amazing. Previously known as the Model Floriculture Center, it was opened in 2007 with the aim to boost floriculture and tourism in the Kashmir Valley. It is the largest tulip garden in Asia spread over an area of about 30 hectares. This garden is situated on the foothills of Zabarwan Range with an overview of Dal Lake.
Apart from the tulips, there were many other species of flowers such as hyacinths, daffodils and ranunculus as well.
There is also the Jawaharlal Nehru Botanical Garden set up in 1969 in fond memory of India's first prime minister. It contains many types of plants and vegetation. This garden has a collection of about 150,00 ornamental plants and a huge collection of oak varieties
What was noteworthy was the affable nature of the locals. They were very interactive and asked us to take their selfies as well. The locals came out with their entire family along with home made lunch and played games together.
Peaceful and blooming with the vibrant colors of natural landscape, the Srinagar Botanical Gardens offers blissful respite from our busy travels.
After our visit to the gardens we went to the market. Srinagar is famous for its Dry fruits. We visited the renowned Wani Dryfruits,a genuine local brand, where we purchase dry fruits like Saffron, Almonds, Walnuts, Blueberries, Rasberries, Elaichi among other things.
While walking in the market, one thing we heard the locals say was "Mumbai ka fashion, Aur Kashmir ka climate daily change hota hai". After leaving from the market, we decided to rest for the next day.
I highly recommended to try Kashmiri Wazwan. It is a authentic multi-course meal in Kashmiri cuisine; combination of Non-veg and veg dishes.
On The Way To Sonmarg
Sonmarg (translation: "Meadow of Gold") is a hill station in Ganderbal district on Srinagar-Leh Highway. And the collection house of many films Satte Pe Satta, Tiger Zinda hai, Jab Tak Hai Jaan & Jab We Met etc. We wake up and get ready for the 2-3 hours drive. On the road we witnessed a wide range of Mustard plantations, an ambit of yellow colour flowers, Tango Charlie bridge built by the Indian Army on the beautiful Sind river which come up with along with our journey to high altitudes.
On the way, we halted for a few minutes to take pictures, Because of the cold climate we came rushing back to the car in 15 minutes.
In a few kilometers, we were met with snow everywhere, indicating that we were almost near Sonamarg.
After completing a 2 hours(80 km) journey we finally reached Sonamarg . We took some refreshing tea and were then ready for snow activities.
We were happy seeing the snow, something which we had earlier only seen in movies. We participated in activities like sledge, skiing and their prices. We were provided with a long jacket, boot and hand gloves which we had to buy separately.
In the sledge activity you have to sit on the sledge and master pull the sledge if you are healthy, you need a supporter to push you from the back. The returning journey was equally fun.
The trick to getting the best deals is to make sure you bargain. We spent almost 2-3 hours doing snow activity. After lunch we came back to the hotel because we have planned a shikara ride. The best time for a shikara ride is during sunrise and sunset.
By 5 pm we were fresh and ready for the shikara ride. We booked 3 separate shikaras for each family .
Words cannot encapsulate the beauty of the shikara ride. During this 1 hour ride we did a photo shoot in the kashmiri attire as well.
On the Way to Pahalgam
Pahalgam means “First (Pahala means first) Village (Gam means village or locality)”. It is famous for its scenic beauty and is the jewel of the picturesque Liddar valley located in the high Himalayas. It provides an ideal setting for activities like hiking, trekking, and fishing. It is also the starting point of the annual pilgrimage to the holy cave of Amarnath.
On the route, I was able to see the Casspir for the Indian army, which we purchased from Israel. We parked our car to go see it, however we were restricted from photography. But they gave us information about its features and safety. I felt a sense of nation pride after understand what the army does for us.
The road to Srinagar-Pahalgam was broader and smooth, I connected my phone and played road trip songs and we enjoyed the 2-3 hours journey. On the road we saw wide range of Apple and Walnut plantations.
Apple Tree Plantation.
We took another halt after 10-15 km when we saw long long pine trees.
The climate at Pahalgam was a little cloudy, and when we reached, it started raining. Luck was clearly not on our side.
Our guide told us many things about the valley, he even said that the complete movie Bhajrangi Bhaijaan was shoot in India, with 80% being shot in Kashmir.
Pahalgam starting from here.
Pahalgam is the coldest place as compared to Srinagar, Gulmarg and Sonamarg. We cancelled the day's plan, and directly went to the hotel and decided to rest for the whole day. We stayed at the Grand Heritage Resort, an amazing property on a river bank. Not only was the hotel hygienic but had a picturesque view of Pahalgam.
The climate at Pahalgam was a little cloudy, and when we reached, it started raining. Luck was clearly not on our side.
Our guide told us many things about the valley, he even said that the complete movie Bhajrangi Bhaijaan was shoot in India, with 80% being shot in Kashmir.
The next day the climate was good, so we started to explore Pahalgam. We couldn't drive our car, and had to use a local car from the Pahalgam car parking stand. We choose an Innova Crysta to explore Aru Valley and Betaab Valley.
The car can only be used till the base point, after which one either has to trek or horse ride to get into the valley.
Entry Fee - 25 per head
I had a good experience with the horse ride, they trained them very well. The ride goes slow and some turns were scary. I saw a mind blowing view of the valley. It clicked in my mind that I had seen this valley in the recent movie, Bhajrangi Bhaijaan.
https://www.facebook.com/prabhakar.borade/videos/3711078105601070/
Betaab valley got its name from the Sunny Deol-Amrita Singh hit debut film Betaab. The Valley is towards the northeast of Pahalgam and falls between Pahalgam and Chandanwadi and is en-route Amarnath Temple Yatra. This valley is surrounded by lush green meadows, snow clad mountains and covered with dense vegetation.
But unfortunately, the climate changed and it started raining.
The locals we right when they said that the climate changes in minutes here. We were disappointed that we couldn't explore everything the town had to offer.
On The Way To Gulmarg
Gulmarg (meaning “meadow of flowers”) displays a breathtaking panoramic view of the whole valley of Kashmir and of Nanga Parbat, one of the highest peaks of the Himalaya.
We halted here for 30 minute and rented cloths and hired a guide for 2 days.
Enjoying with the snow. The snow in Gulmarg was truly refreshing.
Gulmarg Gondola is the second longest and second highest cable car in the world. We were ready to go on a Gondola Ride.
Our hotel was at a 5-10 min walkable distance from the gondola ropway. Gondola is the best place for snow activities and more famous for skiing.
If you have seen the old movie, Aap ki Kasam its famous song "Jay Jay Shiv Shankar, khata laage na kankkar" was shot in a front view from our hotel.
Grassy pastures stretching to acres of land, the dense forests full of pine trees, with the backdrop of splendid snow capped mountains leave you almost speechless. Yousmarg is the perfect place to go for a picnic.
We took the complete valley tour that includes 5 tourist point. It took us almost 2-3 hours to cover everything.
DhoodhGanga
Love Birds Celebrate Special Day at Special Place
Besides being the perfect representations of Persian influenced Mughal architecture in its prime, Mughal Garden Srinagar is known for their exceptional beauty owing to their spectacular mountainous natural settings which remain unparalleled in all of India.
Magnificent view mountain range and Dal lake.
The Chashma Shahi (Royal Spring) Garden showcases the serene beauty of Mughal designs. Experience nature at its most ornate as you climb the garden’s terraces, which are interspersed with polished walkways, colorful plants and carved water features.
Srinagar Local Bus - Hope this bus remember you in the Bhagrangi Bhaijaan.
The Hazratbal Shrine ("Majestic Place") is situated on the Northern bank of the Dal Lake, Srinagar, and is considered to be Kashmir's holiest Muslim shrine.
Flying with beautiful and unforgettable memories
This 13 days trip of Kashmir we experienced the longest train journey from Mumbai to Udhampur, the road trip Udhampur to Srinagar, Shikara Ride, Horse Ride, Ice Sledge Ride, flight along with beautiful gardens and amazing valley which we will hold very dear to us.
Kashmir is a very beautiful place and is heaven in India. You can check the hotels and the above places on the internet. I shared my journey and hope information was relevant if you decided to explore Kashmir.
I highly recommend everyone to visit Kashmir once, because it will help create a lifetime memories. Hope you liked my journey, please like and follow me.
Any query or doubts about places and tour planning do comment on this blog, I will reply as early as possible. Follow me for more interesting trips and blogs.