Kashmir: Jannat-e-Jahan

Ye haseen Vaadiyan.. Ye khula aasmaan..

Jannat-e-jahan (translated: Paradise on earth) itself speaks a lot about Kashmir. Srinagar, the summer capital of J&K has the most beautiful gardens. The beauty of this place is incomparable. Visit Kashmir to know how paradise could be envisaged at its best!

Studying the map before any tour is important. It is better to keep Srinagar your base and travel to Gulmarg and Sonamarg because they are in two different direction and Pahalgam in another. This tour covers the essentials of Kashmir but there are loads of unexplored valleys in Kashmir. To provide a concise information on the tour, PFB the itinerary:

Day 1: In and around Srinagar

Day 2: Srinagar to Gulmarg and back

Day 3: Srinagar to Sonamarg and back (Night stay in House Boat)

Day 4: Srinagar to Pahalgam

Day 5: In and around Pahalgam

Day 6: Pahalgam to Patnitop

Day 7: Patnitop to Delhi

PS:

1. Be sure to grab some of the great Kashmiri designer clothes and Pashmina

2. Be sure to taste food items.. You'd explore a variety of uncommon spices.

It was a tough good bye to the vale of Kashmir and a silent promise to come back soon.

Katra/ Vaishno Devi

Hotels Map

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.

Srinagar

Hotels Map

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.

Gulmarg

Hotels Map

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

Hotels Map

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.

Pahalgam

Hotels Map

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.

Patnitop

Hotels Map

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.

Kashmir: Jannat-e-Jahan

Katra/ Vaishno Devi

Srinagar

Gulmarg

Sonamarg

Pahalgam

Patnitop

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