Quirky Road To Gulmarg

                                        




       You may say this is a cheat post since I've digressed from the practice so far of keying in my travel tales with places starting with the alphabets. I racked and racked my brains ( whatever little there is) to figure out a place starting with "Q" , but alas, there was not a place I went to in India, that began with this exasperating alphabet. However I was itching to tell you the story of that fateful day when we hit the road to Gulmarg. And so here is my tale of the quirky road to Gulmarg.

                                         

Gulmarg

    It was a routine telephonic conversation between my husband and his colleague who was posted near Gulmarg that set the ball rolling. The road to Gulmarg had opened with snow  melting in many places revealing greens in patches. Yet in many places it was still four to five feet deep. It being a weekend and with due permission from the superiors to leave the garrison, we were loading our Maruti 800 with stuff and two kids for the trip. Our best chance of Gulmarg sans the tourist crowd. 

                                           

View of the Town

          As it happens, when a trip is taken in a hurry, there is always a nagging thought that something is amiss. Checked the rear seat to see if both the kids were aboard with all their requirements. After we hit the highway, this thought was pushed aside. 

                                       

Happy For An Outing

      By the time we reached Tangmarg, we were greedily taking in the snow laden mountain in the distant and the valley below turning green. I've come across many people who wonder about safety in Kashmir. To them I'll say, in our two years stay and travelling around the place we never felt the need for protection of any kind. Tourists are welcome here since that is the main source of income for majority of the population. The common man is hit hard during the winters and also after a terrorist activity when the tourist inflow dwindles. 

       Back on the road, we were starting our climb now with snow banks on both sides of the road. The road was slippery with the melting snow and that's when the nagging thought returned and it dawned on us,

" Shit! We forgot the snow chains!"

We drove slow and the car skidded here and there where the melting snow had turned to thin ice. We drove a little faster and the car skidded even more. With a prayer on my lips, fingers and toes crossed and the husband hunched on the wheel with a furrowed forehead, we managed to reach Gulmarg intact. Just when we were celebrating his driving skills and enjoying the view the car finally did what we were fearing. It skidded and tilted and came to a halt at an angle where I found myself at  a higher level than my husband. This was no time to gloat over who had the upper hand. We sat there confused for a few minutes till it was decided that I get out and bring some help. It's a mystery to me till date how I managed to extricate myself  without disturbing and worsening our precariously balanced car. Since this was the time when tourists were yet to arrive in throngs, Gulmarg  for most part was  deserted. With most of the hotels and lodges boarded up for the winters baring a few for the winter sports lovers, there weren't any local people around. In any case, only the employees of the hotels are allowed to stay here. The other vendors and guides are to vacate it by sunset. Bottom line is, there was not a soul in sight. So I hiked first in this direction and then in the other  till I found a few soldiers who helped us with the car. 

                                         

View From The Guest Room

      Did we regret making this trip? On the contrary, we loved it not because I got the opportunity to relate this. It was surreal to have the whole place to our selves. Well almost. There were some others who thought like us and had ventured here.We had the snow spread before us like a soft carpet; the green grass making their appearance from under it with small flowers; tingling fresh air and bits and pieces of meadows showing their colours. Gulmarg is one of the best skiing spots in the world with slopes graded for the beginners as well as the experts. The cable car ride, takes you over the local herders huts that lie vacant during the winters, to the peak stopping in between at Kongdori. Gulmarg Gondola is the second highest cable car ride in the world. 

                                         

Summer Palace

          On the hill behind where we stayed, was the erstwhile summer palace of the Kashmir royalty. It was in a sad state now, dilapidated and locked. We strolled around the grounds and tried peeking in through the windows. It was desolate and bare inside with some broken bits and pieces strewn here and there. The modern activities found priority here and this palace is relegated to a quiet nook in the past. I wish they would restore it and let it share it's stories.

                                       

A Green Patch

     If you have travelled to Gulmarg after that and seen the palace in a better shape than how we found it, do share your story. Do be careful and do not forget the snow chains if you are travelling the same time as we did. You may find the roads suddenly quirky deciding to act on it's own.

This post was written for the A to Z Challenge.

      

Pahalgam

   

                                              


   
         A two years posting in remote Sharifabad let us sneak around to some lovely places in the Kashmir region. Pahalgam, in the Anantnag district, was one such stolen trip. And twice over. For that matter, any drive around Jammu and Kashmir has been a show stopper as far as I am concerned. A drive along the National Highway 1A is a delight for the many scenic treats. There will be willow wood stacked in the sheds, left to be seasoned before being honed into cricket bats. Once you hit Pampore in the Anantnag district, vast stretches of ground kissing saffron fields will greet you. You could get off at any point on the road and take in the view, inhale the fresh air and just relax for a few minutes.

                                               

Approaching Pahalgam

      Around two hours journey by road from Srinagar, Pahalgam is another halt for pilgrims taking the Chandanwari route to the holy shrine of Amarnath, a more arduous trek compared to the route taken from Baltal in Sonamarg. Once you approach Pahalgam, you would sigh your way through the beauty of the place, with the Lidder river keeping you company. Make friends with the river for this is what will make your stay here worthwhile and be the perfect host. The river gushes and frolics along the road as if to welcoming you to your destination.

                                         

Gujjarwal And his Lamb At Baisaran

    You could trek up or take a pony ride to the Baisaran meadow, of dipping and rising landscape surrounded by the thick coniferous woods. People take pony rides around this vast meadow or just soak in the ambiance, that had probably seemed distant till then. We chose to sit and relax in Baisaran and make friends with a few Gujjarwals, the local herders. Some of them will offer to let you hold their lamb, for a price. They have a hard life,especially during the winters when the entire area is snowbound. Summer is the only time when they can make money from the tourists and the pilgrims.

    Our next stop was Betaab Valley just 15 kms away from Pahalgam, a picturesque expanse with the Lidder river flowing along forested banks. The water is crystal clear and chilly, shallow at many points for you to wade in. This is another good place to sit down for a picnic. Didn't I say that Lidder will be the perfect host?  Many of you may know that this place got it's name from the Sunny Deol- Amrita Singh hit movie 'Betaab'. Don't know about the movie but this place will surely stay in your mind for a long long time.
                                         
                                         

Betaab Valley

   

     In the evening, we strolled around the main road of this little town taking in the hustle and bustle of the busy tourist season. Couples, families, groups of friends out to find their share of togetherness in the lap of nature. River rafting on Lidder is a popular tourist activity as is angling for trouts. Then of course, there are the inevitable Kashmir handicraft kiosks luring the tourists with saffron to shawls.

   Next day, we decided our place of relaxation to be Aru, 12 kms uphill. But our first stop was the centuries old Mamleshwara temple. The very entry to this little temple has an exotic feel with the climbing rose arching over the gate. Once you step inside, Mamleshwar stands before you, built of stones with a little porch supported by two pillars. A spring is said to originate under the temple whose water is collected in a stone tank in front of the temple. I would recommend this place as a little surprise or a visual  treat for the traveller.
                                   
                                   

Mamaleshwara Temple

     Aru is also the base camp for trekkers to the Kolhoi glacier, the biggest in the Kashmir valley. On our drive up, another pleasant climb, we came across little cottages and the gujjarwal huts by the river Aru, which is a tributary of Lidder. In the winters, Aru is frequented for skiing as well as heliskiing. With view of surrounding snow capped peaks, dense forest sloping down and  lush meadows, it is a place where one can connect with the inner self, happy to be with their thoughts.

                                     

Aru 

    Pahalgam is perfect for a holiday if you are the nature loving kind. You could never get tired of all that it has to offer. And when it is time to leave, the Lidder will show you the way out, happy to host you again. I will leave you for now with this mosque nestled in the mountain which we came across on our way back.

 
                                     

 

This post was written for the A to Z Challenge.