Trip to the beautifully beautiful Kashmir

A picture is worth a thousand words & so here are some pics to showcase the beauty of Kashmir followed by the write up of our trip. No wonder Kashmir is called Paradise on earth.

                                                                                                                                                   

Kashmiri Kahwa

Beautiful place, beautiful people is what Kashmir is all about.  We were amazed by Kashmir's beauty
but we were told that June/July is the best season and Kashmir will be all the more beautiful during this time.

Actually I wanted to go again to Sikkim, particularly North Sikkim  (see link:  trip to scenic Sikkim) but finally decided to visit Kashmir since we had never been to Kashmir.   While Sikkim is untouched, raw & rugged beauty - Kashmir is beautifully beautiful - a mix of blue, white, green, yellow..... 

Chennai/Srinagar             8th April, 2016

Srinagar/Chennai             16th April, 2016

Mode of transport : Chennai/Srinagar/Chennai by flight

Within Kashmir - Car (Kaizer - Tel:+91 9070146670 & Adil - Tel: +91 9469721288)

Hotel Milkyway, Aru Valley - http://www.milkywaykashmir.com/
Bhilal of Milkyway will also help in organizing hotel & car booking within Kashmir.
Note: Prepaid mobile connections of other Indian states will not work in Kashmir.  Since mine was a post paid connection, only my phone had connectivity in Srinagar.  No connectivity in Aru Valley & Sonmarg except for BSNL connections.

8th April

Upon arrival in Srinagar, we drove straight to Aru  Valley via the scenic mustard fields & apple orchards (around 3 hrs drive) 

Nature lovers will definitely want to come back to Aru Valley - a truly beautiful valley.  Stay in Hotel Milkyway was like a home away from home.  They took care of us  like their own personal guests. Since the weather was too cold for us, we were allowed to have  food in their warm kitchen.

Scenic location across Milkyway hotel

View from Milkyway hotel - discussion amongst the locals

9th April

The temperature in Aru Valley in April was around 8 degrees & we just couldnt bear the cold but that did not deter us from going outdoors.  We were here to have a good time & the spine chilling cold did not stop us from having a jolly good time.  We had a wonderful and memorable time going deep inside the valley riding on a horse in heavy snow fall - it was a blissful experience - just the 3 of us, 2 guides & 3 horses - I think the tourists stayed indoor because of heavy snow.  We spent an hour in the tribal hut warming ourselves.  Lovely memories of this day...to cherish forever.   Wish time stood still... Came back to Milkyway for lunch.  Bhilal of Milkyway had organized for this horse ride into the valley.  The evening was spent roaming around Milkyway.

10th April

Visited Betab Valley, Pahalgam, Chandanwari - nothing great - can avoid this visit.  Tourists coming to Kashmir will definitely visit Sonmarg  & Gulmarg for the snow - so Chandanwari can be skipped.  Similarly Aru Valley is more lush and untouched beauty when compared to Pahalgam.

11th April

Drive to Sintan Top via Achabal Gardens & Daksum - a nice day covering lovely places.  Also visited the Martand temple ruins.

Sintan Top

                                                                                                                                                              

12th April

Aru Valley/Srinagar. 

Checked into some hotel near the lake - nothing great/nothing bad about this hotel. 

On the way, visited Ashmuqam Dargah - because of some strike, Kaizer was hesitant to take us to this mosque but since we insisted he  took us there.  Quite an old mosque. Had to climb around 500 odd steps but we liked this mosque.  The qawali song in the movie Bajrangi Bhaijaan was shot in this mosque. 

In the evening, went for the mandatory Shikara ride in Srinagar.  We were so bored with this 2 hour ride...Shikara ride is just like any other boat ride in a lake & we have had enough of these rides in Ooty, Kodaikanal, Munnar, Muttukadu, Pitchavaram.

13th April

Srinagar/Gulmarg/Srinagar

I think we terribly got tanned from this day onwards (during our visit to Gulmarg & Sonmarg).  We totally ignored the moisturizer & sunscreen lotion - our face was very dry & totally tanned - we now know what essentials we have to carry for our next trip to Sonmarg, Aru Valley, Leh & Ladakh in July 2017.

Gulmarg - The guide helped us in getting the gondola tickets - without checking with us he bought tickets only for Phase 1. I think Phase 2 would have been more serene with no tourists around and high altitude.  Had a wonderful time in Phase 1  - enjoyed ski and all the other rides.  Had a hilarious time while I kept falling in the snow.  Gorgeous Gulmarg...the fluffy clouds caressing and kissing the snow covered majestic mountains is a sight to behold...you get a feeling that you can easily touch the clouds by just a small jump !

My leg sank this deep in the snow !!!

Fluffy cloud sailing down to kiss the mountain - Love is in the air !!!

14th April

Visited Adi Sankaracharya temple - climbing the 200 odd steps was worth it.  Enjoyed the visit to this temple,  more so the few minutes spent in total silence in the small cave like structure.  Do remember to keep away your phones and cameras in the vehicle itself, else you will not be allowed entry to the temple.  This temple is guarded by the army.

Also visited the famous Hazratbal mosque, gurudwara, mamala temple and also Tulip Garden and Shalimar Garden. We skipped the other gardens because the man made manicured gardens doesnt hold a charm for us - we love the natural beauty.

Checked into a Boat house.  

The lit dome at the far end is Adi Sankaracharya temple - pic taken from the boathouse

Adi Sankaracharya temple pic taken during the day

15th April

Srinagar/Sonmarg/Srinagar

Sonmarg is stunningly beautiful.  We went up and beyond where there were only few tourists and the place looked simply superb.  Did not take much picutres because we spent more time soaking in the beauty of Sonmarg...the small bridge, the tiny fresh water stream, white sheet of ice all around...we were spell bound by the surreal beauty of Sonmarg.  The pictures here do not do any justice to the actual beauty of Sonmarg.  Wanna go back to Sonmarg...

16th April

Return flight to Chennai with a promise to come back to Aru Valley & Sonmarg in 2017.

One needs to bargain heavily for the cab ride within Sonmarg, for the guide fees, jacket & shoes in Gulmarg, etc.  To my knowledge, 95% of the tourists end up paying much more than the actual price and yeah we were in that 95% bracket (Anand & I are hopeless in bargaining). Otherwise, the locals are warm, friendly people - Kashmir is truly a paradise on earth.  We really had a wonderful time while in Kashmir.

Next in my bucket list is the Tarsar Marsar lake trek, a quick visit to Sonmarg and Leh-Ladakh trip in 2017.  But then Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh has also caught my fancy....