“Kashmir, the rest is worthless”
- teamtravellingfoodie
- Feb 8, 2015
- 2 min read
--AMBIKA TANDON
The lines quoted above come from Mughal emperor Jehangir, aptly describing the feelings necessarily undergone by anyway who ventures into this state. My travels across the landscape lasted 5 days, starting with Srinagar. The usual feelings of pre-travel trepidation were accompanied by a sense of fear due to the excessive security upon entering Srinagar, reminding one constantly of the inescapable history etched upon the annals of the city.
Exploring the city is like entering Milton’s paradise, with the picturesque Dal Lake, gardens such as Dilshat and Shalimar and the range of local markets which seem to put up on offer not just commodities, but a culture, a people. The only ways to experience the famous Dal Lake is to stay atleast a night on a houseboat, an experience truly novel in its singularity, and by Shikara, which allow the traveler to traverse the length of the lake in a traditional fashion, and one immediately harks back to Hindi films which iconized it to begin with.
During winters, however, these activities would be impossible, but I suppose playing cricket with the local children on a frozen lake holds its own appeal. For experiencing true nirvana, however, one must travel beyond the city itself, to places such as Pahalgam and Gulmerg, which happen to be a couple of hours’ drive away from it. There is no other way to describe Pahalgam but as a work of art; a painting come alive.
The river running through the town offers white water rafting, and there are plenty of spots around it where one can camp next to bone-chilling water while huddling next to a bonfire. Gulmerg, on the other hand, is almost perennially full of snow, and offers plenty of sporting activities for adrenaline junkies. The magic in the air, however, escapes description, and has to be experienced first-hand!
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