The essentials while going around in Srinagar

I thought I would give a brief on what you should know if you are travelling around Srinagar City.

Food - Most of the big restaurants are quite expensive. Try road side ones. The food will be clean and hygenic here.Donot forget to try Kashmiri Kawa ( A spicy black tea) wherever you go.
The Kashmiri Waazwan is a must try for meat lovers. The multiple course menu starts with Mith maans followed by kebabs,goshtaba,rista,korma and tabak mach. Try Rista & Goshtaba(If you are a yakhni food lover). Rista is specially very good with rice.
Places to try authentic wazwaan is Mughal Darbar and Adhoo's near Lal Chowk.Both can be quite expensive but are the best ones around in terms of brand.
We tried at Broadview Hotel also at secretariat road. Trust me its the best taste in whole Srinagar. The rista was succulent here and tabak mach(crispy fired lamb chops) was well done.The price is reasonable here. Ensure you visit this place if you are a food lover.Dont forget to try Firnee(dessert) after your meal.

If you want to double check what the meat is, ask whether its chota ghost(Small = Lamb/Goat) or bada gosht(Big = Cow).

Seekh Kebabs

Tabak Mach

Dry Fruits -You can buy dry fruits in Kashmir. The badam (almonds) are around 400-500/- kg. But the kashmiri almonds are not very good. Generally they are small and rak and wet inside which makes thm vulnerable to spoilage. You should buy pakistani almonds which are big in size and crunchy.
Original Kesar is available while going to Pahalgam on the way. Donot pay more than 350/- per gm for original.You may be cheated on the originality as inside Srinagar they add other dried weeds in kesar and sell it for fortune. Take help from a local.
Akhrot(Walnuts) are around 400/- per kg. The open ones(without shell,also called giri) is around 700/-. The shop on the way to Pahalgam can give you a good bargain on original stuff.They are villagers who have have their own produce and sell in these roadside shops at Pampore village on way to Pahalgam.

Shopping
We shopped around Lal Chowk. You can also go near Jehangir Chowk. Take a local help to go around the daily market. There is a huge weekend market in Lal chowk where you get cheap stuff.
We bought Kashmiri handicrafts from a shop near Hazratbal.There are many shops in front of Hazratbal and all of them can give you a very cheap deal depending on how you bargain. We even managed 50% on quoted price in some shops. The crafts are very beautiful to be honest.
Buy shawls from Lal Chowk. Donot buy from Nishaat Bagh area as they can charge heavily.The small shopping lane in Lal Chowk has around 5-6 Shawl and handicrafts shop. Ask for a straight discount if you like and are going to buy. We managed 35-40% on our purchases of shawl. Beyond it they were very clear that they cannot afford.
Donot shop or spend near DAL/Nishaat Bagh and other tourist spot areas. They are unnecessarily expensive.

Pashmina Shawls
Original Pashmina shawls are actually beyond 20K. The ones which are sold for less are called "Semi Pashmina". The concept is that a percentage of Pashmina is mixed with wool to make it semi pashmina and sell it for ranges between 2K till 6K depending on the kashmiri threadwork on it.
But trust me, one of the shopkeeper genuinely told me that there is not a single bit of pashmina in "Semi Pashmina". Why would somebody waste pashmina wool to make it Semi.We infact saw a real Pashmina for 1.5 lakhs. It was really really elegant and gorgeous.
But the normal ones with Kashmiri design. They start with 1900/-(The cheapest we got) till 3000/- depending on the design work with threads on the shawl.Make sure the back of the shawl has thread endings to ensure its not printed but woven.


Acknowledgements - We are very greatful to our Uncle & Aunty who made this trip possible for us and for being with us for 11 days. The support and fun they provided is unmatched.
Acknowledge all people of Kashmir who amidst of endless decades of political and communal turmoil havent forgotten yet to smile at the tourists and make them feel good in Kashmir.
Many Thanks to Bilal Ahmed who took us around everywhere for 11 days in Kashmir. A very sweet local guy who is very clean at heart. He knows a lots of things about tourism and is well mannered. He arranged everything best possible for us be it be transport,food,places to visit and shopping. I infact owe this informational blog to him.
He is very reasonable in his charges and hence saved us from being take for a ride by bigger fishes in the pond.If you ever need any help in Kashmir be it be tour or anything else, you can contact him.

Disclaimers - All my views mentioned in the blog is purely personal. All related views on Kashmir and its people are very much personal.
All the prices mentioned are as on April last week 2011. There may be upward revisions as we grow over the years.

The epic detailed guide of Kashmir vacation

...So we suddenly planned a trip to Kashmir on insistence of a very close family friend (I must mention that they have been like our parents since childhood)...It had to be sooner as summer vacation of kids were coming up. Chose April end to visit Kashmir.Decided on a longer duration of 11 days than generic vacations at Kashmir. Must admit...Everyday was worth at the end...

I should mention here that we didnt book any package trips as we had our family friend to stay with and moreover the package trips are not worthy.My belief got reinstated after the trip that no package trip can do justice to Kashmir(for matter of fact any beautiful place) and you should be on your own.

Time to visit Kashmir - I was skeptical if indeed April is the best time to visit Kashmir. But at the end of the trip I understood, Kashmir is beautiful all of the year with different tastes to offer every season.Wish I could visit 12 months a year.Some of the far flung places like Kargil/Leh/Sonmarg can be inaccesible from Dec to April.From what I expereinced , would suggest mid April to mid Oct to visit Kashmir.

Getting ready for Kashmir -We took normal winter clothing for April as suggested. You might not needed eskimo jackets anywhere during this time but a jacket/sweater is needed for adults with inner warmwear for kids. Besides that would suggest to carry cap and sunscreens and sunglasses as its is quite sunny during the time.Dont forget socks pairs and heavy shoes ( 2 pairs). In snow your shoes will become wet.

Reaching Kashmir - Decided on flying to Srinagar from Bangalore. Spicejet offers a direct flight(via Delhi). Got return tickets for 42K for a family of 4.Quite cheap I must say.Then started the wait for 20th April morning when we would have to fly.Tried few internet blogs to check out what is there in store for us but seldom got a clear picture.Blanked out my mind on what to expect besides a slim expectation at the back of the mind that probably I might witness the paradise.
The flight was good except that it was longer than normal (5 hours) during which we had to unwillingly buy expensive combo meals from airlines. Thanks to the kids.After starting at 0845, reached Srinagar at 1330.

Getting down at airport - AS I first stepped out of the flight in Srinagar, I could immediately smell the nature. The cold breeze, The odourless oxygen, The beautiful sunshine, The far flunged snow clad mountains all around.Srinagar is a small airport and getting out is easier. We had our taxi to pick us up. Book a pre paid taxi inside the airport before going out. The taxis are quite safe.


Safety - Before I go further, let me clear the doubts in every traveller's mind who plan to visit Kashmir. It is very very safe for tourists.Gone are the days of 90's when tourists were abducted by militants. Even the bands and the stone pelting events are planned and you will come to know long before to save yourself.We couldnt smell of anything suspicious in our 11 days of stay inspite of visiting the most sensitive of the places. Locals told me that nobody will ever touch tourists. There have been incidents where locals have gone ahead and daringly saved tourists from any mishap. To be clear, militancy is over in Kashmir.Communal and political chaos is on but that doesnt touch any of the tourists or the beauty of kashmir. There is No RISK AT ALL to visit Kashmir.It is just like any other place in India.

Staying in Kashmir - Srinagar has to be your base location while going around in Kashmir. The hotels near Dal lake are expensive. Try out hotels a little far from DAL and farther from Lal chowk if you are still worried about your safety. The hotels can charge 1-2K per night based on luxury.A local person is the best to make a better deal with hotels as they talk kashmiri. I will mention a local lad at the end who can help in case you need. We stayed at Humhuma Airforce station near airport at our friend's place which was a beautiful place.We had a Tata sumo at our disposal. The local driver(Bilal ahmed) took us around and he is very nice person and knowlegeable.Everyday we would start in the morning and come back home by late evening. Traffic in Srinagar can be chaotic in mornings and evenings. Always start as early as possible in morning around 7.

The view from the house where we stayed

The airforce quarters where we stayed with our Uncle and Aunty.

Places to visit in Kashmir - Here is the details of the places we visited. I have tried to be as concise and descriptive as possible. For any further details, please mail me.You cannot visit multiple places in one day (except in Srinagar). All are in different directions from Srinagar and hence needs a day's time.A vehicle is a must to go around in Kashmir as local transport is not feasible for tourists.

Srinagar - Shankaracharya ->Nishat Bagh -> Shalimar Bagh -> Tulip Garden(only in April) -> Chashm-e-Shahi->DAL Lake ->Hazratbal dargah->Lal Chowk area->Parimahal->Nageen lake
You need atleast 2 days to go around Srinagar. A beautiful town with attractions better than any other capital city in India. We roamed around for 4 days in Srinagar. DAL lake is addictive. The shikara ride is a must.Donot pay more than 300 for an hour for each shikara. You can even bargain for 250/- for an hour below which they will not agree. The bargaining starts at 400/-, so be careful.Shakaracharya is a high altitude temple which you will have to climb up 200 stairs to reach. Its very beautiful from there. The gardens are very beautiful though all of them look alike.I am not a very keen lover of gardens. If you are, you wouldnt miss the simplicity and the beauty of these gardens which are from mughal period. You can take pictures around the gardens in kashmiri dress. Be careful, you can be charged heavily here. If you want to take picture in any of the gardens of DAL lake, ensure you first strike the deal and then go for it.At Nishat bagh, we were taken for a ride as they dressed us up and kept clicking pictures all around and told us that they have taken 15 pictures and we have to pay 1500/-. Ultimately we managed to take 5 of them for 500/-. Would suggest you ask only for 2 pictures at the place you want before they click. You will get your pics in 15 mins.Though they will ask you not to click with your own camera, but you can slip in few of them.

The Dark maroon Tulip

The Kashmiri cutie

Nishaat Bagh

Amidst the tulips

The tulip garden

DAL lake - I visited it 3 days and rode shikara everyday.You would love the serenity and the hugeness of the lake.The surroundings are awesome. Nature lovers cannot ignore the beauty here.The shikara owners will jump at your once you reach there for bargaining but donot agree for anything more than 300/- for an hour. AS soon as you are on shikara, the shikara vendors will come and try to sell Kashmiri wares. You can buy if you want, but ensure you bargain heavily. Remember, the youth here have only tourists as income source and they need to do this for living. Donot insult,discourage or shoo them away. Talk to them and politely say No. If you like something interesting (ladies might like),bargain for a good price.No harm in atleast seeing and appreciating the wares they are trying to sell. Try out drinking Kawa (The Kashmiri tea) at one of the stations on Shikara.Its very rejunevating. Ask them to put less sugar as it can be very sweet.Donot dirty the DAL lake by throwing plastics and other stuff in it. There is a floating market which is part of the shikara ride which is quite awesome (though very very expensive).Talk to the Shikara rower for all your local curiosity.By the way, donot forget to just sit back and relax during the ride taking deep breath of pure oxygen. You will remember it forever.

The floating furit market at DAL

The most elegant DAL

 Gulmarg - 2nd day we went to Gulmarg. The road is OK.On the way there are beautiful villages.Around 2 hours it took us to reach the basepoint from Srinagar.Its quite commercialised. The kids liked the snow as they had never seen. It had crystallised when we went there in April.The place is beautiful though.You will have to walk a kilometer to reach the ticket station for Gondola(Ropeway) ride. On the way sledge owners will irritate you to take sledge. Trust me, you donot need a sledge. Its better to walk through the snow. If a very elderly person is with you, then probably it makes a sense.Donot pay more than 100/- (even 50/-) is fine.Most of the sledge pullers get tired on the way and infact ask you to walk the uphill. At the end you feel cheated.Buy tickets for phase1 and phase2 gondola rides. If you are there late in the morning(after 12) then avoid buying ticket for 2nd phase. You will not be able to make it. If you are not carrying any winter clothing, then rent boots and jackets on the way.Donot pay more than 50/- for each.Carry your own food there as it is quite expensive. You can enjoy your food once you reach the snow covered mountain.Carry some big plastic sheets to sit on.

The horrible snowman

Beautiful gulmarg

Gulmarg is very beautiful. From 2nd phase you can see the LoC with Pakistan.The oxygen levels are quite less at 2nd phase and I would not suggest it for elderly people.Enjoy the snow and make snowman here.Use sunscreen as the sun reflecting from snow can charr you instantly.Get back before 1700 hrs to base station.Kids and people who havent seen snow will enjoy every bit of Gulmarg.

Posing with picturesque Gulmarg at backdrop

Pahalgam - Srinagar->Lidder Valley ->Pahalgam->Baisaran Valley->Betaab Valley->Chandanwaadi->Mattan Temple(while coming back)
This was my favourite trip.This is indeed heaven.Its around 100kms from Srinagar.Start early in morning. The roads are good. You will start witnessing heaven on the way. Huge mustard fields with yellow flowers with snow clad moutains as backdrop.On the way comes Lidder Valley.I am sure you will cry at first seeing the beauty here if you are a metro liver.Oxygen is in abundance. The flowing water is as pure as it can be.Stop here and enjoy the place for an hour.You can also do rafting here and its quite safe.The best thing is that you will find very less people around.You can sit down with your family and just admire the beauty of the surrounding while munching food. Trust me the simplicity of Lidder valley will engulf you. Get in the stream nearby and you can feel the purest H2O on your skin.I cannot explain the feeling of it in any blog or picture.
If you reach earlier than 11 in morning, go to Baisaran valley first. The horse pullers will ask exhorbitant prices. Donot pay more than 500/- for each horse.Take your kids along with you on the horse.The horse ride here will be the hell of an experience.Some prefer to climb on feet too though it can be a little taxing in case you have kids. The climb is a 1.5 km stretch with the steepest uphill possible through the forest.At start you will be very uncomfortable but as you get inside the forest you will start loving the ride. The sceneries you will witness on the way is sacred. you will never see anything in life again like that. The nature at its best.Pine,Devdaar,Chinaar and other trees cover the forest with occasional streams flowing here and there. Its totally untouched here. No manmade comfort yet made.You will reach Baisaran valley in less than an hour.Once you reach there the locals will tell you that its mini switzerland. Thank god I have been to Alps, and trust me Alps is nothing infront of this. Its pure. Very pure and the only thing you will smell here is oxygen. Lots and lots of oxygen here. The surrounding is infectious. You will never feel like coming back. Lush green valley with snow mountains and blue sky. Far away you will see herds of lambs shephered by locals. Am sure you will take atleast 100 snaps here if you have a digital machine. You can feel the oxygen traversing through your nostrils to lungs to guts and whole over the body. The feeling is amazing.Open and stretch your arms, close your eyes and embrace the nature here. You can get into a meditative state here without any form of yoga or meditation.If you are travelling in a herd, talk less and take in as much nature as possible. Trust me, you will feel guilty for wasting time in discussing the beauty of the place later on rather than absorbing it.
Reach back to Pahalgam town and have lunch. We ate at Dana Paani veg restaurant which was quite reasonable and good. You have to take another vehicle to go to Betaab valley.Betaab valley is the place where shooting of the movie Betaab (featuring Amrita Singh & Sunny Deol) took place. In fact most favourite bollywood actor of kashmiris is Sunny Deol even now. The valley is picturesque. you can spend around 2 hours in the lush green valley surrounded by hills covered with snow,pine trees and water streams.You can see the pandav gufaa also here. Legends has it that Pandavs stayed at this cave while on their journey to Himalayas.You can go to Chandanwaadi from here in the vehicle which is another beautiful place within the hills. Here is the route which take the yatris to Amarnath in July.You will have to start back from Pahalgam by 1700 hrs in case you are coming back. I would suggest you plan to stay at Pahalgam town for a night. Camps and cheap hotels are available. Take help of locals to book. Its really worth staying in Pahalgam for couple of days. You will feel that you have increased your lifespan by atleast 2 years with the heavy dose of pure oxygen,water and nature.
I learnt that you can also trek from Pahalgam. Many people does that infact. One of the trek of 8 days actually take you to a mountain which has 7 sides and each side is ending on a huge lake. All the 7 lakes are visible from the mountain tip  and the water is of different colours. The trek is assisted by locals and horses and is a opportunity of lifetime for sure.It should be done in a group of atleast 5 like minded nature lovers. If anybody reading this blog is ever interested in that trek,let me know as i would like to be part of it.

On our way back from Pahalgam to Mattan

On way to Pahalgam

The Lidder Valley - Heavy oxygen content

Aunty at Lidder Valley

On our way to Baisaran Valley

The picturesque way to Baisaran Valley

At Baisaran Valley - My daughter

The most beautiful Baisaran valley

Pahalgam city

Betaab Valley - Sheshnag

The Betaab Valley

On your way back from Pahalgam,you can visit Mattan Temple.It hosts  3 small temples of Shiva,Sun GOD and trio of Ram/Lakshman/Sita along with a gurdwara.Try to reach there before dawn. One thing is for sure, I can never ever forget Pahalgam and the surroundings.Would never say No to any opportunity to go there again.Its a place where for most of the time I forgot my human existence of intelligence,ego and selfishness and was totally taken over by Nature. I was miniaturised by the sheer beauty and grandness of the snow clad mountains and the forests here.

The Mattan Temple

Yousmarg - A place generally the normal tourist is not aware of and you will find very few people there even in peak season.The roads are quite bad and are being repaired now. Will take around 3.5 hours to reach. On the way you can visit Chrar-e-Shareif dargah. Beware of the people who will ask money for everything inside the dargah.Just politely say NO.AS you embark through the potholed roads towards yousmarg you will see the pine forest cover buidling up and then the big stream starts walking with your vehicle atleast for 2 kms.and then suddenly a huge valley...The valley of greenery..The valley which you must have seen in movies...Empty manicured green lawns with nature doing the lawnmowing on its own...No human touch anywhere except few thachets here and there. Take a hourse ride to Freshnag->Hajian->doodh Ganga.Donot pay more than 400/- per horse.
The excitement starts unfolding almost immediately as the horse takes you through dense pine forests.Surprisingly you wont find any living beings here leave aside birds...Freshnag is all about cherry blossoms all around. A lovely place. As you traverse through the forest and reach Hajian...Its pristine,sacred,the most beatiful nature at its best. Hajian is a very very tiny dargah..The place doesnt have any human presence. You might find couple of horses here and there. Abundance of oxygen...I would say there is too much of oxygen here.Get into the stream...Its so cold and pure...You will feel yourself getting washed..Doodh Ganga follows with heavy rush of water stream from no where hitting the white sand and the boulders since millions of years....A small hut serves you tea here...All the while if you are paranoid you might get scared of loneliness and potential mishaps...But trust me the place is so so safe...You always have your horse guide to help if you want to know something.
If you ask me, Yousmarg is the place to be in if you are looking for peace. You will easily slip into trance here...so be careful..I wish I could explain it more with my limited english vocabulary....
There is a place called Doodhpathri. If you start very early in morning you can take your horse there. Its a 8Km trek by the horse and they say its the most beautiful thing on earth...We unfortunately couldnt make it. Eat at Yousmarg..Its cheap.

You will get overdose of oxygen in this valley

The Hajian place

you would never feel like coming back

The Doodhganga

Wullar Lake->Manasbal->Kshir Bhawani
The Wullar lake is 2nd largest in Asia and yes...it is gigantic and spectacular. The calmness and existence of the lake itself will hit you as soon as you spot it.A small makeshift garden is a place to witness the peace. Again, you can slip into trace here. Not a single man made touch to this lake and the snow clad moutains surrounds it to add to its beauty.Govt. is planning to clean the lake and make it tourist friendly by introducing baoting and blah..blah..I would suggest see it before they spoil it.
Manasbal lake is nearby and is another spectacular entity. The water is as sweet as sugar. You cannot imagine how clean it is. We could see the depths of 80 ft clearly when we reached the middle. An hour boating ride will cost 150/-. Its not as commericial as DAL and I instantly liked it very much. It seems the water in the lake comes from the depth. It is not fed by the melting snow or rains.
Kshir Bhawani is a old temple. The roads are very scenic. The religious mindsets would love this place.You can cover all these places in a day and still have time to go back to Srinagar and do shopping.

The elegant Manasbal

The spectacular grand Wullar

The spring at its best 

A sunflower at Wullar

Sonmarg - Our last place in Kashmir was Sonmarg and it did leave us spell bound. The roads are very good. After the Kangan village the scenery is very beautiful. This road actually goes to Leh/Ladakh/Kargil. But after Sonmarg it was closed for us. I guess its open from May till Oct when snow is not there. You will surely stop every 10 mins to take a picture.
As you enter Sonmarg,You witness the huge snow clad moutains at your feet. The way water gushing out of nowhere and giving a lively touch to the otherwise white and green gigantism.You will feel so so small here infront of the snow and the moutains. The place is 9000ft and you can have trouble breathing due to lack of oxygen. Trek through the snow. Again, donot hire sledge. Its a waste of money. Take the snow boots though. Enjoy all day in sonmar and have a lunch in the market place. Its quite cheap and good. We dint feel like coming back and started only at 7 in evening to reach Srinagar at around 10 at night.You can see the Sindh river here at Sonmarg flowing besides you for atleast 30 kms.We saw it frozen and melting ice was creating a gush of water hitting the rocks with all force.

Got sun burnt with the refelection of sun on ice

The Sonmarg glacier

The beautiful Sonmarg valley

All the other remaining days we went around Srinagar. The places to visit are Lal Chowk which is quite a sensitive area. But I dint find anything unsafe there. In fact people smiled back at us recognising we are tourists. I will list the things to do in Srinagar in my next writing including eating and shopping.

Kashmir Vacation - True Paradise

Alrite...Back from a 11 days family vacation from Kashmir.It was decisively the best in my life. Kashmir is BEAUTIFUL without doubts. No photos and no blogs can do justice to the sacredness of the nature there unless you see it and breathe it in.Will publish all details of my trip with few pictures for fellow travelers in future.

The Shikara at DAL

The picturesque DAL at its best

Aunty & Uncle with us at DAL--Our trip is dedicated to their hospitality