Gulmarg Kashmir - Reaching close to POK

Intro
Gulmarg is a hill station in Baramulla District of Jammu & Kashmir around 50 kms from Srinagar the summer capital. Gulmarg (hindi meaning - "meadow of flowers") is famous for it's skiing slopes in winters and lush green meadows in summer and autumn, with a beautiful 18-hole golf-course supposedly the highest golf course in the world at an altitude of 2700m.


How to reach
Delhi to Jammu (620 kms) - via train or buses or flight.   http://www.ixigo.com/trains/JammuTawi-JAT
Jammu to Srinagar (300 kms) - via bus or private taxi or flight
Srinagar to Gulmarg via Tangmarg (56 kms) - via state buses or private taxi
OR
Delhi to Srinagar - via flight
Srinagar to Gulmarg via Tangmarg (56 kms) - via state buses or private taxi

Places to visit
18-hole golf course at Gulmarg
Gondola ride - can view Nanga Parbat(PoK) and LOC from topmost point of Gondola
Alpather Lake (the frozen lake)
Baba Reshi Shrine - dargah
Nigni Nala - small stream flowing from other side (PoK) of border
Khilanmarg - skiing during winter season

My Diary

This was our fourth day of Jammu Kashmir Trip and we were headed to Gulmarg, a hill station in Baramulla District, very close to POK(Azad Kashmir name given by Pakistan). This time we were quick and started off around 6-30 morning and stopped by at Tangmarg for breakfast at around 8.


This is the view from Tangmarg our breakfast stoppage and the snow claden peaks we see far off is Gulmarg where we are headed to. The Army Jawans with their AK's, bomb detecting tools and sniffer dogs were pretty active over here. This was contrary to Srinagar City where BSF was stationed inside city for security.









Anyways we got this small stream with chilled water flowing by near our breakfast point so we spent some time clicking pics and sprinkling water on our faces to kick-start ourselves for the day ahead.

It took us around 2.5 hrs including breakfast time to reach base from where Gulmarg ascent was around 9kms. This is the pic which shows the ascent. Now meanwhile we got one or two snow shoes and a jacket even though the temperatures were pretty decent just in case it turns cold while we reach the top.
 We reached Gulmarg and were fooled into taking horses by locals stating  large distances to reach the Apharwat Range. We usually take the foot and it was just 6 kms from Gulmarg which we got to know midway.



   
Khilanmarg (meaning - a place to play) a highland meadow is famous for  winter games mostly skiing from Nov-Mar when they are covered with snow. Lot of skiing competitions are held during that season.

Khilanmarg offers an unparalleled view of Apharwat peaks which leads to alpathar lake the frozen lake.



















On the way up we met an artificial
stream with loads of English trout fishes. My unsuccessful attempt to get hold of one of them :(    

My friend wanted a Rajendra Kumar style pose over the bridge with Apharwat range in backdrop.
I guess he imagined himself to be a bollywood 60's era superstar for that moment.

Anyways we continued with our horse rides passing between devdar trees,taking a few breaks here and there. So in the meanwhile we were chatting with
the locals who were with the horses. Around 8kms
from where we were there is frozen lake called
Alpathar Lake which stays frozen till mid June and
that is one of the main terrorist entry points who cross over from PoK to India. Due to this, there are
heavy troops of Army over here and it is considered to be one of the sensitive borders but there was no fight on this (Baramulla) border during 1999 Kargil
War.

A 1.5 hr horse ride and we were at the table top. It actually gives the appearance of table top with all the surrounding peaks smaller and has vast plain lands.

The locals here earn their living via tourism or they are shepherds
(gujjars).

Local Kashmiri boy who was with my horse. Was able to get lot of information about surroundings, peak season, source of income and terrorism from him.

We reached the peak and this was the most we were allowed to climb. The topmost part we can see from here is the Indian Army Border posts and
on the next range after this is the Azad Kashmir or PoK. We played around here for an hour or so, it wasn't so cold but still it was quite a relief after Delhi and Jammu more importantly we were able to get snow in the month of June.

We along with Aziz and Shafqat sledge pullers over here. They gave us a nice ride down on their sledges at a heavily discounted rate.

 On the way back to Gulmarg this was the view
from the table top. We can see Khilanmarg large green meadows down.

Trekking towards the glacier passing through grasslands and boulders.


We had to miss out the Alpathar Lake as it was quite far from here and we didn't have too much time on hand.

On our way back we stopped by at Nigni Nala, a small chilled water stream. This stream flows from melting snow and ice on Apharwat peak and Alpathar Lake.

This stream originates from PoK and flows down the valley before it meets Jhelum River in Sopur.
The water was ice chilled understandably as it had
just melted around 8 kms back. We spent half and hour over here playing around then
left for Gulmarg.

This is the Gulmarg Golf Course. It is the world's highest 18-hole green golf course which entices golfers from all over the world throughout summers till autumn.

On our way back from glacier to Gulmarg we took a different route and were down near the car parking at around 4 in evening. Visited a siva temple nearby after having hot rajma-chawal. This was the end of our Gulamarg Trip.

On our way back from Gulmarg to Srinagar we stopped by at an apple tree plantation at around 6. Got the opportunity to see small apples protected with nets.

Reached back  Srinagar around 7.30 and this was the end of our not so tiring day 4.

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Srinagar City and Dal Lake

Intro
Srinagar is the summer capital city of Jammu and Kashmir state. The city had been troubled by terrorist violence for the past two decades but has returned to normalcy for the past year or so.


How to reach
Delhi to Jammu (620 kms) - via train or buses or flight.   http://www.ixigo.com/trains/JammuTawi-JAT
Jammu to Srinagar (300 kms) - via bus or private taxi or flight
OR
Delhi to Srinagar - via flight


Places to visit
Dal Lake - famous for houseboats , Nagin lake
Gardens (Nishat Bagh, Shalimar Bagh, Chashma Shahi)
Sankarcharya temple
Jama Masjid


My Diary

So after visiting Vaishno Devi we headed towards Srinagar. We took the Jammu-Srinagar highway and passed Jawahar Tunnel and PantiTop one of the hill stations in J&K. We started around 2 in afternoon from Katra and with a 1 hr halt in Pantitop were able to reach Srinagar by 11 at night making travel time close to 7.5 hrs.

Ready next morning by 11 to visit Dal Lake and other places in Srinagar City we headed straight for our Shikara ride. Dal Lake is quite large having an area of 18sq km and with a shore line of approx 15 km
but the locals have named lot of spots and lakes within the lake famous ones being

Golden Lake - This area is one of the most spots in Dal Lake. It has lot of house boats for tourists and it is named "Golden Lake" because at night when all the house boats lighten up it gives a golden appearance to the lake. We missed the night picture though but even during day time it was beautiful
with vast stretch of lakes and himalyas all around. How beautiful would it look during winters when all the peaks gets covered with snow and there is ice film over the lake!!

Nehru Lake - This part of the Dal Lake has a park  and we got down over here. This was our shikara with the boatman Kashif. Though there are a lot of Nehru parks in the country but this one seems to be genuine as told to us, in the sense chaca nehru our first prime minister used to visit this land mass from Golden Lake and it was named after him.







Anyways after wandering around the lake for an hour so we started feeling hungry and it was time for breakfast. This is one of the boat shops and there are plenty of these. We bought a cold drink and some snacks from here to munch. There are other
lakes around like Okal lake, dal server and jheel as called by locals and we took a nice big ride across the lake.






Now it was time for serious breakfast and fortunately we got a real restaurant.
Pakodas and maagi but I would like to tell about Kwawa - kashmiri tea which we had here. Kwawa indigrents are ginger,kesar (saffron) and walnut with no milk.

Srinagar-Sonmarg-Kargil-Leh Highway view from Dal Lake. This small 2km stretch highway is mesmerizing with Dal Lake on one side and mountains on the other and surrounded by tall devdar trees I guess.

  One of the by-streams form Dal Lake. It leads to the local village. Talking a little about the people living in these villages in and around the lake they have two main sources of income.
During summers as there is a considerable amount of tourist rush they earn living by riding shikara or serving in house boats along the lake.

During winters when the lake gets covered with ice they keep themselves busy in weaving,embroidery and woodwork to produce goods like mattress,sarees,shawls,wooden decoration pieces and cricket bats.

Houseboats where tourists stay. You will be surprised to find they don't move, i don't mean they can't but tourists who stay here ride along the lake in small canoes.













Just have a look at the exquisite woodwork on these house boats. These houseboats range from 10 lakh (smaller ones) to even 1 crore(big ones).

Thereafter completing our 5 hr long ride in Shikara we headed towards Sankarcharya Temple which commands full view of Srinagar being at a higher level. The temple is dedicated to Lord Siva. We were not allowed to take cameras anywhere near the temple that's why we had to click this from a far off place. I suppose this place being a strategic location from where the entire
Srinagar City can be viewed so Army had some restrictions over here.

Top view of Srinagar from temple. The small hillock and fort we see from here is called Akbar Fort. There also Army has placed its troop and it's not allowed to visit that fort as we were told.

Dal Lake View From Sankracharya Temple

 My friends trying water scooter in Dal Lake.

Lal Chowk - This is one of the most sensitive areas of Srinagar. Lot of bomb blasts and terrorist encounters have happened here. We were able to see this place on our way to Gulmarg.












The first night in Srinagar me and my friend left hotel  in search of mutton seekh kabab. Luckily on our way we saw Jama Masjid and we asked our auto driver if we can see it and he said yes why not. Not missing that opportunity we took a round of Jama Masjid and at that time of night around 8'ish it was quite peaceful. Something funny happened over here. We were busy looking at the architecture inside and a lady with her daughter were offering namaz (prayer) so we thought why not we also bend down and pray. As we got up it was little strange to find that the mom-daughter were kinda staring at us as if we had done something terribly wrong.
Anyways we left the Masjid but then on our way back it clicked to us that it was the women's area to offer namaz.

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Mata Vaishno Devi Darshan Jammu

Intro
Vaishno Devi is one of the most famous hindu shrines in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Majorly it attracts religious hindus and sikhs to pay a visit(darshan) to Goddess Durga.


How to reach
Delhi to Jammu (620 kms) - via train or buses.   http://www.ixigo.com/trains/JammuTawi-JAT
Jammu to Katra (46 kms) - via bus or private taxi
Katra to Vaishno Devi(14 kms) -  on foot or horse and there are electric scooters  available for the last 4km of journey. Helicopter services are also available from katra to vaishno devi.


Places to visit
Bhawan - Vaishno Devi temple
Adhkawari -  Holy Cave where goddess Durga meditated for 9 months



My Diary
Reached Jammu from Delhi in morning around 11 am after our train got delayed by 3 hrs. The scorching heat of June had already started burning us and we were desperate to take the climb up for Vaishno Devi to get some cool air.
Took the bus to Katra which was around 50 km and got a slight interruption in the middle around 15 kms from Katra where we had to empty the bus with our bags to pass through the Army Check post. Understandable and justified keeping in mind the sensitive situation in J&K State. So it took us in all two hours to reach Katra where we just took a room which was offered to us free in exchange for buying prasad (offering to mata).
I went to buy the yatra ticket at yatra registration counter near Katra Bus Stand which costs Rs 100/head if I remember correctly.

Anyways then around 4 in evening we started our climb after my friends were able to recover from tiring travel all the way  from Chennai,Bangalore to Delhi and the mata head band gave us the rest of energy to ascend.

We had just started climbing and covered around 4 kms heavy rains hampered our ascent. So we had to opt for plastic raincoats to move ahead. As we were about to get adjusted to rain walk "mata" added another twist to our darshan, there was a cylinder blast followed by fire just 100ms ahead of us in one of the sweet shops. Thereafter we halted midway to have a coffee break in an exquisite location from where our view spanned across katra city, chenab river and far off we could even make out the Pakistan border.

It took us another around 2.5 hours to reach adhkawari 6.5 kms from katra. We skipped
this place as our main purpose was to visit
Bhawan (Vaishno Devi temple), but to give
a brief idea adhkawari is the holy cave where
mata meditated for 9 months and the cave is quite narrow and must be visited if there is time in hand.
We kept on the ascent taking tea breaks from time to time. The real thrill started after adhkawari, sun went down and winds started blowing at very high
speeds accompanied by rain showers. We were adamant to reach Bhawan as soon as possible so we had to literally hold each other's hand and walk to save each other from flying away.



Finally after so much struggle with rain,wind and almost fire :) we could make it to Bhawan in almost 5 hrs as we touched Bhawan around 9 pm.
I asked my friends to keep the luggage and shoes in
some locker so we could immediately proceed for
Darshan (temple visit). They almost took 1.5 hrs to finally get a locker but thankfully our lines proceeded
fast and we had to just wait half an hour in the line to
reach the vaishno devi shrine.

The darshan was very fast we were being hurried in a line and there was a security personal and priest near the shrine and the security personal just pushed us away in 5 secs so it was just a glimpse we could have. Anyways we had to keep ourselves content with that as we were damn hungry after that 14 km climb and waiting. So we headed towards the first eating joint we got and filled ourselves with daal roti. The next herculean task was to find a place to sleep, mark my words a place to sleep not hotel not room not front-yard,backyard or lobby or a dharmshala just a place thats what we needed. I somehow managed to get 6 blankets on rent Rs 100/ blanket deposit. This was the place where we three of us slept. Ya thanks to me as I was able to get this 2nd floor balcony in a dharamshala after climbing over a dozen of sleeping heads in the rooms inside :) . So this was how we managed to spend and sleep through the night.

Morning view of Bhawan and Vaishno Devi Shrine while we returned back to Katra.
All the buildings here belong to Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and most of them are dharamshalas for travelers to stay during the darshan.











Shows the route from Katra to Vaishno Devi (Bhawan) with long sheds in the middle which
not only protects travelers (yatris) from rain and wind but also have seats where they can relax.

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Jim Corbett National Park - Dec 2008

Intro

Jim Corbett National Park is in the state of Uttarakhand which happens to be my home state and it is around 250 kms from Delhi. Ramnagar is the closest town from Jim Corbett Park. There are many gates to enter the park but Dhangari gate leading to Dhikala guest house is one of the best in terms of tiger sightings. Tourists have to make sure they do advance booking of the guest house in Dhikala due to huge rush in peak seasons and limited accommodation.
For booking and accommodation info  - http://www.dhikalaforestlodge.in/query.html
Also an open jeep or jypsy should be booked for the safaris in forest, private vehicles are allowed with some fees but there's always more fun in an open vehicle.

The Main wildlife animals found in Corbett National Park include tiger,elephant,chital,sambar,nilgai,
alligator and varieties of birds.

How to reach

Delhi to Ramnagar (250 kms) - via bus from ISBT Delhi , via Train (Train No 15013 Departure - Old Delhi,10.40 pm Arrival - Ramnagar,4.55am)
Ramnagar to Corbett Gates (10 - 30 kms) - hire open jeep or gypsy

Places to visit in Corbett Park
Thandi Sadak
Grasslands
Dhikala Forest Rest House
Crocodile Point

Places to visit near Ramnagar
Corbett Fall (On the way from Ramnagar to Nainital)
Kalagarh Dam

My Diary

Straight after our 7th semester we headed for our Kumaon Trip, Manipal->Delhi->Ramnagar as Jim Corbett National Park was our first destination. 2500 kms 2.5 days in train yet we were as fresh as ever when we landed at Ramnagar Railway Station at 5 in the morning. We had made prior bookings for our overnight stay at Dhikala (Rest House) and we hired an open jypsy for safari.












We entered the Corbett Park through Dhangari gate  around 11, which is a 45 mins ride from Ramnagar. There started our Kaal adventure and this sign board was the first warning from Kali :) . Tourists are not allowed to enter after 2.30 in afternoon from this gate.

Dhangari to Dhikala is another 1.5 hr ride. It was a forest road so obviously it was a rough ride but for us it was a warm-up to get ready for the upcoming safaris. Dhikala is the most famous forest zone in Corbett Park, the other forest zones being bijrani, jhirna,sonanadi and domunda.
        Excitement started building up as we started moving deep into the forests. Though we were only able to spot some deer species and ant hills on this ride but we were thrilled by the thought that a tiger sighting opportunity could fall upon anytime.

There we were at Dhikala forest rest  house, the name sounds really catchy right Dhikala. It is located at the edge of broad Patli Dun Valley through which Ramganga river flows. The old rest house at Dhikala (below) which was  built over a hundred years ago is quite a historical marvel.

Probably great hunters like Jim Corbett and other English lords would have stayed here on their visits.

Anyways we were not fortunate enough to get to stay in that English time historical rest house and this on the right was our humble 12 bed dormitory with some monkeys and their descendants jumping around.

There are two restaurants inside and we finished up our lunch in one of them and headed towards the river side of rest house. This (below) is an expansive view of the vast Ramganga river from Dhikala resthouse.
There is an electric fencing and trenches on all the sides to prevent wild animals from crossing over.

My friend who thought he spotted a crocodile in the river is trying to help others see it and the other one (bottom) keen on spotting it with binoculars.

Ramganga river is famous for crocodiles and there is a spot called crocodile point where during noon time  good number of crocodiles get tanned under the sun.






At around 3 we left for our evening safari with a guide whom we hired for 1.5 days. I don't remember exactly how much he charged but off we were on the tiger trail.

We got a fresh tiger pug mark (bottom) and twice the crossing tourist vehicles told us that they had spotted the tiger crossing the forest road.

Though we were unlucky in terms of tiger sighting for that day, we managed to see an elephant and few  deer species like chital and sambar. This was our first day at Jim Corbett and we were back to our dorms with our driver and guide whom we invited in to hear some forest stories and incidents. The two were quite a character.









Next morning 5'o clock we were packed in our gypsy and off to grasslands (below) which is around 15 mins ride from the Dhikala rest house. 7 feet tall grass, morning mist and low visibility of around 10 m added to the thrill of a chilling morning safari. This path leads to the river and Patli Dun valley from where we could capture one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen.






The grasslands, the same location where the Kaal team (John, Vivek and all were surrounded by the tigers) in one of the movie scenes.

Tiger spotting is very high in the grasslands but it is also a difficult location to predict the vicinity of the predator due to the poor visibility through the high grass.

The beautiful sunrise mystified us so much that we forgot about the tiger for sometime.and after wandering around the grasslands took the turn towards Thandi Sadak (below), the other famous road for tiger spotting. There were spottings of  a tigress with three cubs in this area and some of the vehicles were even chased by her. The tigress with small cubs can be aggressive if she feels an external threat. 

Stepping down from vehicle was banned in Corbett Park a few years back due to a tiger attack on a tourist. Anyways after 4 hours of safari we were desperate to step down and we chose this spot near a small stream. 

On our way back to Dhikala, spotted a single male elephant crossing the road, and we could immediately make out the panic on our driver's face. He reversed the vehicle slowly signalling the cars behind to move back.

 Elephants in a herd are normally very calm and do not attack unless they feel threatened, but a single elephant is an outcast from the herd which normally has an aggressive nature and attacks on the first opportunity.

We had our brunch in a different rest house called Sardpulli. We (right) by the stream behind the rest house. 

The chilled temperatures, the warm sun and the calm & clear stream were the perfect breakfast spot for the gang.

Grasslands in afternoon

Post brunch started the afternoon safari which was also our last safari in the reserve.

We almost covered the same spots which we did in morning diverting here and there to take some different roads.








Afternoon 3'o clock and still no signs or news
of tiger sightings. Everybody had the same thought,  will we be going back without a single tiger spotting.

And there came the spot (right) where we spent our next 1.5 hrs in spotting the tigress.We were the first one's to hear the groans and stop by to spot the tigress but then as time passed news spread and there were around 20 vehicles lined up just to have a glimpse.




                                                 Luckily we had a watch tower nearby, we lost no time in climbing up for better spotting. Some of us who could manage a slight glimpse of tigress were also not sure if that was it, though I wasn't the one.
Waiting on watch tower and the car for the next hour though didn't let us have a clear spotting but we were lucky enough to be so close to the predator, getting periodic jitters with her groans at the same time getting thrilled by anticipating a road cross or a beastly leap.      

View from Thandi Sadak watch tower showing Forest, Grasslands and River

                                     
This was the end of our 2-day tryst with the wildlife and we headed back to Ramnagar for the rest of our Kumaon Trip.



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