Page 1/5: Best of Kashmir Recommended by Indian Travellers
Page 1/5: Best of Kashmir Recommended by Indian Travellers
Page 1/5: Best of Kashmir Recommended by Indian Travellers
Guide includes:About destination | Top things to do | Best accommodations | Travelling tips | Best time to visit
About Kashmir
A heaven on Earth, Kashmir is located in the north-western region of the Indian Subcontinent. With abundant natural beauty, the destination until the mid 19th century was geographically denoted as the valley nestled
between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range. However, at present Kashmir denotes a much larger area that includes the Indian administered state of Jammu and Kashmir.
History of Kashmir
According to a legend, it is believed that Kashyap, the great sage drained a lake, which was inhabited by the Brahmins and then the place came to be known as Kashmir. A synonym for its turbulent past, Buddhism was
introduced in the region by the missionaries of Emperor Ashoka. This religion flourished in Kashmir until the 2nd century, till the time it was ruled by Kushan. However, for several centuries, Hinduism was the dominant
religion of Kashmir.
In the 7th century, the destination was under the rule of Durlabhavarrdhana, who founded the Karkota Dynasty. This was replaced in 855 AD by the Utpalas, who were then succeeded by the Tantrins, Yaskaras, Guptas
and Loharas respectively.
In 1346, the last Hindu king, Udiana Deva was replaced by Shams-ud-Din, the first Muslim king, who reigned in Kashmir. However, in 1586, the Mughal Emperor Akbar conquered Kashmir and made it a part of his
empire.
In 1757, Kashmir saw the victory of Ahmed Shah Durrani as a result of which the destination went under the rule of Pakistan until 1819. However, Ranjit Singh won Kashmir from Pakistan and added it to his Sikh
Empire.
In 1846, the Sikhs were defeated by the British army and sold Kashmir to Ghulab Singh of Jammu. The destination was sold under the Treaty of Amritsar for INR 7.5 million. As a result of this treaty, Ghulab Singh
acquired the status of an independent prince of Kashmir.
Later, he conquered Ladakh also, which he added to his dominion. After he died in 1857, he was succeeded by Maharaja Ranbir Singh. As time passed, the destination was ruled by Maharaja Partap Singh and
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Things to do in Kashmir
Kashmir is one of the most popular tourist places in the country that is known for its natural beauty. From beautiful shikaras and wooden handicrafts to apples and cherries, all attract tourists from across the country to
visit Kashmir.
Tourists can also make a visit to Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. Situated in the valley of Kashmir, Srinagar is known for its traditional Kashmiri handicrafts and also for its houseboats. In addition,
tourists can also visit attractions like Hazratbal Mosque and Dal Lake.
The best time to visit this beautiful destination extends from the month of March to October. This time period covers three main seasons prevailing in Kashmir, namely spring, summer and autumn.
Travelling to Kashmir
To reach by air, at Srinagar is the airport, which is approximately 14 km from the city of Kashmir. Daily flights to Srinagar are operated by Indian Airlines from Delhi, Mumbai and Jammu and Jet Airways from Delhi and
Jammu.
The nearest railhead to Srinagar is from Jammu Tawi which is approximately 305 km away. Trains from Delhi, Calcutta, Pune, Mumbai and other cities arrive at Jammu Tawi and so is of easy access. During peak
tourism season, additional trains operate for and from this station.
Information
State:
Jammu & Kashmir
Famous for/as: Hill
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time at airport. They drove us directly to Pahalgam, reached Pahalgam around 6'0 clock in evening. We had office guest house Bakshi Huts booked at Pahalgam. Location of the guest house was awesome, surrounded
by greeenry all over, river flowing just across the roads. Colourful beds of variety of flowers. Retired after having rounds of tea, snacks and finally dinner.
Day 2:
Started the day with mist all around, fantastic weather awesome feel. Booked taxi to Aru Valley, Betaab Valley and Chandanwari. Betaab Valley was best among these all. Some members enjoyed by taking a dip in cold
freezing water at Betaab Valley. Spend some great picnic time at Betab Valley. We thought Chandanwari to be a bit busy due to Amarnath Yatra, but to our surprise it had just a handful of pandal owners and some
security personals. The flow of river at Chandanwari was enormous, amazing views. Returned back in the evening. After some rest at guest house near the river bed soaked our feet in the chilling water, relaxed and
enjoyed. Tried out badminton skills later :-) And retired for the day.
Day 3:
This was full of activities. Hired ponies for a trip to uphill mini Switzerland. With our inexperience of riding ponies, the route seemed a bit scary, yet because of the group everybody was enjoying the dangerous ride. The
most relaxed among all was my little nephew (3.5 year old), and he kept on encouraging everyone saying Darna mat kuch nahi hoga'. The entire pony ride and halts at various location took close to 6 hours. Enroute was
very picturesque Kashmir Valley, Mini Switzerland and 2-3 more points (which I could not recall by name now) and a serene waterfall. Being Rajasthani and deprived of flowing water, our parents became super excited
by the scene of waterfall and could not resist a dip in ice cold water, while we could barely touch the water for 30 sec at a stretch. Last point of the Pony ride was called Mini Switzerland, truly mesmerizing lush green
meadows. Great views all around and a very satisfying and eye pleasing experience. But, it started drizzling soon after we reached the last point, so have to leave much earlier than expected in order to avoid pony
slipping due to slush and mud. But what a wonderful day. I wished it had continued for some more time.
Day 4:
Time to say goodbye to Pahalgam and head towards Srinagarar. What a fantastic hospitality at guest house, amazing comfort and food there. Will truly remember and miss this for long long time. Reached Srinagar in 34 hours. En-route visited bat factory and some dry fruits shops. Brought some famous dry fruits, they turned out to be really good in quality. Our experience of enjoying lovely pleasant weather in Pahalgam started
diminishing as soon as we started on sun scorching highway and vanished completed upon reaching Srinagar. Checked in at guest house, filled our starving tummies and headed for Shankaracharya Temple and Dal
Lake Shikara ride. Steps of Shankaracharya temple proved a pure physical fitness stress test to every one in the group. And to our great surprise my father who was initially hesitant looking at his weak knees to climb all
the stairs, he successfully managed all the stairs. It was a pride moment for him and all. We then headed to Dal Lake, with sunset approaching we were among the last few to book a shikara ride. Enjoyed the peaceful
shikara ride in awesome climate and splendid company. Finally retired for the day after having amazing almost home cooked food at guest house.
Day 5:
This day started a bit early as we were planning to visit Gulmarg today. And also, this day started with a long awaited spell of rains in Srinagar. Think it poured whole night. We started for Gulmarg at around 8:00 AM.
Reached Gulmarg around 10:30. We were informed that 2nd phase of gondola was not functioning that day due to bad weather, were a bit disappointed but had no choice. It was pouring heavily in Gulmarg and we had
just small umbrellas at our service that too needed to be shared. Booked Gondola ride for phase 1, as it was off season we didn't had to wait for long. By the time we reached phase 1 we were all almost drenched. It was
really very cold, and icing on top was rain + mist + heavy winds. Could not have expected much. Without spending much time we ran towards the tents to have anything hot maggi, tea, coffee. Wow! what a relief from
the cold. Returned back to the taxi stand, getting further drenched and had just 1 unanimous desire reaching Srinagar ASAP.
Day 6:
This day was for visiting majestic garden of Srinagar. The very famous Mughal gardens. Such a delight it was to view such highly maintained beautiful gardens. Indra devta dint gave us any respite this day as well. We
kept on hopping from one garden to another with small umbrellas at our service. Too romantic for couples who were sharing the umbrella service. We started with beautiful Pari Mahal, Chasme shahi, botanical garden,
nishat bagh and shlimar bagh. Gosh! and then ladies of our group started the favorite time pass of ladies and worst time killer of gents. Shopping and bargaining. My mother is expert in both these things. so we ended by
just a few Kashmiri kurtis + 2 same stole in 3 hours. All the items of the shops were open still they were demanding 'kuch aur dihao' he he he he ;-)
With a great satisfaction of visiting great gardens and done with some hopefully good shopping we called it a day.
Day 7:
This was the Independence day 15th Aug and we had to leave for Sonmarg. With extra tight security in and around Srinagar and some notorious placed en-route Sonmarg we were advised to start around 05:00 AM in
the morning. We obeyed the suggestions and stared nearly around 05:00 AM. Had frequent stops for security checks but rest all journey was good. Faced no issues at all. Reached Sonmarg around 09:00 AM. We had
booked JKTDC Thajwas huts. But the check in time was 12:00 so had to wait and roam on local Sonmarg market till then. Fortunately, we got the rooms by 10:30. Location of huts was just awesome, great mountain and
meadows view. It was raining in Sonmarg as well. Soon after putting our luggage in huts we started for Thajwas glacier trek cum ponny ride. Breathtaking views and superb experience. Though it had very little snow,
mainly ice. It felt amazing to us. Returned to huts, enjoyed the sunset scenes from huts. Super great.
Day 8:
Got up a bit late. Thankfully. It was a bit sunny today so view of mountain peaks was very bright. Thoroughly enjoyed the last few hours at Sonmarg. Left from Sonmarg for Srinagar but landed in Kheer Bhawani. Good
religious experince. Visited Manasbal Lake, and few more gardens around Kheer Bhawani but these could be compared with the same of Srinagar. Heard loads of stories of locals. Very touching and a bit scary. Called it
a day a bit early as we had quite early morning flight back to Delhi. We had to leave even more early as next day was a bandh called by some religious leaders of Kashmir and security was extremely tight near Kheer
Bhawani temple. Security personals told us to leave as early as 03:00 AM in morning as after that they would not allow us to leave the campus till the bandh is called over.
Day 9
Left very early for Srinagar airport. And returned back to usual life.
A genuine request to all the future travelers to Kashmir - Treat the locals well, and offer them tip for there service as per your capacity, as these live in extreme climates and circumstance and majority of there income
comes from tourism only." - Vivek Sharma, Jaipur, Sep 28, 2013
Read 172 Kashmir reviews on HolidayIQ.com
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Nagin Lake
Type:
Lake
Entry: Free
Ranked: 9 Of 22
Ratings: 5.25/7 (4 Reviews)
" I am loving it very best lake nagin lake my best best ever experince very very interesting to go to srinagar and go to nagin lake my is 1st experince to lake and my g.f is so happy go to lake your patner is the best
romantic in this worldmy best..." - Mohit Mann, Panipat, May 21, 2015
10 Yousmarg
Type:
Scenic Drive
Entry: Free
Ranked: 10 Of 22
Ratings: 6.00/7 (3 Reviews)
"It was awesome visiting Yousmarg, I had been there with my family in July 2014, and had a great experience. One thing that is good particularly with this place is that it is not overcrowded as other places in Kashmir.
One feel the peace of mind in..." - Effiy Meer, , Aug 21, 2014
Ab-I-Hayat Hotel
Price:
Rs. 1,200 - 1,500
Ranked: 2 Of 4
Ratings: 5.64/7 (66 Reviews)
Address: Main Boulevard Road
T.R Centre, Kashmir
Phone: 9906681664
"This hotel is situated at most beautiful place on the earth me and my familly stay here when we go to kashmir and this is what we get according to our tour guide but the hotel experience made me
stunning with its interior exterior and delicious..." - Rauk Neha, Pune, 2 months ago
Rocks Hotel
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Kashmir weather
Best Season / Best Time to Visit Kashmir
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
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