The word Paradise sounds to us like a place of eternal beauty and peace, a place of absolute serenity and heavenly atmosphere; It is like a longing of some unseen and yet heard in our childhood fairy tale books where the earth and sky meets. If there is any such place on earth then it is truly a heavenly destination, at least, until recent years, when we visit them like foreigners in our own country. But the gorgeous look and perpetually inherited charm attract visitors like flowers attracting bees. Such a place on earth is our northern most state- Jammu & Kashmir. Due to its geographical location and special status, it has always been in the eyes of adjoining countries and that is the main reason, tourists are searched from tip to toe while flying to Srinagar or Leh.
My journey was for a quick session of 5 days covering the summer capital- Srinagar and a few renowned destinations namely Sonamarg, Gulmarg and Pahalgam. I reached Srinagar on air from Delhi; just an hour and fifteen minutes flight, taking us over Peerpanjal and then lowering to the valley, landing at a picturesque airport amidst tight security of army. From there we took a taxi and reached our hotel located near the Dal lake. River Jhelum encircles round the city and connect every corner through waterways. The lake now houses ten times the number of house boats and shikaras as it had before. Srinagar at a height of 5000 ft, is famous for its shrine Sankarachariya temple and Hazratbal mosque apart from beautiful Mughal gardens which are still maintained by the authorities.
Next day, we took a bus from J&K roadways for Gulmarg valley which was quite comfortable. Gulmarg, the valley of flowers, is located at around 8,850 ft. nearly a two hours drive above the hills reaching a wide valley where one can clearly demarcate the tree line from the alpine grassland areas. JK tourism has opened cable car services to visit Khilenmarg, the mountain top from where one can see the famous Nanga Parvat peak on a clear day.
My third day trip was for Sonamarg, a 96 km drive on Srinagar-Leh highway that passes through the Indus valley and crosses Zojila pass, Kargil and Drass village on its way to Ladakh. Sonamarg has also a beautiful scenic view with green meadow bordered by trees and surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
The valley of gold as it means is populated with people from both sides and on continuous vigil of Indian army. Nearby within 8 km hilly tract, there is a glacier called Thajiwas where tourists can experience ice-sheet spread over a large area. Recently, Sonamarg has been included as an alternative route to Amarnath cave via Baltal.
My last stop was Pahalgam, a 90 km drive from Srinagar, to a height of around 9000 ft in beautiful Lidder valley. It is famous for its original route for Amarnath which starts from Chandanwari, a small village, merely 16 km uphill climb from the main town. Besides, there are many shooting locations in and around this beautiful place along with some new locations famous for wildlife conservation called Aru valley.
Just five days and so much to gulp in one session is not easy for anyone, specially traveling with a kid. But when I was a kid, I traveled with my parents to the same places. The natural views have remained the same, man-made ones have changed and it was just 30 years, yet sounds pretty amazing. During our visit, people were simple, accommodating us as their own; now we are like strangers in our own land. Though visuals might be the same but maps have been altered both geographically and internally.
There are a lot of differences between 1982 and 2012, yet I enjoyed every moment of it, thinking of my childhood memories and sharing them with my child. One day, when they will grow up, may be, they will follow the same pattern and would see many more differences than what they saw now.
