Srinagar 1 - Floating Market on Dal Lake!

As scorching summer beckons us to cooler places, we thought of focusing next few posts on that lovely paradise called Kashmir. Here we go with the first one on Srinagar.

For Indians who are brought up on the staple diet of Bollywood movies, Srinagar and Kashmir is not new to us. Whether it is Shammi gyrating to Rafi's song in Kashmir Ki Kali or Rajesh Khanna courting Sharmila in Aradhana, we always knew that this is a lovely place.

It was in August last year that we planned to visit Kashmir. The visit was more for the "Great lakes trek" in Kashmir. Our initial plan was to go for the trek and then spend few days in Srinagar to explore nearby places. As luck would have it, we could not go for trekking due to heavy rain in the hills which gave us full four days to explore Kashmir.

To say, Kashmir is beautiful is an understatement. As Kashmiris say, it is "Zannat" or "Paradise". We could realise it even as the plane was making circles over Srinagar before landing. The mist filled valley with houses made of colourful roof looked like as if we were landing in an European country. The first impression as we left Srinagar airport and moved towards our home stay in Raj Bagh was that everything seemed to be calm and peaceful. The roads were clean and was lined up with Poplar trees. There was a nip in the air and the previous day's rains had ensured that the city was cleansed of dust.

What do we do in Srinagar? We asked Yasmin, our host. We knew and read about Srinagar - Dal lake, its houseboats, the gardens, the lakes and then of course the cuisine. We wanted to explore beyond that. On her advice, we started with something exciting - Floating Market on Dal lake.You must have read about floating markets in some of the south east asian countries. But this is unique. Let us tell you why.

Thus, our first day in Kashmir started with a an early morning visit to the floating markets on Dal lake. We are not sure why this market start so early, almost at dawn. Yasmin had warned us to reach there in time lest we would see nothing. We woke up early and were ready to hop into the Innova. Muzaffar drove us down in the misty morning to the jetty in darkness. The flickering lights of the buildings on the banks were the bright spots in a dark surrounding. We had negotiated a shikara on the previous day who would take us around the market and bring back.

We started cruising on the lake early in the morning in darkness as dawn was breaking out. The stillness of water, the tranquility of surroundings broken only by the calls for prayers from distant mosques in the city provided for a thrilling experience. Fortunately it wasn't raining though the sky was overcast. The cruise on Dal lake is slow and manual. Thank heavens for that. The manual rowing of the boat ensure that tranquility of the lake is not disturbed.

After 45 minutes, we reached the floating market. It was already buzzing with Kashmiris with their wares. Having noticed that we are outsiders and tourists, few hawkers came closer to us asking us to buy the flowers. The flowers were fresh and lovely. Yusuf, our boatman was very enterprising and we had told him to take us to all corners of the market. At the same time he was also giving us a running commentary of how important this market is to Kashmiris. This market is a more of a vegetable and flower market. The fresh produce by farmers living on the banks of the lake is loaded onto the boat and brought here every morning. Yusuf manouvered well through the boats selling fresh vegetables and flowers.

Here are few vistas of the floating market......

The buyers had come in their own boats and we could see them bargaining with the wholesalers for the best price. Soon after an hour, we could see all the vegetables/flowers transferred from wholesalers to retailers and boats moving away slowly. The market is active only for an hour. This is the uniqueness of the floating market of Srinagar. It is not a permanent market like you find in some of the South East Asian countries. This is also a man's market. We did not see a single woman in the market!

As boats melted away into the horizon, Yusuf asked us whether we liked the experience. We said yes, we loved every minute of it.

Getting there

Air - Srinagar is well connected by flights to all major cities in India.

Train - The train services are available only upto Udhampur which is connected to rest of the country. From here, either you have to catch a bus or hire a taxi to Srinagar.

Road - Srinagar is well connected to mainland India through one of picturesque roads. Regular buses operate from Jammu and other places.

Best time to visit

Srinagar is good to go in any season. Winters will be extremely cold. If you are looking for best season to be there it is May -June and September - October. The summer months of May - June will be crowded with tourists and prices will be higher.

Stay Options

There are plenty of options to stay in Srinagar including houseboats. We somehow did not like houseboats which are stationary in the lake unlike the ones you find in Kerala which move in backwaters. For a superb view of Dal lake and Srinagar city, go to Taj Vivanta.

We stayed in a lovely home stay in Raj Bagh area. We highly recommend it.

Yasmin & Zulfi's Home stay in Srinagar

Travel Tips

Let us restrict these tips only for exploring the floating markets.

a) Make sure you are there at sun rise. The market closes very quickly after sunrise. Transactions are quick here!

b) Make sure you book a shikara on previous day. Else, you may not find one when you arrive at jetty early in the morning.

c) You may be surrounded by hawkers selling flowers. Buy a bunch. That way you will be helping these folks. Of Course, the flowers are lovely.

d) Take drinking water and small eats along. 

e) enjoy the atmosphere. talk to people. Kashmiris are very friendly.

For other posts on Kashmir on this blog, please click here

Yusmarg - Hidden wonder of Kashmir

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Monday Images - Great lakes of Kashmir

Monday Images. Every weekend, we share some brilliant Images from fellow travellers from different parts of the world. We have liked them. Hope you will too.

As this is the Kashmir season on the blog, we thought of sharing the images of "Trek to Great lakes of Kashmir" which we had planned to do last year in August but could not due to heavy rain in the hills. These lakes and the landscape on the way to them are mesmerisingly beautiful. 

These beautiful pictures are courtesy of P Naldurg. You may look at the complete set of his pictures on Kashmir lakes here.

Trek to Great Lakes of Kashmir

The trek to these lakes are still in our list of places to go. What about you?

For other posts on Kashmir please click here

Yusmarg - Hidden wonder of Kashmir!

Srinagar Sojourns 1 - Floating market on Dal lake!

India Hikes a Bangalore based company by enthusiastic trekkers has a trekking tour to these lakes. For details click here.

Great Lakes trek in Kashmir

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Skywatch Friday - Monsoon skies in Kashmir

This blog is celebrating Indian monsoon in the last few posts. 

We have written about monsoon magic in the western ghats. How does this magic transform the mountains in North India? In the Himalayas?

We had a first hand experience last year when we went to Kashmir to trek the great lakes. Landing in Srinagar, we had to travel to Sonmarg in a bus. We were a large group taking this trek. Rains had lashed the Kashmir valley in the previous weeks. We were keeping our fingers crossed even as we looked at the overcast sky.

Leaving the narrow roads of Srinagar behind, we headed towards Sonmarg, our camp for the night. A drive for an hour, we are in the middle of rural Kashmir. We parked the bus next to a Dhaba for a tea break. It was bang on the bank of Indus river which was flowing full. Around the river were green fields of paddy. Stretching for miles. Disturbed only by rows of poplar trees.

We walked around the area to feel the fresh air and savour lovely vistas. Here are some pictures. Click on them to see in original size.

Monsoon is a lovely season to visit Kashmir. No crowds. Streams and waterfalls rolling down the hills. Clouds kissing the mountains. Yes, you will not be able to see the snow capped peaks. That will be an excuse to come back again either in autumn or summer.

Because, you will never be tired of Kashmir!

Here is a list for celebrating Indian monsoon in all its glory. Click on the link below.

Celebrating Indian Monsoon - A List!

We invite you to check out the following posts on our Kashmir experience.

Spectacular Srinagar 1 - Floating market on Dal Lake

Spectacular Srinagar 2 - Lullaby on Dal and Nagin lakes!

Spectacular Srinagar 3 - Magnificent Mughal gardens

Yusmarg - the hidden wonder of Kashmir

You may also take a look at other posts under Skywatch series here

Skywatch Friday

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If you need help, please write to us by using the contact form on the side bar. Happy to help.

Road trip Vigenettes - Cricket bats from Kashmir

We all have played cricket and love the game. Did you ever remember where does the bat you use come from? I for one always thought that the bats were either from Meerut or Ludhiana. 

That was till we saw them in Kashmir! Lots!

When we drove down the highway connecting Srinagar and Jammu, we noticed shops selling Cricket bats near Avantipora. We are surprised as we never knew that Kashmir also manufactured Cricket bats. Abid, our driver said that we get some of the best bats in Kashmir. He has played club level cricket in Kashmir and missed out chance in Ranji team. So i had to trust his words. What is interesting is that Avantipora and surrounding towns are well known for manufacturing top quality Cricket bats from Kashmir Willow.

We could not go to one of the manufacturing units as it was very early in the morning. We could however see pieces of Kashmir willow piled up in the factories on the roadside. We stopped at a small shop to check out thee bats. They were quite good.

Next time when you are driving between Srinagar and Jammu do stop at Avantipora and check out how the cricket bats are manufactured. It is quite interesting. Pick up a bat for your little ones. They would just love it.

Skywatch Friday - Dal lake in late afternoon

Dal lake is the Jewel of Srinagar. It is phenomenally picturesque. Especially in early summers when snow caped peaks provide a beautiful backdrop to the huge expanse of water. Dal is also the life line of Srinagar. Kashmiris life is entwined with it. Be it the houseboats or Shikaras or the morning floating markets......

The boulevard along the lake must rank as the most picturesque drive in the country. It was around 

3 PM when we landed in Srinagar on our way to Ladakh. The flight was delayed by half an hour. We asked our driver Mushtaq to take us to a tea shop to savour Kashmir chai - the salt tea of Kashmir. 

We did not want to miss out driving on the boulevard along the lake and asked Mushtaq to take us along. Though this was our second visit to Kashmir, we were awestruck at the enormity of the lake. When we drove to other end of the lake on our way to Sonamarg, we had to stop to clic this picture.

The late afternoon sun had list up the mountains. Its reflections in the water was disturbed by few ducks. Click on the pictures to see them in original size.

A Panoramic shot of the lake

Dal Lake in early Summer - Photo Courtesy Satty Dey

For more stories on Kashmir and Srinagar, you may click on the following posts

Spectacular Srinagar 1 - Floating Market on Dal lake

Spectacular Srinagar 2 - Lullaby on Dal Lake!

Spectacular Srinagar 3 - Magnificent Mughal Gardens!

Yusmarg - The hidden wonder of Kashmir

Road trip Vignettes - Saffron fields of Kashmir

Monday Medley - Kashmiri chai and Buttered buns

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Skywatch Friday - Mountains on the way to Sonmarg, Kashmir

Kashmir season continues on this blog........

It was in the afternoon that we set out to go to Sonmarg from where we were supposed start our Great lakes trek. The journey from Srinagar to Sonamarg was breathtaking as we travelled along the river flanked by mountains on either side. It was cloudy and we could see the clouds hugging the mountains. Good rains in the previous week had brought streams and waterfalls to life which we could see aplenty.

These pictures was clicked on a cloudy afternoon. It started pouring after we started again. Ultimately we had to abandon the trek due to rain.

For other posts on Kashmir you may click on the following posts on this blog.

Yusmarg - Hidden wonder of Kashmir!

Spectacular Srinagar - Floating market on Dal lake!

Spectacular Srinagar 2 - Lullaby on Dal Lake!

Monday Images - Great Lakes of Kashmir

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Road Trip Vignettes - Saffron Fields of Kashmir!

On the way back from Srinagar to Jammu, our driver Abdul stopped for a few minutes on the roadside and showed us these tilled fields. He asked us to guess what would be planted there. We blabbered some names of cereals or vegetables.

Abdul was not amused and said it would be SAFFRON. We were zapped as we had never seen Saffron fields. "Red Gold" as it is called, Kashmir is one of the largest producer of Saffron in the world. We were in Pampore town known as "Saffron Town" which produces 80% of Kashmir Saffron on Srinagar - Jammu highway. The Saffron of Kashmir is regarded as high quality and gets very good price. For people of Pampore and surrounding regions, it is a lifeline.

We could not see the flowers as they normally bloom in October in Autumn when these fields would be carpeted with lovely lavender flowers. Autumn is a excellent season to visit Kashmir and visiting these Saffron fields and seeing how they harvest it will be icing on the cake.

If you are driving on Srinagar - Jammu highway during the months of October - November, stopover at Pampore to enjoy these Saffron farms.

Postscript - The Pictures with flowers are downloaded from web.

If you want to read interesting vignettes captured on our Road trips, you may click here

Road Trip Vignettes

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Skywatch Friday - Srinagar (Kashmir) from Taj

Everyone knows that Srinagar is a beautiful place. No doubt about it. But we are not sure whether many visitors have had an chance to see the panoramic view of the city. One such place where you can get a fantastic view of the city is from Taj Vivanta hotel which is perched on a hill. We clicked this picture on a morning in August. Sky was overcast, else we would have seen the lovely Himalayas as backdrop. The best month to get a view of the city with snow bound mountains as backdrop should be early summer. The colourful roof of Kashmir houses add beauty to this picture. 

It reminds me what Muzaffar, our chauffeur in Srinagar said about Kashmir "Jannat hai saab" (It is heaven sir!). He is not wrong.

If you are interested to read on othere posts on Kashmir in this blog, please click on this link below.

Kashmir

Yusmarg - Hidden wonder of Kashmir!

Why are we writing about Yusmarg of all the places in Kashmir? It is simple. Though close to Srinagar, it is a hidden wonder. Very few visit Yusmarg. Blame it on Militancy and closeness to Pir Panjal ranges, it was not heard by many. Till now.

Before i share our experiences in Yusmarg, First things first.

First. No, we did not do the "Great Lakes Trek" i had written about. Rain in the mountains played spoilsport and we did not want to take the risk. Previous groups had a miserable experience of staying in their bivouac for 48 hours in torrential downpour. Not a good experience of getting stuck like that. When we reached Srinagar, the weather forecast was not encouraging but we were hoping for the best. Finally, when  we made it to Sonamarg, our start point, we heard that rains were certainty. Now we had to take a call. We decided against going though some in the group wanted to go ahead and take a chance.

Second. Kashmir is absolutely Safe and Normal. 

We never had any plan B. Now we had to make one. With almost eight days at our disposal, we had enough time to explore. The plan was finalised. We decided to make use of the opportunity to explore around Srinagar, visit Mata Vaishno Devi temple near Jammu, drive down from there to Dharamsala, onwards to Amritsar before catching the flight to Bangalore.

To say Kashmir is "Jannat" or "Heaven" is an understatement. It is a beautiful beyond words. The place, the people, the cuisine........... We had a lovely time.

Muzaffar, our cabbie was introduced to us by Yasmin who runs a lovely home stay in Srinagar. He had come to pick us up at the airport when we arrived and had shown around Srinagar on that afternoon. A tall and lanky man with flowing beard, he looked pious and religious kind of a guy. I, as usual, started the conversation with him asking how the situation in the valley is, the houseboats, shikaras, Dal lake, floating market, Mughal gardens, Hazratbal shrine etc....He seemed knowledgeable and very positive. He was feeling bad that Afzal Guru's hanging in February and the situation in the valley aftermath of the incident reduced the tourist inflow in peak season of April-May. 

"Janab" He said - this is how Kashmiris address - "You see for yourself and judge. Do you feel insecure here?" 

"No" i reply.

He is right. The city is normal. This is the same refrain i heard from many Kashmiris i spoke to in the city. "Srinagar is safe and normal. Mainstream media does not want to highlight positives of the valley."

"Where do you take us tomorrow" i ask Muzaffar, getting down from the car after a quick tour of Srinagar.

"Yusmarg" pat comes his reply. I look at Brinda and she blinks too. We had not heard of this place at all. I had heard of Gulmarg but not Yusmarg. 

"Jannat hai Janab. Better than Gulmarg"

"Ok, Let us do it then. Let us start after breakfast in the morning". He leaves and confirm that he will be here next morning.

Sitting next to him the car, I ask him the story behind the name "Yusmarg". He says that the word "Yus" is a short form of Yusuf which is the Arabic word for Jesus. Marg - means Valley in Kashmiri. The legend is that Jesus came to Kashmir through this valley and hence the name Yusmarg. 

We drive through dusty, crowded streets of Srinagar. The town is bustling with energy after previous day's Hartal. For the next few KMs the drive is inconsequential. Mid way at Nagam, we start climbing and the road becomes curvy as we drive along a large valley. The landscape is green - brown and the road is flanked by the orchards of Apple, Pear and Almond. It is a bright afternoon and the weather is pleasant. The road is good. We cross the town of Charar-e-sharif famous for its Dargah of Hazrat Sheikh Noor-u-din Wali, locally known as Alamdar-e-Kashmir. A shrine of importance for all Kashmiris, the town became more famous in nineties when the militants laid siege to it and hid inside. A long drawn gunfight between Indian Army and Militants liberated the shrine

Apple trees on the way

Dargah of Charar-e-sharif

Leaving Charar-e-sharif behind, we climb gradually. The road opens up and we see pine and cedars appearing on the horizon. There is a nip in the air laced with pine and cedar as we leave behind the valley. A large meadow with cedars in the background appears at a distance. Muzaffar assures that this is only the beginning. We just can't stop from getting down and clicking some pictures. The stream, meadows and the trees make it picture perfect.

We drive for another kilometre and come to a pristine lake next to the road. It looks like a lake you will find in Europe. Thankfully, there is no boating and the lake is still unspoilt. Driving on, we reach the tourist information centre of Yusmarg. It is Sunday but there is hardly a crowd. Which is good for us. We find horses and their handlers - Gujjars - around. Gujjars are a nomadic community in the Himalayas who live in mountains and rear sheep. During winter, they migrate to valleys and in summers they go back to mountains. Hardy people for whom moving in the mountains is a cakewalk.

The lake at the entrance of Yusmarg......You can notice tourist huts by J&K Tourism in the horizon

We look for any information on the place. Like many places in India, we don't find any. A small board near the car park area gives details of the places that can be seen along with rates for horse ride. There is absolutely no information how to explore the place if one does not want to go riding. We are the only few visitors in Yusmarg on this day and we get surrounded by Gujjars. These guys are quite amiable unlike the ones we saw in Gulmarg. They plead with us to take a ride. Unsure about the safety, we are reluctant to get on one. Rashid, the guy with a horse, assures us that nothing wrong would happen. He is willing take us to Dargah and then to Doodh Ganga for Rs 350 each.

"Can we go by foot?" I ask Rashid.

"Yes" he says pausing for a moment and then adds, "You can. But the trail is muddy due to overnight rain".

But we haven't come prepared and are wearing only walking sandals. There is no chance of trekking here without proper shoes. I was also not sure if there were any guides. Thus, we didn't have an option but to hop on to the horses. If you don't do these treks on the horse, there is nothing to do in Yusmarg. We get an additional helper to go along with Brinda apart from the handler.

We start our exploration of Yusmarg. Imtiaz, a ten-year-old kid comes along with me while Rashid and his friend go with Brinda. We walk on the newly built pathway towards Doodh Ganga and turn left towards the Pine forests after ten minutes. We are now in charming countryside. The trail goes through pine and cedar forests. The trees are tall and big. We can see lumbering operations going on. We cross the tiny hamlet of Rashid and his fellow Gujjars and move deeper into the forest. 

The muddy trail though the lovely forests.......Pine and Cedars all around. 

Brinda on the horse with helper and handler

The Alpine temperate forests are unlike the tropical ones we have seen in South India. There is not much undergrowth and the trees are either Cedar or Pine. The tree cover is not dense allowing enough sun to lit up the trail. Moti, my ride looks younger and spirited. He negotiates the ups and downs of the trail with aplomb. It is mostly down hill. Sometimes he makes his own trail going off the beaten track. Ever alert Imtiaz brings him back.

"Don't hold the reins tight" says Imtiaz. He teaches me how to use right or left rein to control the horse. I nod and test my understanding. I am sitting on a horse after 30 Years. Last time i sat was during my days in Military Academy in Madras. None of us opted for Equestrian club as Horse riding was considered as buggery. So this was my maiden attempt to ride a horse. Brinda in front was nervous initially but got her confidence after the helper also came along. 

An hour's ride in pristine forest brings us to a lovely stream. Across the stream is a small Dargah of Peer baba. I ask Rashid about the Dargah. Rashid says that there used to be a baba who lived in these forests revered by Gujjars. On his death, the Small dargah was built. Gujjars pay obeisance to him. A festival is celebrated once a year in his memory.

Lovely landscape around Dargah

The small dargah of Peer Baba

Gujjars crossing the stream

We get down from our ride. It is refreshing to be in the middle of nowhere, amidst pristine woods with gorgeous panoramic views. The place reminds you of the painting you would have done as a kid in the school. As stream flanked by woods with hills as backdrop, a small hut........

I am not sure how long this place will remain untouched. But for now, this is just a paradise. It reminded me of our trip to Valley of Flowers last year. We did not see many wild flowers here though.

The ride from now to Doodh Ganga followed the stream. We climb and walk through the woods. Moti balances well on the loose stones and move quickly. Imtiaz is vigilant as ever and make sure that Moti does not go astray. I am also gaining confidence and enjoying it. We now reach a high ground. We see a stream rolling by and a lovely valley in front of us. Climbing down from the mount we walk down to the stream. The stream flowing over the rocks create a small waterfall. This place is known as Doodh Ganga. Doodh in Hindi is Milk and Ganga is a metaphor any river/stream in India.

Doodh Ganga valley

Doodh Ganga 

We spend few minutes in the place. We now see more visitors coming in. Doodh Ganga is the place which most visita as it is the nearest place from the Tourist Information centre. The cost of horse ride is also cheap. From Doodh Ganga, the return trail is a sheer climb and the horses struggle a bit as the ground is slushy and slippery. But they manage well. 

Few minutes of climb and we are back on flat trail. We now see beautiful meadows on either side of the trail. The tourism department has built lovely cottages on these meadows. I am not sure whether it is open as we could see the main tourist information centre being under construction. Thankfully, Yusmarg is still not commercialised and the stay options are only managed by Jammu and Kashmir Tourism. 

Isn't this lovely!

A Gujjar with his cattle

Our horse ride in the mountains is over. It is an exhilarating experience. We thank Rashid, Imtiaz and pay them generous tips. They are happy. Rashid invites us to his home for a cup of "Gujjar tea". His house is far and we had to leave. We decline his offer politely, have a cup of tea in the only restaurant in Yusmarg which is managed by J&K Tourism department. 

The restaurant is located on a high ground on a meadow overlooking the lake. We see a Kashmiri family enjoying the picnic lunch. As we stroll on the meadows, two cute little Gujjar girls come to us and say hello. It is a holiday for the school and they have gone to the forest to pick up some produce. They look lovely and innocent. I give some chocolates and bid them goodbye.

Lovely girls of Yusmarg

We start our journey back. Few minutes on the road, we are greeted by rain. The sun and the rain play hide and seek as we drive along the valley. I look through the window to see a lovely rainbow above the valley.

Muzaffar show us Almond orchards as we drive along. He stops suddenly when he sees a family plucking the almonds. He gets down and talks to them in Kashmiri. He asks us to get down and shows us how the almonds are harvested. The almonds here are different than the ones with juicy exterior we have seen in South India. There is a small kernel which opens to a soft shell in which will be hidden the almond seed. The family is generous and asks us to take the almonds if we wished. Muzaffar gets a big bag and fills up with raw almonds. I ask him if we have to pay anything. He suggests Rs 100 as a token. The family is not willing to accept saying that we are their "mehman" (guests) and i force them to take it as a token of our appreciations!

Almond trees and the ones which are plucked (below)

Yusmarg is a hidden wonder. Unspoilt and pristine. It is also trekkers' paradise. There are many trails leading to Pir Panjal ranges. Doodh Patri - another hidden gem - can be trekked too.  This area is still not exploited by Commercial tourism.

Following are the Panoramio pictures taken by Khan Gowher from Google Earth. These are the vistas you will see when you trek around Yusmarg

Google earth snapshot of Yusmarg. You can see lovely trails to Ayed on the left hand corner - notice Panoramio pictures on the map. 

Go there. There is no crowd. The woods are lovely and meadows are beautiful.

Getting there

Since Yusmarg is close to Srinagar - 50 KMs - the best option is to hire a taxi. Alternately, there should be buses to this place from Srinagar. Other option is to go to Charar-e-Sharif by bus and take a taxi from there.

Stay options

We saw few lovely cottages by J&K Tourism. I am not sure whether they are operational. One can check with J&K Tourism office in Srinagar for details.

Travel Tips

a) Yusmarg can be done as a day trip comfortably from Srinagar.

b) It is also a nice place to stay and enjoy the nature. Go for long walks, angle in the lake....

c) If you are a trekker, then you can make this place as base to explore around. There are trekking trails to Ayed, Pir Panjal and nearby places which are beautiful. I am also not sure of availability of any guide. It will be good to check with J&K Tourism or local tour operators.

d) Yusmarg will be snowbound during winter which has its own charm.

e) On a clear day, one can see Pir Panjal ranges in the distance. To our bad luck, the sky was overcast and the mist had covered mountains.

f) I happened to see Jammu and Kashmir Tourism development Corporation website which looks nice. You can book accommodation through them. Here is the link.

Yusmarg

You may also like to check out the following posts on Kashmir in this blog.

Spectacular Srinagar - Floating market on Dal Lake!

Spectacular Srinagar 2 - Lullaby on Dal lake!

Skywatch Friday - Srinagar from Taj!

Road Trip Vignettes - Cricket bats from Kashmir

Skywatch Friday - Vistas of Kashmir Valley

Skywatch Friday - Road to Gulmarg