As we embark on a journey through the breathtakingly beautiful valleys of Kashmir, with occasional timeless Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries, set between arid canyons and soaring peaks of the Himalayas, we gradually are bound to come in terms with the phrase “paradise on Earth’ bestowed upon this magical land where emerald green villages nestle photogenically in highland deserts. From colour palettes of the valley of Gulmarg and Pahalgam to the rugged and grey terrains connecting the valleys, Kashmir is an amalgamation of the coarse and the velvets, all magically synchronized into an inseparable and indispensable curation of the highest order.
Our chauffeur will greet as we land in Srinagar and will drive us to our hotel where we will be checking in and freshen up for lunch and some balmy rest till the afternoon reminds us to visit Mughal Gardens of Nishat and Shalimar Bagh and the most awaited of Shikara ride at the Dal Lake during sunset followed by some sumptuous dinner on local cuisine and ending the day with night stay at Srinagar.
Today it will be a full day excursion to Sonmarg. One can enjoy the pony rides there to the magnificent Thajiwas Glacier. The valley can be an excellent place to try some local cuisines as lunch before leaving for Srinagar. If time permits, we’ll be visiting the Manasbal Lake, the name is said to be a derivative of the Lake Manasarovar. In the evening, we will come back to the hotel and settle ourselves for dinner and night stay at Srinagar.
As we finish our breakfast, we’ll be on our way to Pahalgam, a valley picturesquely breathtaking, where the mountain trails run northeast to Amarnath Cave Temple. On the way to the valley, we’ll pass through the town of Awantipur in Pulwama district, which houses a number of ancient Hindu temples built by the king including the Avantiswami Temple, about 1100 years old. By lunchtime, we’ll check into Pahalgam and try some local delicacy on meals and visit the nearby Betaab Valley. The locales like Betaab Valley continue to invigorate a lot of tourists and we won’t be an exception here. Just 15 KM from Pahalgam, Betaab valley’s picturesque landscape and beautiful sunset as a backdrop will end today’s show with the advancement of darkness and our return to the hotel for dinner, leisure and night stay at Pahalgam.
After an early breakfast before we are on our way to Gulmarg, one of the most beautiful summer destinations in the valley. Encircled by the Pir Panjal Range in the western Himalayas, Gulmar is also known as the ‘Meadow of Flowers’ as the valley boasts of a colour palette rich with the blooms of the local flora. We will be checking into our hotel for lunch and some rest followed by an afternoon excursion for The Gondola Cable Car ride from Gulmarg to Khalingarg. Suspended in mid-air, we can truly enjoy the richness of the valley with a bird’s eye view. Embraced with an experience of a panoramic sunset from the Gondola Platforms, we will return to our hotel in the evening for dinner and night stay at Gulmarg.
As soon as we finish our breakfast, we can visit the highest golf course in Gulmarg before trying our luck in the adventure sport of Skiing. Later, after having lunch, we can visit the sunset peak for a breathtakingly magical sunset. A perfect end of daylight will create another moment of excitement once you return to your hotel in Srinagar for the night stay because the next 3 days it will be Gurez time.
After an early breakfast, we’ll be moving towards Gurez valley at an elevation of 2,400 mt. for a camping experience like no other. Once we reach there and make ourselves comfortable at the base, we can set out for Bandipora town, located at the foothills of the snow-clad peaks of the Harmukh, overlooking the shores of the Wular Lake. It is one of the largest freshwater lakes of Asia. We can distribute the activities for our three-day camping experience into visiting places with Gurez at the epi-center. An uphill journey to the Razdan Pass at 3,300 mt. can be challenging enough as it goes through one of the adventurous roads of the world. In one of these days, embark on a journey of to the most spectacular view of the limestone mountain of Habba Khatoon, named after a 16th century Kashmiri Muslim Poet, also known as the Nightingale of Kashmir, With breakfast, lunch and dinner, all in sumptuous quantities delivered to is at the composite while we bask in the majestic beauty of the landscape, we complete the three nights experience with overnight stays at Gurez valley.
We will start as early as possible in the morning from Gurez and get back to Srinagar for a day on a houseboat. It shall take 5 hours to reach Srinagar and we may either have lunch en-route or at the houseboat lately. The rest of the day will be at the boat with floats, scenes, tranquillity and authentic Kashmiri experience over meals and night stay in a houseboat at Srinagar.
Let’s cherish the memories of the last nine nights during our last breakfast at the hotel for this time before our chauffeur drives us to the airport for the rest of our homebound journey.
At zerodegreel
every moment will someday make you look back and want to experience it all over again.
