After our short adventurous stint in Gulmarg, we travelled back to Srinagar where we took the day off. We reached our hotel tired and exhausted in the evening. Some of us took a hot bath to relax their muscles and ease their pain caused by the hectic day, while the others took a short nap to refresh and loosen themselves.
After relaxing, we re-grouped in one room and ordered Kahwa. If you are in Kashmir and somehow you missed it, then trust me you will regret it for the rest of your life. It's nothing but just a hot saffron tea but trust me the taste it has, it can beat any drinks around.
Sonmarg The Meadow of Gold
Next day, after having our breakfast, we left for Sonmarg "Meadow of Gold", which is at a distance of approximately 80 km by road from Srinagar. After travelling for like two hours, you will enter the magical land of Sonmarg. The beauty that you will visualize will take your breath away, you will witness the range of mighty mountains covered with clouds and snow and just at the point of embarkation, you will be seeing snow on both the sides.
Nestled within the Himalayan peaks, Sonmarg is one of the beautiful places to visit while you are in Kashmir. Since it was a to and fro journey, so we were only able to visit Thajiwas Glacier, a paradise for an adventure enthusiast. Once you are in the glacier point, you have to hire the locals to take you to the peak and will also provide you with boots, jacket, and gloves. There will be two option to move forward, one will be cart, and the other will be a snow bike which is too expensive for an hour ride. So, if you just want to enjoy the ride and take the experience, then only go for a snow bike otherwise its a waste of money. I will advise you to rent only boots, gloves, and jacket and if you have some elderly-people with you then only opt for the cart.
Another thing that you would want to consider is the weather if it's not good then you won't be able to go to different points of the Thajiwas Glacier. We were there in April still we witnessed the place in the snow. We weren't able to enjoy our visit to the fullest as it was cut short because of the unexpected rain that we encountered. In my personal opinion, I would suggest if you have visited Gulmarg, then you can escape Thajiwas Glacier and can opt for some other places, as Thajiwas Glacier offers the same mesmerizing view as of Gulmarg.
Hardly we spent like an hour or two in Sonmarg and then we decided to travel back to our hotel in Srinagar as the weather was turning out to be a harsh one. To give a small glance of the place here are some of the pictures that I clicked
For more pictures, you can visit my Instagram page.
Here are some of the other places that you can also visit while you are in Sonmarg.
Gadsar Lake
Gangabal Lake
Baltal Valley
Krishnasar Lake
Vishansar Lake
We reached our hotel in the evening and took the day off early as next day in our itinerary was Pahalgam.
Pahalgam Land of Meadows
Pahalgam is a beautiful hill station in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir which is 80 km from Srinagar. At 9.30 am we started our journey to Pahalgam and reached our destination in approximately two to three hours. In between, we stopped at one of the local shops to buy saffron and other dry fruits. We reached Pahalgam somewhere around 12.30 pm.
Pahalgam is often known as the land of meadows and the valley of shepherds. I must say the beauty of Pahalgam is a feast to the eyes. With snow-clad mountains and thick pine trees covering the beautiful place from all sides.
Our driver dropped us at the taxi stand, and from there, we had to rent ponies to proceed further. For rates, you can bargain as the amount that they charge are too high. The pony route consists of multiple points of interest where you will be taking a few breaks. These are some of the parts of Overa Aru Wildlife Sanctuary. You will be passing through the village, waterfall, and at last, will be covering the Kashmir valley, often referred to mini Switzerland of India by the locals (and yes that was one hell of a ride).
Some of the views are breathtaking, especially the one where you will be passing by the waterfall. On one side, there will be water flowing by, and on the other, you will be riding the pony. At this spot, you can take a break to enjoy the beautiful aura of nature. There is a small dhaba just at the ledge where you can sit and enjoy hot Maggi and parantha at a very reasonable price.
After spending some quality time near the waterfall, we proceeded further to our next and final spot of the pony ride - the Kashmir Valley. Overall, the route from the waterfall to the valley is not an easy one, as there is no proper path. The course becomes more difficult to cover if there is even a slight downpour as the land turns to muddy and slippery. When we started to move further, the weather changed, and we experienced little drizzle, and that was enough to make the path slimy. Now and then I felt like falling whenever the pony was placing its leg on the rock as it was very slippery. I somehow managed to hold things up from my end and yes I was a bit nervous at some point, but the experience was really amazing.
There was one thing that was quite fascinating, so while coming back towards the base from where we started, we passed through a village and the visual that was in front of my eyes shocked me, trust me the view was similar to that of Game of Thrones set.
Another thing that I liked about Pahalgam was our hotel which was in a perfect location, snow-capped mountains on the backside and river flowing at the front side. If you want to enjoy the surreal beauty of nature, then my friend Pahalgam is the place for you. After spending our night in Pahalgam, we left for Srinagar the next morning which I will be covering in my next post.
Here are some of the sample shot that I clicked on Pahalgam
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