Aug 24, 2013

Kashmir (Srinagar), India

"Where heaven meets the Earth."


This is the phrase that people often use to describe the place.
And in fact, it is a FACT..

Despite of its downside, it is a place to be visited "at least once in your life time"
The tranquillity of the place takes you to a different world.

"I wish I'm a poet to describe the alluring beauty of the place in my words..
I wish I'm an artist to paint the exquisiteness as livelier as it is.. 
But I'm glad that atleast I'm a photographer to capture the elegance for you.." ;-)

I know I'm praising much but you will feel that it is nothing when you are there.

Coming to the details, when everything surrounding is so serene, where else you want to go??
Something more beautiful or somewhere which has its own specialty.. right!

There are few places in Kashmir and many places around it, which makes 4 days as nothing. But as I could afford only that, I tried to cover the most famous places.

Dal Lake: Dal Lake, the jewel crown of Kashmir, has a shore line of 15.5 kms with innumerable house boats and shikaras (a small boat used for transportation. see the pictures).

Shikaras
The water is so clear such that you can see the plants grown at the mud level. People either stay in the houseboats and go for 3 hour ride on Shikaras (called dal lake trip) or just go for ride, staying outside.

Underwater!!
On the day of our arrival, we went to our house boat and went for a 3 hour shikara ride. They say that there are 3-4 places to go but to be frank, there is just once called "Char Chinar", which means 4 Chinar trees.

Char chunar
The other one is called Kabootar Khana but it is closed now and has no access.

Next place is the shopper's favorite, the lake market. 100s of shops with many varieties."Pashmina" is the most famous wool over there, specifically Cashemere. (Wiki)

More than the above, one must not miss the sunset or sunrise views in the Dal Lake. They are stunning.






The other places in Kashmir town are the gardens (Tulip (only in April and May), Nishad, Mughal etc), Shankaracharya hill and Jama Masjid.

We are not much interested in gardens, as you can see the flowers everywhere in Kashmir.





Other places, we could not cover due to time constraint.
Enjoy the beauty!







The house boats:




Downside:
1. Any one who knew about India, know that Kashmir is dangerous. Infact, some of my friends suggested me to cancel the trip. I accept that Kashmir is a place with issues but it's very much better now compared to 2000's scenario. Just be careful when you are there and you are safe.

2. The corruption is at its peak, in the place. Know well about the prices before hand.

3. The houseboats are very costly, if you check out online but you can find one for you even in the peak most season. So, if you want to stay in the boat, go there and check in. That would give you the clear idea about the facilities you get. Another thing is they are stationary unlike Kerala.

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