I woke up to the gorgeous views of the mountains beyond our lovely hotel Woodstock in Pahalgam. The first thing I did was to take a whole lot of pictures to capture the sparkling peaks as the first rays of sun hit them. What a sight to wake up to!
After freshening up and breakfast, we walked in the gardens around our hotel, up until the Pahalgam river which was flowing at just a short distance away. As we walked around taking the spectacular views and enjoying the lovely weather, we had a few photographers asking us whether we would like to get our photos taken. We pointed out to them that we had our own cameras and then they pointed out to us that they have the kashmiri traditional costumes for us to try on as they take our pictures.
Both my mom and mom-in-law were immediately sold and after some persuasion so was I. Soon we found ourselves dressing up as Kashmir ki Kalis (literal translation being "blossoms of Kashmir" but is used popularly to describe their women).
It was nice to get dressed in the costumes and well, absolutely hilarious to pose under the direction of the photographers. It was no less than the cheesy photoshoots at Indian weddings where the bride and groom need to look into a distance, at each other with love overflowing in their eyes, pointing at something in the sky and gazing at it, etc. etc.! Fun experience indeed, especially since all three couples were subjected to this!
Post the photoshoot, we took off on our excursions for the day, our first stop being Chandanwadi, the starting point for the Amarnath trek. Amarnath is a rather sacred pilgrimage spot and every year thousands of people make their way there by foot, on ponies or in helicopters. It is about 40+ kilometres from Chandanwadi which is the last motorable stop before the trek begins.
Our drive to Chandanwadi was uphill offering spectacular views of the mountains, the valley and the Pahalgam river and getting all of us to coo "oohs" and "aahs" at every turn!
At Chandawadi, we were approached by a couple of guys offering their services as guide and babysitter. We took on their offer and started to walk along the path towards Amarnath. We were not planning to make it to Amarnath of course, but we were promised a few interesting sights. The babysitter was quite adept at handling the little one who looked most comfortable with him through the trek. Huffing and puffing we walked for a while, occasionally energizing ourselves with a mouthful of the Bhelpuri that we bought from one of the many tiny stalls at Chandanwadi.
One of the fascinating sights on the way was the lone tree standing on top of a really high hill, which is supposed to be the last sign of vegetation before Amarnath. Apparently beyond that tree the terrain takes a dramatically barren look!
We soon reached a spot from where we could see, on the other side of the river, what they claim to be the Pandavas' Hut. Pandavas, the heroes from the epic Mahabharata, apparently had stayed in that hut a few thousand years ago. We had the choice to get to the hut but that involved crossing a raging river on a single tree log put across and climbing up another hilly terrain. We didn't feel like we had the energy to do that so we decided to just stay put on this side of the river. After spending some time on the boulders along the river taking a few pictures and taking in the scenery, we made our way back.
After our short but tiring walk, we refreshed ourselves with a round of Kashmiri Kehwa in one of the small shops at Chandanwadi during which we also got a close look at the Kashmiri Kangri, the coal baskets that the locals carry below their coats for warmth during winters. We got a demonstration of how the Kangris are carried - with both hands if they have nothing else to hold, with one hand if they have something else in the other, between their legs if both hands are occupied! Fascinating!
Our next stop was Betaab Valley which, as the names suggests, is a valley that's been named after a famous film shot there, Betaab. That was a lovely place too. Huge open lands, lines and lines of trees which are now shedding their leaves indicating the onset of winter, the beautiful river flowing through it, the lovely bridges and paths and cafes that make them pretty tourist friendly. We had a nice long walk through the place and then when we were all tired, took refuge in a cafe where we all ordered hot maggi noodles.
After the much enjoyable maggi, we set off on our last excursion of the day, Aaru. Aaru is a village in a very another direction from Pahalgam, and from what I understood, a popular trekking destination. The roads to Aaru were pretty treacherous - narrow, steep, with several hidden turns and with a few heavy vehicles using them which made it all the more nerve wrecking. But what we saw was very well worth it. Stunning landscapes, lovely little villages, valley with the roaring river, forests, peaks, snow, monkeys (huge ones!), etc. etc. etc. It was indescribable beauty and all of us were spell bound, to say the least.
We didn't get off at Aaru because it was beginning to get dark and we had to make our way back to Pahalgam along the same difficult route. However we did take a photostop along the way at the most stunning of all viewpoints.
There were definitely a lot more other spots that deserved more time - indeed, Pahalgam requires more than the couple of days we had given it for a thorough exploration, but we had to be happy with what we had. This alone has given a lifetime of memories!
By the time we got back to the hotel, it was dark. But we immediately set off for another round shopping at the market next door. This time it was not just my dad and I but our entire gang. We pretty much checked out every single shop on both sides of the street and got back to the hotel with several bags of our spoils!
Thus our trip at Pahalgam came to an end. Tomorrow we will be off to our last stop on the trip - Srinagar!
After freshening up and breakfast, we walked in the gardens around our hotel, up until the Pahalgam river which was flowing at just a short distance away. As we walked around taking the spectacular views and enjoying the lovely weather, we had a few photographers asking us whether we would like to get our photos taken. We pointed out to them that we had our own cameras and then they pointed out to us that they have the kashmiri traditional costumes for us to try on as they take our pictures.
Both my mom and mom-in-law were immediately sold and after some persuasion so was I. Soon we found ourselves dressing up as Kashmir ki Kalis (literal translation being "blossoms of Kashmir" but is used popularly to describe their women).
It was nice to get dressed in the costumes and well, absolutely hilarious to pose under the direction of the photographers. It was no less than the cheesy photoshoots at Indian weddings where the bride and groom need to look into a distance, at each other with love overflowing in their eyes, pointing at something in the sky and gazing at it, etc. etc.! Fun experience indeed, especially since all three couples were subjected to this!
Post the photoshoot, we took off on our excursions for the day, our first stop being Chandanwadi, the starting point for the Amarnath trek. Amarnath is a rather sacred pilgrimage spot and every year thousands of people make their way there by foot, on ponies or in helicopters. It is about 40+ kilometres from Chandanwadi which is the last motorable stop before the trek begins.
Our drive to Chandanwadi was uphill offering spectacular views of the mountains, the valley and the Pahalgam river and getting all of us to coo "oohs" and "aahs" at every turn!
At Chandawadi, we were approached by a couple of guys offering their services as guide and babysitter. We took on their offer and started to walk along the path towards Amarnath. We were not planning to make it to Amarnath of course, but we were promised a few interesting sights. The babysitter was quite adept at handling the little one who looked most comfortable with him through the trek. Huffing and puffing we walked for a while, occasionally energizing ourselves with a mouthful of the Bhelpuri that we bought from one of the many tiny stalls at Chandanwadi.
One of the fascinating sights on the way was the lone tree standing on top of a really high hill, which is supposed to be the last sign of vegetation before Amarnath. Apparently beyond that tree the terrain takes a dramatically barren look!
We soon reached a spot from where we could see, on the other side of the river, what they claim to be the Pandavas' Hut. Pandavas, the heroes from the epic Mahabharata, apparently had stayed in that hut a few thousand years ago. We had the choice to get to the hut but that involved crossing a raging river on a single tree log put across and climbing up another hilly terrain. We didn't feel like we had the energy to do that so we decided to just stay put on this side of the river. After spending some time on the boulders along the river taking a few pictures and taking in the scenery, we made our way back.
After our short but tiring walk, we refreshed ourselves with a round of Kashmiri Kehwa in one of the small shops at Chandanwadi during which we also got a close look at the Kashmiri Kangri, the coal baskets that the locals carry below their coats for warmth during winters. We got a demonstration of how the Kangris are carried - with both hands if they have nothing else to hold, with one hand if they have something else in the other, between their legs if both hands are occupied! Fascinating!
Our next stop was Betaab Valley which, as the names suggests, is a valley that's been named after a famous film shot there, Betaab. That was a lovely place too. Huge open lands, lines and lines of trees which are now shedding their leaves indicating the onset of winter, the beautiful river flowing through it, the lovely bridges and paths and cafes that make them pretty tourist friendly. We had a nice long walk through the place and then when we were all tired, took refuge in a cafe where we all ordered hot maggi noodles.
After the much enjoyable maggi, we set off on our last excursion of the day, Aaru. Aaru is a village in a very another direction from Pahalgam, and from what I understood, a popular trekking destination. The roads to Aaru were pretty treacherous - narrow, steep, with several hidden turns and with a few heavy vehicles using them which made it all the more nerve wrecking. But what we saw was very well worth it. Stunning landscapes, lovely little villages, valley with the roaring river, forests, peaks, snow, monkeys (huge ones!), etc. etc. etc. It was indescribable beauty and all of us were spell bound, to say the least.
We didn't get off at Aaru because it was beginning to get dark and we had to make our way back to Pahalgam along the same difficult route. However we did take a photostop along the way at the most stunning of all viewpoints.
There were definitely a lot more other spots that deserved more time - indeed, Pahalgam requires more than the couple of days we had given it for a thorough exploration, but we had to be happy with what we had. This alone has given a lifetime of memories!
By the time we got back to the hotel, it was dark. But we immediately set off for another round shopping at the market next door. This time it was not just my dad and I but our entire gang. We pretty much checked out every single shop on both sides of the street and got back to the hotel with several bags of our spoils!
Thus our trip at Pahalgam came to an end. Tomorrow we will be off to our last stop on the trip - Srinagar!
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