Below is just a dump of misc. stuff from my 3rd trip to Kashmir - this time in Srinagar (again), Gurez, Pahalgam, Doodhpathri et al. May be some day I’ll attempt to create something more coherent from it. Or use it for some other piece. Or not.

Table of Contents

  1. 2023-08: Misc. notes
  2. 2023-08-06 : Flight from Bangalore to Srinagar
  3. 2023-08-07 : Srinagar Dal lake and around
  4. 2023-08-08 : Srinagar to Gurez via Bandipora and Rajdan top
  5. 2023-08-09 : In Gurez; Heading back to Srinagar
  6. 2023-08-10 : Floating vegetable market and to Doodhpathri
  7. 2023-08-11-12 : Soaking in Doodhpathri; Finally heading back to Srinagar
  8. 2023-08-13 : Old town, Jama Masjid etc.
  9. 2023-08-14-16 : Aru, Pahalgam
  10. 2023-08-17 : Dachigam and flight back to Bangalore

202308: Misc. notes

  • General unhappiness about military presence, restrictions and overall dissatisfaction with the central govt
  • Most folks being super nice to tourists - offering tea, bread and conversations - like in Himachal
  • Almost everyone making a point to highlight how nice and safe the valley is - especially for the past few years, unlike the perceptions of general Indians who think there is a terrorism problem and the Kashmir valley is unsafe in general
  • Sundays are lazy in Srinagar; Lal Chowk area and Shops in Lambert Lane remain closed; Those that open, open quite late (after 9/10 AM); Finding tea / coffee /breakfast points early in the morning can be a challenge on Sundays, especially in old town
  • Srinagar can get super hot throughout the day in the months of July-September

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20230806 | Flight from Bangalore to Srinagar

  • Met this lovely girl from Srinagar - currently staying in Bangalore - Humeirah
    • Offered a bunch of tips for shopping, commute, travel and destinations
  • Srinagar outskirts has a lot of brick-kilns spread across a large area, located together, looking like an eyesore in the mountains from the flight
  • Arrived at Srinagar around 1400 hours: It gets uncomfortably hot, even though the temperature remains around 25-30ish degrees
  • AirBnB was in Rajbagh; Lovely gardens with a bunch of different trees - Pomegranates, apples, etc.
  • Houses in Srinagar almost never have open terraces; Most have the sloping terraces because of snow;
    • So, stargazing from the terrace is not possible
  • A lot of cars in Srinagar are from different states - registered in the name of locals. Cars from as far off as UP, Haryana, Delhi, Gujrat and other states. This is because there were no local registrations possible for 2-3 years around 2020.
  • Ahdoos: Good restaurant; Tried wazwaan; Loved the Methi Maash (white urad) daal; Rogan josh, Gushtaba etc. were interesting but didn’t particularly love them
  • Evening stroll around Dal lake;
  • Local commute
    • Best option is to take a shared sumo - but pick-up points, timings and routes are limited to peak local traffic points / routes, of-course
    • Uber / Ola do not work; alternatives are Jugnoo and Novocabs
    • Alternatively you can hail an auto (battery operated ones would not go to the top of hilly tops like Shankaracharya Mandir)
    • None of these options are easily available from non-tourist spots at off hours, say, after 5-6 PM from Brien / Makai point or any point far beyond the Nehru Park
    • One great option is renting a cycle
      • Municipality has tied up with CharteredBike which offers bikes on hourly rent via an app (@ 25 or 20 bucks an hour); But the registration requires an OTP via SMS which I never got
      • Others like Cycelo also offer bikes on rent but there rates are much higher and not as widely available

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20230807 | Srinagar Dal lake and around

  • Shikara wallahs will continuously offer rates - differing wildly from 300/hr to 1000/hr; Agreed on 600/hr for the full Shikara with 3 of us; There are 2 types of shikaras - the ones without a “roof” - used by locals for commuting across banks; The other ones for tourists are with a roof;
    • While taking a shikara ride, expect other merchants in their own shikaras side up to yours, hook up to stay with your shikara and peddle their wares (jewellary, crafts, shawls and stuff) every now and then
    • Char-chinar in Dal lake has only 1 original chinar left and 2 new ones planted against the 3 which died
  • Nehru hotel for breakfast and coffee Pretty basic fare; Gardener is a nice guy though
  • Hiked to Taj Vivanta: has a great view but limited menu - especially if you are looking for something less exorbitantly priced; They do not allow DSLRs to be taken inside though - at least not for the walk-in guests of the restaurant
    • NOTE: It’s too hot to walk around a lot in Srinagar in August on a sunny day from noon till almost 5:30 PM
  • Got a lift from Makai point till Dal Gate by Muzzaffr Malik - a Srinagar born Bangalore resident;
    • Nice guy, very balanced views about religion, politics, etc.
    • Married to a Coorgi Hindu (“Kariappa” family); kept dropping politicians’ names
    • Overall good guy; Sti had a small crush
    • Introduced us to Mushtaaq Ahmad - a driver with whom we’d go to Gurez the next day
  • Had dinner at Laziz on the Boulevard road;
    • Dinner was a much better fare than at Ahdoos
    • Even more fun was the chance meeting with Soumya from our Chandrashila trek with Indiahikes;
      • She recognised us and actually came over; Lovely conversation with her and her partner
  • Headed back to the AirBnB

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20230808 | Srinagar to Gurez via Bandipora and Rajdan top

  • One way from Srinagar to Gurez valley takes about 5 hours; Primarily on account of poor roads after Razdaan paas, security checks at Bandipora check point and JK Police checkpoint after Razdaan paas and couple other points on the way.
    • Also, if you are unlucky, you’ll get stuck in jams waiting for military convoys to pass which can take anywhere from 15-20 minutes up-to 1.5 hours (rare on this route)
  • Passed by Wular lake - Asia’s largest fresh water lake - way bigger than Dal; But not clean
  • Had breakfast at Bandipora town, before the checkpoint; and tea at Pir Baba top at a small tea joint which also had basic toilets for males/females
  • View from Razdaan top is amazing; Worth getting down and spending some time over here
  • There’s a dam about 10 km before Gurez, which is a great point to be around Sunrise / sunset if you can
  • Gurez is stil not very touristy; But the Log Hut cafe run by the Army is surprisingly modern and cool - both in terms of vibes as well as their limited but decent selection of cold coffee
  • Gurez valley has a bunch of villages; We stayed at Dawar - the one with TRC hotel
    • Stayed at TRC hotel (Manager - Tauseef)
      • TRC Hotel can use some repairs in the bathroom (leaky plumbing) and cleanliness (dustbins/ bathrooms)
      • But makes up for it with the large, fenced garden
      • Fencing was helpful as there were couple of bears which had been roaming the streets at night;
  • Gurez had been facing scheduled power cuts; So electricity was only available from 7:00 PM - 12 midnight and then 4 AM onwards
  • Even without power cuts, Gurez skies can get really dark
    • Saw my first naked-eye milky-way here
    • Also saw the Starlink satellite train
    • And Super-moon

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20230809 | In Gurez; Heading back to Srinagar

  • Most tourist places in Kashmir such as Pahalgam, Gurez etc. do not allow commercial taxis from Srinagar to move around locally; which means, if you want to visit nearby places of interest, you either have to
    • hire a local cab or
    • take a pony if available and if you are so inclined or
    • hike
  • The villages such as Tulail are about 40 km from Dawar in Gurez Valley and offer much better views but the local cabs were too costly at 6000 to-and-fro for a day; so, we dropped the idea and stayed in Gurez, exploring it on foot
  • Did some local hiking to Khandyal top (45 mins hike from TRC) and Habba Khatoon spring and towards Dawar Heights via Markoot village
  • Headed back to Srinagar the afternoon, reached by 8 PM
  • Saw the Manasbal lake and park on the way; Also drove through the old city to get a feel of it
  • Had booked a Houseboat for the night with Mushtaaq Pala for 2000 / night - which in retrospect was not the cheapest deal but the owner was a great host with amazing stories
    • Mushtaaq was very open with his own life stories, opening up his family almbums and telling the stories behind his photos from childhood and more; Talking about how people purchase water instead of land in Dal Gate; his family history and other jobs; Very very interesting and open; Also got to know of his difficulties with creating and managing an online presence because of lack of educatino and familiarly with digital - despite him being pretty good at spoken English
    • TIP: Houseboats are also listed as hotels and accommodations on Google Maps and other booking sites if you want to get a cheaper deal; but best to visit the place physically and make up your mind
    • Most houseboats usually have all conveniences such as fans, full-fledged, attached western toilets and bathroom, even with bathtubs, etc.;

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20230810 | Floating vegetable market and to Doodhpathri

  • Shikaras, Venice vibes and the vegetable market
    • Shikaras are a way of life; Most folks around Dal houseboat areas have one; Think of it as a scooty - everyone rides one to work, school, grocery-runs and odd jobs; Males as well as females
    • Also, there are entire markets (think Abu-Lane or Gautam nagar or Patel Nagar markets) with grocery shops, clothes stores, handicrafts, tea stalls - all on canals; It’s like venice with people coming and going on Shikaras
    • In fact, there are tea and snacks sellers roaming around in Shikars as well catering to others on shikaras and such
    • Floating vegetable market starts after the first azaan around 5 AM and disperses by 7 AM as the sellers head out to supply their stuff to other markets;
      • We arrived around 6:30 by which it was already crowded
      • It felt touristy though because there were almost as many shikaras catering to tourists (flowers, flower seeds, snacks and kahwa and such) as there were vegetable sellers catering to locals; In fact, I had a feeling the volume of transactions involving tourists far exceeded those involving locals
      • Bunch of tourists clicking photos and making videos
      • And almost every shikara guy from the kehwa seller - local version of chai-wallah - to the flower shop guy, has a presence on social media such as Youtube and Insta. And claims to have clientele in Bangalore or other places
  • Doodhpathri
    • Got the number of Imran - Mushtaaq’s relative - who’ll be our driver for Doodhpathri
    • Khan Sahib is a place after Badgam, on the way to Doodhpathri - where a lot of folks offer makkke-ki-roti and sarson-ka-saag by the roadside
    • No mobile signal at Doodhpathri, at least when we were there; Was good in a way
    • No issues with electricity
    • No medicine shops though - so carry basic medicines with you
    • There are couple of private hotels, JKTDC Igloo huts and JKTDC Log huts as well as Forest Department Log Huts and a Forest dept inspection bungalow as well (that needs to be registered back in Srinagar itself, if you know who to contact)

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20230811-12 | Soaking in Doodhpathri; Finally heading back to Srinagar

  • Doodhpathri itself is a quite place - about 1.5 hours from Srinagar; One can stay here for almost a week easily, enjoying the short hikes and generally being around the place
  • Discovered “Pebble meditation” combined with “slow-bouldering”
  • People we met:
    • Bilal: The caretaker of JKTDC place (home in Gulmarg)
    • Javed: Guy working in mech. dept of tourism, with a tea-point on lease
    • Old auntie near the meadows plucking small leaves from ground which looked like weed but is used as saag by local herders
  • Headed back to Srinagar in the afternoon
  • Stayed in Hotel Riviera near Brein in Srinagar
    • Nice place; but too far-off to walk to Dal-side restaurants if you want to have something; Other dinner options around are extremely limited to what they have available at the hotel or 1 or 2 very basic restaurants at 1 or 1.5 km distance towards Brein; Or you can walk to Makai point for some Barbeque (again, about 2.5 km)
    • Local commute from Riviera can get tricky in the morning, though you can get shared sumo from Brein

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20230813 | Old town, Jama Masjid etc.

  • Old town has a bunch of old-style mud and wood houses, reminiscent of Ladakh style construction
  • Jama Masjid - along with a lot of masjids in Kasmir - has a very unique architecture; Particularly, they do not have the dome like structure I associate with mosques
  • Srinagar shops open quite late (after 9/10 AM) on Sundays; Finding tea / coffee /breakfast points early in the morning can be a challenge on Sundays, especially in old town
  • Jama Masjid itself remains open from the 2nd azaan till the last one - for public - including all tourists, regardless of faith
    • Jama masjid lattice work looks pretty amazing in the evening sun, particularly after 2 PM; But is too hot in summers around that time
  • Sti flew back to Bangalore
  • Evening plans for Dachigam got cancelled due to traffic restrictions for Muharram rally near Shalimar park
    • TIPS: Plan around rallies etc. such as Muharram - in August; Ask around;

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20230814-16 | Aru, Pahalgam

  • There’s security check before entering Pahalgam - including scanning of luggage (you do not have to unpack anything; also it could be seasonal due to Amarnath yatra)
  • Also, when the yatra is on, tourists are not allowed to leave or enter Pahalgam after 2 PM; The checks are at 2 points between Pahalgam and around Anantnag - so you can potentially get stuck in middle of these checkpoints without being able to either move further or head back; So plan carefully
  • Aru is a quite place like Doodhpathri - about 45 mins Pahalgam; Although if there is road-repair work going on, you can get stuck for longer
    • One can stay here for almost 2 weeks easily, enjoying the multiple treks in each direction, from day long treks to Liddarwat or Green Top or Katarnag or multi-day treks to Tarsar Marsar and other places. Or just generally soak in the place. It’s slightly more touristy than Doodhpathri but you can easily lose the crowds
  • People we met:
    • Nisar sir: approaching retirement and caretaker of JKTDC Alpine hotel at Aru
    • Yusuf sir: retired from being caretaker of JKTDC Alpine hotel at Aru; Now works at Lala’s cottage at Pahalgam near JKTDC hut there
    • Rifat ma’am: Manager of JKTDC Alpine hotel at Aru
    • Mohd. Shafi: Ex. IndiaHikes porter and guide and now running a tea point near the paragliding spot at Aru Valley point; He had very kind words for Indiahikes - especially their focus on cleaning up the garbage
      • Liyakat and Fayaz with their pigeon Sunahri: nephews of Mr. Shafi
    • Abdul Hamid Mir: A local guide (home near the Aru Gate) camping near Kootpathri with a French couple and a guide from Srinagar - Mohd. Ayub
    • Mohd. Ayub - a guide from Srinagar - camping near Kootpathri with a French couple and a local guide Abdul Hamid Mir
    • Bunch of herders at Ghashangan
    • Headed back for Srinagar on Aug 16 afternoon;
    • Shared sumos are available to Aru from Pahalgam and the other way around for INR 40 a person
    • Imran picked us up from Pahalgam for Srinagar and we stayed back in Riviera for another night (of Aug 16th)

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20230817 | Dachigam and flight back to Bangalore

  • L tried her luck again for Dachigam; Had trouble finding a vehicle to Dachigam from Riviera but finally got a cab (exorbitantly priced at over 650 bucks) after multiple cancellations
    • Dachigam seems to be less frequented by locals and tourists alike; so much so that quite a few drivers asked where is it and in which city is it (it could be because it was early morning and they had just woken up)
    • If not early morning and you are ready to wait, you may be able to find shared sumo to Dachigam for 30 bucks (unlikely though in that direction in the morning)
  • Dachigam is a lovely place and one should plan to come here early morning with at least 4-5 hours in hand
    • Online tickets are available for slots starting 7 AM (slots are for about 3 hours or so, but no one checks the timings)
    • Better idea would be to get the number of the Dachigam “manager” and request him to book a guide along with electric vehicle for an early morning ride - say 5 or 6 AM; Electric vehicle rides are for an hour - and the only way to go beyond the fish-pond or langoor-naaka point; Tourist on foot are not allowed beyond that as bears are found roaming
      • I call it the “langoor-naaka” as there were almost 50 langoors or more living in a compound at that point
    • Beautiful place for bird-watching; Although mid-January is time to come for more birds
    • There are also Kites, bears and leopards in cages who were rescued from the jungle and are being reared up with support from WildLife-SOS NGO; These animals were found abandoned in the forest or were wounded
  • Headed back to Srinagar Airport for flight back to Bangalore
    • 3 security checks:
      • 1st: At the gate of the airport boundary, 1 km before the airport building: Scanning of luggage without unpacking; You can continue in your vehicle after this to the main building
      • 2nd: Standard Airport security check
      • 3rd: Right before entering the aircraft - of you - no the luggage; This seemed cursory and more of just a formality
    • Very limited food option at the airport: There’s a buffet point at the airport and 4 identical kiosks offering samosas, coffees and sandwiches (almost all equally bad at exact same exorbitant prices)

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