27th Jun 2022 Posted By Admin

Kashmir Journey - A Quick Guide

1. Don't do Kashmir and Ladakh together. Both are completely different terrain and landscape. Do them separately. Ladakh requires more acclimatisation (adaptation) as your base location Leh itself is situated at 3500 metres above MSL. There is a mandatory 48 hrs acclimatisation required as per the new government regulations for people travelling to the Ladakh region.

2. Kashmir is absolutely safe for tourists. Tourism is their massive source of revenue. Neither local nor the terrorist trouble the tourists. As they know it is GAME OVER if they harm tourists. The massive presence of armed forces gives you more assurance and confidence to move out freely. Be prepared to stop and give way to our revered forces that move as convoys. Obey armed forces instructions and guidance. Keep an eye on the news headlines. Massive combing operations continue to happen. Close to 50 terrorists in batches of 5 to 10 were hunted down by our forces in a week.

3. Use a registered tour company to book your trip. Kashmir is quite expensive. But depends on the trip duration, what you choose to do and where you want to stay etc. It is subjective. But be prepared, the quotes were jaw-dropping. But as a destination, it treats your senses! Only post-paid Indian SIM cards work in Kashmir. My Singapore postpaid SIM with international roaming didn't work either.

4. Tour companies usually cover the car which would be at your disposal (including tolls, parking, and driver daily wages) and hotels usually with breakfast and dinner. What you would consider a 2-star is called a 3 or 4-star there in Kashmir. Most of the properties suggested by tour companies would be boutique in nature. Don't expect a massive spread when it comes to buffets.

5. Make sure that you leave as early as 7:30 am for your day trips. Make sure you cover locations like Doodh Patri, Sonmarg, Pahalgam, and Gulmarg. Pahalgam had very little army presence and it was getting ready for Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra. It is the base camp for yatris. You can cover the first two as a day trips from Srinagar, while for Pahalgam and Gulmarg, one can consider staying there for a night. The houseboat was not worth it at all. Don't waste your time and money on it.

6. Though you have your vehicle, many trips are done by the local taxis. For instance, from Sonmarg if you want to go to Zojila pass or Kargil memorial, only the local unionised taxis take you there and those journeys are charged on top of your original taxi fare. They usually quote anywhere between 6K to 9K INR for such trips in Sonmarg. And in Pahalgam for the trip to Chandanwari and other valley viewpoints they charge 3K INR by local taxi.

7. Everywhere upon your arrival the horsemen come and start negotiating with you. We did horse rides in Doodhpatri which was absolutely comfortable and in Pahalgam, it turned out to be a nightmare as the terrain was daunting and the horse in some situations jumped up as you see in equestrian competitions. Worst was one horseman takes care of two horses. My elder son had a fall as the buckle got disconnected, fortunately, no harm was done. Please avoid horse riding in Pahalgam as the terrain is quite challenging. Rent raincoats and rubber boots for your horse rides in Pahalgam and Sonmarg depending on the weather.

8. Gulmarg has a gondola ride which has two phases. Phase 1 takes you to 10,000 ft above MSL and phase 2 takes you to 13,000 ft above MSL. But it is utterly shabbily managed by the local authorities. Local tour guides make it even worse. Of course, gondola operation depends on the weather which changes quite rapidly and the day when I went the ride did not start until 11 am creating a massive backlog and I had to give it a miss. You can do an online reservation for this.

9. Don't miss the ATV rides in Gulmarg. If you go for the full round they charge you a bomb and it was worth it still considering the horse ride nightmare we had in Pahalgam. You may buy a cricket bat made of Kashmiri willow, Saffron, dry fruits, and nuts which are this region's specialities.

10. Don't talk politics with locals which might be the only triggering point, though on a couple of occasions I was probed by my driver to understand my political thought process etc. In one case I was specifically asked if I am a Muslim by a local looking at my beard. But the highlight of the trip was when our driver invited us to invest in Kashmir for our retirement in some form or the other which clearly reflects a tectonic shift in their stance. They themselves are realizing it slowly but surely. Leave it to them to come to terms with it. Being a landlocked region they neither can be alone nor go with a politically and economically weak neighbour! Being with Bharat is the only way forward.