What was the day’s drive plan?
After freshening up in Agent Vinod’s hotel room (sorry, we cannot disclose the hotel room #, that is classified info!
![LOL](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/LOL.png)
), we were to drive on to
Kishtwar, the first of the places we were scheduled to halt that night. I had been on this highway to Srinagar several times, bit after turning off at Batote, the world beyond was a total unknown.
The classic Q: why did you not take the short-cut to Udhampur avoiding Jammu?
Having driven all night, we had to seek the hospitality of Agent Vinod at JKTDC Jammu anyway. That was our rendezvous point.
Now that the Lakhanpur-Jammu road is fully 4-laned, the drive from Pathankot is fantastic now, very fast, although after Jammu the road widening may delay you somewhat.
The short cut from
Dyala Chak or
Samba direct Udhampur, on the other hand, is a narrow road which is also not in good condition.
This year, cops stationed at the turn off points have been turning away out-of-state vehicles from going on the short cut road for reasons best known to them.
What is this Sanasar place?
Green meadows – our movie makers love them, we find them enchanting, reminds you of Switzerland! Sanasar is one of them – a total Khajjiar (near Dalhousie) look-alike, rivals the more well-known Gulmarg & Sonmarg. Our decision to go there was unplanned, we were having breakfast at the JKTDC Patnitop, the surly restaurant server merely grunted when we queried about the place which I had read about somewhere before but never paid any attention to. We were making good time, I knew we could definitely reach Kishtwar before night, the weather was lovely in Patnitop, so we said, let us go!
Why not go to Srinagar – what is the big idea in going all over the place? Are you road surveyors or what?
Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam or Sonmarg were not our destinations. I had devised a lovely drive circuit on some parts of not-so-well-known Kashmir and wanted to complete the round that I had started last year during my Ladakh drive. I wanted to do the Kishtwar-Khillar-Chamba-Bhaderwah-Kishtwar circuit. Obviously, we were not interested in going to Srinagar or Ladakh since this trip was to do with exploring the unknown and least-travelled parts of Kashmir, completing the
Padder/Pangi Valley circuit & driving along the route of the
Mughal Rally, including the Mughal Road itself.
Road surveyors? You won’t find any of the roads we went in on any of the maps. Don't try looking for them. As usual. Our friend told us that a Chevy Beat had driven the Jammu-Rajouri-Shopian sector and I had studied closely all the photos from the recent Mughal Rally, did not find anything impossible for my 2WD Scorpio or the 2WD Safari to do.
You bought socks? Had lunch also?
Well, I discovered I had only 1 pair of socks, so we went into Batote market & found shops there selling socks, woollens, shoes, etc. On the highway, as you pass small towns, you hardly see any shops, but if you take the road inside town, there are lots of facilities including ATMs there.
Lunch at Ramgarh on the Batote-Dada road. Lovely village restaurant, one of those Vaishno Dhaaba types serving only veg food. We had our first meal of rajma chaawal, which is the standard fare in this region. Great food. The Team was shocked – since we also had breakfast at Patnitop, snacks at Sanasar & now lunch at Ramgarh!
Are there petrol pumps & hotels in these parts?
You bet. No problems with petrol pumps, many all over. But make sure you never come down below half-tank at any point of time, petrol pumps can run out of fuel in Himalayan region in general, although we faced no problems, As a matter of precaution, because of the Kishtwar-Khillar-Kishtwar circut, I carried 15 litres of extra diesel at all times from the time I reached Kishtwar.
Hotels? Not many, am afraid. So plan your itinerary with care, ensure that at the end of the day, you have a warm bed & a hit water bath waiting for you on arrival.
Ramzan month is on – any problems?
We were in Kashmir during the Ramzan month. I suppose some restaurants are closed, but we faced no problems, all activity looks normal. You may find some missing during Namaaz timings, but shops and other establishments remain open most of the day.
Doda-Kishtawar region is infested with terrorists, isn’t it?
Till last year, the region had lots of insurgency and I hear that many massacres took place. It was definitely not safe for tourists to go. But now the region is far more peaceful and there are no restrictions on tourists. Hotels & other facilities are springing up all over. However, I am also told that in some remote places like Sarthal, you have to be cautious even today about staying overnight. Overall, you feel very safe and you do not even see any army or police presence, economic activity goes on as usual everywhere.