[haisaikat]

Prologue
It was sometime back in June 2021 when I accidentally stumbled upon online reference of wonderful autumn / fall colors found in the Kashmir Valley. It was since then that we wanted to witness the same first hand, the transition of Chinars from green through crimson to yellow is a sight to behold.

Research revealed that the ideal time is between end of October to mid November. The Durga Puja occasion of 2021 provided the perfect opportunity with the right timing of office holidays to start planning for the journey. However since it would take us 3-4 days by road on each way of the journey from Kolkata to Kashmir and on top of that we needed at least 7-8 days in Kashmir which would make a 11 day Saturday to Sunday weeklong leave insufficient for materializing such a plan, I envy the folks staying in Delhi for this one reason. So we had to improvise.

Our initial plan was to make it a 2 week stay in Kashmir with 1 week working and 1 week vacation but after considering the probable uncertainties with connectivity we decided that it would be in our best interest to wrap up the Kashmir chapter within a week and continue our the office from either of Delhi / Agra / Lucknow for few days before returning back to Kolkata.

I contracted Uzair Tours & Travels (highly reputed on Tripadvisor) to handle all accommodation arrangements on my behalf at Kashmir and provide me a dedicated guide for the entire trip during our stay at Kashmir. The owner Uzair Rigoo is a gem of a person and apart from providing all round guidance on hotel selection including providing video walkthroughs of the facilities before obtaining my confirmation, also helped me in numerous other ways.

Some other preparations made
1. Ordered this car inverter (unfortunately it did not arrive on time and would have to be tested on next trip, recommendation from BHPian Bidyut was to get Bestek but it was not having a ship date sooner)
2. Removed sun film from the car (courtesy of discussion with D-BHPian SS-Traveller and BHPian gearhead_mait)
3. USB rechargeable torch (link)
4. Apart from the above the usual items all made it to the list (tubeless tyre puncture repair kit, window glass breaker cum seat belt cutter, 20ft 2 AWG Jumper cable, 3 Tonne Tow cable, sanitizer and disinfectant packs, masks, etc)
5. RTPCR Test and Vaccine Certificate (I learnt from my friend Rajdeep Ray who was 1 week ahead of us on their journey to Kashmir - Leh - Ladakh and also reconfirmed by Uzair that this is must at Jammu entry point, moreover our 2nd dose vaccine was not taken)
6. Rapid Antigen Test Kits for any surprise test requirement on the road (idea received from BHPian ABHI_1512)
7. Car serviced for the 20,000 Km routine mark and also polished to create a basic resistance against common bruises on the road and make regular water washes easy for next few days
8. Always ready bag of medicines and instant eat food (instant tea mixes, etc) for quick top ups in the middle of nowhere and also save time

Finally, everything was set and following was our target itinerary
Day 0-4 / Oct 13-17 : Drive from Kolkata to Srinagar ~ 2500 Km
Day 5-9 / Oct 18-22 : Sightseeing in Srinagar and daytrips to Sonamarg, Gulmarg, etc ~ 400+ Km
Day 10-11 / Oct 23-24 : Drive to Pahalgam and local sight seeing ~ 100+ Km
Day 12 / Oct 25 : Start our return from Pahalgam and drive as as far as we can (target Chandigarh) as this is our last day of vacation
Day 13-16 / Oct 26-29: Continue our office work remotely wherever we land up on previous day
Day 17-18 / Oct 30-31 : Make the remainder of the return to Kolkata

Here are a few teaser clicks from the entire journey

[haisaikat]

Here is how we reached from Kolkata, West Bengal to Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir

Day 0-1 / Oct 13 - 14 : Kolkata to Lucknow
Total Distance: 1050 Km / 21 hours (including 4 hours break)
Route Taken: Kolkata->Durgapur->Aurangabad->Varanasi->Prayagraj->Raebareli->Lucknow (this was the default Google Map route, alternate was via Sultanpur with higher time so we did not attempt that. Note at present Varanasi to Lucknow is can also be done through Purvanchal Expressway)

12th October was Maha Ashtami, peak period of Durga Puja festival in Bengal. Many were busy doing pandal hopping, we were focused on wrapping up office in order to usher the advent of our much longed vacation.

Eventually by 9-15 pm, logged off and hopped on to our Crysta, last one week have been spent on intermittent packing. No one apart from us knew the final destination, for obvious prejudices, all that we declared was that we were heading towards Delhi and most likely Himachal will be on the list of places to be visited.

The advantage during Durga Puja is that traffic is managed really well in major part of Kolkata and as a result without much hassle by 10-30 pm we reached Nabanna Hotel near Singur on Durgapur expressway.

Nabanna was as decorated yet crowded as ever, we managed to order takeaways to have sitting inside the car, attended a brief office affair over phone and by 12 midnight we concluded our 90 minute halt and moved forward.


Upcoming Dussera / Navratri meant a lot of commercial drivers whose transport account for majority of the highway traffic as also on leave and this helped us maintain a steady momentum

Completing an impromptu power nap break around 1 am close to Matial, we crossed Durgapur by 2 am and until this point I could frequently engage cruise control to maintain steady speeds. Every now and then we saw Durga Puja pandals around the highway and several families with overloaded pillions on 2 wheelers trotting them, a sight we do not usually get to witness a lot on highways.

We crossed the Barakar River bridge around 2:45 am and entered Jharkhand and the road became wider and smoother. However sudden uneven road joints in few stretches while we were doing 90+ Km/hr resulted in unexpected jumping ups and down. But I did not slow down much as under load the Crysta remains mostly planted.

We made a small halt around 4 am near Taranari in Jharkhand minutes before the Ghangri toll plaza, roads continued to be excellent in spite of pitch dark allowing us to maintain constant momentum


With limited truck traffic, Dehri on Sone was smoothly crossed around 7:30 am. We were hurrying to cross Sasaram owing to the notion of congestion at both these places


Around Gajdwahi, Bihar we spotted this Navratri Mela, at a stone throw from Sasaram toll plaza which we also crossed eventually before 8 am at zero congestion, a big sigh of relief


Our breakfast halt was at Khurmabad, Bihar a few kilometres ahead of Sasaram, but in our zeal to save time on the road, resorted to made in-car tea (thanks to wide variety of instant mixes we got from Amazon) and muffins we got from Nabanna last night.

But then again we are the Bengalis, so our "quick" breakfast also took round the hour before we could resume again by 9 am.

We refueled at a highway IOCL Petrol Pump of Mohania and eventually crossed the Viswasundari bridge of Varanasi,UP over the Ganges by 11 am. The subsequent stretch had lots of highways hotels, restaurants and dhabas yet we decided to move forward along the Varanasi - Prayagraj highway.

The road continued to be excellent and encountered very little to no congestion. After searching a lot for a descent non-veg restaurant along the way but giving up in the end, around 12-30 pm we made our hour long lunch halt at Rajwada Dhaba of Dusaotti, UP which offered good and tasty vegetarian food. Seems the area around Varanasi was ideal for the lunch as well as getting non-veg food.

The road ahead continued to be straight and I was amazed by the countless number of flyovers we crossed that dodged all the hassles of going over the otherwise busy cross roads of the surrounding cities and towns, the farthest I ever drove on this route earlier was until Varanasi (Lost in Varanasi - An Innova Crysta Venture)only.

The moment we were headed for Raebareli after crossing Prayagraj the road narrowed with ample chaotic local traffic and trucks with icing on the cake being frequent bad patches with broken tarmac at several places. Except a brief 15 min roadside power nap around 2 pm we continued our drive targeting to reach Lucknow.

The road condition improved once we crossed Raebareli and to our left we watched an amazing view of setting sun behind an abundant stretch of Kash Flowers

There was no prior booking made but from Google Map we figured out among the hotels in Lucknow, Buddha Residency on the Kanpur Lucknow road at Alambagh locality is the best balance on good reviews on food, stay, secured parking and minimum detour from our overall journey. In fact the opposite side of the road is LDA Colony and together this locality has ample number of hotels, hospitals, restaurants and above all ample local transport options for plying around if in need. But the flip side was we had to encounter the heavy evening city traffic of Lucknow.

Finally by 6 pm we arrived at our Hotel in Lucknow, arrival was pre-informed over phone so check-in was breeze after we confirmed the room category post visual inspection. The hotel had an excellent variety over dinning but Navratri made them serve strictly vegetarian. After a 21 hour journey we were tired and did not wish to venture on a tour outside. So settled for the in-house menu. We had to admit the veg dishes starting from Paneer Pakoras in evening snacks till North Indian menu in the dinner, everything was of great taste and paneer seemed to be of great quality and grade something we do not usually get elsewhere in my limited experience.

Day 2 / Oct 15: Lucknow to Pathankot
Total Distance: 1035 KM / 15 hours (including 3.5 hours break)
Route Taken: Lucknow->Agra-Lucknow Expressway->Yamuna Expressway->Greater Noida->Eastern Peripheral Expressway (to bypass Delhi) >NH44 (meeting it at Rai and then crossing over Panipat, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Ludhiana to finally hit Pathankot, this was again the default Google Map route)

We checked out from Buddha Residency by 7-20 am and set target to reach Pathankot, reorganized the boot of the Crysta to ease our next halt since not all bags required to be taken out and also bought some bakery items from Garden Bakery, the 24x7 bakery shop of our hotel


Soon we hit the Agra Lucknow expressway (ALE) and must say for first timers like me its an absolute delight to drive, noticed the recently demarked Aircraft Landing zone too. The Cruise Control of the Crysta came in most handy in this stretch being set at the maximum allowed limit for the road. Had my car had ADAS, I could have taken a nap for a solid 300 KMs because after some time it became a very boring drive.

While we had some mild refreshments on the move, but we were running low on fuel and before the alarms could start ringing found the first amenities exit around 9-30 am and halted for 30 mins. As we resumed, one thing was clear, if we plan to have lunch after crossing the Delhi belt it would be late afternoon. Considering our little one onboard, we indulged in stick-kulfis at one of the amenities exit joints named Yamuna Expressway Cafe (after we merged on Yamuna Expressway) and resumed by 12 noon.

The higher 120 kmph speed limit on the Yamuna expressway was not fully achievable owing to the not so effortless to drive tarmac as compared to that of the ALE along with greater traffic.

We left Yamuna Expressway around Greater Noida and took the Eastern Peripheral Expressway to bypass Delhi. Upped our masks within the car in anticipation of covid safety policing (courtesy warning by DBHPian SS-Traveller) but call it the Dussera mood that civilians on the roads seemed to ignore the same, well most of them. While we resumed on Yamuna Expressway, we were constantly searching for non-veg eateries around but only to give up for the sake of saving a costly detour.

We lunched at Fauji Dhaba with pure veg yet lip smacking menu, somewhere in Baghpat on SH57

They folks at the restaurant were surprised to hear that we are going past Delhi without seeing the famous Dussera celebration. We told them that we have a mission to accomplish and left towards Rai, Haryana for the nearest fuel station to tank up again, 2nd time in a day considering we have already covered 550+ Km since morning and Crysta has already gone past the usual tank range. From here onwards we caught up the NH-44, there was some confusion with the Google Map taking us in circles as we exited Yamuna Expressway and merged on NH-44. Once on NH-44 we sailed forward smoothly even amidst lot of traffic since most cars plying were disciplined to maintain lane and healthy speeds.

Stopped at a point near Sonipat, Haryana to see folks crowing on a elevated bridge to witness the gearing up of a Dussera celebration ground.


The sun was going down gradually and left a orange tinge on the sky and the highway

Almost seamlessly we left Haryana and entered Punjab while still cruising on NH-44. Tall trees on both side of the highways and may be some crop burning in the nearby farmlands on both side of the highways making room for moderate smog symbolized Punjab during the evening hours. By this time we took the decision that we will be able to meet our target to reach Pathankot only if we can make our little one have his dinner on time and put to sleep and prevent him from becoming restless. Wife had been constantly searching for a convenient stay overnight in Pathankot and zeroed in on The Grand Hotel at Dhangu Rd, Jodhamal Colony which is a place full of hotels and shops while being at a stone throw from NH-44. Also there has been no Naka nor Toll collection along NH-44 which we later came to know was owing to the farmer agitation. Also NH-44 in Haryana and Punjab have very frequent highway Dhabas so fooding and lodging along this route would never be a problem.

We halted for dinner at a KFC (West View Plaza, Doraha) somewhere between Ambala and Ludiana for almost 90 mins and again resumed our journey by 9-30 pm

Wife pointed out a Airplane restaurant complex on the side which we later on found to be Verka Hawai Adda, of course we did not stop. As expected by 10 pm our son went to sleep and a solid 90 mins drives through some great roads once again landed us in to Grand Hotel at Pathankot moments before midnight. We checked in to our rooms and crashed for the night, car was parked outside in the adjacent lane under their CC Cam survellance.

Day 3 / Oct 16: Pathankot to Banihal
Total Distance: 260 KM / 8 hours (including 1.5 hours break)
Route Taken: Pathankot -> NH44 (Samba->Lakhanpur->Udhampur->Chenani Nashri Tunnel (bypassing Patnitop) -> Ramban -> Ramsoo -> Banihal)

We started late, considering we have been on the move for past 2 days covered almost 2100 KM. I was over-confident that by evening we will comfortably reach Srinagar considering the smaller distance even though it was through mountain roads. Checked out of our hotel a little after 11 am and tanked up at Mallikpur and set our course on Google Map to follow from Samba the road via Jammu along NH-44 instead of the direct route via Samba-Udhampur road to Udhampur checkpost (as Google Map was suggesting) since the former is a 4 lane highway, information courtesy my dear friend Rajdeep Roy who has driven this circuit just a week on his mighty XUV500 AWD while touring Kashmir and Ladakh at one go.

Our hotel at Pathankot


The road till Samba along NH-44 was indeed beautiful under a blue sky and distant hills


We went past several tunnels and bridges


Eventually around 1 pm we entered through the Lakhanpur Toll Plaza, Jammu and on being asked showed our RTPCR report (reason we were hurrying to keep our RTPCR valid within 72 hours) since we were not double vaccinated at that time. The police verified the papers and let us pass, there was on site Rapid Antigen testing desk for those who need them.


Around NH-44 there were tons of restaurants and hotel in this area of Jammu but we wanted to get past the Udhampur checkpoint at the earliest hence did not stop except for a short power nap (body clock sometimes need adjusting). We crossed Udhampur checkpoint by 1:40 pm as we went past a very long queue of trucks waiting to enter the NH-44 and halted for lunch around 2-30 pm for an hour at Hotel Nataraj. While we dined saw several trucks moving ahead of us, the truck traffic seemed constant.

We crossed the Shyama Prasad Mookherjee tunnel (Chenani Nashri Tunnel) around 5-40 pm bypassing Patnitop, later we came to know its the longest tunnel of India at present spanning over a length of 9.28 Km.


It is hereafter once we resumed and went little ahead, started witnessing heavy queue of trucks clogging the road. And the worst part was several small cars were using the opposite lane to move forward, only ending up in deadlock with returning vehicles


Even amidst slow traffic we were moving forward yet the worst was not over yet.

The road condition worsened as we went past Ramban with bad roads and frequent narrowed stretches from uncleared landslides ending up choking the traffic. Afternoon we had called our tour agent Uzair to check for a day's accommodation in Srinagar assuming we would be arriving a day earlier by evening. Following that trail he proactively called us to check our progress and informed he has not yet booked anything as he can do it till the last hour and wanted to avoid us paying un-necessary no show charges should we get delayed. Around 7-30pm the traffic was still the same and we had not moved ahead significantly like the last 3 hours and our kid started becoming restless. The road was under repair in several areas resulting in having almost non existent tarmac.

In consultation with Uzair we decided to make a search and halt at Ramsoo / Banihal to stay overnight as there were news of some Army operation along NH-44 ahead which would slow us down further, and indeed Google Maap seemed to be pointing us similar advice since the remaining journey time was shooting up gradually. So after some telephonic discussions we set our course for Alpine Hotel of Banihal and called it a day once we reached there by 8-30 pm and found a decent roof for the night.

The lawn in front of the corridor of the Alpine hotel


Dinner was pretty basic but of excellent quality and post that we tucked us inside the heavy blankets in our hotel and crashed for the night.

Day 4 / Oct 17: Banihal to Srinagar
Total Distance: 95 KM / 2.5 hours (including 0.5 hour break)
Route Taken: Banihal -> NH44 (Banihal Qazigund Tunnel ->Awantipora) -> Srinagar -> Dal Lake

It had rained overnight through the morning and the temperature had dropped significantly.


We finished our breakfast at the hotel and following Uzair's guidance of starting after 9 am, we checked out at 10-30 am.




The moment we stepped out of Banihal we witnessed hills all around and it was a visual treat


We crossed the Banihal Qazigund tunnel (8.45 KM long) opened just 2 months back and resumed our journey towards Srinagar and the Ujroo Toll Plaza.


The highway stretch was scenic with distant cloud top hills and saffron fields on one side and farmlands on the other, even amidst the rain allowed maintaining decent speeds as we moved ahead towards Srinagar

Just be careful not to click any CRPF/army installation or convoy by mistake, its a matter of national security.

We received a call from Arshit Bhai, our would-be guide for the next few days in Kashmir as assigned by Uzair's company and he wanted us to intimate him post crossing Pampore which we did. We agreed to meet him around Dalgate / J&K Bank Headquarters in Srinagar.

[haisaikat]

Day 4 / Oct 17: (Continued from previous post) Getting to Houseboat and Dal Lake tour

Our greeting at the city of Srinagar was interesting, while approaching the Dalgate one black Chevrolet Aveo was seen desperate to get our attention, driving alongside us on the next lane or going in front of us and waving hands to stop.

Apparently it was some ambitious House Boat owner trying to make an approach seeing our WB numbered car, it took quite some time to dodge him and go past, when he understood we are not interested.

We finally met our guide Arshit bhai near the designated location of Dal Gate with little effort on both sides.

Arrived at Dal Lake Gate No 13 based on Arshit bhai guidance, unloaded all our luggage and boarded a Shikara which was to take us to our house boat. Just opposite to Gate No 13 there is a paid parking lot where I parked the Crysta amidst a harmless light drizzle


Shikaras lined up along the Dal Lake, ready for sail


Off we headed in the shikara to our stay on the Dal Lake


Arshit Bhai, only exclamation from him after helping out loading and unloading our humble luggage was "Aur kuch lena baki nahi tha?" meaning "wasn't there anything else left to pack?"

We reached safely in some time to our designated house boat Hollywood while enjoying the Shikara ride to the fullest, settled down and had our lunch and rested waiting for the rains to stop.

We did utilize all this time to chit chat with Arshit bhai on the do's and don'ts for the upcoming Shikara ride, the rains subsided by 4 pm


We boarded the Shikara for our 8 point ride after Arshit bhai was done with the bargain




We hired one of the local photographers (Taseen Khan) for a traditional Kashmiri dress shoot


After the shoot, we resumed on our Dal Lake tour








A short video of the busy Dal Lake while we were on the ride.

https://youtu.be/88OXBSxJ-cE

Lotus cultivation, we wanted to have fried Lotus stem as snacks considering its a delicacy of the region


Entering the Floating Market


While we roamed around the market several boats passing by our side offered their products, we respectfully refused.






Along Meena Bazaar, we made a short halt to buy chips for the kid










We finally came out of the markets and the Shikara ride was coming to an end




This midwater snacks shops is the source of snacks in most Houseboats in the evening including our own


While our 8 point Dal Lake ride came to an end we spent the evening sitting inside the house boat, enjoying Kahwa with Veg pakoras. We even met another family of Mr Tarun coming with a big group from Rajasthan and put up in the adjacent houseboat.


There was a water ambulance parked next to our houseboat, more on this later. The floating city life of Dal Lake lit up in the evening looking absolutely majestic




Evening was enlightened when we met with Mr Tarekh Ahmed owner of the houseboat. We engaged in idea exchanges related to a variety of topics and time seemed to pass rapidly. Learnt about the water ambulance he setup during covid, his 8 year old daughter being featured in NCERT books for her Dal Lake cleaning mission and even his attempts to serve the community during covid times using his water ambulance being featured in Mann ki Baat, it was an excellent discussion.

Dinner was served by 9-30 pm and we called it a day.

[haisaikat]

Day 5 - 18th Oct 2021
Itinerary: Srinagar > NH1 (Srinagar Leh Highway) -> Sonamarg -> Srinagar
Distance: 156 Km

Owing to continuous rain throughout the last evening and night the regular operations of the house boat was hampered, as such we started having water supply problem since late evening. We complained and they agreed to move us to the adjacent house boat also managed by them. So we packed our things again as we readied ourselves to set out for Sonamarg.

Our guide Arshit bhai had recommended yesterday to start by 9 am but we ended up reaching Dal Lake Gate 13 by 10 am only post a delayed breakfast at the houseboat. Our target initially was for Gulmarg but there was news that Gulmarg stage 2 is closed due to snowfall. It was still raining but we hoped to be able to do the Sonamarg tour without issues.

The road was in good condition with only a few places having moderately broken tarmacs. But negotiating the road amidst single lane highway was not much of a challenge.

Crossed Wayul Bridge over Sindh River witnessing beautiful fall colors


Just before our tea break halt at Delhi Darbar hotel along the Srinagar Leh Highway






Entering Sonmarg, the Sindh river continues to accompany us


We reached Sonamarg around 1 pm and the view right from the parking was amazing


Post negotiations we boarded 3 ponies accompanied by 3 helpers and 1 photographer (Hilal Ahmed) and all were set to go, we also hired boots and jackets to counter the terrain.


Although very light rain continued but the sky was beginning to clear up. We headed for our destination the Thajiwas Glacier going up and down lush green meadows with every few minutes going through clear vs fog



Fall colors had started to settle in their own pace, we also took some time to get us accustomed to the pony riding techniques.






The landscape continued to be jaw dropping to say the least. The helpers showed is the point of shooting Bajrangi Bhaijaan movie and also which all peaks have 1000 of years old snow vs newly acquired snow






We crossed the Sindh River again, on our way to the glacier




The ponies do not go all the way to the glacier ice, so the pony crew took us to the maximum height possible on the pony and thereafter they helped is by turn to climb up negotiating the slopes. We did face some difficulty breathing as we gained altitude but the view down below kept us motivated.


Finally we climbed and sat on the Thajiwas glacier ice.


View of surrounding from Thajwas Glacier, the distant team stalls are appearing miniscule


Sledge riding was only a token ride here for a minute and another set of bargain had to be made with the locals who dug and maintain pit for sledging


Sun had started to shine by this time as climbed down the same way we camp up


we made a brief halt for a Kehwa and Maggi break in the group of tent shops setup at the base. We were starving so everything tasted heavenly


We continued on our journey back to the parking point but enjoyed every turn and stop we made staring at nature's gift to this place










Eventually by 530 pm we boarded our car and headed back to Srinagar

We arrived at Dal Lake by 8:15 pm and found no Shikara available to take us to our houseboat, because of rains there is less demand and hence majority of Shikaras retired early for the day. But Arshit bhai made some calls giving his peace of mind and result was a Shikara showing up within the next 5 minutes to drop us at our houseboat by 8-30 pm.

During our day outing, the houseboat staff had shifted our belongings to the adjacent houseboat which had everything sorted out, we settled down fast and had our dinner by 9 pm.

Post dinner we found ourselves looking at some fine pieces of Kashmiri Shawls and Phirans, courtesy some pretty good stock from the roaming Shikara brought over by Farooq Shekari and referred by our house boat manager Aqsa Jaan. We learnt during conversation as to why there is such an abundance of Kashmiri products in Goa, because of the opportunity to sell to foreigners and the peak seasons of Kashmir and Goa complement each other

We repacked our belongings for checkout next morning and called it a day, but night was pretty damn cold there as we tucked ourselves in heavy blankets as deeply as possible.

[haisaikat]

Day 6 - 19th Oct 2021 - Tuesday
Distance Covered: 120 Km
Route: Srinagar -> NH1 (Srinagar Tangmarg Road) -> Gulmarg Road -> Gulmarg

Our target was to start early since tickets for the Gulmarg Gondola stage 2 are limited in number. Breakfast was served at 730 am as requested by us and we left immediately after.

We fell in love with the sweet tasting Kashmiri local breads.


After a brief encounter with another local seller, Irfan Guroo, buying some good hand made jewelry, we checked out from the houseboat by 830 am


Arshit bhai had brought out our car and was parked and ready beside the Gate No 13 of Dal Lake for fast transfer of our luggage and we soon headed for Gulmarg. Idea was that we will cover Gulmarg and then check in to our hotel in the evening

We could see the Apharwat peak from a distance as Gulmarg became closer

By 930 am we reached the checkpost at Tangmarg where vaccine certificates and car details were being recorded, Arshit bhai handled the conversation and we found nothing else was required. We hired jackets and boots from here and also met our guide for the day, Mudasir.

Wearing those oversized boots we sat on the rear seat while Arshit bhai drove the car to the parking at Gulmarg market going through some beautiful winding roads while Mudasir briefed us about the dos and donts.


Reaching the car park we politely said No to the advancing pony riders as we were already having residual body aches (we consider ourselves severely unfit) from the long pony rides yesterday at Sonamarg and decided to walk the 1.5 KM flat surfaced road to the Gondola Entry


While we waited in the long boarding queue, Mudasir went ahead to buy the tickets. This queue goes swirling all the way inside the building and all the way until 1st floor


After some time we boarded the Gondola and headed for Phase 1.


We reached Kongdoori valley on stage 1 and waited in the queue for boarding stage 2 of the Gondola, queue management here is tricky as several guides will try to sneak in their tourist groups into the queue appearing suddenly out of nowhere. Mudasir had told us that first priority is to complete stage 2 and then come back and relax on stage 1.

A look at the Gondola going to stage 2 from the Kongdoori valley


Eventually we boarded the Gondola for stage 2 and the view as we approached the peak was stunning


A short video of stage 2 approaching from the Gondola capsule

https://youtu.be/sMa_YE2w9qo

Another 15 minutes of wait and witnessing the changing landscape we eventually landed on stage 2 by 2 pm, the famed Apharwat peak station of the Gondola


It was full of tourists but the shinning sun with snowy rocks set our moods high




The horizon was crowded with snowy Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas and I could not figure out of one of them is the Nanda Devi


At 14,000 feet this was an experience for us, we hired 2 helps for taking us to the ski point while Mudasir took care of transferring our kid. We did take some time to get accustomed to the breathing in thin air as we started walking with the trekking poles given to us with the aid of our help. We were told that the Line of Control with Pakistan is really close to this place.



Walking the ski track


Doing the Ski was an experience although we had help

https://youtu.be/AlT-4faWd8s

So that we do not miss the snowfall experience of the winter, here is some attempt by the trek helpers to give us a small taste of the same

https://youtu.be/2H1cbWkxohI

Eventually the ski was done and we took a moment to catch breath


But at the same time we did not miss the opportunity to play in the snow


We found a guy selling Kahwa with dry fruits and we did not miss this opportunity to keep us warm, one of the best topped with dryfruits at 13,800 feet was hell of an experience




It was getting late and way past lunch time so we decided to head down, a final shot at what we were leaving behind




We boarded the Gondola to descend and it was literally going down into the clouds below




A brief video shot from the Gondola while going down

https://youtu.be/h5AJtK39CO8

We came back to stage 1 by 3pm and asked Mudasir to take us to a non-veg food joint


Mudassir kept his promise, a place at the back side of the Veg front restaurants, we ate the finest chicken and kashmiri polao here. Lunch was done by 4 pm and we headed for the final descent


Coming back to ground it was time for some ATV ride along the winding roads of pines and green meadows of Gulmarg. Mudasir negotiated 2 ATVs along with drivers and all we set to tour Gulmarg




Here is our ATV side short cinematic video, we covered several points of interests on the ATV including but not limited to the Maharani Temple, institute of skiing, etc and in the end also got our hands on driving the ATV

https://youtu.be/8RO7gFunvAw

We parked the ATVs at the side of a water stream for some grand clicks with the snowy peaks in the backdrop before finally being dropped at our parking by 6 pm, our son fell asleep on the ATV itself




We descended down in our car, handed over the rented boots and jackets and headed back for Srinagar, with just one halt at ParisPora for Kashmiri dresses and dress materials at a wholesaler place.

Arrived at our hotel The Grand Mamta by 8-30 pm and also met Uzair who had been so far behind the scene for everything and came to take our feedback. Next 4 days we would be staying here and considering the first 2 days in Kashmir had been hectic covering Gulmarg and Sonamarg, I insisted that we would take the next day leisurely and I also dropped Yousmarg from our itinerary. But to make best use of time, on request, Arshit bhai agreed to take the Crysta to Ansari Toyota of Srinagar for a good washing and cleaning next morning and come back by noon to pick us.

The restaurant was excellent so we settled down in our rooms and went in for a early dinner and called it a day.

[haisaikat]

Day 7 - 20th Oct 2021 - Wednesday
Distance Covered: (transit within city)
Route / Destination: Ahdoos, Old Srinagar -> Jamia Mashjid -> Alcon Clove (Badamwari Bagh) -> Khaiyyam Street

Based on my request last evening, Arshit Bhai had taken my Crysta for a thorough wash at Ansari Toyota first thing in the morning. Somehow I do not trust any car wash folks especially out of state. This opportunity also bought us ample time to start our day late considering 3 and half days of road travel and 2 and half days of hectic touring of Kashmir somewhat exhausted us.

We waited patiently for the Crysta to arrive post the excellant continental breakfast buffet at the hotel. We started from hotel by 2 pm, considering city drive and numerous odd stopping points Arshit bhai took the wheels.

Out first stop was just 1.5 Km from our hotel, Ahdoos, a century old and the very first restaurant of Kashmir valley, we decided to have lunch here.

Parking was limited and full inside the premises so Arshit bhai dropped us at the gate.


We tried their famous mini Wazwan (Trami), even being a weekday afternoon the place was full with tourists and locals.

We left by 330 pm and headed for Jamia Masjid. Jamia Masjid is in the center of old Srinagar and traffic was dense, so it took us some time, and by 4pm we arrived at the parking lotw in front of the Masjid. As expected no parking slot was available as there were cars from the market just opposite to Jamia Masjid, nevertheless we let Arshit bhai handle it and headed for the mosque. While we took out our shoes, wife covered herself with a Hijab given by the person at the gate since it was mandatory.

The huge green carpeted courtyard with chinars is a serene place to spend hours and autumn made it even more beautiful








The unique thing about this mosque architecture is the pillars are all wooden Deodar tree columns


The early evening hours created a magical ambience inside while one of the guards explained to us the history and present operations of the place.




Evening namaz (Maghrib) time was approaching and to facilitate the washing (Wudhu) the fountains were started

We did not feel like leaving the place but considering the diminishing daylight decided to move on. Returned the Hijab in the designated box at the gate and boarded our car.

Next stop was Badamwari Garden (Badam Waer / Almond Clove), the 14th century almond garden at the foothill of Hari Parbat inside the walled fort area of Kohi Maran.

We crossed some arched fort gates while on our way.


We spent a solid hour inside the park, although best season to visit is spring yet the autumn did not leave us empty as we strolled around leisurely in the warmth of the setting sun




















Picture Courtesy: our little one


We headed out by 6 pm, the narrow old roads continued until we cleared the fort area and gave a feel of what life in an old city would look like.

On our way out we interacted with some local Kashmiri elders who had come for a evening stroll inside the park and that brief 5 minute conversation touched almost every aspect of our lives, very engaging and they were very much welcoming.

Ideally we would have been done for the day since daylight was ceasing, but on our request Arshit bhai promised to take us to the famous Khaiyyam Street for some authentic Kashmiri street food and Kebabs.






We halted at one of the food joints and tasted mutton and fish kebabs which are uniquely served with variety of yogurt and chutney and accompanying roti

The servings were huge which made us pack some of the stuff back to our hotel. We left Khaiyyam street by 630 pm and reached hotel before 7 pm calling it a day.

[haisaikat]

Day 8 - 21st Oct 2021 - Thursday
Itinerary: Srinagar -> Airport Road -> Srinagar -> Budgam Road -> Doodhpatri -> Srinagar
Distance: 150+ Km

It was another leisurely planned day as we wanted to take it light, in the right vacation mood. So post breakfast at the hotel we started by 11 for Doodhpatri, Arshit bhai at our back seat giving us turn by turn direction.

However the Murphy's Law finally came into play, "if something has the potential to go wrong, it will". We were driving past Humhama area of Srinagar when we were stopped at a roadside police naka for paper verification. Turned out pollution certificate in the glove box was the old one and police was inching towards the 5000 rupees penalty as per the book. Arshit bhai came to the rescue, a brief chat in Kashmiri language where he explained potentially the car washing service at Srinagar yesterday may have contributed to this. This worked wonders, a token 200 rupees fine with receipt is what we settled for and resumed, Arshit Bhai promised to get the pollution done on the next morning before picking us up.

As we approached Doodhpatri the landscape changed from that of a city to that of a nature surrounded region and I frequently slowed down to behold it




Several busy farms were seen on the way








Around 12-30 pm we made a halt at a road side hotel named Star Dinda where we had some Maggi as quick refills and moved on.

Apart from several locals flocking in groups for picnic and enjoying the nature we also saw local farm owners selling farm flour breads / rotis for the picnic crowd


Soon we came across the spiral roads leading to the meadows of Doodhpatri






However we went past the meadows and parked near the rocky water stream of river Shaliganga


After a descent through the rocky path, we arrived at the banks of the river. The milky white color of the water is what sets the name of the place (Valley of Milk)


While we continued our own shoots in peace . . .


. . .Arshit bhai kept him busy teaching rock throwing techniques, sometimes language is never a barrier, except that Arshit Bhai nicknamed him Chotu which he always ended up protesting. However the two got along really well


Spending some 30-40 minutes in the rocks we headed back to the meadows, roads and sceneries continued to wow us all








We politely turned down several requests from the horse riders offering to show us the waterfalls and hill tops, we were still having the hangover of the sonamarg horse ride






The best thing about Doodhpatri is that there is no mobile reception of any carrier, probably the best of silence is realized here only


It is here that the shooting of Bollywood movie Raazi took place. By 4-30 pm we decided to head back and leave behind this wonderful hamlet behind






Probably one of the best glimpse of Kashmir village life we got to witness here


Made a stop again at Star Dinda hotel for some late lunch over Paneer Butter Masala and Kashmiri Polao while seating out in the open, became friends with the person running the hotel operations named Showkat


Excellent vegeterian kashmiri polao with paneer butter masala made our day


Evening time meant herds returning to their barns and sheds


In a little while we headed back towards Srinagar and arrived at our hotel by 630 pm and called it a day.

[haisaikat]

Day 9 - 22nd Oct 2021 - Friday
Distance Covered: (transit within city)
Route / Destination: Hazratbal -> Shalimar Bagh -> Nishat Bagh -> Chinar Bagh

This was another sunny morning and seemed perfect for the tour of Mughal Gardens, Arshit Bhai picked us up by 11-15 am and we were headed for the first stop at Hazratbal (Dargah Sharif), I let him have the wheels today as it would be city drive.

It has been since last week only that Friday prayers were started after a long time pause owing to pandemic and this day was no different. On top of that Arshit bhai told us that today Eid-e-milad-un-nabi (SAW) being observed there is a special prayer and hence we must hurry or else there will be lot of crowd. As a result was that the usual road was blocked by police with no cars being allowed, even Arshit Bhai's Kashmiri dialect negotiation did not work, as a result he took the car through a different road leading to Srinagar University and requested us to get down at a guarded crossroad inside the campus beyond which the walk will be shortest to the Dargah. He asked us to give him a call as soon as we are back so that he can come around from the parking which was a bit far. Wife took the lesson from the last visit to Jamia Masjid and got a dupatta to be used as Hijab.

The walk through the green sided campus road inside the Srinagar University was indeed good one as we witnessed various departments of the university on both sides


Walking through a crowded pathway with mostly local shops we entered the Dargah and were asked to go separate ways for Men / Women. We deposited our shoes and were allowed to enter inside the compound.

There were random checks performed by security personnel on almost everyone but everybody was welcoming. Me and my son were guided by one of the resident priests on how to go about and where to make our wish and offer prayer, we obliged and eventually came out at the backside were I met with wife again as she came out of the women prayer hall.

The back side was also very beautiful


We collected our shoes and came at the back once again to spend some time at the backside compound


The compound merges with the Dal Lake and there were several hawkers




One hour seemed to have passed in no time as we headed out through the back side market adjacent to the lake


While we took the walk we witnessed the plethora of Kashmiri Street Food, I would have otherwise surely tried the local bakery or those gigantic Halwa Parathas but decided may be we will make a separate Street Food visit in the future like we did in Varanasi last time (Lost in Varanasi - An Innova Crysta Venture).






We were told this is a fish item


Nevertheless we were picked up by Arshit bhai again and we headed next for Shalimar Bagh, on the way we passed through the Chinar Heritage Park (also known as Naseem Bagh) yet inside the University Campus but since nothing interesting was seen we preferred to skip it


Without Mask they did not allow entry which was good, we hoped in showing our tickets. The first building we came across was the Dewan-e-Aam


He found his own ways to enjoy and make the most of the place


We walked towards the Dewan-e-Khas further inside into the garden


The Dewan-e-Aam we left behind






The Dewan-e-Khas




And finally the sign of fall settling in was evident












While we were exiting the place met with this gentleman who gave a flower to our little one, he is one of the 20 Malis (Gardeners) of this garden and explained to us the best season is March but there are different flowers for both seasons namely Mausam-e-Garma (Summer) and Mausam-e-Sarmaa (Winter)

We headed out by 230 pm and asked Arshit Bhai to take us to any good nearby eatery since next visit would be Nishat Bagh (for Chinars). Arshit Bhai drove us to Sunset Boulevard restaurant nearby, it had good roof top terrace dining too but due to the scorching sun we decided to dine inside, were lucky to find a place amidst rush. Most liked dish was the Kashmiri style Phirni.

A view down below from the terrace of the Sunset Boulevard Restaurant


With the hills at the backdrop and the early evening vibes it was a nice time at the terrace. Time to get moving for the remaining gardens

[haisaikat]

Day 9 - 22nd Oct 2021 - Friday (Continued from previous post)
Distance Covered: (transit within city)
Route / Destination: Hazratbal -> Shalimar Bagh -> Nishat Bagh -> Chinar Bagh

Our lunch was over by 4 pm and we headed for Nishat Bagh.

On entering we saw lot of tourists and locals have flocked in the evening and are either sitting on the green field or occupying one of the many chairs enjoying the Friday evening with watching sunset over the Dal Lake.




Nothing new to say about the beautifully decorated garden, explosion of colors and ample place to accommodate everyone












Wife tasted some innovative Coconut topped with spices from a local hawker inside the garden

We were lucky to find an empty chair and wife expressed her desire to sit and watch the sunset while being surrounded in beautiful colors of nature all around while I decided to take a quick stroll.

There were multiple levels / terraces of this garden (similar to other Mughal Gardens) with each one a level higher. I gradually went on walking towards the higher levels near the hills at the backdrop.






From the topmost level of the garden


watching another day passing by


while the beauty of autumn lies there to behold and enjoy to the fullest. This is what we came to see.








Daylight was rapidly decreasing and we had one more stop left so decided to head out

We left Nishat Bagh by 5 pm and Arshit Bhai hurried us to Chashme Shahi but unfortunately the park was closed for further visitor entry as it was past 5 pm, Arshit bhai tried to negotiate but it did not work.

The road to Chashme Shashi is also beautiful with dense trees around. I am sure with time one may have seen fall colors even here.


We arrived at Chinar Bagh, I took a quick stroll and found abundance of Chinar inside and they have started to turn crimson however the park is not at all maintained.

We were done otherwise for the day and Arshit bhai would be driving us back to hotel. But there was one eatery I wished him to take us to. He somehow knew the place but reconfirmed from my Google Map.

We halted for a quick refreshment at Winterfell Cafe, its running for last 3-4 years and themed entirely on the popular international TV Series Game of Thrones.

The food was good as we finally got to taste the local bakery, the ambience was very cosy and the hosts were highly welcoming, an hour seemed to pass just like that.




We got the taste of excellent local bakery of Kashmir here




The main attraction of the place, the famed iron throne

Arriving at our hotel we had a few busy hours spent on packing our stuff since tomorrow we would be checking out and heading towards Pahalgam.

Tomorrow's forecast had rains written all over it, Arshit bhai said it may snow at Pahalgam, everything looked quiet outside from our hotel window, had our dinner and crashed for a good night sleep.

[haisaikat]

Day 10 - 23rd Oct 2021 - Saturday
Distance Covered: 67 Km
Route / Destination: Srinagar -> NH-44 -> Gantali Pora -> Pahalgam

It was raining since morning exactly as per forecast.

We readied ourselves post breakfast while watching the Shankaryacharya at a distance from our window

We checked out by 10-30 am and started for our destination, today I was at the wheels. Temperature had gone down substantially and we could feel it outside. Arshit Bhai said that Pahalgam is an weather indicator for rest of Kashmir Valley, if it rains there then it will also rain in Srinagar and hence since we are seeing it raining in Srinagar, considering the temperatures, it must be snowing in Pahalgam.

We went past the city traffic while we exited and and met with NH-44 soon.

The intensity of the rain increased and soon I realized that the rain drops were much bigger, its in the form of ice but just melting down into water because of the temperature.

Suddenly my attention went to the MID, the snow icon (top right corner beside the outside temperature gauge) has popped up.



We made a stop at Zamindar Kesar, a Dry Fruit shop of Pampore (on NH-44 itself), the place is known for being Kesar (Saffron) production zone.




A traditional Kahwah making pot, it is called samovar. They usually put coal / wood in the chamber at the center and then light fire at the bottom, it then both brews and serves Kahwah at the same time. Tasted heaven as they served us topped with nut crumble


Spent more than an hour there browsing through their various products and bought various dry fruit and dry fruit based products from there before resuming again towards Pahalgam by 12-30 pm

The usual route to enter Pahalgam while coming from Srinagar is via the crossing near Gantali Pora but police was not allowing onward traffic for some reason, Arshit bhai negotiated and they let us pass. If they had not let us take this route then we would be required to take another 30-40 KM of diversion and go via Khanabal.

The intensity of the rain had subsided a bit while we passed through some of the very scenic rain drenched rural localities of Kashmir.












We passed the apple orchards and saffron fields too but owing to rain had to skip their visits


As we neared Pahalgam the intensity of the rain increased further and we found several stretches of the road flooded or running water streams flowing over them.

It is here that we started noticing several returning cars from Pahalgam which had their bonnets / roofs covered in snow and reconfirmed its snowing in Pahalgam

Eventually we reached our hotel The Regency a little before 3 pm, the chilling rain at 2 degrees (C) literally spoilt the experience as we unloaded and got settled in, earlier snowfall were still covering the hotel lawn.

Arshit Bhai left for his nearby stay whereas we headed to our room. The sudden snowfall was not expected and none of the hotels were prepared, so their central heating was not running but thanks to the electric blankets that we were not frozen. By 4 pm we had our lunch which was very basic and late since raw material supply was interrupted owing to the sudden snowfall. They promised to make up in subsequent meals.

Except ducking in our rooms there wasn't much to do for the day so we stayed inside and killed time (by sleeping) as we waited for dinner. Our DBHPian Samba's friend Sandipta had also travelled to Pahalgam on the same day (we have been in touch throughout the Kashmir trip) but he returned back to Srinagar since his hotel was on the hill top and the snowfall had completely hampered all traffic movement uphill.

We looked at the weather forecast for tomorrow and saw it starts with cloudy day and then rainy past 10 am. We took a decision, there is no point staying amidst such weather in Pahalgam as most of it will be covered in snow so better to leave one day earlier considering our vacation is ending by Monday and come Tuesday we would have to start office from somewhere remotely and with a kid on board there is a limit to how far we can drive in a day. So better to gain one day and use to our advantage for the return.

I was even ready to head out in the night but came to know from Arshit bhai that there is landslide on NH-44 and ongoing traffic is seriously hampered. He promised to inform us about the road updates first thing in the morning.

We had our dinner at the restaurant, food was indeed good and spicy, perfect to accompany the weather, after a small troll outside and spending some time inside the lobby, logged off for the day.

Day 11 - 24th Oct 2021 - Sunday
Distance Covered: 372 Km
Route / Destination: Pahalgam -> NH-44 -> Pathankot

It was a dry morning and unlike yesterday the forecast seemed to have changed, the rains / snow are still on the cards but after 2pm, the weather forecast seemed to be constantly changing.

View from our room through the adjacent terrace restaurant


We came out on the terrace, this is on the opposite side of hotel to the Lidder river








Post breakfast at the hotel, by 10 am we set out for a brief walk along the Lidder river right in front of the hotel


Witnessed remarkable fall colors and yet it is only the beginning, imagined how much more beautiful this will become in the days to come




A nearby hotel

.. continued into next post

[haisaikat]

Day 11 - 24th Oct 2021 - Sunday (continued from previous post)
Distance Covered: 372 Km
Route / Destination: Pahalgam, J&K -> K.P Road -> Khanabal / Anantnag -> NH-44 -> Pathankot, Punjab

Met with friendly neighborhood person Shabbir Ahmed, courtesy whom we were blown away tasting the Kashmiri apple, both green and red types.

We took a few along with us and also exchanged numbers for ordering over courier in future.


By 11-30am we checked out from our hotel and based on suggestion from Arshit Bhai we decided to take a quick tour of the roads uphill Pahalgam since as per him not only NH-44 has cleared up but also the uphill roads leading inside of Pahalgam.

We bid good bye to this excellent lawn of our hotel








We crossed the bridge over Lidder River and headed towards Main Town of Pahalgam uphil via the Chandanwari Road




The landscape was painted white and was a sight to behold, there were no troubles in driving on this road. We paid the entry toll and went ahead.

The town seemed over crowded with tourists for this weekend as there is some political rally in Srinagar over the weekend and as such city wide blockades are expected, as a result many tourists and locals have flocked in these kind of locations outside Srinagar.

Both sides of the road had lot of sign of yesterday's snow fall

Horse riders were still plying even in this freezing cold. However our drive was short lived as soon we saw road congestion ahead and the reason is snowy road tarmac. Seems not all the snow have been cleared up. So around 12 pm a little before the bifurcation of the roads leading towards Aru Valley we turned back as that congestion could trap us for hours.

We had only got around 6-7 Km inside Pahalgam so it was not a lot of distance to retrace back but did halt a few times before exiting Pahalgam for capturing few moments of our presence.

Arshit Bhai was carefully guiding on not to brake hard or increase speed for guarding against sudden tyre skids. Another problem was to keep the windscreen from fogging as we were running heater inside.

Soon we exited Pahalgam and took the K.P Road / Anantnag route to meet with NH-44 but on the way we passed through some remarkable roads surrounded by fall colors

A little before merging with NH-44, dropped Arshit Bhai as he would be heading back to Srinagar. After being our constant guardian rather than guide for the last 8 days it was with a heavy heart we bid him Alvida (good bye).

[haisaikat]

Day 11 - 24th Oct 2021 - Sunday (continued from previous post)
Distance Covered: 372 Km / 16.25 hours (including 1.5 hours break)
Route / Destination: Pahalgam, J&K -> K.P Road -> Khanabal / Anantnag -> NH-44 -> Pathankot, Punjab

Along the lines of the forecast light rains had already started on NH-44 and the traffic was slow as usual as it was way past 2 pm and the oncoming truck traffic from Srinagar towards Jammu had already been released clogging NH-44 as usual

As we advanced, a few stages we cleared past in a breeze but a lot more we had to be in crawling traffic even leading up to complete standstill at times where taking the opposite / wrong lane to move ahead was also not an option.

We encountered a long queue of Indian Oil tankers as we went past them using the adjacent lane




While entering the Jawahar Tunnel

Considering our experience during the onward journey while reaching Srinagar from Pathankot we decided to skip a formal lunch and thrive on what we were carrying, even for the kid, this is to preserve our advantage of starting from Pahalgam one day earlier than planned.

Killing time was the most difficult part for the kid, we kept him distracted during the later part of the day through word and spelling games, singing song, and what not.

One cannot leave any stones unturned here to overtake and move ahead but of course sensibly.




Evening came and finally around 9 pm we encountered a complete standstill of the traffic before Udhampur check point

Took us round the hour to crossed the checkpoint, instead of taking the direct Udhampur - Samba Road we took the detour via Jammu which is good 2+2 lane highway. While crossing Udhampur checkpoint the CRPF stopped us and enquired about what we are doing with a WB registered car in J&K, we politely said that we were tourists and returning from Kashmir and he smiled and let us pass after a quick peek inside the car confirming its a harmless family.

Since lunch was skipped we were desperately looking for a place to dine, more for the kid as he may soon fall asleep considering his body clock. While I kept the momentum going towards Pathankot, wife in parallel kept on searching hotels along the route (the GMap feature came very useful) and calling them to check not on vacancy but also dinner timing and options. Nothing seemed to work out to our complete advantage as most of the highway eateries were also closed.

Finally around 11 pm we found a decent highway food joint named Aroma Restaurant near to IIT-Jammu and we literally dived on whatever was available at that hour. While there were other families dining and watching the T20 World Cup mega Super 12 cricket match between India and Pakistan, one in particular came up to us and introduced himself hearing us talking in Bengali, he was too and has been settled in Jammu since past 10+ years, he assured us nothing to worry at night as its very safe, we exchanged courtesies and headed towards Pathankot by midnight.

We called up the same hotel we stayed earlier (Grand Hotel) and they confirmed they have availability of rooms and said we are welcome any time during the night. We finally reached the hotel in Pathankot by 2 am smoothly, almost, except the kid got serious indigestion and vomited a little after we had started.

We decided to call it a day as we planned to advance our return as much as possible starting next morning which was our last day in the vacation.

Day 12 - 25th Oct 2021 - Monday
Distance Covered: 728 Km / 14 hours (including 4 hours break)
Route / Destination: Pathankot, Punjab -> NH-44 -> Eastern Peripheral Expressway -> Yamuna Expressway -> Agra, UP

Our kid had his school scheduled to begin post holidays from last Friday which we had missed, so we planned for him to attend starting today. But his indigestion and vomiting continued even post giving him the regular medicines. He on the other had kept on insisting for pastries. A bit of searching and found the next door shop adjacent to our hotel is a cafe who also have an inhouse bakery, they prepared chocolate layered excellent pastries for us in 30 minutes. As we sat waiting for the pastries being made the I interacted with the young owner who told us that about the proximities of various Himachal tourist locations from Pathankot and that his place is the only one in this vicinity which prepares complete vegetarian eggless cakes.

After the online class for our kid was over we checked out from the hotel a little before 1 pm and headed down via NH-44.


Our next halt was by 2-30 pm for lunch was at Haveli, Jalandhar. We tried Makke di roti and Sarson da Saag here apart from usual thalis.


The Rabri and Jalebi combo was out of the world


At the food court compound of Haveli

We liked Haveli so much that 2 hours passed away in no time before we could resume again, the food was awesome although pure vegeterian

A brief refuel halt around 6 pm at a HP station of Harbanspura, Punjab. Our target to reach today was Agra and NH-44 really helped us with wonderful tarmac and very disciplined traffic.

We made a hour long dinner halt around until 10-30 pm at Mannat, Panipat, Haryana before resuming once again. We could not stop but keep on praising the excellent service and cleanliness of this place, in general all roadside food joints along NH-44 in this stretch, and wished if we had such around east.

After a long wait in the queue from 11-30 pm to 12 midnight at Muradnagar toll plaza on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, we finally came on the Yamuna Expressway by 1 am and eventually check in at Hotel Taj Resorts of Agra (we booked it same way like yesterday) by 2-45 am in the morning. It was closer to the East Gate of Taj Mahal.

The road around the East Gate had lots of hotel and it was dimly lit and nicely paved

Day 13 to 16 -26th to 29th Oct 2021 - Tuesday to Friday
Distance Covered: Trivial
Route / Destination: Stay at Agra and working remotely

This was our working week, me and my wife attended office work remotely and son attended his school classes online. Thanks to the two interconnected rooms that we took along with our own mobile internet setup, things went smoothly.

The rooftop restaurant had Taj view and basement restaurant where breakfast used to served had a full fledged boutique shop with local handicraft items from replicas and home decor stuff to dresses available.

Our days used to be super busy from morning to night but we used to find our own moments of joy by either taking a stroll in the back street alley of Taj Mahal post dinner, there used to be a guy selling all kinds of stick ice creams and we were his regular customer for these 4 days. The only thing we missed in these rooms were a front facing balcony.

Crysta in the hotel lobby on one evening

On one of the mornings visited Sunny Toyota (around 27 Km away from Hotel) on Mathura-Agra Road to get a thorough chemical wash for the interiors, 10+ days travelling with kids does not leave much choice either. Sunny Toyota is excellent service location, just that there were too many "important" locals who had come to get their car serviced on that day, I was sitting at the waiting area attending to a office call over phone surrounded by abundance of armed body guards with their automatic gears lying here and there , was distracting to say the least.

Last but not the least, we managed to make a visit to Taj Mahal on one early morning at the very first hour of the day by 6 am and also got to buy some local handicrafts during our return to office (i mean hotel) before 10 am.

We had booked the Taj ticket including mausoleum visit online and showed QR code scan from mobile during entry. Our local guide Aman Jain also arranged shoe covers and informed us wheel chair availability inside the premises free of charge. Also free drop on battery powered cars till the Taj Mahal gate is also available.

Inside the Taj Mahal compound at the early hours, the sun was about to rise


Various moments captured during the sun rise inside the Taj compound


The first rays of sun touching the Taj Mahal






Climbing up to the Mausoleum




View of Yamuna behind the Mausoleum




Exiting the Taj to the adjacent alley outside


Banana silk saree, made locally


Agra's famous Petha packed for home

Day 17 - 30th Oct 2021 - Saturday
Distance Covered: 637 Km / 12.5 hours (including 4 hours breaks)
Route / Destination: Agra,UP -> Agra Lucknow Expressway (ALE)-> NH-30 (via Raebareli) -> NH-19 (via Lucknow) -> Varanasi, UP

We checked out around 7-30 am from our hotel at Agra, refueled and went straight towards ALE, ALE being a boring 300 Km+ drive was uneventful, we gave a leisurely 90 min breakfast halt at one of amenities exits before resuming again by 10-30 am.

Cell reception was distorted at higher speeds on the ALE and wife was getting quite a few office phone calls and we had to halt couple of times.

Our Lunch halt was late, around 3-30 pm for another 90 minutes, near Raebareli at a food court named Bati, it was quite impressive. We also observed that the potholes and surface damage observed during the onward journey are all patched up. Impressive road working in UP.

Our original target was to reach Aurangabad but we decided to halt at Varanasi, checked in to Hotel Satkar at the outskirts on the highway (opposite side) by 8 pm. Food was okayish but for a night's stay it was more than enough. One important mention, DBHPian Samba's friend Sandipta also checked in a little later at night here.

Day 18 - 31st Oct 2021 - Sunday
Distance Covered: 696 Km / 13.5 hours (including 2.5 hours break)
Route / Destination: Varanasi, UP -> NH-19 (crossed Bihar and Jharkhand) -> Kolkata, WB

We checked out from hotel Satkar at 6-30 am sharp and headed for Kolkata.

Sandipta's Nexon and my Crysta met face to face although we did not meet due to timing issues, even though we stayed at the same hotel


Sunrise over highway in Varanasi

Last night Aurangabad was showing almost 3 hours from Varanasi but morning time the road was empty and not much trucks were out so we maintained steady speeds and crossed Aurangabad in almost 2 hours.

Except a 40 mins halt at a highway Line Hotel after crossing Aurangabad we did not make any further stops and the Crysta pulled and pulled until we reached Citi Residenci Hotel at Durgapur, WB by 2-15 pm where we made a leisurely lunch halt (we like this place having visited before during our Puruliya trip in 2020 (To the Spring time Wonderland of Garh Panchkot, Baranti and Maithon in an Innova Crysta).

Road conditions were the best in Jharkhand but the first few hours of the day we covered maximum distance since
A - The morning roads were almost empty and
B - There were no speed cams in that stretch (unlike ALE) as a result I reached Durgapur 1 / 1.5 hours before the Google Map shown projection, although the time saved got balanced with the breaks we took.

The homely feel in the recipes made us lose control over what we ended up consuming.

A fusion dessert at Citi Residenci Hotel

We resumed again in 90 minutes for Kolkata and before 8 pm with a little hustle of traffic around Dankuni Toll Plaza we reached our home.

Thus our 18 day trip across almost half the length of India came to an end covering close to 5500+ Km and burning close to 425 litres of diesel.

[haisaikat]

Epilogue

Here are few of our perspectives from the trip for everyone's reference and a few random clicks, some of which are from the dashcam hence quality is not appropriate

Witnessing Fall colors in Kashmir

1. There are some must visit locations that one should mark in place for experiencing fall colors in Kashmir valley, majority of them are around Srinagar, listing them down for reference
   • Naseem Bagh, inside Srinagar University
   • Nishat Bagh, Srinagar
   • Shalimar Bagh, Srinagar
   • Char Chinar Park within Dal Lake, Srinagar
   • Approach Road leading to Srinagar University
   • Along the Bank of River Dras in Kargil
   • Along the side roads of Lidder River in Pahalgam
   • Roads Leading to Pari Mahal, Srinagar
   • A few place along the banks of Jhelum River
   • Chinar Bagh, Srinagar
   • Harwan Bagh, Srinagar
   • Approach road leading to Shankaracharjya, Srinagar
   • Sonmarg
   • Uphil road to Gulmarg Gondola
   • On way to Sonmarg while crossing the Sindh river
   • Way to Pahalgam, via K.P Road
   • Nehru Park, Srinagar
   • Along the Boulevard Road, Srinagar
2. Best Time to witness Fall is said to be end October to mid-November, however the fall is not similar every year as a lot depends on amount of sunlight and the temperature. It may very well happen that a prolonged cloudy blocking the sun can delay the extent of fall colours that one may end up seeing during this time. It can also happen that proper fall colors are visible only from end of November but there may be premature snowfall covering them up right during the week of visit.
3. My advice is to keep flexibility of 1-2 weeks to visit Srinagar by observing the weather pattern.
4. On the other hand, if you are planning a combined Kashmir trip where Sonmarg and Pahalgam are also on our itinerary then you cannot plan too late as these places are renowned for their green meadows and no point if its all covered in snow by end of November or early December.
5. We had initial plans to also cover Sissu (Himachal Pradesh) and Chandigarh which also have foliage that turn into beautiful colors during fall season, but eventually for timing issues we gave up. One thing we realized is for longer trips its better to minimize detours as much as possible and if possible keep additional time at hand for flexibility, at best keep detours parked for return journey.

Fall foliage along Boulevard Road, Srinagar

NH-44 (Jammu to Srinagar stretch)

1. The most unpredictable stretch of Roads is from Jammu to Srinagar along NH-44.
2. There can be accidents blocking / restricting traffic movement, road closure due to construction / landslides, government restrictions, army movements which may affect the movement of regular civilian vehicles plying here.
3. The allowed timings for LMVs or HMVs plying are frequently regulated. So plan your drives accordingly especially if you have family / kids along.
4. The most up to date information related to traffic regulation on this stretch of NH-44 must be ascertained from the official Twitter handle of J&K Traffic Police https://twitter.com/Traffic_hqrs which states timings of restrictions if any and also important contact numbers of all check points for easy reference.
5. Also here are two of the active facebook pages on the same topic
   https://www.facebook.com/pages/categ...6371563566866/
   https://www.facebook.com/HighwayUpdates/
6. For added reference please also keep handy the J&K Police official twitter handle for other safety information, https://twitter.com/JmuKmrPolice

NH-44 has many faces, the positive side is wide roads with scenic views, often clubbed with infinitely long traffic


Encounter with HMVs while trying to use the opposite lane on NH-44 for getting past traffic


Another similar encounter in opposite lane, depending on the space available to the right, getting out of this situation can be tricky as well as dangerous. Smaller cars fared here


NH-44 has bad patches too, at the time of our travel the stretch between Ramban and Banihal was the worst but not the only bad patch. However we have seen worse hilly roads in other states.




And people can cross any time so be alert


During dark hours we accidentally took a wrong diversion and ended up inside a tunnel under construction. Thankfully we could turn around.




NH-44 in Haryana on the contrary is as smooth and hoot to drive as ever

Cell Reception

1. No prepaid connection works in Kashmir
2. Vodafone postpaid connection (what we already had) works fine on the roads but signal is not consistent and data connection may be slow. Inside buildings it dies our frequently.
3. We additionally took one Airtel and one Jio postpaid along with us which worked like a charm.
4. At Gulmarg stage 2, we found only Jio working along with 4G data, it is at an altitude of 13,500 feet
5. Doodhpatri had no cell reception for any of the providers

Kashmir guide

1. While our tour agent Uzair's service have been excellent, we availed such services since we did not have much time for planning and research owing to our busy work schedules. Moreover for me vacation needs to be hassle free, does not mean I cannot do research but did not wish to take the risk of jeopardizing an entire trip only because I did not account something in the plan.
2. One can still do all the touring with research and self planning. I used for some occasions trip advisor forums, its a great place, recommend everyone using it to gain insights.
3. Always keep some degree of flexibility in the tour plan to counter weather problems (if your season is prone to unpredictable rain / snow), unplanned issues in city of Srinagar like road blocks, curfews, political rallies so that one small problem does not spoil the entire trip.

Touring and Stays

1. At least 1 night in the houseboat is enough to be able to enjoy the complete houseboat life and I recommend that you do not plan any city tour or anything. One is dependent on the time bound Shikara service for any transportation in and out of Houseboats / Dal Lake, but yes everything is available if you plan and notify ahead and if you are ready to pay the price.
2. Best time for Dal Shikara ride is during late afternoon / early evening while watching the sunset.
3. The regular 8 point Shikara ride on the Dal lake is not going to cover every place of interest there like Char Chinar Park, etc and for those you must plan separately.
4. There is a movie / cinema hall on Dal Lake where tourists can watch movie lying down on Shikara, it has inaugurated after we left, recommend checking it out.
5. Keep at least 2 days in Srinagar for Garden tours unless you plan to start early in the morning and do rapid tours. Each garden has some history associated and unique layout to offer.
6. We skipped Shankaracharya since there are 240 steps to climb to the main temple at the hill top. We plan to cover it in future.
7. For Gulmarg, reserving 2 nights will be ideal during seasons other than winter for comfortably touring the Gondola and other local sights otherwise travelling there within time to take the Gondola ride and return on the same day may be hectic more so if you have kids along, he fell asleep in on the ATV itself. During winters I heard there is a 7 day instructor led skiing course for tourists to enjoy the full winter advantage of skiing down from stage 2 to stage 1. We found stage 2 / Mary's shoulder chair car closed, possibly it opens up only during winter / skiing season
8. The Gondola ride tickets for stage 2 are limited, so go as early as possible to stand in queue otherwise you will miss going up through the beautiful Gondola ride. Your guide can make a lot of these things easier without you requiring to stand in queues (anywhere) but the cost goes higher including your perception for the ticket fares.
9. We have seen that horses can go to Phase 2 at a very premium price.
10. Sonamarg can be best covered in 1 day but stay for a night to enjoy its complete beauty where you can sit for hours in the meadows while cloud and snowy peaks play hide and seek at a stone's throw.
11. 2 nights in Pahalgam is best suited to tour it appropriately
12. The hotels along the banks of Lidder river in Pahalgam have the advantage of not being prone to access issues during times like snowfall. But on the contrary the hotels along the up hill area are closer to places like Aru Valley and also may provide a panoramic view of Pahalgam from above.
13. There are many people seen on the roads without any uniform, mostly in Phirans collecting toll taxes and giving some printed receipts, not all are government ones. Hence some of them can be avoided too with negotiation like complete ignoring or trading for trivial things like a cigarette for example
14. Mostly in Srinagar but also outside it, CRPF / Police / Army checkpoints might stop you for checking, its normal routine job for them so kindly co-operate to the best and do not click photos that include them or their camps / barracks. Mostly seeing out of state cars and family inside we were never stopped, except one occasion in Srinagar where one one evening all cars were being searched and for us they gestured to light up the cabin light, we obeyed and they let us pass seeing family inside. If you have to park your car near any army vehicle always park ahead / in front of them and avoid parking behind them.

Abdullah Bridge over Jehlum River, Srinagar


While going to Ahdoos, one of the narrow roads


Some interior roads of Srinagar






Old Srinagar


Rain drenched Srinagar interior roads

Dry Fruits including Saffron / Kesar

1. One can buy from Government outlets as they are bound to be authentic, we chose to get from one of the authentic exporters (Zamindar Kesar Company, Pampore referred by our tour agent) but there are lot of others too, try validating from references for authenticity. Almost everyone there sends items by courier, so if in doubt buy smaller quantity at first and order future needs over courier.
2. Try not to buy from hawkers who sell without a bill, unless you can identify the genuineness of items by yourself.

Bargaining for Services

1. Always bargain but with some knowledge of what exactly you are bargaining to keep, with knowledge from fellow travelers on standard cost of things and the pitfalls. I will give few examples
2. The 8 point Shikara ride quoted us 3500, Arshit Bhai said 1800 and the boat man agreed. Did he still cut corner somewhere? You will not know, maybe they still showed you the Lotus cultivation but did not take you deeper around the cultivation. For most of us that may be fine considering the bargain but depends on what your ultimate expectation is.
3. Horse ride in Sonamarg, we bargained although Arshit Bhai was not happy with it, he of course has limitations being a local on how much he can participate. But some folks bargained better than us, the difference is we got 3 horses and 3 accompanying men each controlling individual horses, the person taking my kid's horse carried him on his shoulders whenever he felt the horse may be going over a rough terrain and that was the best we could expect. If you know how much is the lowest individual charge of each horse and men charges you can strike a better deal obviously. We also benefitted a lot while climbing uphill in places like the Thajwas Glacier where horse does not go all the way up, because we had supporting manpower unfit folks like us got all the help to climb easily with two at a time holding us. On the contrary one group of tourists I saw going in with one man and 3 horses (based on their bargain) with every horse going in erratic directions at times walking along the edges of the hilly roads scaring the shit of them, in essence one man cannot timely control all 3 horses. The result is everyone in that group shouting for the man in charge asking him to get the horse back on track.
4. If you are hiring a photographer, they come with a per photo price which can be bargained heavily. If its a small time shoot like 10-15 minutes then expect 10-20 photos and that will not bring a lot of deal by bargaining down the price but if you are on a half day journey like the Sonamarg horse ride then easily there will be 150 to 200 photos for a family of 3 - 5 (we had 280+). A fixed price bargain for unlimited photos can bring down per photo cost by more than 50% unless you can stand there and browse through all the photos by looking through the small camera screen and selecting the best ones you need.
5. So bargain knowledgably knowing what is your minimum need and that it is not getting stripped off some of the basic elements.
6. Remember that majority of tourist centric businesses runs on commission, we decided to accept it considering it is convenient and we cannot get grossly wrong in ending up getting things that are not authentic as long as the reference is credible. But one always have a choice.

The Toyota Innova Crysta

1. Ideal highway distance muncher and comfort is such that given road advantage one can do 1000 Km+ on consecutive days easily without any fatigue. We covered ~2100 Km in 2 consecutive days during our onward journey
2. Overtaking (I call it staying ahead with right of way) is a piece of cake with the Aisin Gearbox and the 2.8 1-GD-FTV Engine combination, a slight tap on the throttle followed by the engine obeying the command by raising voice as it goes past 2,000 RPM mark and the Crysta gets past any thing that is in front of it.
3. Here is the link (Toyota Innova Crysta : Official Review) to the entire car driving experience related to this trip posted earlier
4. The cost of service varies greatly between Tier I and Tier II cities against the same standard and item of service.

We carried at least 40% more luggage than needed, but Crysta's boot after folding up the 3rd row was quite accommodative


Most disheartening work performed in preparation for this trip, removing all the Lumar tints from our car. While the same professional who installed did an excellent job removing his own work post 2 years of installing, (Toyota Innova Crysta : Official Review) I had to send the car for polishing to remove most of the remainder of glue scar marks on the glasses. BHPian dip27in had suggested to use heat guns for removal, kept in mind for future occasions. But considering the peace of mind of avoiding harassments especially on a trip with family thousand miles away from home, this is a small price to pay.

Wrapping up
This trip has been an experience of our lifetime as we ventured out farthest by road so far and the adventurous part of it was until the 3rd day in the Kashmir Valley we did not disclose to our near ones about our true destination, the prejudice being our enemy. Also staying healthy is a big focus for such long trips, healthy food habits contribute majorly to this, we specifically avoided street foods to control us unpredictability not only on Kashmir but also during our journey through the other states (UP had so many alluring Panipuri shops along the Raebareli - Prayagraj stretch).

This travelogue is surely not a comprehensive travel guide but I hope this will certainly give some added perspective to anyone planning to venture out on a similar route. Hope everyone enjoys going through it. It has 350+ photos, selected from over 2500+ we had from the trip, hence sorting, editing and putting together this Travelogue took close to 2.5 months.

Kashmir is absolutely safe for tourists, go enjoy it to the fullest. We made lot of friends and received very warm welcome from everyone out there.

Performing our remote working and schooling from Agra hotel, it also meant handling the mischiefs of our little one with no one to help around


Our little one drew this 1 week after coming back from our trip, he tried to sum up all the Kashmir experience in one drawing, it has his version of the NH-44 truck jam (sedan being our car), Shikara with 3 of us, Snowy peaks and Cable Car

Passing through the most difficult phase, the dreaded traffic jam on NH-44 between Srinagar to Jammu. Without the support and flexibility of wifey, I do not think pulling such a long trip would ever be successful, special mention for that and kudos


The trip meter at the end of our trip, garage to garage


Yours truly, until next time, take care and stay safe and keep travelling and redlining !

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

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[mihir_m13]

Excellent pictures,

One question - why are you using the Jawahar tunnel on your return trip if the new Banihal Qazigund tunnel is ready ??