Everlasting Charm of Srinagar

“गर फिरदौस बर रुए ज़मीं अस्त, हमीं अस्तो, हमीं अस्तो, हमीं अस्त “(If there is a heaven on earth, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here) ;hundreds of years ago, these lines of Amir Khusrau found a place in the top terrace of the Shalimar Bagh in Srinagar. This Persian inscription aptly describes the enchanting splendour of Srinagar. Even now the everlasting charm of Srinagar is still the same. Surrounded by the majestic mountains, Srinagar, is indeed a paradise where the Jhelum River flows through the heart of the city, the Dal Lake shines in the golden hues of sunset, the Saffron plants bloom with the purple beauty at the terraced fields and the Mughal Gardens dominates the landscape with their admirable beauty. Also, there are the sprawling meadows of Gulmarg in the immediate vicinity, which eternal beauty touches the soul of every visitor.

Fortunately, I have been blessed to visit this paradise not only once, but thrice during my travels. The lanes of Srinagar, the Shikaras of Dal Lake, the Chinars of the Mughal gardens, the Meadows of Gulmarg, the Saffron from Pampore, the Water Spring of Kokernag; I enjoyed this paradise repeatedly over the years. During my travel across the Kashmir Valley; I observed the newlywed couples holding their hands and watching the sunset hues from the bank of Dal Lake; the families enjoying the boat rides on Dal Lake; tourists playing with the fresh snow at Gulmarg; local people inviting us for the meals despite of being complete strangers and that too when we were 11 in number; the Indian soldiers performing their duties with the highest vigil to safeguard every inch of this territory; few more people treating us as an alien from a different country and shouting that the Indians are coming while approaching to a restaurant in Anantnag. I went there Solo, I visited there with my family and I explored the city with a bunch of 10 other friends. During each trip, at every step, the eternal charm of the valley allured me with its ageless beauty.

But everything isn’t so charming in the paradise. The irony of Srinagar makes it a highly sensitive conflict zone of Incredible India, the troubled and the politicised. Yet, it is one of the major tourist destinations in India visited by thousands of people every year. The troubled paradise has many interesting places to have a memorable trip, the trip that can be termed as the trip of a lifetime. This post is all about some interesting places in Srinagar, that can be covered during a trip to Srinagar.

⇒ Dal Lake: The beautiful lake, spread over the area of approx 18.8 square kms, is a lifeline for the tourism activities in Srinagar, or say, for the entire Kashmir Valley. Visit Dal Lake any time in any season, it always looks so refreshing that you can spend hours enjoying its beauty; in the morning hours while walking on the footpath by the shore, in daytime while watching the hundreds of Shikaras ferrying tourists, in evening while witnessing a sunset when its water turns into the golden beauty or even during the night, when lighted houseboats give it a mesmerising look. There are three comfortable ways to enjoy the beauty of Dal Lake:

1) Walk on the boulevard for hours: The road on the edge of the Dal Lake spreads for approx 12 kms from Dal Gate to Shalimar Bagh and then much beyond to Hazratbal Mosque with Dal Lake on one side and the beautiful gardens, high hills and bustling markets on the other side. The magnificent sidewalk along the road has many sitting spaces along the lake side with many well spaced ghats. The traditional lamp posts placed at regular intervals gives an aesthetic look to the beautiful lake. It is the most popular hangout area for the locals as well for the tourists.

2) Hire a Shikara and explore the Dal Lake: No tourists leaves the valley without enjoying a Shikara ride at Dal Lake. Strolling on the lake in the decorated boats known as Shikaras, is the most authentic way to experience the life of local people living around the lake. There are villages, floating gardens, vegetable markets, meena bazar, photo studios etc around the lake, that comes alive with the first rays of the sun.

Shikara is also used to ferry the locals and the tourists from the boulevard area to the numerous houseboats, shops and houses scattered all around the lake. So, the Shikaras are not about the tourist rides only; you can find children going to school, people going to their offices, the young girls taking a joyride and a lot more routine life in the Dal Lake moving on with the Shikaras.

3) Stay in a House Boat: It is an experience of the lifetime. Rather than staying at mainstay hotels, you can choose to stay at one among the hundreds of the houseboats moored in the still water of Dal Lake. There are houseboats for every need to every budget; from houseboats providing five star facilities to the one providing basic amenities, the houseboats caters to variety of visitors right from honeymoon couples on their India Honeymoon to solo travellers.

Tip: If you don’t stay in the houseboats and wish to have authentic Kahwa in Srinagar, better to get friendlier with your shikara man. He may invite you to his place for a glass of Kahwa.

⇒ Mughal Gardens: The sprawling abode of Mughal Emperors and their Noblemen, the beautiful gardens of Srinagar are built in the Persian style of architecture. The three famous garden of Srinagar are Shalimar Bagh, Nishat Bagh and Chasm-E-Shahi Garden. While Nishat Bagh is biggest among them, I found Shalimar Bagh to be the most beautiful one. Colourful flowers at each step, decorative plants in every corner, a terraced canal flowing from the top to the bottom, majestic fountains and the beauty of Chinar trees during the autumn and spring seasons. Due to the colour change in leaves it makes it the abode of love, the literal meaning of Shalimar. The terraced design of the gardens are filled with romantic ambience, earlier the lower portion was normally open to the general public, the central portion was used by the Emperor and the noblemen, and the topmost portion was used by the royal ladies. Now, all the three gardens are accessible to the general public.

Tip: Shalimar Bagh and Nishat Bagh are located on the eastern bank of Dal Lake, and are at close vicinity overlooking the Zabarwan mountains in the backdrop.

Chashm-E-Shahi, the smallest one, is little away from the main road. It is an ideal place to enjoy the beauty of Srinagar Golf Course.

⇒ Tulip Garden: The largest in Asia, Tulip garden in Srinagar is a part of the much bigger Botanical Garden on the banks of the Dal Lake. The garden has a vast collection of tulips in every possible colour, spread over many hectares of the land and is neatly placed in rows one after the another.

The sprawling lawn of the botanical garden houses along with many ornamental plants includes shrubs, trees, bushes, roses and wild floras and also a lake in the centre part, just near the Tulip Garden. Botanical Garden is an ideal place to relax and enjoy the breathtaking greenery of the nature.

Tip: Visit Tulip Garden during the first week of April, the tentative time of Tulip Festival. It is an amazing experience when the flowers bloom between end of the March to the middle of the April. The whole garden is a sight to behold.

⇒ Shankaracharya Temple:Located on a hilltop, the small temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Since it was once visited by Adi Shankaracharya, its name was associated to him. The hilltop is considered as very sacred among the Hindus, the Buddhists and also among the Muslims. View of the Srinagar city from the top of the hill is amazing.

⇒ Jhelum River: Jhelum river flows through the vast stretch of Srinagar bifurcating the city in two parts. The river is a lifeline of the city and is also a major tourist attraction.

Tip: Sometimes it is not possible to get a houseboat in Dal Lake due to the tourist rush. In that case, you can arrange a houseboat at Jhelum River for much cheaper prices.

⇒ Markets: Apart from its everlasting charm of the natural beauty, Srinagar is also a shopping paradise for authentic products of Kashmir. Endowed with buzzing markets offering variety of Kashmiri products from Saffron to Kashmiri Kahwa from Kashmiri carpets to Pashmina shawls, Srinagar is great place to shop till you drop. The main markets of Srinagar are Lal Chowk, Polo View, Badshah Chowk and Dal Lake Floating Market.

Tip: Saffron and Pashmina Shawls both are very costly and requires an experienced eye to buy this authentic product. So be aware while buying these products.

⇒ Gulmarg: Words do fall short to explain the beauty and serenity of Gulmarg. You have to be there to see the charm of Gulmarg. It has some of the best form of natural beauty. Green sprawling meadows with beautiful huts, high mountains with white stream of glaciers during the summer or the white blanket of thick snow during the winter; the scenic beauty truly makes Gulmarg The Jewel in the crown of Kashmir.

Tip: Gulmarg however is the worst place in Kashmir as you could be bullied by the tourist touts. The tourist traps are quite common here just ignore them and keep moving. The prices of Gondola rides are fixed, but everything else from Horse riding to Skiing, from Zorbing to Sledging is negotiable.

How to Reach Srinagar? The best way to reach Kashmir valley is by Air. Many airlines operate regular flights between Srinagar and Delhi. Few direct flights are also available to the other cities like Mumbai, Chandigarh, Jammu, Amritsar, Kolkata and Leh. These airlines run promotional offers quite often to get a good deal.

Srinagar is also accessible by road via highly critical national highway from Jammu. The journey on the winding roads meandering through the high mountains is a pleasant but very tiring adventure.

Many tour operators offer Kashmir Tour packages according to the requirements of their guests. Such Tour packages are the most convenient way to enjoy the serene beauty of Srinagar without any kind of hassle, as everything is pre-arranged by the tour company prior to arrival in the Kashmir Valley.