Lifetime Experience-Trip to Kashmir-Gulmarg

Lifetime Experience :Trip to Kashmir-Gulmarg 


On the lighter side,
 Two antennas got married on the roof , marriage was okay but the reception was bad.

Whether you are a busy businessman or a busy professional,
and if time is the only factor keeping you away from taking a break and enjoying the real pleasures of nature, then this is a must read article for you.

If you can spare 2 days out of your busy schedule, then you are almost on your way to experience the most memorable trip of your lifetime.


Phone ringing,


FRIEND  - Hi - what are you doing on this Saturday and Sunday.

ME         - nothing much

Friend    - pack your bags we are going to gulmarg.

ME          - Gulmarg, Kashmir, no way… It’s too far and two days
is not at all sufficient for such a long distance tour.

Friend    - let’s see how things work out

ME         - okay

That okay was certainly not very comfortable okay, as I had my own doubts.

 But it was a wonderful opportunity to take a break from our busy schedule, to catch up with old friends, and to visit a place which is called as heaven on earth.

Finally,



We boarded flight from Mumbai at  11 AM to Srinagar,


and reached at about 3 PM , from their Gulmarg was about two hours’ drive, and  by about 6.00 PM , that is well before sunset you are in Gulmarg.

Dal Lake -

 On this two hours ride, We visited the marvelous Dal Lake located in the heart of city of Srinagar.


This is an awesome tourist spot, here the waters are still clear and if you’re interested you can hop in one of the houseboats also called as “floating palaces”.

Shikara-

Each houseboat has an exclusive Shikara for ferrying guests to the shore.


A Shikara is a small taxi boat, and is the cultural symbol of Kashmir.

Well well well… We spent about half an hour here and we decided to make our way to the snow!!!

The only catch was, to reach Gulmarg well before sunset, so that we can enjoy the ride through the snow draped mountains and valleys, enjoy the majestic beauty of the untouched snow and seeing the wilderness on the way.


Also our cab driver suggested a place to shop some genuine and fresh, juicy dry fruits???, Yes!!! .I mean it , if you ever get the chance to taste fresh dry fruits then you will know what I mean. The shopkeeper was a farmer with his own farm attached to the shop.How much more, fresh stuff can  one ask for.


Kashmiri's are very polite and genuine people. They just want, you to enjoy and have a good time as long as you are with them in Kashmir. They take care of you and comfort you, cheating is something which we did not encounter.

 Kahwa -

The shopkeeper was kind enough and he allowed us to taste lot of his produce, also greeted us with, “kahwa “which  is a traditional Kashmiri tea like preparation and is very refreshing.
Don't forget to buy some "kahwa power" for yourself , family and friends.


Of course we did a little shopping, and purchased dry fruits and other varieties of his produce and let me tell you, it was not at all expensive. we spent about 30 minutes there.

Riding for another 20 minutes and even before we realized, we were in Gulmarg. The sight of Gulmarg is itself so refreshing.



Gulmarg -

Gulmarg is a small place in Kashmir, but a major tourist destination and a skiing paradise.


Then we walked into our hotel which was really comfortable and cosy, and again we were greeted with kahwa.


We made ourselves comfortable and it was quite dark, we enjoyed snow around the vicinity of our hotel, and before we knew it was dinner time.



TIP no.1 -

 Kashmiris eat salty diet, so if you are in Kashmir you better tell your chef to use half the quantity of salt or else you’ll end up with the salty meal. Make sure you follow this tip if you want to enjoy Kashmiri food.



Next Morning-

Next in morning, when you get up in the dream view is what you see through your hotel window.


The early sunrise and the sunlight falling on the untouched snow, looks like mountain covered with jewels, and glittering precious stones, all beneath the wonderful clear and colourful sky.
Then we got ready for our great day ahead.



TIP no.2-

You plan your day properly and you will get the most out of gulmarg in just a day’s time! That too without any rash and trust me you will be satisfied or shall I say satisfaction guaranteed.


Now it was a time to get warm outfits. for a good jacket, skiing trousers, & snow boots. Hand gloves are not included in this package; you can always buy them for rupees. 100, from the vendor’s.


You did not necessarily carry the entire warm outfits as that will be too much of luggage, and here in gulmarg all the necessary warm clothing’s are available on rent. It was only Rs. 600  rent.
We were all geared up and it was time to begin our fun filled ride, called as gondola ride.


This is a cable car service which lets you from the gondola village which was 10 minutes’ walk from our hotel, and takes you to the heights of 10,000 feet above sea level called as phase 1, and 13,500 feet above sea level called as phase 2 respectively.





Tip no.3 -

Always begins your day with phase 2, and after spending sufficient time once you are satisfied you can come to phase I. If you do it the other way around it is not a very good idea according to me, at least the way I suggested has worked for me and also for my friends.




Gandola ride -

This cable car ride is for about 15 to 20 minutes,
which will drop you at phase 2.




The moment to come out of the cable car station-whatever you will see is speechless. Probably many people describe it as “heavenly experience”.



Here you will get to see awesome photogenic sites, mountains, valleys all draped with snow. You can do a lot of activities here with your group, or else if you just want to enjoy the solitude you can do that as well.


It is truly a heavenly experience. I was very much satisfied and after this everything else was just a bonus.




Skiers Paradise-

We spent here about three hours, and then we moved back to cable car station for our ride towards phase I. Well phase I is about 10 minutes ride from phase 2, and is also a fun filled tourist spot, with lot of commercial activities, snow sports, and dozens of restaurants.



You can enjoy skiing as a beginner or as an advanced, and you will get to see lot of skiing going around, no wonder it is called as skiers paradise.


Other activities like snow mobile, sledge, snow cycle, and much more are going on in the same area, so you don’t have to waste time travelling from one spot to other.




We enjoyed all the sport events and by 3.30 pm we were ready for our ride-cable car ride back home. If you’re interested there are other options like sledge, skiing, snowmobile, trekking etc… Which you are comfortable with you can make your way back home.



We were back in the gondola village by about 5 o’clock, yes and if you have any more energy left you can always go for sightseeing-city tour.



Lot of interesting options are available for city tour like bikes, snowmobile, cabs, and ATV-bikes. My recommendation is for ATV bikes with charges you reasonably less for a 1 ½ hour ride.


Among is the other tourist spots covered in the city ride , few of the major attractions are golf course, ice hockey, ice skating, museum, shopping etc…



By around 7 pm you’re city ride is over and the drop you back to the hotel.


By the end of the day you are filled with excitement, satisfaction and immense pleasure and you are so grateful to yourself for saying yes to this fun filled, exciting journey & witnessing, Nature at its best!!



Next a morning after your early breakfast you are all set to catch your flight back home and before afternoon, you are back to Mumbai.






Conclusion-

Here in Gulmarg ,it is a snowy world where,nature creates the rules,with its variable temperatures,exhilarating  adventures,sporting events, and unique personal moments.if photography is your passion ,document this journey of your's and trust me...each and every photograph of your's will tell you a beautiful story for life time.




Until next time--- Thank you Gulmarg!!
Signing off-Gulmarg.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Google AdSense Sign In.

Wordpress tutorial for beginners

Google Adsense Approval for Blog or website:A MUST READ!