Jammu And Kashmir – World Travel

Zanskar Jammu And Kashmir India Travel

WorldTravelDB.com — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 08:01:01 +0000

When it comes to splendid isolation, Zanskar is about as isolated as you can get. This rugged Buddhist valley can only be reached by an arduous week-long trek or a 14-hour drive along a pitted and potholed track along the Suru River. Although Zanskar is administered from Kargil, the people of the valley are predominantly Buddhist. The valley even has its own king, though the role is mainly ceremonial.

From November to May, Zanskar is cut off entirely from the outside world. Ice chokes the mountain passes and the valley sits under a silent blanket of snow. Farmers in the valley spend the whole summer storing up fuel and food for the long winter months. A few hardy travellers trek here in winter along the frozen Zanskar River to see the valley at its most beautiful and uncrowded. For more information on activities in Zanskar.

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Srinagar Jammu And Kashmir India Travel

WorldTravelDB.com — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:01:41 +0000

It has been 20 years since the houseboats of Dal Lake were last filled with holidaymakers, but the Kashmiri summer capital is slowly coming back to life, to the great relief of the thousands of Kashmiris who depend on tourism for a living. The attractions of Srinagar are myriad – placid Dal Lake with its slumbering houseboats, fabulous Mughal gardens, the historic wooden mosques of the old town. However, security is still a concern. Kashmir is the safest it has been for years, but even a minor shift in the political balance can trigger a new wave of bombings and murders. With this in mind, it would be foolhardy to visit Srinagar without checking the latest security situation thoroughly.

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Southern Kashmir Jammu And Kashmir India Travel

WorldTravelDB.com — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:01:00 +0000

The population of southern Kashmir is mainly Hindu and Sikh, but the region sees regular attacks from Muslim militants who slip across the border from Pakistan. Tourist sights and train stations are favourite targets – investigate the security situation thoroughly before you decide to visit.

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Pahalgam Jammu And Kashmir India Travel

WorldTravelDB.com — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 09:01:12 +0000

Set in a magical valley beside the Lidder River, Pahalgam is framed by pine forests and snowcovered peaks that bear more than a passing similarity to the Rocky Mountains. This was once Kashmir’s most popular resort, but today it exists in a state of limbo, empty for most of the year, but deluged with visitors during the annual Amarnath yatra (pilgrimage) from June to August. Outside of the pilgrimage season, this is a fine spot for walking, pony trekking or just enjoying the cool, clean mountain air. However, check the security situation before visiting – pilgrims have been repeatedly targeted by militants.

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Padum Jammu And Kashmir India Travel

WorldTravelDB.com — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:01:13 +0000

Basking under an endless sky, Padum is the capital of Zanskar, but don’t expect more than a few dusty streets and a bus stand. Around Padum, the Zanskar valley shimmers in the wan desert light. Yaks and dzo graze calmly in the fields and the plain is dotted with small farms and villages. Padum has a little town mosque, catering to a small community of Sunni Muslims, and two ruined gompas. A short walk across the valley is the medieval monastery at Pibiting, topped by a massive chorten with views over the plain.

The Tourist Reception Centre (245017; 10am-4pm Mon-Sat) can advise on trekking routes and arrange guides and porters for Rs 250 to 300 per day. Alternatively, you can make arrangements through Zanskar Trek (245136) on the road to the mosque.

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Nubra Valley Jammu And Kashmir India Travel

WorldTravelDB.com — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:01:20 +0000

From Leh, a rough road runs north over the awesome Khardung La, the highest motorable pass in the world. Even in summer, the crossing is crusted in permafrost and the Border Roads Organisation faces an ongoing battle to keep the pass open through winter and autumn. Beyond the pass is the wide, flat Nubra Valley, crisscrossed by the winding channels of the Shyok and Nubra Rivers.

At first glance, the valley seems parched and dry, but this is prime farming land by Ladakhi standards. Farmers grow apples, apricots and barley and harvest the orange berries of the tsestalulu (sea buckthorn bush). Dotted around the valley are ancient gompas and ruined palaces, and villages are close enough together to make this magnificent walking country.

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Leh Jammu And Kashmir India Travel

WorldTravelDB.com — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:01:28 +0000

On one level, Leh is a tourist town, with all the travel agencies, souvenir shops and pizza restaurants you would expect to find in a bustling backpacker centre. On the other hand, how many other tourist towns back onto ruined palaces in the lee of the Himalaya? The sky overhead is a vivid dark blue from the altitude – a breathless 3505m above sea level – and the modern town melts into a crumbling old city of timber and mud bricks. The Indian Army maintains a large military base near the airport to patrol the borders with China and Pakistan, but their main job is repairing roads and bridges and keeping the mountain passes clear of snow.

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Ladakh Jammu And Kashmir India Travel

WorldTravelDB.com — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:01:32 +0000

Ladakh is bound by mountains and made up of mountains. Sheer walls of rock and ice divide the Indus Valley from Tibet, Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, and human habitation is restricted to narrow strips of greenery clinging to the rivers that drain down from mountain glaciers. This rugged region is home to one of the last undisturbed Tantric Buddhist populations on earth, protected from colonial interference, rampaging Mughals and the ravages of the Cultural Revolution by sheer force of geography.

From November to May, Ladakh is almost completely cut off from the outside world. Even in summer, getting here involves crossing the highest mountain passes in the world, or a hair-raising flight that weaves between the peaks. Isolation has preserved an almost medieval way of life, dictated by the changing seasons. However, change is coming to this mountain Shangri La. Tourism and hydro-electric power are flooding the region with money, and global warming is altering rainfall patterns, threatening farming cycles and Ladakh’s traditional mud-brick architecture.

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Kargil Jammu And Kashmir India Travel

WorldTravelDB.com — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:01:13 +0000

The administrative centre for four surrounding valleys, Kargil marks the easternmost extent of the Muslim incursion into Ladakh. Before Partition, Kargil was an important trading post for caravans travelling between Baltistan and Zanskar, but today it stands on the faultline between India and Pakistan. A famous battle was fought here during the 1999 Indo-Pakistan War and the town remains heavily fortified.

Most visitors only come here to break the journey between Srinagar and Leh, or change buses for the trip to Zanskar. If you do stop over, there are good views from the peaceful village of Goma (Upper) Kargil, a steep walk above the hospital. Local traders sell dried Kargil apricots in the bazaar (usually with the stones still inside). Be aware of anti-Indian and anti-Jewish sentiments in the valley.

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Jammu And The Kashmir Valley Jammu And Kashmir India Travel

WorldTravelDB.com — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 08:01:30 +0000

Hemmed in by the Pir Panjal mountains and the western Himalaya, the Kashmir Valley straddles India and Central Asia. In both culture and appearance, this Muslim heartland is closer to Afghanistan or Iran than the neighbouring states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The countryside inside the valley is flat and heavily cultivated, with low, terraced fields delineated by fruit and nut orchards and rows of pin-straight poplar trees, backing onto a wall of snow-capped mountains. Kashmiris even look different to their southern and eastern neighbours, with their green eyes and grey flowing pheran (woollen tunics).

Unless you fly, there are only two routes into the Kashmir Valley – the summer-only highway from Srinagar to Kargil and the southern highway to Jammu, exiting the valley via the 2531m-long Jawahar Tunnel. Once a vision of tranquillity, the valley has been scarred by violence ever since Indian Independence, when the majority-Muslim kingdom joined with India instead of ceding to Pakistan. However, recent peace overtures have gone some way towards quelling the violence, and both Jammu and the Kashmir Valley are safer than they have been since 1989, when the tourist industry collapsed after a series of deadly attacks on foreign tourists.

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