This is a general idea about the who intend to visit or know about Kashmir. In this article i have discussed the touristic places in Kashmir. Also included the main arts and crafts in there.A VISIT TO KASHMIR
The land of Kashmir is well known for its exotic beauty and charming scenery. It is also famous by the title of “Switzerland of Asia” and “paradise on earth”. It is a complete health resort where one can observe all the different colours of nature. As Kashmir has got four seasons, all of then having their own charm and are unique in their own perspective.
While the spring breathes fresh life to the nature it is more melodious in Kashmir as one can only but imagine the gardens snow clad mountains, streams, lakes which are all a treat to watch. The summer is also a great to watch all the gardens, rivers and cool and pleasant breeze in the evening. Autumn comes with a different look with the leaves of trees becoming red and decorating the whole ground by giving a look of burning fire and is perceived as a sign of romance. Winter is totally different with everything covered with snow; one can feel the stillness of white snow flakes dancing in the sky.
The tourists’ coming to the valley experiences a new world here and wish never to leave from here. Its view is such that even locals are yearning to go out for outing and it can be seen clearly in the holidays when all the gardens and parks are filled with people mostly locals. It is said that there are so many places of interest to see that an average man is not able to see all these places in his lifetime. The three ideal ingredients for an brilliant tourist spot are generally classified by three S (sun, sea and sand) but in Kashmir it can be taken as sun, lakes and gardens with an addition of mountain ranges.
As compared with other parts of India, Kashmir is has the most ideal temperature in most part of the year bearing the couple of winter months. Its temperature is similar to that of European countries, as that kind of temperature is not possible in most part of Asia, and the people of these countries experience the cool and nice climate which is completely different for them. On an average the hottest day can be up to 37C and in winters it can go to -3 with some places going as low as -8 to -12C. The noteworthy thing in the summer months is its cold nights, although the day can be hot but nights are cool and most of the time one can get a shower at night which helps in bringing down the temperature quickly. So the journey to valley is a wholesome package for the visitor.
Another important thing is the excellent food and sweet water which are one of a kind. You can get all kinds of food while the speciality being the non-veg food. And about the water its said that it is so cool and tasty that it is helps in digestion and hence increases the appetite. Thus all these ingredients make Kashmir a great health resort. With the excellent combination of air, water and food. The freshness of the mornings, cool breeze in the evenings and the mild sunlight makes staying in Kashmir a worth for money. As i said before there are so many places of interest to visit that if I write about them I have to write a whole book but I have listed some of them which can give you a idea about the beauty of Kashmir which are listed below:
DalLake: It is a famous Lake and is the centre of attention. It is one of the most beautiful lakes in India. It has also few smaller lakes like Nageen and Anchar. It hosts a large number of houseboats. The houseboats there can be found in all the categories from economy class to deluxe. Every houseboat is equipped with a shikara (small boat) for transporting purposes. Many houseboats in the Dal are situated just near the Boulevard road which is the main spot for tourist activities. A houseboats class cannot be detected from outside but inside, outside most of the houseboats are the same. The houseboats can offer a great privacy to the honeymoon couples and also the magnificent view of lake while remaining indoors. A visitor can take a trip on shikara and see different floating markets in the lake he can see all kinds of shops like vegetable vendors, fruit and flower vendors and other types of essential commodities item. Also one can visit many attractive places like Mughal gardens by shikara without actually taking a cab.
Mughalgardens: Kashmir has been a favourite place of Mughal Kings who visited as often as they could; they planted gardens at different places and also made a chain of gardens which is known as Mughal gardens. These all gardens are situated at the base of the hill just opposite the Dal. A stream coming down from hill passes through every garden and with different fountains just adding colour to these gardens. Some of these gardens are Chasmashahi, Nishat, Shalimar and Harwan. All of these gardens are on the same route and one can visit all these in one day only. Big Maple trees can be found in all the gardens, these gardens are found in the form of multiple terraces with each terrace having a different garden. The leaves of these Maple trees become red in autumn and they give a nice feeling somewhat like a burning earth which is indeed a spectacular sight.
Gulmarg: A huge cap shaped meadow, lush and green with slopes where a person can relax anytime. It is such a fantastic venue that most of the bollywood films are shot here. It is surrounded with snow clad mountains throughout the year. And can have ten feet’s of snow in winter. It is a perfect destination for skiing lovers. It has one of the highest golf courses with eight holes and the latest attraction is the fun filled ride called Gondola which lifts above Gulmarg and passes through the pine clad slopes where you will find snow in most part of the year. From Gulmarg a pony track lead to various sight seeing places like Khilanmarg, Kongdori and seven springs and also Alpathar lake which is frozen till June. It is also an excellent place for camping and trekking.
Pahalgam: it is the Kashmir’s premier health resort where the water and air is just priceless. It is located in the middle of two streams coming straight from the glacier. It is said that water there is so tasty and cold that helps in digestion and therefore increased appetite. It is a perfect stop for trekkers and adventure games. There are many places of interest along Pahalgam. One of the prominent among them being Baisaran, surrounded by thickly wooden forests of pine, Chandanwari is an ideal spot for picnic; it is also a starting point of the Amaranth Yatra (Hindu pilgrimage) which takes place every year in the month of july. One should keep at least four days for visiting Pahalgam because there are so many places which are impossible to see in one day.
Sonamarg: Sonamarg which means meadow of gold has as its backdrop, snow clad mountains against cellular sky. It is also the start point if major trek passing several mountain lakes Vishansar, Kishansar, Gadsar, Satsar and Gangabal. It is an important place because of the fact that it is the last halt on the Kashmir side from the drive from Srinagar to Leh. It is also great to watch in winter month when it is covered with snow and it is nice place for skiing.
Shopping: Kashmir is famous worldwide for its excellent and durable Handicrafts. The main source being the carpets which is the second largest exporting item after agriculture. The Kashmiri carpets can be found at the starting price of few thousand rupees and can up to millions depending upon the quality and size of the carpets. Apart from carpets there are other items which are world famous. These can be classified as:
Shawls: Kashmiri shawls have already attained special status in the whole world. Most of the shawls are completely hand woven and hand embroidered which makes which makes them special and long lasting it is because different people have different hands and hence the weaving and embroidery is different. The base fabric is pashmina wool or raffal wool. Out of them pashmina is most expensive as it is obtained from a mountain goat ibex which dwells at high altitudes in Ladakh region. This wool is very soft and warm and it is also known as ring shawl as it can pass through the ring with an ease. The embroidery can be classified into two types one is by simple needle another is hook shaped needle. The hook embroidery is less expensive and takes less time and can be done on thick wool like raffal and wool while the needle is expensive and is applied mostly on pashmina. The embroidery on some pashmina may take about a year as it is a very tiring job and a weaver works some hours in a day only. In recent times there has been a introduction of Kani pashmina which is weaved by different colour threads of pashmina thus keeping it free from losing colour as its not dyed, this shawl also takes lot of time to make and is also very expensive. Other shawls also come with golden or silver thread works which are quite high in demand.
PaperMache: It is a fabulous craft as it is made out of waste paper. The paper is mashed with wheat and made it into desired shapes and then hand painted plus coated with water resistant liquid. It consists of mostly decorative items but can be made as boxes, flower vases, table lamps and other decorative items. The design mostly used is the maple leaves which are the trademark of Kashmir. These items are mostly exported as there is high demand for the decorative items at the time of Christmas. By using bright colours these can add to the decor of any house.
WalnutWood: This is a highly valued craft in which wood is carved into different desired shapes and is polished with different wood colour so it can go with any sort of decor. There is lot of demand in international market. The items made out of this are beds, sofas, cupboards, chairs and other useful items. The demand for these items is growing by each passing year.
BasketWeaving: It is mostly for local though some visitors also buy these for decorative purposes. These are made out of soft wood wires which are knotted in different shapes and sizes. These are less expensive items and everyone can buy them.
CricketBats: Kashmir willow is so highly prized that most of the Indian cricketers use this. This is also a big industry and its supply goes to different parts of India. These bats come in all different price ranges depending the quality on the wood. Large tiles of these bats can be in many places of the highway from Srinagar to Jammu.
The journey of Kashmir is quite easy. There are mostly two routes one is road from Jammu and other is by plane from Jammu or by Delhi. From Delhi it takes only one hour by plane and by road from Jammu it takes six hours by bus. The bus ride is quite adventurous as one is able to see lot of sight seeing places.
The Kashmiri are best known for their hospitality and are the best host one would wish for. The people will always be willing to help in anyway possible.
So the visit to Kashmir is a real value for money and one should travel this destination once in a lifetime. One will be able to feel the beauty of nature with its most splendid form.