When God smiled on Kashmir, he put all his heart into it and created a heavenly paradise on earth for men to taste it in their earthly life. The land undulates gently in rolling green flower dotted meadows bathed in the golden light of a warm sun, the rivers frolic and gambol and the mountains with snow as their caps, look on benignly on a landscape that attracts and holds men in a magnetic grip. That is Kashmir.
It is simply unforgettable, if you have tasted it once. Getting around Kashmir on your own is not an easy task since transport and accommodation are the two major roadblocks to a silky smooth experience. Let a tour organizer take care of surface transport from one place to another. With accommodation covered you have more free time to enjoy the sights and take part in more pleasurable activities. That is what your tour is about; not about spending time on finding accommodation or making local travel arrangements that could ultimately prove more expensive. A round trip takes you from Jammu to Katra and then onwards to Patnitop, Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and finally terminates in Srinagar. A typical itinerary for eight days-seven nights tour would be something like this:
Arrive in Jammu to be greeted by the tour operator representative who then promptly takes you to a waiting coach. You traverse the serenely beautiful countryside and reach Katra with the rest of the day free for you to have a dekko and then retire for the night in your hotel.
The sun rises to clear skies and you get ready for your trek to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, a long walk of 12 kilometers. Your tour guide thoughtfully arranges ponies if you so wish. After the long trek, you feel fulfilled when you finally have a darshan of Mataji and then return to Katra.
An early breakfast and then it is time to move on to Patnitop a fabulous drive through winding steep roads stretching 80 kilometers. While the journey itself is a destination, arrival takes your breath away as you view the fantastic landscape stretched before you, a feast for your eyes. You get to relax for the day and spend the night in your hotel in this resort where a pond once existed, named Patan Da Talab or the Pond of the Princess.
The next day you take your seat in a luxurious coach that takes you onwards to Srinagar, a serene drive of 200 kilometers through some scenic countryside. You have the option of staying in a houseboat or a hotel for the night.
The day dawns bright and clear and refreshed after a night’s rest you set out for local sightseeing. You will visit Mughal Gardens, Shalimar Baugh, and Nishat Baugh, all of them the legacy of the art-loving aesthetic of the Mughals. Love still infuses the air in these heavenly retreats. A short trip to the famous Hazratbal Shrine, and then a darshan at the ancient Shankaracharya Temple would round off your tour for the day, culminating in a fine dinner.
Today promises to be exciting as you are about to visit Gulmarg, the valley of flowers about 60 kilometers away. It is also one of the best skiing destinations. In spring, it is a veritable carpet of green dotted with multi-hued flowers, a sight for sore eyes and food for the soul. The day passes all too soon and it is time to return to Srinagar and retire for a well-earned night’s rest in your houseboat.
100 kilometers from Srinagar you find Pahalgam, a charming, scenic destination straight out of picture postcards. You could spend the rest of your life here but it is time to go on to Chandanwari, about 16 kilometers away, an equally entrancing place located next to the Lidder River with tall pines and first carpeting the gently rising slopes of the mountains in the distance. You stay here for the night so you can drink in the beauty of a mountain sunset.
The next day it is time to leave for Srinagar or Jammu if you like where your tour ends with a farewell from the tour guide and resolve in your heart to come here soon.
The Kashmir tour package makes it all so smooth and easy that you will love the experience and will return for more.
Rahil Holidays, Pahalgam is an experiential travel company offering guided journeys, curated trips and offbeat trekking adventures in some of the most …
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