When it comes to travel, I am a kind of person who first research about the place and the things to explore there before booking the tickets. There is no problem if you are not like me, you will find every detail in this article.
After examining various itineraries, I come to the conclusion that many popular tourists spots are closed in winters, so there is less to explore. But you can enjoy snow only in December and January. This season it was snowing heavily in Jammu and Kashmir so I thought why to miss that chance. I was like I will visit Kashmir in summers too but let’s explore its winters now.
Booking Flights and Stay
For me, traveling and exploring a place is like achieving a goal one at a time. Visiting Kashmir was somewhere in my bucket list . We booked our flights from MakeMyTrip. And luckily we got the best flight that was going to land us in Kashmir in just one hour.
Try to book your stay in advance because they will charge higher at the property. This time we decided to stay in a houseboat, so we booked it from the MakeMyTrip only. There were a lot of luxury houseboats to choose from, but we decided to stay with the medium cost one with the necessary facilities. Its name was “Golden Flower heritage “on Nigeen lake. But due to some payment issues, we need to cancel it. We tried to reach MakeMyTrip but there is no customer support. The numbers on the website will only lead to automated computer responses.
We booked another houseboat by the name “Apollo Eleven 11”, the choice we made was based on the reviews. When you are staying in a houseboat in winters, the essential thing is checking the heating inside.
Covid Test
At Srinagar airport, covid test is necessary at the time when we were traveling.It was pre-informed by MakeMyTrip that either you need to get the test done at airport or you can bring your own test reports also. But we decided to go with the test at the airport as it was not sure that they will not test us again.Go for the test as it will hardly take 2 mins and you can immediately leave the airport.Reports will be delivered later .
Winter Itinerary
Day 1:Srinagar
Staying at the Houseboat
The flight took extra two hours in landing, may be because it was a small airport or due to the weather conditions. But it was fun flying around those snow covered Himalayas.The scene outside was enthralling . Then we finally landed and after getting irritated by that swab that goes into the nose, we booked a cab from the Airport. You will find higher rates of the cabs also but there is no option to bargain as per our information.
The experience from the Airport to the Dal Lake was not very good, the road was jammed, and it took another three hours for a journey of 40 minutes. The driver was annoyed because the jam was created by Srinagar army, he was saying that their VIPs would be coming. And it was real. If you are an Indian, this is a common thing on roads. I feel pity for those who were near to miss their flights due to the same jam. We immediately decided to go for airport on our departure before five hours.
We finally reached Dal Lake, it was really beautiful .You would not believe your eyes for a second .We were welcomed by the bride like decorated shikaras or you can say Indian gondolas floating on the lake with the mountains behind.
We were really hungry so we went to a restaurant on the Dal Lake only, named Stream Hotel on the ghat NO. 2. The food was delicious, if you are a vegetarian, you must try their Dum Aloo. Our stay was on Ghat No.9 and your one entry and one exit shikara ride from the Houseboat is included in your houseboat booking. It was 4 pm when we reached Houseboat, we were tired, so we decided to stay in the boat only. There was snow everywhere around and he started capturing the night views of Dal Lake.
We also got one handicraft seller on our boat. It was a lovely experience when you get to watch the beautiful décor items right on your couch. We asked him about the material used, it was mostly from walnut, chinar or deodar wood. Walnut craved carpentry was beautiful and expensive at the same time.We bought one candle stand and a wooden tray.
Day 2 :Gulmarg
Trek and Cable Ride
We asked our caretaker for a driver and he arranged us a cab for a one day visit to Gulmarg. We ate breakfast at Krishna Dhaba ,the best affordable veg restaurant.I would surely recommend this place.
It took approximately two hours to reach Tung Marg from where you need to board a 4WD jeep for the hilly region of Gulmarg. Here the shopowners will try to persuade you to rent their shoes and coat. You can have them if you want. But if you have your own good snow boots and winter jackets, there is no need. Their boots are too wide that snow can easily enter your feet. And they are slippery as well.
At the parking area, there is a small track to the cable rides of Gulmarg .On the whole track, people will follow you to take sleigh ,they will say you cannot go on that track. But don’t listen to them and keep on walking towards cable car ride.
There were beautiful views on the entire journey. There were few hut shaped houses among the snow-covered mountains and trees. And it was just like we see in sceneries or paintings. Still those sleigh people accompanied us instead of continuous disagreement. They were so patient that they followed us the entire route. Even some wanted to take our photographs in return of money. I know considering the pandemic situation, there is money crunch. But it vanishes the whole vibe of the tourists and it can affect tourism badly. For planning trips,a person saves money.The taxis, stay and ice activities are not cheap, why would anyone just throw money on them.
Just near the cable ride station, we found a Kahwa(Kashmir Tea made of saffron and dry fruits) seller. After continuous walking on the snow and freezing with cold, kahwa is the rescue. So, the cable ride booking is just like taking a bus ticket and you do not require an agent or travel guide for it. But people will come. If you want to book a guide,do it from the parking only.
The cable ride was awesome, with every step elevation was increasing and those mountains looked extremely beautiful. Its charge was 750 rs /head (fixed government charges) for Phase 1. We did not take the Phase 2 ride as there was already snow on Phase1. In summers, you can go to Phase 2 for snow. The cable ride landed us at the the top of a mountain where there were numerous winter sports.. But we wanted to enjoy the view and we sit there for some time. There are a lot of restaurants at the top of the hill. We ate some Maggie and pakoras there.
You can stay for a limited time there as per the cable ride agents but the restaurant owner said that you can go before 5 pm anytime down from the cable ride. After eating and taking photographs, we left for the cable ride. I will remember Gulmarg with the Cable ride.You can take a hotel here also and have a night stay.
On our way back the cold increased and we were just freezed, still completed the back track to the parking where we ate momos. On the way back, I was looking for books and bricks café as I was in search of pancakes, but pancakes are available only during breakfast there, so we skipped it. Then our driver suggested us a handcraft Kashmiri shop from where we bought a pheran(Kashmir Traditional dress) and one handcraft table cloth. There the restrooms were good finally; you will not find any good restroom in the entire journey. Then we went for a dinner at Krishna Dhaba again.
To be continued…
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