UNEXPLORED KASHMIR

---

The flamboyant sun shone amidst the clouds as our group of 13 people landed in Srinagar. It is not a roam-able city but ‘Adhoos’ is something you should not miss out on. Our trip is not about the tranquil lake of Srinagar and TAJ VIVANTA but about the unexplored parts of Kashmir which, even ‘Google maps’ won’t be able to find.



Daksum was next on agenda. PARADISE retreat was the place where we stretched our backs after a 3 hour journey covering the Achabal botanical garden. We roamed around the riverside with the 13 of us tumbling over pebbles and bouncing them in the fast flowing Jhelum. We stayed there only for 6 nights but took with us the memories which will be there with us for a lifetime.





The Sinthan top is a majestic place where winds blow your hat off and the ‘2 minute maggi’ and ‘chai’ persuade you to spend the day there. The beauty cajoles you to bow down in respect to Mother Nature as the uphill drive seems easy.





The next day in Daksum we went to a place called Chatpal. A 4 km trek tired us out yet the little creek was all we longed for. Everybody in our group including me was a food-freak. Every half hour there was a chips packet or packed Tiffin which opened. We halted at a guest house for lunch where the extravagant service satisfied our hunger.





The next day was leisure day. My brothers and I played cards all day while the others gossiped. The weather was suitable for a jog but the lethargy after 2 tiring days just couldn’t get us out of the hotel.





We had prepared ourselves for a tough ride to Margan top and Inshan which in total took us around 6 hours. We had planned to turn back from Inshan but the idiosyncrasies of the whole group told us to go forward and explore the unexplored.







As we drove on, the roads got tougher and out of nowhere we entered a village called Asthana with no electricity as I might emphasize on and no accommodation. We hunted for a place and finally negotiated with the owner of the DAK bunglow. It is hard to even say how beautiful the place was. Not having any tourists there, the locals were quite happy to see us.



It is not long enough that the bewildering sights catch me in a mist of excitement and drive me out of the industrialized city to nothing but a 3 time Maggie meal on some hill top.

---