Bagh - E - Kashmir

About 112 kms from Jammu, the famous hill resort of Patnitop is perched on a beautiful plateau, at an altitude of 2024 m, across which the Jammu-Srinagar highway passes. Enveloped by thickly wooded forests, Patnitop offers beautiful picnic spots, peaceful walks and breathtaking views of the valley of the Chenab basin and the Pir Panjal range beyond. In winter (mid Dec. to mid Feb.), the resort is generally covered with snow, thus providing opportunities for arious winter sports including amateur skiing.

Renowned for its scores of adventure sports, Patnitop is a hilltop traveller, where travelling at any time of the year would be a memorable experience, tendering the rich natural exquisiteness unlike anywhere else. There are many options for skiing at a place called Madhatop, just 5 km away. Another fascinating attraction, Sanasar, which is located at a distance of 17 km, would be an added pleasure if you love paragliding. The list of adventure sports doesn’t end here though, as there is so much to explore on a trip to Patnitop.

Indulgent houseboats, historic gardens, distinctive Kashmiri wooden mosques and a mild summer climate combine to make Srinagar one of India’s top domestic tourist attractions. Srinagar’s three main areas converge around Dalgate, where the southwestern nose of Dal Lake passes through a lock gate. Northwest lies the fascinatingly chaotic Old City. The busy commercial centre is southwest around Lal Chowk. The city’s greatest draw-card is mesmerisingly placid Dal Lake, which stretches a southwestern channel-spur towards the city centre, paralleled by the hotel-lined Boulevard. A bright array of houseboats here forms a particularly colourful scene. The famous Mughal gardens are strung out over several kilometers around the lake.

Pine-fringed Gulmarg is the nearest India gets to a ski resort. It’s not so much a town as a twisting 4km-long loop of road ringing the undulating ‘Meadow of Flowers’ for which it’s named. The meadow is given some visual focus by the demure 1890s Anglican Church of St Mary’s sitting on a lonely hillock, accessed off the dead-end road linking historic Gulmarg Golf Club to the 1965 neo-colonial style Hotel Highlands Park. However, the main reason to come to Gulmarg is to venture up through the backing stands of mature pines towards the bald ridge of Mt Afarwat. This can be done on foot or with ponies, but is easiest using the two-stage gondola cable car that whisks you to 3747m for outstanding clear-day views, reputedly encompassing Nanga Parbat (the world’s ninth-highest mountain across in Pakistan). Booking online can save long queues in peak season (May and June), but service is cancelled in bad weather and getting a refund can prove annoying. The gondola’s base-station is around 1km west of the bus stand.

Surrounded by high peaks, the Lidder and Seshnag rivers tumble down picturesque, deep-cut mountain valleys covered with giant conifers. The surrounding mountains contain many beauty spots and over 20 lakes to which countless guides and horsemen are more than keen to take you for a ride. The most popular hike of all is the multi-day yatra (pilgrimage) to Armanath. The main accommodation centre is the sprawling low-rise resort town of Pahalgam with over 230 hotels and guesthouses, several manicured parks, temples for different religions and a super mountain-ringed golf course. Rafting a 2.5km stretch of the Lidder is possible from a point 12km west of Pahalgam; once a group of six or more people has assembled.

For a short, easy unguided walk, heading up the very pretty Lidder Valley towards Aru gets you fairly rapidly away from the worst of the pilgrim crowds. Given around three hours, horsemen will be more than happy to take you on a standard roadless circuit to a lake, viewpoint and upland meadow. Guesthouses are likely to encourage you to go for longer treks that take you well into the glorious alpine scenery. While the landscapes are undoubtedly lovely, prices tend to be far higher than for equivalent hikes in Ladakh, so if your time is limited, think carefully as to which area suits you better.