[laluks]

Day 6
28 - July - 2012

Landslide prone area


We move on




Er. Younis Sector




There is a possibility to do some trekking here


continued...

[laluks]

Day 6
28 - July - 2012

We move on










continued...

[laluks]

Day 6
28 - July - 2012

Beware - Unstable Zone


We move on


We pass Chandi Marg


We are almost back to the plains now






continued...

[laluks]

Day 6
28 - July - 2012

Bafliaz is another 5KMs


Nice house


School going children


Another gateway




India is bulging with a lot of problem


continued...

[laluks]

Day 6
28 - July - 2012

We reached Bafliaz by 08:00AM


Thus the wonderful drive through Mughal Road comes to an end successfully


We will now take the Rajouri route to Jammu


We started the drive on Mughal Road from Shopian


Mughal Road, 2 hours from Shopian to Bafliaz and 84 Kilometers, what an amazing drive it was

[kaushik_s]

Oh man, have been eagerly waiting to see the photographs of the Mughal Road. And the place is so beautiful.
BTW, what about those boards saying out of bounds for Civilians? Why was that sign there? Are these old boards?

[laluks]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Oh man, have been eagerly waiting to see the photographs of the Mughal Road. And the place is so beautiful.
BTW, what about those boards saying out of bounds for Civilians? Why was that sign there? Are these old boards?

That was an old board.
Now that the route is complete it should have been removed to avoid confusions

[kaushik_s]

Hey guys, no updates for last few days? All are busy?
BTW, I guess the Mughal road remains open thru-out the year? Or it also gets closed during winter.
Another thought, it would be easier to do Sinthan Pass from Anantnag side, right? As the slushy section will be on the descent so it would be easier to do that? When around the pass gets closed?
And will it be possible to do a Pahalgam-Anantnag-Sinthan-Khistwar-Doda-Bani- Dalhousie kind of route? And this would basically avoid Sach Pass and Khistwar-Killar route, right? If they connect Sonamarg to Pahalgam then it would become an alternate route towards Leh avoiding Srinagar route altogether.

[laluks]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Hey guys, no updates for last few days? All are busy?
BTW, I guess the Mughal road remains open thru-out the year? Or it also gets closed during winter.
Another thought, it would be easier to do Sinthan Pass from Anantnag side, right? As the slushy section will be on the descent so it would be easier to do that? When around the pass gets closed?
And will it be possible to do a Pahalgam-Anantnag-Sinthan-Khistwar-Doda-Bani- Dalhousie kind of route? And this would basically avoid Sach Pass and Khistwar-Killar route, right? If they connect Sonamarg to Pahalgam then it would become an alternate route towards Leh avoiding Srinagar route altogether.

HVK seems to busy as I could infer from his Facebook. Will wait for him to give us an update to your queries.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Hey guys, no updates for last few days? All are busy?
BTW, I guess the Mughal road remains open thru-out the year? Or it also gets closed during winter.
Another thought, it would be easier to do Sinthan Pass from Anantnag side, right? As the slushy section will be on the descent so it would be easier to do that? When around the pass gets closed?
And will it be possible to do a Pahalgam-Anantnag-Sinthan-Khistwar-Doda-Bani- Dalhousie kind of route? And this would basically avoid Sach Pass and Khistwar-Killar route, right? If they connect Sonamarg to Pahalgam then it would become an alternate route towards Leh avoiding Srinagar route altogether.

Sorry, delay on my part, will post my part of the story later today.
Mughal Road closes for winter, it gets snowed down between Shopian & Bafliaz.
Yes, currently, the slushy side is towards the south side, so going down from Sinthan Top towards Kishtwar will be easier. This road also gets closed down between Daksum & Chingam during winter.
Yes, the route which you have suggested will avoid Sach Pass & is a lot easier than doing Kishtwar-Khillar-Sach Pass-Dalhousie. Sonmarg-Pahalgam is currently a trek path used by the Amarnath Yatris, and if they succeed in building a road, it will not only cut distance, but also reduce the burden on the congested NH1A. However, current highway building efforts appear to be concentrated on NH1A itself, if initiatives like the Chenani Tunnel are considered.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Sonmarg-Pahalgam is currently a trek path used by the Amarnath Yatris, and if they succeed in building a road, it will not only cut distance, but also reduce the burden on the congested NH1A. However, current highway building efforts appear to be concentrated on NH1A itself, if initiatives like the Chenani Tunnel are considered.

Also isn't there some strident opposition by the separatists in J&K who don't want a better road to be constructed for the Amarnath yatris? The SC is currently on this issue and has asked the J&K government to probably build a proper road for the yatris. We will have to wait and see what happens.

[shomshree]

The scenic beauty of Mughal road & Sanasar is breathtaking. Sir I want to know which cam you are using.

Also don't you find any tunnel on the Mughal road? Somewhere I read there are few tunnels opened on the road.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by shomshree

Also don't you find any tunnel on the Mughal road? Somewhere I read there are few tunnels opened on the road.

There are no tunnels on Mughal Road. Even the gradients are very gradual, not steep & even Pir ki Gali, the highest point is hardly 3500 mtrs high

[girishglg]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

There are no tunnels on Mughal Road. Even the gradients are very gradual, not steep & even Pir ki Gali, the highest point is hardly 3500 mtrs high

Again a very scenic drive through your last leg of this journey starting back from Srinagar but must be said not even closey as difficult as your first leg of your journey.

HVK Sir even after your last self Q & A session where you described a lot of things including Mughal road and other aspect of J & K, it still doesn't get to me.

I guess really to have missed some thing but still I would ask this and apologies if it is repetition from your end-

1. Why do they call it the Mughal road project?
2. What about the Mughal ghosts you talked about (read title)?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by girishglg

1. Why do they call it the Mughal road project?
2. What about the Mughal ghosts you talked about (read title)?

The Mughal Road project was an ambitious road project taken up some years ago to build a parallel highway to the main Jammu-Srinagar highway & connect the places in Western Kashmir close to the Pak border. The road construction is still incomplete, as you can see from the dirt sections - and bridges still being built - after crossing Shopian.

Mughal Ghosts - this is the road taken by the MUghal Emperors, especially Akbar when they visited Kashmir. THis road apparently is built along the same bridle path the royals took several centuries ago. As you perhaps saw from Lalu's photos, there are many places of historical interest, like resting places, springs, etc. There is obviously a lot of pride in resurrecting this route, as you can make out from the bold banners screaming the Mughal Road & also those describing some of the monuments that are still standing.

No, if you expected a Ramsay-type horror story of ghosts, devils & Satan, you are not going to read it here. We did not have any super-natural experiences.....