4th September 2013, 21:41
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bangalore
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| Yusmarg - The Hidden Wonder of Kashmir Why am i writing about Yusmarg of all the places in Kashmir? It is simple. Though close to Srinagar, it is a hidden wonder. Very few visit Yusmarg. Blame it on Militancy and closeness to Pir Panjal ranges, it was not heard by many. Till now. Before i share our experiences in Yusmarg, First things first. First. We had planned to do the "Great Lakes Trek" which covers five Himalayan lakes over one week of trekking. But we did not do it. Rain in the mountains played spoilsport and we did not want to take the risk. Previous groups had a miserable experience of staying in their bivouac for 48 hours in torrential downpour. Not a good experience of getting stuck like that. When we reached Srinagar, the weather forecast was not encouraging but we were hoping for the best. Finally, when we made it to Sonamarg, our start point, we heard that rains were certainty. Now we had to take a call. We decided against going though some in the group wanted to go ahead and take a chance. Second. Kashmir is absolutely Safe and Normal. We never had any plan B. Now we had to make one. With almost eight days at our disposal, we had enough time to explore. The plan was finalised. We decided to make use of the opportunity to explore around Srinagar, visit Mata Vaishno Devi temple near Jammu, drive down from there to Dharamsala, onwards to Amritsar before catching the flight to Bangalore. Again, sincere thanks to HVK and Ajay Wali for helping us in planning. To say Kashmir is "Jannat" or "Heaven" is an understatement. It is a beautiful beyond words. The place, the people, the cuisine........... We had a lovely time. Muzaffar, our cabbie was introduced to us by Yasmin who runs a lovely home stay we stayed in Srinagar. He had come to pick us up at the airport when we arrived and had shown around Srinagar on that afternoon. A tall and lanky man with flowing beard, he looked pious and religious kind of a guy. I, as usual, started the conversation with him asking how the situation in the valley is, the houseboats, shikaras, Dal lake, floating market, Mughal gardens, Hazratbal shrine etc....He seemed knowledgeable and very positive. He was feeling bad that Afzal Guru's hanging in February and the situation in the valley aftermath of the incident reduced the tourist inflow in peak season of April-May. "Janab" He said - this is how Kashmiris address - "You see for yourself and judge. Do you feel insecure here?" "No" i reply. He is right. The city is normal. This is the same refrain i heard from many Kashmiris i spoke to in the city. "Srinagar is safe and normal. Mainstream media does not want to highlight positives of the valley." "Where do you take us tomorrow" i ask Muzaffar, getting down from the car after a quick tour of Srinagar. "Yusmarg" pat comes his reply. I look at Brinda and she blinks too. We had not heard of this place at all. I had heard of Gulmarg but not Yusmarg. "Jannat hai Janab. Better than Gulmarg" "Ok, Let us do it then. Let us start after breakfast in the morning". He leaves and confirm that he will be here next morning. Sitting next to him the car, I ask him the story behind the name "Yusmarg". He says that the word "Yus" is a short form of Yusuf which is the Arabic word for Jesus. Marg - means Valley in Kashmiri. The legend is that Jesus came to Kashmir through this valley and hence the name Yusmarg. We drive through dusty, crowded streets of Srinagar. The town is bustling with energy after previous day's Hartal. For the next few KMs the drive is inconsequential. Mid way at Nagam, we start climbing and the road becomes curvy as we drive along a large valley. The landscape is green - brown and the road is flanked by the orchards of Apple, Pear and Almond. It is a bright afternoon and the weather is pleasant. The road is good. We cross the town of Charar-e-sharif famous for its Dargah of Hazrat Sheikh Noor-u-din Wali, locally known as Alamdar-e-Kashmir. A shrine of importance for all Kashmiris, the town became more famous in nineties when the militants laid siege to it and hid inside. A long drawn gun fight between Indian Army and Militants liberated the shrine. Apple trees on the way  The Dargah @ Charar-e-Sharif  Leaving Charar-e-sharif behind, we climb gradually. The road opens up and we see pine and cedars appearing on the horizon. There is a nip in the air laced with aroma of pine and cedar as we leave behind the valley. A large meadow with cedars in the background appear at a distance. Muzaffar assures that this is only the beginning. We just can't stop from getting down and clicking some pictures. The stream, meadows and the trees make it picture perfect. The first vistas of Yusmarg    We drive for another kilometre and come to a pristine lake next to the road. It looks like a lake you will find in Europe. Thankfully, there is no boating and the lake is still unspoilt. Driving on, we reach the tourist information centre of Yusmarg. It is Sunday but there is hardly a crowd. Which is good for us. We find horses and their handlers - Gujjars - around. Gujjars are a nomadic community in the Himalayas who live in mountains and rear sheep. During winter, they migrate to valleys and in summers they go back to mountains. Hardy people for whom moving in the mountains is a cakewalk. The lovely lake welcoming you at Yusmarg   We look for any information on the place. Like many places in India, we don't find any. A small board near the car park area gives details of the places that can be seen along with rates for horse ride. There is absolutely no information how to explore the place if one does not want to go riding. We are the only few visitors in Yusmarg on this day and we get surrounded by Gujjars. These guys are quite amiable unlike the ones we saw in Gulmarg. They plead with us to take a ride. Unsure about the safety, we are reluctant to get on one. Rashid, the guy with a horse, assures us that nothing wrong would happen. He is willing take us to Dargah and then to Doodh Ganga for Rs 350 each. "Can we go by foot?" I ask Rashid. "Yes" he says pausing for a moment and then adds "You can. But the trail is muddy due to overnight rain". But we haven't come prepared and are wearing only walking sandals. There is no chance of trekking here without proper shoes. I was also not sure if there were any guides. Thus, we didnt have an option but to hop on to the horses. If you don't do these treks on the horse, there is nothing to do in Yusmarg. We get an additional helper to go along with Brinda apart from the handler. We start our exploration of Yusmarg. Imtiaz, a ten year old kid comes along with me while Rashid and his friend go with Brinda. We walk on the newly built pathway towards Doodh Ganga and turn left towards the Pine forests after ten minutes. We are now in charming countryside. The trail goes through pine and cedar forests. The trees are tall and big. We could see lumbering operations going on as we move. We cross the tiny hamlet of Rashid and his fellow Gujjars and move deeper into the forest. The pristine trail......flanked by Cedar and Pine trees   The Alpine temperate forests are unlike the tropical ones we have seen in South India. There is not much undergrowth and the trees are either Cedar or Pine. The tree cover is not dense allowing enough sun to lit up the trail. Moti, my ride looks younger and spirited. He negotiates the ups and downs of the trail with aplomb. It is mostly down hill. Sometimes he makes his own trail going off the beaten track. Ever alert Imtiaz brings him back. "Don't hold the reins tight" says Imtiaz. He also teach me how to use right or left rein to control the horse. I nod and test my understanding. I am sitting on a horse after 30 Years. Last time i sat was during my days in Military Academy in Madras. None of us opted for Equestrian club as Horse riding was considered as buggery. So this was my maiden attempt to ride a horse. Brinda in front was nervous initially but got her confidence after the helper also came along. An hour's ride in pristine forest bring us to a lovely stream. Across the stream is a small Dargah of Peer baba. I ask Rashid about the Dargah. Rashid says that there used to be a baba who lived in these forests revered by Gujjars. On his death, the Small dargah was built. Gujjars pay obeisance to him. A festival is celebrated once a year in his memory. Beautiful vistas near dargah. The stream and the small shed which is the Dargah built by Gujjars.    We get down from our ride. It is refreshing to be middle of nowhere. Amidst pristine woods with gorgeous panoramic views. The place reminds you of the painting you would have done as a kid in the school. As stream flanked by woods with hills as backdrop, a small hut........ I am not sure how long this place will remain untouched. But for now, this is just a paradise. It reminded me of our trip to Valley of Flowers last year. We did not see many wild flowers here though. The ride from now on to Doodh Ganga follows a stream. We climb and walk through the woods. Moti balances well on the loose stones and move quickly. Imtiaz is vigilant as ever and make sure that Moti does not go astray. I am also gaining confidence and enjoying it. We reach a high ground. We see a stream rolling by and a lovely valley in front of us. Climbing down from the mount we walk down to the stream. The stream flowing over the rocks create a small waterfall. This place is known as Doodh Ganga. Doodh Ganga valley   We spend few minutes in the place. We now see more visitors coming in. Doodh Ganga is the place which most visit as it is the nearest place from the Tourist Information centre. The cost of horse ride is also cheap. From Doodh Ganga, the return trail is a sheer climb and the horses struggle a bit as the ground is slushy and slippery. But they manage well. Few minutes of climb and we are back on flat trail. We now see beautiful meadows on either side of the trail. The tourism department has built lovely cottages on these meadows. I am not sure whether it is open as we could see the main tourist information centre being under construction. Thankfully, Yusmarg is still not commercialised and the stay options are only managed by Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation. Beautiful meadows and the tourist huts by JKTDC. A gujjar old man and his cattle   Our horse ride in the mountains is over. It is an exhilarating experience. We thank Rashid, Imtiaz and pay them generous tips. They are happy. Rashid invites us to his home for a cup of "Gujjar tea". His house is far and we had to leave. We decline his offer politely, have a cup of tea in the only restaurant in Yusmarg which is managed by J&K Tourism department. The restaurant is located on a high ground on a meadow overlooking the lake. We see a Kashmiri family enjoying the picnic lunch. As we stroll on the meadows, two cute little Gujjar girls come to us and say hello. It is a holiday for the school and they have gone to the forest to pick up some produce. They look lovely and innocent. I give some chocolates and bid them goodbye. Cute Gujjar girls  We start our journey back. Few minutes on the road, we are greeted by rain. The sun and the rain play hide and seek as we drive along the valley. I look through the window to see a lovely rainbow above the valley.  Muzaffar show us Almond orchards as we drive along. He stops suddenly when he sees a family plucking the almonds. He gets down and talks to them in Kashmiri. He asks us to get down and shows us how the almonds are harvested. The almonds here are different than the ones with juicy exterior we have seen in South India. There is a small kernel which opens to a soft shell in which will be hidden the almond seed. The family is generous and ask us to take the almonds if we wished. Muzaffar gets a big bag and fills up with raw almonds. I ask him if we have to pay anything. He suggests Rs 100 as a token. The family is not willing to accept saying that we are their "mehman" and i force them to take it as a token of our appreciation!   Yusmarg is a hidden wonder. Unspoilt and pristine. It is also trekkers paradise. There are many trails leading to Pir Panjal ranges. Doodh Patri - another hidden gem - can be trekked too. This area is still not exploited by Commercial tourism. These are the vistas you will encounter when you trek around Yusmarg, especially in Ayed.     Go there. There is no crowd. The woods are lovely and meadows are beautiful. Getting there Since Yusmarg is close to Srinagar - 50 KMs - the best option is to hire a taxi. Alternately, there should be buses to this place from Srinagar. Other option is to go to Charar-e-Sharif by bus and take a taxi from there. Stay options We saw few lovely cottages by J&K Tourism. I am not sure whether they are operational. One can check with JKTDC website or their office in Srinagar for details. Travel Tips a) Yusmarg can be done as a day trip comfortably from Srinagar. b) It is also a nice place to stay and enjoy the nature. Go for long walks, angle in the lake....just relax and chill! c) If you are a trekker, then you can make this place as base to explore around. There are trekking trails to Ayed, Pir Panjal and nearby places which are beautiful. I am not sure of availability of any guide. One of the Gujjars will be best bet. It will be good to check with J&K Tourism or local tour operators. d) Yusmarg will be snowbound during winter which has its own charm. e) On a clear day, one can see Pir Panjal ranges in the distance. To our bad luck, the sky was overcast and the mist had covered mountains. Last edited by Fauji : 4th September 2013 at 23:13. |
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5th September 2013, 08:55
| #2 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: New Delhi
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5th September 2013, 09:05
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| BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: mumbai
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5th September 2013, 13:53
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| BHPian Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Pune
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5th September 2013, 18:18
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| BHPian  Join Date: May 2007 Location: UP 16
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| Re: Yusmarg - The Hidden Wonder of Kashmir Beautiful, spectacular, awesome! That's how I'll describe the place looking at it in the pics. Added to the "gotta experience it" list. Thanks for point d), now waiting for winters to come.  |
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5th September 2013, 18:20
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| Senior - BHPian  | |
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5th September 2013, 18:23
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5th September 2013, 18:53
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6th September 2013, 15:21
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| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bangalore
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| Re: Yusmarg - The Hidden Wonder of Kashmir Quote:
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6th September 2013, 16:46
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| Senior - BHPian | Re: Yusmarg - The Hidden Wonder of Kashmir Quote:
Kud - Sinthan Top - Daksum - Ananthag - Aru - Gaganpatri/Arampatri - Srinagar - Dudhpatri - Yousmarg | |
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26th December 2013, 07:45
| #11 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gurgaon
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