15th October 2021, 21:02
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| A weekend getaway to Sanasar Lake, Jammu & Kashmir It was the class of 2005 (Higher Secondary Class) when the last time we all were together. Post that we all went on our respective paths to persue higher education and of course respective career paths. Thanks to covid, we got a chance to be together again in October 2021. Although, our friend ship began much before that, actually much before 2000. Hey Friends, Hope you all are doing well ! Times have changed for us. Ankur, Salil and I (Rajat ) got married and Jamini is still a bachelor. I have a son and Ankur is blessed with a daughter. Salil came to Jammu to spend his work from home with the family just like many of us. Ankur and Jamini are settled in Jammu and I am here with my family from past 1 year now doing work from home. Once we all dicided to meet and a plan popped out in mind for a weekend getaway but this time it was more like a family trip. Sanasar was shortlisted with a night halt at Patni Top. Infact we were supposed to spend most of our time at Patni Top. Sanasar was the end destination. A plan was laid out. Total there were 9 people (7 adults + 2 Kids). So, there were two cars. I took my Baleno and Jamini took his Elite i20. Both having wonderful Petrol Motors. The date shortlisted was 9th of October and a hut was booked at Patni Top. Booking was done via https://www.jktdc.co.in/ as the huts are managed by Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation. Day 1 09/10/2021: I didn't sleep whole night before the trip. May be because of excitement + anxiety. Excitement of first ever getaway post school and Anxiety of being late in the morning. We Dicided to start our journey by 8 AM but we started at 9 AM. Its a simple NH 44 Route with total 136 KM one side. Our first destination was Patni Top. Around 110 Km from my home. The route was a straight highway : Jammu -> Tikri - > Udhampur -> Chenani - > Kud - > Patni Top - > Natha Top - > Sanasar.  Finally the journey began. Baleno had a full fuel top up with Petrol @ 103 Rs in Jammu and 32 PSI of air in all 4 wheels. I always carry a tyre inflator with me and believe me some times they are saviours. Soon we were on the Highway. Its a nice 4 lane highway, an engineering marvel which passes by IIT Jammu in Jagti village. Soon we reached Tikri and had a nice breakfast. We crossed Undhampur and had already covered more than 70 KM. Road was butterly smooth till now. But soon our cruise was halted because of road widening work going on at Chenani. Around 20 KMs of highway is under construction for better but right now it reduced our speed to half. Soon we reached a Y junction - Left goes to Sringar (via Chenani - Nashri Tunnel) and Right goes to Patni top. Its a continous slope with beautiful pine trees and temperature was already 15 degrees lesser than what we had in Jammu. We reached Kud and Patni Top was just 10 KM from here. By the way, there is no petrol Pump till Sanasar and Kud was the last fueling station. Although we don't need fuel at that time. Before Nashri Tunnel came in to existence, all the traffic to Srinagar used to pass from here. Kud is famous for its sweets shops. The most famous among all in Prem di Hatti. He sells mouth watering Patisa and chocelate barfi which just melt in the mouth. We all took it and also purchased fresh vegetables do that Salil can cook his mouth watering Biriyani for all of us in the dinner. The Kud Bazaar:  Just 10 KM more and yes we reached Patni Top  It was 12:30 PM and yes keeping 20KM of not so good road and break fast break in consideration we did a decent job. Baleno returned a mileage of 15KMPL with 4 adults on board and continous AC on. With hilly terrain and slope in consideration thats not bad at all. We checked in our Hut. It was a 2 BHK hut with a furnished with 2 baths with hot water facility. A almost furnished kitched and 2 rooms. A living room with TV and yes a wonderful balcony. Note - Please carry ample water with you. There was no drinking water in the huts. Our home for now :  We were hungary and guess what we had in first. Some awesome Pani Puris or Gol Gappas in local language. BTW where ever you go, you are never far away from a Gol Gappa vendor.  While we were enjoying Gol Gappas, Kids were handled by Jamini , The only bachelor.  After some rest, it was time for some sight seeing. The first and by far the only thing on our mind was the Gandola Ride . Its the highest cable car in India. Brand new and maintained by skyview They charge Rs 1000 per person both ways. One side journey is 2.8 KMs.  The cable car was clean, seems to be safe and can carry 600 KG of load at one instance of time. It was worth it.  A wonderful view of Deodar Trees in Patni Top from the height.  We spent a good amount of time there and had stomach full of food. Our Next Destination was ancient Nag Temple. Its a beautiful temple and legend says its more than 600 years old. Photography was prohibited there but I took the picture of the Nag valley !!  Sun was about to set now in the hills. Leaving behind beautiful Golden Light !  We spent some good time there before heading towards our Hut.  It was 7 PM and dark outside. Salil made some awesome veg Biriyani for all of us and yes Veg biriyani is not always a veg pulav. At 2024 m above sea level, sky was clear ! Stars are hardly visible in the city skies.  Soon the weather was about to change its color and it was fog and stars at the same time.  We all slept by 1 AM ... Day 2 10/10/2021 Sun rises quicky in the hills and it was wonderful sunlight outside. How can one miss the morning walk on the grass ?  Those Lush Green Meadows !!  After having a good breakfast in a near by dhaba, it was time to leave Patni Top. A view from the Dhaba  Our next destination was Natha Top. It doesn't have a provision for stay due to security reason but its the highest point in the region. These green slopes are usually covered in thick snow during winters. Calm and Serene, A perfect place to sit down and relax.  A Family Posing ! Its Me, Tanvi and our Viraj  Now a Mandatory Group Photo. From the Left to Right Jamini, Shalini (Salil's Better half), Salil, Me and Viraj, Tanvi (My Better half), Era (Ankur's Better half), Ankur and Shanaya.  Heading towards Sanasar and our last destination Sanasar is the name given to the two small villages of Sana and Sar in Jammu province, Jammu and Kashmir state, India. Named after small local lakes, Sana and Sar are located 20 km west of Patnitop. A view of Sanasar lake from the top .  Sanasar has almost same weather as that of Patni Top and same meadows  The lake is not that big but yes it was well maintained and JKTDC has made the provisioned of boating there. This was our last leg of the trip.  After having some nice lunch, it was the time to leave. We left Sanasar at 3:30 PM and crossed Patni Top by 4:15 PM. It was mostly down hill drive but still we managed to reach home 7:30 PM. There was a traffic Jam at Chenani which took our 30 minutes. Next day was monday and we were gearing for our normal work life. But yes we will all meet again soon. By the way Baleno returned a mileage of 18 KMPL for total of 280 KM drive. Not bad  .Do try road trips. They are fun you know. Many thanks for your time on the blog !! Last edited by Rajat347 : 15th October 2021 at 23:20. |
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16th October 2021, 05:07
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17th October 2021, 20:54
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| BHPian Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: Noida
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18th October 2021, 12:10
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| BHPian Join Date: Oct 2021 Location: New Delhi
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