Kashmir

We had booked our tour to Kashmir with Amrita travels, which is well-known for it's Gowd Saraswat Brahmin cuisine all through their tours. Murlidhar Kamath from Amrita travels then was our guide. The itinerary was of one week which covered Srinagar, Sonmarg, Gulmarg and Pahalgam. We had booked our slots during their special offers in April so the trip cost estimated to ₹37k per head inclusion of travel and stay. Our tour started from Mumbai airport.

In Pahalgam, we stayed in Hotel Abshar. The temperature was around three degree celsius. Next morning, we started our day with Chandanwari & Betaab valley. The same evening we did horse riding & shopping at the nearest bazar. I bought an hand-embroidered handbag, Kashmiri dress material & miniature shikaras. Nearby you can visit the cricket bat factory, Awantipora ruins, Saffron & walnut shop.

Kashmir is the most troubled state in India but it's lakes are the prettiest with houseboats which you can book for stay. You can enjoy the water skiing and shopping at Meena Bazar, a floating market in Dal lake.

You will see men wearing phiran, the traditional wear everywhere in the town. Chinar is a famous tree in Kashmir, parts of which are used for medicinal purposes. You can find Char Chinar(Four Chinar) island in Dal lake. Kahwah is a traditional green tea of Kashmir. Pakistan is 150 km from Baramulla. Manasbal is a delightful lake situated on the Jhelum Valley at a distance of 18 miles from Srinagar via Shadipor and 17 miles via Nasim and Ganderbal road.

You can expect heavy rainfall anytime in the year and drizzle throughout. So it is said, 'Mumbai ka fashion and Kashmir ka mausam ka kuch bharosa nahi'

Kheer Bhawani Temple

The specialty of Mata Kheer Bhawani Temple is that the devotees are served with Kheer as prasadam.

Tulip Garden
Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip garden previously named as Model Floriculture Centre, Sirajbagh, Cheshmashahi, Srinagar, is the largest Tulip garden of Asia spread over an area of about 12 hectares. One of the famous legendary Bollywood song Dekha Ek Khwab by Rekha and Amitabh was shot here.