Road Trip to Leh (India): July 2009 – Day 8 of 10

Sonamarg to Srinagar

Today we saw first hand why Kashmir is called Paradise on Earth.

We woke up early and decided to take Sonamarg’s famous pony ride to the Thajiwas Glacier. We were told that the ice had mostly melted, but the place is famous for its views of the slopes and the stream rather than the ice. The cottage caretaker arranged ponies for us at Rs. 300 per person for a 5-6 Km round journey to the glacier. Before that we had a quick breakfast at the guesthouse’s cafeteria.

As the ponies slowly marched ahead from the cottage, the beauty of the valley started unfolding around us, trying to prepare us for the spectacular climax of the journey. The ponies had to cross a gentle stream on the way where they halted for a minute for a well deserved drink of water. On more than one occasion I thought I’d fall off – the track was so precarious, but the ponies did a good job.

The beauty of the place where the ponies took us is hard to put in words. It comprises of a gushing white stream running down playfully from the ice cap of a distant mountain, which turns more gentle as it flows into a slightly sloping lush green valley. We were standing in this valley along with a herd of sheep that were nibbling on the grass. To this add some mist and a gentle, cool breeze and voila, you have your very own Paradise on Earth.

A handful of tea shops have come up at this place who do a brisk business selling tea and Maggi noodles. Small wooden bridges have been built at many places on the stream making both the banks easily accessible. Water is too cold even to touch, leave alone drawing up your pants and sitting down with feet dipped in the stream.

We spent almost an hour there when it started to drizzle. It was time to head back from this paradise to our car at the guesthouse and move on to the next destination – Srinagar.

Srinagar is a two-hour drive from Sonamarg. The road runs along the Sindhu river for the most part. We reached Srinagar in the afternoon, the last 7-8 Km of the drive being along the Dal Lake. The first view of the lake isn’t the best of sights – the surface is covered with algae and hyacinth, and the water stinks of rotting vegetation. We saw a large earth-mover engaged in removing the sea weed from the lake.

Fist thing to take care of on reaching Srinagar was to get accommodation for the night. We inquired at a few hotels on the Boulevard Road by the Dal Lake including the J&K Tourism Development Corporation’s hotel; however they all were quite expensive, charging up to Rs. 2000 for a double room for a night. We consulted our Lonely Planet guide book and finally took two rooms for Rs. 700 each at the Dhum Dhum Hotel located at one end of the Boulevard Road. The price of this low tariff is the noisy street facing the hotel. Soon after taking the rooms we went out to see what Srinagar has to offer.

The people here are a proud lot – they do not think very highly of other tourist places, especially those located in the same state, like Leh. On more than one occasion we were told how barren Leh’s mountains are and how the people there do not deserve the tourist money and attention they get. We, of course, loved Leh and were not very appreciative of such comments.

We shopped for some souvenirs at the J&K Government’s Art Emporium on the Boulevard Road. Then we went for a Shikara ride on the Dal Lake. Shikara is a typical Kashmiri boat – a Shikara is to Srinagar as a Gondola is to Venice.

This boat ride was also an amazing experience. Although the water was infested with sea weed and hyacinth, the views and the serenity more than compensated for it. Even the smell of the water was a part of the experience rather than a deterrent. Of course it could be a problem if someone decided to stay overnight in one of the thousand houseboats lined up in the Dal Lake, but for a one hour Shikara ride it did not matter so much. The person paddling for you will generally take you to one of the shops on the ‘floating market’ – a group of boats housing local merchandise and souvenirs. Surprisingly these shop-boats are equipped to accept credit cards, a facility which even some land-based shops do not have in Srinagar.

As for the houseboats, they are a popular camping place for tourists who do not wish to stay in the regular land-based hotels. A typical houseboat has four double rooms, a common living room, a television, and electricity. Food is prepared on the boat as per your order, and Shikaras can carry you ashore for Rs. 10. A general annoyance is the saffron and souvenir vendors who keep stalking you in their own boats. They do not spare the tourists taking Shikara rides either.

After almost two hours in the lake and purchasing some stuff from the ‘floating market’, we went for dinner. We savored the famous Mutton Rogan Josh – a Kashmiri dish made from lamb’s meat. The vegetarian dishes were not so great though.

We had heard that Srinagar closes down by 8 PM; however today the markets at the Boulevard Road were open well after 9. We took an auto-rickshaw to our hotel and now plan to leave for Patiala early morning tomorrow.