SRINAGAR - CITY OF LAKES & GARDENS
SRINAGAR, located on the banks of river Jhelum, and one of the most beautiful hill stations on earth is famous for Dal Lake, house boat, shikaras and bagh or gardens with snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the background.
This is a highly popular destination of tourists who here come to witness snow and experience living in house boats on Dal Lake, as also cruising along the waterbody in Shikaras. Another nice thing is floating vegetable market in this lake.
But there is much more to Srinagar, the summer capital of the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir. Apart from its scenic beauty, gardens, forts, mosques and temples form part of the sight-seeing.
Mughal emperors are credited to have built the historic gardens, forts, mosques from time to time, which reflect Mughal architecture in their designs. From historical sites like the 6th century Hari Parbat Fort to the famous religious site of Hazratbal shrine to Shankaracharya temple on hill top or Kheer Bhawani temple or walking around the famous gardens, your journey would be very exciting. Asia’s largest Tulip gardens is also located here. And you can see varieties of Tulip if you happen to visit this place between March and April.
One must try Wazwan or spicy Kashmiri cuisine, famous the world over and that would surely make you happy. Tourists can take back home the famous Kashmiri shawl, embroidered clothes, local handicrafts, apples, dry fruits and spices, which include the prized saffron.
HOW TO REACH
Srinagar currently has road and air connectivity. Mail and express trains from across the country run up to Jammu Tawi, which is 260 km away from this destination.
The hill station can be reached by buses or cabs from Jammu or nearby towns. The road journey from Jammu via hilly roads takes about 10 hours by bus and more than 4 hours by cars.
But this tedious travel to the capital of Kashmir would soon be replaced by a great train journey of just 3.5 hours from Jammu by India’s premier Vande Bharat Express. One can expect the ride by 2024, as construction of the new railway link up to Srinagar is nearing completion. This is one of the most challenging engineering marvels of Indian Railways to lay lines on difficult mountainous terrain.
Alternatively, tourists can also enter Srinagar through Sheikh ul Alam International Airport, located about 15 km from the city. The air terminal has regular flights from major cities of India and nearby local airports.
Number of Days - Two Nights Best Time - April To October.
PLACES TO VISIT