The reader must distinguish between Kashmir the kingdom and Kashmir the vale. The former is a large territory containing enormous mountain areas, chiefly uninhabited and stretching, in theory at any rate, from Tibet to Chitral and from the Pamirs to the border of the great Indian plain. But Kashmir proper is a level valley, apparently an old lake basin, included between a fork of the Himalayas.
On the map it resembles, as Mr. Lawrence well remarks, a white foot-print set in a mass of black mountains. The level of the valley floor is about feet above the sea, and it is approximately 84 miles in length and 20 to 25 miles in width.
Numerous traderoutes debouch upon this valley and concentrate upon its populous capital, Srinagar on the Jhelum. To Kashmir proper may also be reckoned the fertile lower portions of a number of tributary side-valleys, for the most part exceedingly beautiful, and well marked with wood, water, and meadow. This beautiful area—the garden of India—is shut off from the rest of the world by bare and, in many places, snowy mountain ranges, or by a gorge which has only a few years ago been trained to admit a cart road.
It is inhabited by an interesting race, speaking a language and having a literature, a written history, and an art of their own. Thus Kashmir is marked out by nature, history, and circumstance as a geographical unit suited for separate treatment and study.
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar. Reprints and Permissions. The Valley of Kashmir. Nature 53, 99— Download citation. Issue Date : 05 December Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:. Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative. The Jammu-Srinagar highway is extremely treacherous in the winters and blocked by landslides for most of the winter.
On the way from Jammu to the valley do not forget to relish the famous rajmah chawal in Peerah and pattisa sweet made in ghee in Kudd. If you want to visit high altitude lakes and mountaineering destinations you can hire a horse to carry your stuff up the mountains. Spring is the time when Kashmir bursts into a riot of colours and millions of flowers carpet the landscape.
A good idea would be to visit the "Tulip Garden", one of the largest of its kind in Asia. Although work on the garden started a couple of years back, nevertheless, with each season it is expanding rapidly and is fast becoming a major tourist attraction in spring.
Angling in the many fresh water streams is an attraction in spring as well or if you missed out on skiing in winter, you could go skiing in Gulmarg which offers excellent opportunities till late March. Summer brings a lot of tourists to the valley, especially those from the Indian plains which experience unbearably hot temperatures during the summers.
Gulmarg is a perennial favourite. Gulmarg means 'the meadow of flowers' and is 56 km south-west of the city centre, Srinagar. The slopes of the Apharwat hills of the Himalayas at Gulmarg are one of the highest ski slopes in Asia. Due to its' unique geographical location, Gulmarg gets some of the heaviest snowfall in the Himalayan region. This hill resort is served by a cable car that goes all the way to the Apharwat peak, on which is claimed to be the highest gondola in the world 4, metres.
Pahalgam or the village of Shepherds is a very popular resort 90 km south of Srinagar. It has some magnificent plains like Baisaran where horse-riding can be indulged in. Again, some fantastic angler opportunities as well and a lot of trekking routes including the one that goes to Amarnath, a hindu pilgrimage shrine deep in the Himalayas. Sonamarg literally means "Meadow Of Gold".
The skiing season in Gulmarg, the world famous ski resort in Kashmir, lasts for about four months, but with the Thajiwas Glacier and the upper reaches of the Sonamarg valley covered with snow practically all through the year, skiers can thrill themselves for a longer period.
Sonamarg has a certain "raw" unspoiled beauty about it. The mountains look tall and haughty and the vista whichever way looked at consists of meadows, imposing mountains and streams. Sonamarg is the gateway to Ladakh so if you're planning to go to Ladakh by road you'll be enthralled by its' charms.
Kashmiri handicrafts, shawls and carpets are world famous. Shahtoos or Ringshawl as it was known was exclusively made by hand in Kashmir and was worn by celebrities and high profile dignitaries. This shawl is so soft that it can pass through a ring! However, it has been banned by the Government after animal rights campaigners objected because it involves killing a baby antelope in the high regions of Ladakh and making the shawl from its hide.
Although the Shahtoos shawl has been rightly banned it shouldn't stop you from buying the famed Kashmiri Pashmina. The intricacies of hand made Kashmiri carpets are well known. Most take months, some even a couple of years to make.
The history of the Kashmiri carpet dates back to the period of Hazrat Mir Syed Ali Hamdani AD - the famous sufi saint of Persia who came to enlighten Kashmir with his spiritual guidance and brought along with him highly skilled artisans through the silk trade route. Kashmir witnessed a phenomenal rise and growth in all things artistic in the golden reign of Sultan Zain ul Abideen ,popularly known as Budshah Great King in the 15th century. Emperor Akbar in the 16th Century is said to have encouraged the art of carpet weaving by bringing in more skilled artisans to the Kashmir valley.
An original Kashmir carpet can be very expensive but the right one can be as prized or treasured as any work of art. Rich and redolent with the flavour of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and saffron, Kashmiri food is suitable for all palates. Predominantly non-vegetarian, "Wazwaan" , as it is called, is the royal cuisine of Kashmir. Described by the author Salman Rushdie in his book, Shalimar the Clown , Wazwaan is a banquet of 36 courses minimum and 60 courses maximum.
It's a preparation of a number of spicy meat dishes served with traditional rice by professional chefs called "Wazas". Kashmiri wazwaan has its origin in Persia and is almost always served at Kashmiri marriage parties. It also has some interesting vegetarian options like dum-aloo, haak, palak and 'chaman' cooked cheese.
Among the popular non-vegetarian delicacies are curd-based gushtaba, chilli-flavoured rista and roganjosh. Kashmiris celebrate the first snowfall of the season by socialising over a barbecue. They relax in the cold crisp evenings with a cup of warm kahwa , a black tea brewed with cinnamon, cardamom and honey. Also a perennial favourite is the pink-coloured nun chai made with a special salt.
Most hotels in Srinagar serve liquor and other alcoholic beverages, but as most residents of the Kashmir Valley are Muslims, few drink alcohol, themselves. The past decade of turmoil has left traces in the Valley.
At Srinagar Airport there is a kind lady tourist officer who can give you some helpful and safe tour advice. In case of an emergency you can contact the nearest tourist police office or police station.
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