If Ever There is a Paradise..

I don't update this blog much, well, not ever. Traveling is very personal to me and although I harp about my travails on Twitter & what not, there's still so much that I leave unsaid.

You know those people who say they get so lost in the beauty of a moment that they forget to take pictures? Yes, it's quite the same for me. On every trip that I make, I'd write at least one draft for my blog, come back and then just don't post it.

Words fail to do justice to the emotions that erupt in various instances while I travel.

For me as for many others, traveling is running away; escaping the mediocrity of daily routine. I am not a busybody and I don't really need a vacation to relax my mind per se.

I want to travel because I've always loved traveling. I want to explore because I was born inquisitive. I want to see the world because I feel like my life would be worthless if I didn't witness the myriad of beauty that this world has to offer.

But today I feel an urge to share this special trip with you. I am a passive-romantic person. I find romance in things people generally wouldn't but I like to keep it to myself. Being romantic is a state of mind and I like dropping into trances of pure romance time and again.

It was my recent trip to Kashmir that saw me lost in one of my trances. Kashmir is a beautiful place. It's been likened to Switzerland my foreign & domestic travelers alike. They say the natural beauty found in the valley of Kashmir is similar to no other. Of course, there needs to be the right kind of season for every setting.

Although Kashmir is accessible for most part of the year, it has best sights to offer in the months of March to October. After that, the valley turns extremely cold and becomes a hot-spot for ski-lovers.

We visited the valley towards the end of June. It was a birthday gift for my mother since it was her childhood summer destination. The trip turned out to be a huge disappointment for her since nothing looked the same to her.

After more than 30 years, you don't really expect things to be the same as they were. But this was the beginning of her disappointment. We visited Kashmir at the onset of summer. It was extremely hot in Srinagar & most of the snow on the hilltops had melted away, leaving small patches of glaciers made of dirty, brown snow.

In Srinagar, the temperature averaged to about 38-39 degrees Celsius and the sun was piercing through the skin. We also visited Pahalgam and Gulmarg.

Pahalgam was cooler and wetter & most of the tourist spots had been shut down for the Amarnath yatra which commenced the same day as we reached this hill station. The sights that this place had to offer were incredible. Although I do regret not being able to visit Aaru valley, Betaab valley and many other places because of the shut-down.

The place that literally took my breath away however, was Gulmarg. A hill station that does more than justice to its name-meaning a path of roses, this town had everything I could ever ask for in a hill station.

A quaint town with picturesque beauty at every nook and cranny; an abode mobbed by tourists and infiltrated with commercialization and yet offers little evidence of the modernity surrounding it at all corners, Gulmarg.

The road from Srinagar to Gulmarg is as forgettable as it is inconspicuous. You'll never know what hit you till you reach the foothills of this town.

Gulmarg is 2370 meters above the sea level. For people suffering from altitude sickness there couldn't be a better destination. There are no winding roads wrapped around a tall mountain. Although, Gulmarg is surrounded by imposing Himalayan peaks, this is one of those rare hills that have wide roads and lesser slants. You don't need to carry your trekking gear while moving around.

The entire Kashmir valley has good mobility, however many places are only accessible through ponies. Keep that in mind if you're afraid of horses or just can't climb one due to some physical complications.

As the climb up to Gulmarg begins, you're instantly hit by a breath of fresh, sweet mountain air. The sky suddenly changes color from bleached white to vibrant blue and clouds scamper to collect overheard as if acting on commands of a celestial director shouting 'lights, camera, action' into his loudspeaker..

It was this sweet intoxicating scent that made me catch a breath in my slumber and caused me to jerk my eyes open. Never before have I been assaulted with such beautiful scenery in my life. Sure I've been to Switzerland & Australia and a lot of mini-paradises that mother Earth has created. But Gulmarg was different.

It was a simple enough hill-station with similar view that many other hills & mountains have to offer. The distinction was in the natural, unkempt beauty it had to offer. When I opened my eyes and looked out, my attention was immediately drawn to the grassy slopes strewn with rows and rows of fragrant wildflowers.

I absolutely adore flowers but wildflowers have a special place in my heart. For a moment I wondered if it was actually Heaven I was ascending to. Daisies, Lavender, Bluebells, Poppies, Buttercups, Forget-me-nots etc. are spread across landscape of this saucer-shaped hill station.

I was like a dog flapping his tongue out in the wind as the owner drives-by in full speed, unable to control my racing heart. All I wanted to do was jump out of my car and roll down these colorful slopes.

At last we reached our hotel. To my good fortune, it was built across the 5 km or so long bright-green meadow blanketed with wildflowers of every shape, colour and size. On this meadow, ponies were peacefully chewing away at green grass inviting every photographer worth his salt to spend hours and hours on capturing that one perfect shot that shows it all.

You see the same scenery from any or every angle or height that you look out from. An expanse of colour-blast on the green meadow of naturally growing wildflowers and a backdrop of silver-white, snow-covered mountain range.

We only stayed in Gulmarg for 2 days and I am glad we came back when we did for I suspect I'd hv developed a heart condition because of all the beat-skipping it was indulging in. Although we only visited during summers,

Gulmarg is an year-round hotspot for tourist and offers activities such as skiing, fishing, horse-riding, trekking, snow-boarding etc. In fact, it is known as one of the Best powder snow resorts in the world owing to regular snowfall throughout winters.

We did only common touristy things there since time was short and we had the whole family with us. We also celebrated mum's birthday here which she was Finally excited about ever since we had come to Kashmir.

Gulmarg was one of those rare places I didn't want to come back from. I also shed a tear or two as we began our descend back to Srinagar and said a small prayer to God thanking him for giving us such exorbitant amount of beauty to appreciate life for.

I've left a piece of my heart behind in Gulmarg and have vowed to visit this town again some time soon and drink-in every piece of magic that this charming place contains.

If you've felt slightly touched by this blogpost, I urge you to visit Gulmarg as well. You won't know what you are missing in life till you visit this place. I too agree with Jehangir when I say if ever there is a paradise on Earth, it is here. It is here. It is here, in Gulmarg.