Incredible India Part 3

Day 3

Early morning after having our breakfast, we continued our journey to the next popular tourists attractions, Sonamarg. Sonamarg located about 84km north east Srinagar and took about 3 hours journey by car. Sonamarg is situated in a valley at the bank of Nallah Sindh and nestled within the imposing Himalayan peaks.  It lies at an altitude of 2800 m above sea level. It is upwards of sixty miles long valley and deep rock-grit gorge to open grassy meadow land and village-dotted slopes. Since it was winter seasons, hence the thick snow covered the grassy land.

Ways to Sonamarg

The route passes through the picturesque town of Ganderbal, Kangan and Gund of the Sindh Valley, before reaching the resort. Spectacular views of the villages including houses's roof covered by snow was really amazing!

The shop houses in the background of mountains

Along the way, we could also saw the frozen rice field, the locals playing around and the snow-clad mountain (again!). Kashmiri also plant rice (they called it as rice not paddy) for their own consumptions since rice is their staple food. The rice normally cultivated at the side valleys and hilly areas. Rice only could be grown during the warmth month which are in the month of July to September with the average temperature of 20 degree. So, they need to reserve enough stocks for their cold seasons!

The frozen paddy field

Morning Market at one of the village. People selling fruits and groceries. We didn't stopped by anyway

A family waited for the bus. To town maybe? 

We stopped by the hilly road to snap some pictures. I could see villages scattered everywhere in the valley, the mixture of house colours, the pines and the snow  contribute to the enthralling and  fascinating view of Sonamarg!

We saw a family standing at the side of the slippery and snowy road, waiting for the bus. We didn't ask where they were going but we asked permissions to  take their photos. I was attracted with their cloth, so I got the name after asking to the driver. The cloths that they wore, both male and females are called as Pheran. Pheran is a traditional wear for Kasmiri. During summer, they will wear the Pheran which is made of cotton whilst in winter, the Pheran is made from wool which make them warm enough to move around and perform routines.

Since the road is slippery and very narrow, we just stopped for few minutes, got into the car and continue the journey.

The enthralling valley view! 

Some more! 

The car stopped suddenly at the road side. I could see few Kashmiris with their ponies and horses. I just wonder why we stopped there. Basically, that's the destination that we should arrived. We need to ride a pony/horses there to proceed the journey to the river as the car won't reach there. Hehe. Actually we can walk down the road for 2km to reach the Sindh River 🤣🤣. After bargaining with the touts, we managed to get a horse ride for 1hour return for Rs1,000 per person. There was not other activities here except for pony/horse riding. If it is summer or spring, at least you can trek here. So, i can say, i want to comeback here for trekking only Insyaallah. 

What about lunch here? We didn't take since we still full with heavy breakfast this morning. No restaurant here but they have mini market if you need something light. 

During the hour of horses rode, we passed by the mosques, the villager's house, the pines, the mini markets and finally the entrance of the Sindh River. So now i understand why people called Kashmir as mini Switzerland! 

From my reading to the Internet source, the most popular attractions here is Thajiwas Glacier, but we didn't go there. I didn't ask since i only performed my research after came back from India.. Hehehehe.. It's ok. Till next visits. 

The boy and the pony 

This is Sonamarg! 

The locals shovelling the snows to clear the road

The mosque

Me, in the background of Sindh River, pines, snow clad mountain and the blue sky

Sindh River. This river is a major tributary of the Jehlum River and is 108 kilometres in lenght.

Gipsy's house. They will live here during summer and nomad to Srinagar during winter

The touts, horse guider and us

After spending almost 2 hours here, we made a move back to Srinagar.

We went to Dal Lake. The Dal Lake is located at Srinagar. Not clear but cloudy and gloomy weather. However, we still can see the shadow of the mountains reflected in the lake. I love this view!

Dal Lake

Nearby Dal Lake. Kids played around. So cute and i felt like to pinch their cheek

Next to Dal Lake, you can found Hazratbal Mosque, Dal Lake, Srinagar. Locals called it as Shrine rather than a Mosque. Per understanding from locals, the Shrine contains a relic, which believed by many Muslims of Kashmir to be a hair of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. This relic displayed to the public on every Friday prayers.

Hazratbal Mosque

This is the shop outside the mosque. I just took the picture from outside. Not entered since not much money left hehe

We went back to our hotel thereafter to rest and have a dinner. The dinner served by the hotel. Tastes good and already included in our package with Lucky Flower. 

Hotel dinner looks like. Sorry for the upside down picture 😁

To be continued...