Sonmarg and Pahalgam Kashmir

The valley that comes before Kashmir ends and Ladakh begins is Sonmarg and Pahalgam Kashmir. This 9000 feet high valley is surrounded by these 18000 feet high glaciers. These glaciers are so close that you have to look with your head up to see them properly. Ladakh is only 25 km away from Sonmarg and Pahalgam Kashmir. But even after being so close, forget to go to Ladakh because there is so much snow on the road in winter. That the road to a short distance is hardly open and the open road is surrounded by more than 12 feet of snow. The side of the road and this road is also closed due to snow for several days or weeks. But for this reason, most of the markets and hotels here remain closed in winter. This village is spread over 2 km. And most of the people living here migrate to the lower village, below Sonamarg, in winter. And some villagers stay in Sonamarg even in winter. But even bad weather cannot stop you from visiting this beautiful sight.

And Sonmarg is completely covered with snow. It is a sunny day here and it is completely covered with snow. And I’m going to Thajiwas Glacier. This is called Thajiwas Glacier. And Sonamarg is more famous for this glacier. And there’s a lot of snow here. It’s a little trail, so I’m following it. Although it is used by local people or tourists, I am following the same. I’m trying to get to the top of the trail there. I’ll try, I’ll try because I don’t know how to get there. People are going from the other side, I am trying to go from the other side where there is less crowd. There is a lot of snow and it is very deep. But it’s fun, it looks great from below, and can’t wait to see it from above.

The best location of Thajiwar just 3 km from main city. is far. But it is very difficult to reach the base point in winter. So far you can go only in winter. There’s a lot of snow ahead. It was a lot of fun coming up here. Most of the people come through this sled. I came here on foot. You can also come here on foot, it is not very far.

I have never seen such beautiful views from so close, never. I felt as if all my worries had been taken away by these mountains.

After watching this glacier in peace. I learned about snowmobiles. A snowmobile is a type of snow scooter. It doesn’t need roads, it only needs snow. If I had known about the snowmobile earlier, I would have reached the top of the glacier using it.

Sonamarg is visited by tourists for a day trip. Because hotels do not open in winter. And that’s why I couldn’t stay here for long. But to keep Sonamarg connected even in winter, the Z-Morh tunnel will be opened in a few days. Which will be all weather and next time when I come to Kashmir, I will come to Sonamarg first. Because there are many more stories and secrets hidden in these glaciers of Sonamarg.

Pahalgam

Pahalgam is the most beautiful village of Kashmir. Pahalgam is known as the village of shepherds and Pahalgam consists of many small hamlets surrounded by towering Himalayan peaks and evergreen forests. You will definitely get to hear two things as soon as you come here. One is the singing bird here and the other is the flowing Liddar river. Which flows in this entire Pahalgam. And all this makes you feel very close to nature. And when all these views are right in front of your eyes, it seems that does such a place really exist?

Laripura, the largest village of Pahalgam, is situated at the confluence of Lidder and Sheshnag rivers. Sheshnag River, it flows from Sheshnag. It flows from Sheshnag on the Amarnath route. This river originates from a large glacier.

Here you will find many iron and wooden bridges. Because these rivers flow at a very short distance and you get to see a very good view from those bridges. And Laripura is the village from where the Amarnath route passes. You can see Amarnath peak from there, that’s what the local told me. And you find here little by little isolated villages,

Mamal Village – After walking some distance, I reached Mamal Village where the sound of children playing on the hills was heard. He was playing cricket here in the mountains and seeing him I felt like playing cricket too. So after meeting these little kids with big dreams. I met some other kids. Who told me that there are 140 houses in this village with a population of about 700. There is a middle school and a mosque. And a temple too.

But I was surprised when I saw a kid here talking to a Kerala tourist in the Malayalam language. When I talked to the child, he told me that he learned this language from his teacher. YES INDIA FOUNDATION has about 50 schools in Kashmir. And this child attends one of these schools. Where there is a teacher from Kerala who speaks Malayalam language and this child started speaking Malayalam language a little after listening to his language. I really enjoyed talking to this kid.

Chandawari – The motorable road ends 13 km from Pahalgam. And where the road is needed. I was on the road to Chandawari, which is where the Amarnath Yatra begins. And this road is completely closed and there is snow on both sides of this road. And some people here are clearing the snow. The road is being cleaned here. Around 3-4 km road is still covered with snow. Right now 3 machines are working here, only one machine will not be able to clean the entire road.
Today was a good day, I met some very nice people in Chandanbari today. He was doing road clearance work. He also made me drink tea. Which is called Kashmiri Namak Chai (salt tea) here. Recently there was an avalanche here. The road that was cleared by the avalanche has been closed again. And these mountains are a bit risky. It’s beautiful but risky.

Due to snow, the road is not clear for 6 months of winter. The contact with other villages and the city gets cut off from Chandanwadi village.

And the most popular village of Pahalgam is situated near Chandanwadi.
Betaab Valley.

Betaab Valley – Betaab Valley is situated on the banks of the Lidder River. Where you will get to see these beautiful trees and views.

In Pahalgam, I visited some villages and tourist places. And in tourist places, I got a closer look at the mountains. But I understood the mountains only when I met the people who lived in them.
And Sonmarg and Pahalgam Kashmir is one of those places where your journey does not end but begins. Because I don’t think that your coming here only once is enough and as soon as I left here, my journey to come here again started.

I wish everyone to explore this beautiful world and learn the things to make our world a better place to live. With this, if you enjoyed reading this blog, do comment and share it with your friends and family and keep following Nomad Rahgir..