The Valley Of Paradise
PAHALGHAM
Best time to visit?
- November to March: Snow (harsh winter yet enjoyable)
- June to October: Summer and Spring, suitable for trekking and camping outside.
Ever dreamt of some fairyland where you are surrounded with soft powdery snow, cherry blossom flying around in the open sky? Ever been to a place with huge pine trees blocking the sun rays, and a Unicorn waiting for you to hop on? Hold your breath folks because today we are sailing to the Valley Of Paradise, Pahalgam on the back of that beautiful Unicorn!!
Hinting to be the First Village when approached to Kashmir Valley in the north, Pahalgam is even called the Mini Switzerland of India. Wonder why? Read on!
Located at an altitude of 2,200 meters, Pahalgam lies on the banks of the Lidder River. This valley of shepherds gets a perfect background sound with Lidder River’s all tenacity and gusto. With the heart-stirring vistas of meadows and the snow-clad Himalayan mountains, nature is at its peak. Its beauty is overwhelming and the ambiance is soothing. The grandeur of the lush green view is stupendous, scintillating, and serene.
Pahalgam has a biased climate with long and harsh winter and short yet mild summer. Winter in Pahalgam receives high precipitation of snowfall and temperatures as low as -18 degrees (Celcius). Winter is always the dry season where all the trees shed their leaves, no plantation or farmer, very low plant habitat, but summer, on the other hand, is a completely different scenario where the entire city is covered with a lush green blanket, flowers of almost every beautiful species can be found here. The Akhrot or Walnut – a nut grown only in Kashmir valley (in India), is found in abundance during the summers.
Lucky for me, because I had the glee of visiting Pahalgam twice, once in summer and the other time in winter. And unlike any other place, Pahalgam in these two seasons is exactly the opposite. It’s like if Pahalgam were a person it could have played a human version of Ivory and Ebony at the same time.
Firstly let us start with winter, I visited Pahalgam right before this COVID situation showered in India, which is in January 2020. The entire plan was to visit Kashmir and encounter snowfall (The entire Kashmir trip is covered in *this* Blog). It was a long journey from Patnitop (another hill station in the valley) which took us almost 7-8 hours to reach Pahalgam.
It was almost evening snack time when we reached here. Since it was the month of January the entire route to Pahalgam was covered in thick snow which was about 3 feet tall. The rivers were frozen, the pine trees layered with powdered snow, and the snow-clad mountain peaks almost made the journey unnoticeable. It was getting dark, the sun was setting and the temperature was dropping fast. We were all heated up in our car not realizing the temperature outside, but as soon as our hotel arrived and we stepped out of the car, we were chilled out within a fraction of seconds. It was -7 degrees with a cold breeze blowing out. I wanted nothing but a hot cup of coffee with some instant cuppa noodles (Maggi). Soon it was dark and we went to sleep in our cozy wooden rooms.
But the next day was more than a charm, I was up since 5 AM hoping to see snowfall. I have had seen snowfall plenty of times in my life but never in Kashmir. They say God himself showers snow crystals on this promised land of Kashmir. And soon the saying came true as we encountered the most beautiful snowfall of our life. The time was 6 AM when it all started, slow cool breeze, the light blue sky through which came the white snowflakes making their way out right on our faces. The entire meadow was covered in snow within a blink of an eye. It looked as if the long seen grassland covered itself with a thick blanket of snow.
Being from one of the hottest places in India, I was flabbergasted to see this place actually existed in my home country. After enjoying the snow for a while I did what a typical vlogger/blogger would do, I snuck back into my room, took my camera, and started taking pictures. But this was the time not to snap but to explore more of Pahalgam. I hired a Horse, hopped on his back, and started wandering around. But before I tell you what I saw, let us rewind a few years, when I first visited Pahalgam.
Pahalgam acts as a base camp during Amaranth Yatra. It serves as a treat for adventure junkies and a starting point for several treks. And similarly, I too was on this trek to the holy temple of “Baba Barfani” or the “Amarnath Caves”. (More details on Amarnath Yatra read *this* blog)
The Yatra begins in June, which is the start of fall and the weather is always hot and humid. So this time the only snow I saw was sitting far away from us on the mountain peaks. But Pahalgham was no disappointment – the tall pine trees stood straight in pride, the harsh sound of running river water, the flora and fauna were in so abundance, the locals claimed that every plant species found in the Himalayas could be found in Pahalgam itself.
There was a small incident as we were about to start the trek, so we had to extend our stay in Pahalgam for a couple more days. But lucky me, while others cried blaming the situation I found it a chance to explore more of Pahalgam.
Now begins the comparative narration of the two faces of Pahalgham - Ivory, and Ebony
I hired a horse from the locals, hopped on his back, and started wandering around. It was the time when India had just upgraded to 2G Internet, so finding good internet in some small village in Kashmir valley was tough. I just started wandering randomly asking the locals for some amazing views of this place. A similar thing happened in winter too, in the end, in a quarter of 2019 the government of India removed article-370 from Jammu & Kashmir and due to some political and communal riots, there was a huge Internet shutdown. I was helpless back then and I was helpless now!
But these things didn’t stop me, chatting with the locals I discovered a few unique locations which even the guides won’t show the tourists. There was this place where we could see the entire Pahalgham sitting right beneath you. In summers the vegetation is so rich it is difficult to spot the village and in winter the snow is so thick it is difficult to find any greenery.
Along the way, I found a golf course – well maintained, all green, and surrounded with thick dense pine forest. A very few people knew about this place but the locals here who were drinking kehwa (Kashmiri tea with herbs and dry fruits in it) acknowledged me with the fact that the golf course was entirely commercialized and was mainly used for private clubs and movie productions. The Golf course I saw in winter, umm…., well there was no golf course there (LOL). It was just a big bumpy landscape entirely covered in snow and surrounded by huge pine trees protecting it.
The next place I wayfared was this very much recommended location for the tourists. The Baisaran meadow. Baisaran is an eye-catching meadow that is often dubbed as ‘Mini Switzerland’, located just 5 km away from Pahalgam. It was one of the best places to be visited in the summers here in Pahalgam. Hectares of land covered in tiny bushes of wild grass, beholding them was the mighty snow-capped mountains and far away between the meadow and the peaks stood a wall of pine trees. Wild horses, sheep, and goats grazing around with some wild rabbits jumping all over the meadows is something not to be missed. But unfortunately, winters in Pahalgam do not allow you to see this beauty. The roads to Baisaran are blocked with chunky snow and even if you manage to reach here there is nothing to see but to wait for summers to return.
It was almost evening when I returned from my vagabond expedition, but still, there was one thing remaining. I jumped off the horseback, walked the pony to the riverside, and set him free to graze for a while. Bought a bowl of lava hot Maggi along with that Kashmiri Kehwa as a beverage and just sat there on the river bank adoring the beauty of Pahalgam.
Happy Travel!
How to get here?
Nearest Airport: Srinagar, Kashmir (90 km – 2.5 hours)
Nearest Railway station: Jammu Tavi, Jammu (256 km – 8 hours)
Easily connected by roadways and NH-01.
Traveler’s note:
Feeding your belly with lava hot Maggi, sip on that Kashmiri Kehwa, and enjoyed clicking pictures wearing those traditional colorful Kashmiri dresses. Pack your backpack, put on some rain gear, and prepare yourself for a unicorn ride through this wonderful Valley of Paradise – Pahalgam.
This is so awesome.. The writing… Emotions poured out… Just speechless
Thank you Dear! Regards ‘ONE TICKET PLEASE’.
Thank you, Dear! Regards ‘ONE TICKET PLEASE’.
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