This is the Ancient route to Srinagar the Mughals took to reach from Rajauri and Jammu, This is not a very common route among travelers to reach Srinagar. The National Highway is the one which takes most of the traffic.
Despite that we were cautioned not to take this route, as this route is
not well made and also it is a very secluded route for travelers like us, we
still thought and decided to take the route and took chance – honestly we
thought we will drive to the place we can and in case we are not able to take
the drive further we will return back and take the common route Jammu to
Srinagar, which has lost its beauty and the commercial establishments have
taken over.
But trust me friends although it was a difficult part, with ditches and
pot holes, and road in totally bad bad condition but it was worth it. The
nature and surroundings are still very raw and for person who likes nature and
is not scared of the potholes, this is a must do!
This is the same route which many nomads who
survive on the breeding of sheeps, goats, mules take to reach the high areas in
Kashmir, where their live stocks can get some feed. The Bakarwals travel all
along with the live stocks, stuff for their day to day needs and their families
at times to reach the high altitude where the grass is still green for their
stock. When we spoke to some of them on our way, we were surprised to know
that some of them take a journey of several hundreds of kilometers for the task
and they travel not for days but for months to reach their destination.
This is the route which is still untouched and you will not get many dhabas, hotels, and clutters, the nature is still at its best and you get to see snow peaks, but now they have started working on the road and the government plans to re route some of the traffic from the Jammu Srinagar highway to this route in the next year or so...
If you ever plan to go to Srinagar by your own car, try this route, despite that your car will suffer a lot with you but still you will not regret. Make sure that you carry enough of spares and the knowledge to use them on your own if something goes wrong, as you will not find any help there.
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nice write up
ReplyDeleteThanks Samareshbiswal...
DeleteThe road is in great shape - I drove on it 4 days ago. Surely one of the best drives in Kashmir Valley-Jammu region
ReplyDelete