SRINAGAR
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The infinite beauty glimmers,
Echoes through times mirror.
The verdant meadows are a grand sight,
The high rise mountains setting winds right.
The gentle essence of nature's presence,
scintillates like the starry incandescence.
Regarded as the summer capital of Kashmir, it is nested in the Kashmir valley on the banks of Jhelum river.
The exquisite landscapes, gardens waterfront, lakes and houseboats are a constant source of wonder for all the tourist travelers visiting here all the year round.
Srinagar translates itself in Sanskrit, as the city of the sun or the city of wealth.
The climate of Srinagar is characterized as a humid tropical climate, summer is generally hot and winter months experience a chill climate with the daytime temperature dropping down to 2.5 degree Celsius, and night experience sub-zero temperature.
Best time to visit Srinagar.
Srinagar is considered to be a year-round the destination, so practically every season is just perfect to visit this amazing place.
Every season bring its own splendor and Charm for people to witness.
Summer is considered to be an ideal season for cool climate, perfect photographs, and stunning landscape views, are generally meant for adventure sports like skiing when the entire Valley turns into a carpet of snow.
April to June- weather ranges from 12-28 degree Celsius, and amidst the pleasant climate, tourists relish the unparalleled beauty of Srinagar.
This is the most favorable and convenient time for Travellers to flock to Srinagar and have a royal delight.
This season brings with itself, the Tulip festival which is celebrated in vibrant colors at Asia's largest Tulip garden in Srinagar.
On the contrary, the season from October to March emanates its own Grandeur wherein negative temperatures, cricket matches are played on the Frost frozen lakes apart from the adventure enthusiastic explorers who ski down the Mountain slopes which bubbling energy.
Reaching there
By road
The city is well linked with many highways including the national highway 1A and 1D.
By air
the Srinagar International Airport serves the city by Linking it with the town of Jammu, leh, Chandigarh, Delhi and Bombay.
It also has occasional flights for foreign tourists.
By rail
It is one of the key stations, that is built along the Banihal- Baramulla line.
New proposed line is to be built, which will connect India to Srinagar thereby increasing the tourism manifold and will be under across the Kashmir Valley.
overview
It pays homage to the architectural reminders from the distant past, the gardens which exit tranquility, and the living by lanes, which are really meandering Chronicles of history.
Despite this, modern hotels have been built which enhances the charm of this place in the backdrop of the mountains.
Called the heaven on earth, it redefines beauty and gives you every reason to believe that this is the epitome of bliss.
The waters of Pahalgam, endless green pastures of Gulmarg instill into you essence of freshness!
The mountain air was never so sweet. The Dal Lake has its own magnificence and charisma that stands out, with the reflecting view of the mountains in the stillness of the lake.
It will indeed be a breathtaking sight when you wake up with the morning sun and find yourself in houseboat where the slanting rays of the Sun caress the tallest mountain peaks, and the Pristine reflection is a scenery to behold.
1) DAL LAKE
Hold your breath as we venture out into The Dal Lake!
Mesmerizing Beauty of the hills,
With the shikara boat ride.
An enigmatic tale with a divine thrill.
Leaving the shore into the light.
In the chilled weather of Srinagar, wrapping yourself up with warm layers to get ready in the morning for a boat ride is a brave and adventurous moment.
Yet you get all your due rewards on experiencing the unfathomable journey as you walk out onto the streets of Srinagar, and finally into the boat which takes you across the lengths and breadths of the lake, and stunning landscape unfolds as you sit in the calmness of the sanctity of the mountains.
To exemplify the beauty there are four main char chinars structured right there in the center of the lake.
The grand and royal Shalimar garden was built in the vicinity of this lake from where the entire glory of the heavenly abode can be enjoyed.
The concept of boat houses and shikhara also followed which promotes tourism and allows you to have a complete out of the box experience.
2)MUGHAL GARDENS
Mughal Gardens still are amongst one of the most famous and the most visited tourist places of Srinagar. The Mughals had constructed a Persian architectural marvel which is now collectively known as "The Mughal Gardens".
The unparalleled beauty of this place is beyond excellent and it continues to attract many travelers in quest of peace, tranquility and beauty-the holy trinity'. These gardens are a constant source of positive vibes that make it an object of admiration.
The Mughal Gardens in Srinagar are bestowed with the graceful beauty of Nishat Bagh, Shalimar Bagh, Chashme Shahi, Pari Mahal, Achabal and Verinag Garden. Some typical characteristics of Mughal Gardens include canals, pools, and fountains, resonating with the old Persian architectural style.
3) SHALIMAR GARDEN
Entering into a zone of well-knit aesthetic Beauty, the garden's variety of flowers continued to fascinate me till the time I was In their sanctity and continues to amaze me everytime a faint memory drops in my mind.
Such a rich diversity of flora is not easily found elsewhere in the world so I tried to soak In the magnetic magnificence that they offered.
It is said that the human brain can remember 50000 different types of fragrance so your mind will be put to test here! Apart from the flower blossoms, there were almond and walnut trees to savor.
Exquisite, elegant and ecstatic!
All that life is,
On receiving nature's grace, enigmatic.
Where the mind is drenched in bliss.
"Shalimar" translates itself into"Abode Of Love" and no wonder why the Mughal emperor Jahangir built this for his consort Nur Jahan. The loves still emanate and reverberate long after it was built and marks as a symbol of true Love.
Bestowed with Chinar trees and pavilions, overlooking the Dal Lake, this is the grandest of sights ever witnessed in human history.
The lovely trail that was filled with trodden leaves and some with fresh flowers illumined our way into the books and corner of this garden.
With the mountains grandly standing in the backdrop, and the misty winds gently turning their way, the is a perfect nature walk that you can expect.
4) NISHAT BAGH
Sunlight pierces through the air and falls lovingly on your face as you enter and start a stroll of this beautiful garden. The openness of this majestic place can only be well described once we visit there-its beyond imagination!
Set up near the pretty Dal Lake, it is also called "THE GARDEN OF BLISS", providing you with a mesmerizing view of the sunset over the Dal Lake. With the snow-capped Pir Panjal Ranges overlooking this region, the winds have their own tale to tell.
Bestowed with a lush green landscape and tall chinar trees, they give you every reason to buy a DSLR!
The structural design of this garden is very unique and is based on the river pattern in Kashmir.
An escalation style can be found as one enters into the innermost regions of this place.
A standstill water embankment is a testimony for the division of the garden into multiple parts.
The aroma of freshness that we breathe in is simply pure and it takes you back to your childhood days when we had vast open spaces of greenery which was later overrun by concrete buildings.
The structural design of this garden is very unique and is based on the river pattern in Kashmir.
An escalation style can be found as one enters into the innermost regions of this place.
A standstill water embankment is a testimony for the division of the garden into multiple parts.
The aroma of freshness that we breathe in is simply pure and it takes you back to your childhood days when we had vast open spaces of greenery which was later overrun by concrete buildings.
Your entire experience in this valley is notably profound to keep you charged up for the entire trip.
5)CHASHME SAHI GARDEN
Yet another marvelous lush green landscape containing terrace lawns, floral blossoms, and fountains, right there in the vicinity of Dal Lake so the old mountain breeze still blows quite calmly here.
It is the smallest of the three main Mughal Gardens of Srinagar.
Originally built by Shah Jahan, a multiple rounds of renovations has taken place here and the beauty has only been enhanced.
It gets its name from a mountain spring that waters it and with the Zabarwan mountains as their backdrop, the view gets even more enchanting.
6) KHEER BHAWANI TEMPLE
Constructed over a sacred spring, this is a temple dedicated to the Goddess Kheer Bhawani.
Hindus of Kashmir predominantly worship the deity.
It is a sacred place of worship as it is believed that the cosmic energy from the universe resides and emanates from this 'Atmalinga', so do take your blessing!
LOCATION: The temple is situated at a distance of 14 miles east of Srinagar near the village of Tul Mul. The terminology of "kheer" refers to a sweet rice pudding offered in the spring to appease the Goddess, which became an integral part of the name of the temple.
Hindus of Kashmir predominantly worship the deity.
It is a sacred place of worship as it is believed that the cosmic energy from the universe resides and emanates from this 'Atmalinga', so do take your blessing!
LOCATION: The temple is situated at a distance of 14 miles east of Srinagar near the village of Tul Mul. The terminology of "kheer" refers to a sweet rice pudding offered in the spring to appease the Goddess, which became an integral part of the name of the temple.
This temple has a spiritual significance attached to it and a long lost history tale also echoes through the times' valley.
The legend goes as "Maharagya(Goddess) was pleased with the intense devotion of Ravana and appeared before him and Ravana got an image of the Goddess established in the island of Sri Lanka. However, the Goddess became displeased with the vicious and erroneous life of Ravana and so showed her displease on staying further in Sri Lanka. Therefore, she instructed Lord Hanuman to get the image from Sri Lanka and place it at the holy spot of Tul Mull.
The legend goes as "Maharagya(Goddess) was pleased with the intense devotion of Ravana and appeared before him and Ravana got an image of the Goddess established in the island of Sri Lanka. However, the Goddess became displeased with the vicious and erroneous life of Ravana and so showed her displease on staying further in Sri Lanka. Therefore, she instructed Lord Hanuman to get the image from Sri Lanka and place it at the holy spot of Tul Mull.
A fascinating incident as narrated by Swami Vivekananda himself when he had the vision of Divine Mother on of the occasions on mediating in the sanctity of the Temple-" During this stay, while ritually worshiping Khir Bhavani, he had the thought: "Mother Bhavani has been manifesting Her Presence here since many years. The Mohammedans came and brutally destroyed Her temple, yet the native people of this place acted in an unresponsible manner, and ultimately didn't protect her. Alas, if only I were then living, I would not let such a thing happen, I would have myself protected the temple from the nasty invaders." He, then, distinctly heard the voice of the goddess speaking convincingly that It was her desire that the Mohammedans destroy the temple. It was her desire that she should live in a dilapidated temple, else can she not immediately create a seven-storied temple of gold here if she wishes? What can you do? Do I protect you or do you protect me?""
7) S H A N K A R A C H A R Y A TEMPLE
Not just another point of interest, it holds deep mystical and prominent legacy of the ancient masters, along with the mysteries of Lord Shiva and Shakti.
Built by Adi Shankaracharya on the "Takht-e-Suleiman" hill, on the Zabarwan mountain, towering at 1000 feet above ground level overlooking the Srinagar valley-it is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Kashmir is believed to be the seat of Shaivam, the Himalayas and Sri,kailashgiri as "The massed laughter of Lord Shiva."
It was from this spot that the blissful ambrosia of Shiva devotion spread in India and around the globe, by the spiritual efforts & works of saints like Adi Shankaracharya.
Soundarya Lahari( The beauty of Goddess Shakti-"mool Prakriti') was composed by Adi Shankara atop the Gopadari Hill, after accepting the fact that the union of Sri Shiva and Devi Shakti, as in Shaktism, transpired into the Shri Chakra, the symbol of Devi(Goddess), as Sri Yantra, and only when Shiva is united with Shakti(merging of the yin-yang energies)does he have the power to create.
It was a very severe penance which he had to undergo through in order to awaken the powers of the saundarya Lahiri.
It was a very severe penance which he had to undergo through in order to awaken the powers of the saundarya Lahiri.
Its been a fulfilling journey with such an amazing group of people and I promise to see you soon on an adventure of the valleys of Kashmir! Stay tuned and let the beauty soak in.
"JOURNEY NEVER ENDS!"
*PC(GOOGLE IMAGES)
