Trip to Kashmir – A Journey to Forever Remember
written by Vargis Khan November 11, 2018
This article is the conclusive one and the last in a series detailing my Travels to Kashmir. Our trip to Kashmir lasted for a total of 8 days; covering some well known destinations as well as areas that rarely anyone know about. It was a great journey which in many ways also proved to be a learning. This was a trip which only made us wanting to visit Kashmir again as soon as we could; and visit all the areas that we missed in last 8 days. Please click on the link below to read the previous part of this travelogue.
Journey So Far: Gurez to Srinagar & an Evening at Pari Mahal
We all woke up that morning with a common feeling. I wouldn’t really call it sadness but our hearts felt heavy. Why is it so always that good times fly by so fast? It all gets over before you even had time to properly enjoy it. The last 8 days were probably among the best of our lives. We truly enjoyed every moment of it; lived life to its fullest. But as all good things come to an end, so did our trip. Today was our last day of a memorable journey. Today we were to end our trip to Kashmir and catch a fight home.
Not much to write about this day really. Lavish and I woke up first and went out for a cup of tea and short walk. Our flight was at 11 AM so we had a bit of time to enjoy our last morning of this trip in Srinagar.
Ride to the Airport
Faisal arrived at around 9 AM to pick us up. I really do not have words for the hospitality of the gentleman. He proved to be more than a friend, a brother in fact. He arranged the entire trip for us; our itinerary, cab, stay in Srinagar, motorcycles; and even came to drive us to the airport himself. It is hard to believe that someone who I met for the first time on this trip would really do so much. If this is not really a shining example of “Kashmiri Mehmaan Nawazi” then I am not really sure what is.
Trip to Kashmir
With heavy hearts, we left the hotel which was our home in fact for last 8 days. Our host was the most gracious one and treated us like family. There is nowhere else I would rather stay in Srinagar if not for Hotel Grand Valley Inn. It has now become like my second home there. No matter how many times I visit Kashmir again, I know now where my stay is going to be.
Kashmir Airport
Kashmir airport is a small one and even the town is not that large. But the road and the police checking causes a lot of slow traffic. We too almost missed our flight because of the long line of cars in front of us. Actually we stepped out of the car and ran the last couple of kilometers. If we hadn’t ran then I am sure we would have missed the flight.
Trip to Kashmir
So a word of advice would be to ensure that you get at least a 3 hours start from your hotel before the flight. Do not think that you can make it in last hour or so because you definitely won’t. Our flights were on time and by 2 PM we were all back home. The only last minute drama that happened with me was that I lost the keys to my home and had to break the lock open.
vargis khan
Our Itinerary
Below is how we traveled.
Arrive in Srinagar and head straight to Gulmarg – Day 1
Sightseeing in Gulmarg – Day 2
Gulmarg to Doodpathri and return to Srinagar – Day 3
Srinagar to Aharbal to Srinagar – Day 4
Day Trip to Yusmarg – Day 5
Srinagar to Gurez – Day 6
Sightseeing in Gurez – Day 7
Gurez to Srinagar – Day 8
Fly Out of Srinagar – Day 9
And this is it. That was our trip to Kashmir; the one that is going to remained etched in our memories all our lives. There are so many other places in Kashmir that we weren’t able to cover. There is so much to see, so much to explore and I will be back there again soon.
Conclusion
Shah Jahan once called Kashmir as heaven on earth and he wasn’t wrong. This place in every way is a paradise and I am about to book tickets for my next trip there in a couple of months.
