| |
|
Jammu
and Kashmir
|
 The legend goes that king Jumbulochan was
out hunting. He saw a tiger and a goat drinking
water from the same pool. He considered the
place very auspicious and founded a city there,
calling it Jammu Nagri. He transferred his
capital to the new city from the Bahu Fort.
Jammu is worth a visit for the scores of temples
here and for being the cradle of the Dogra
Culture. The meandering Tawi River
flows in the Jammu Foothills and there is
the backdrop of the imposing Trikutarange
of peaks. It is also the starting point for
the starting-point for visiting the holy shrine
of Vaishno Devi at Katra.
The Kashmir region starts near Banihal,
17 kilometers (11miles) before the Jawarhar
Tunnel , where the dominant language changes
from Dogri to Kashmiri style. The landscape
blossoms north of the pass where the lush
fields of the Vale of Kashmir stretch away
to the north. The image of houseboats reflected
in the waters of Dal Lake against
a backdrop of snowcapped mountains is a really,
but this is only part of what Kashmir has
to offer. The valley, or vale. is a large
oval plain 136 Kms long and up to 40 Kms wide,
with Srinagar, at 1,593 meters, at the approximate
center. The autumn colours and the saffron
harvest near Pampore are a wonderful backdrop
to a low -altitude trek. From June onwards
the oppressive heat of the plains makes the
cooler days in and around Srinagar even more
attractive. Since the partition of India divided
the state and cut the road via Rawalpindi
and Baramulla, the longer route via Jammu
is the only practicable land link with the
rest of India . (There is also a road linking
Himachal Pradesh with Ladakh.)
|
| |
|
|
|
|
