Day
3 began from Udhampur where we stopped the previous day, with the target being set as Srinagar. The roads were very poor for about 50 kms from Udhampur, because of the previous day rains and also because of the road maintenance works going on. My bike even got skidded in the slush at some point, but
nothing harmful happened to me. We came through two tunnels that day. The first
one was the Chenani - Nashri Tunnel also
known as Patnitop Tunnel that was
opened for traffic in 2017. This is the longest road tunnel in India as of 2018,
with a length of 9.28kms situated at an elevation of 3937ft. It was so
thrilling to ride through NH44 on the mountains with the Chenab River flowing
alongside in the valley below. The second tunnel we passed through was the Jawahar Tunnel, operational since 1956.
This 2.85kms long tunnel situated at an elevation of 9200ft has one-lane road on either direction.
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| River Chenab |
On
the way we stopped at the Titanic
Viewpoint, which offers the breath-taking view of the valley with the
Himalayan mountain ranges in the backdrop. We met two riders from Chandigarh,
both of them with about 60 years of age, one a retired merchant navy guy and
the other a retired IT professional. Their zest to travel even at this age was
truly inspirational.
We
continued our journey towards Srinagar, and the atmosphere felt totally
different once we entered the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The landscape was
so scenic but it felt as having a sense of melancholy in the air, may be because
of the stories we were hearing from childhood about the chaos prevailing in this
beautiful state. We came across plenty of army vehicle convoys and there were
armed soldiers on either side of the highway at every 100 meters. There
were many military check posts throughout, where vehicles were being checked thoroughly. However,
the soldiers were very friendly and gave special consideration to riders like
us. We also spotted armed soldiers on top of abandoned buildings, wrecked
bridges, amidst bushes and even at tree tops.
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| Parathas, Dal, Rajma.., various forms of these were the food for us mostly throughout the trip |
We finally reached Srinagar town
by 5 PM, and there were army men in each and every nook and corner. The whole
setup gave an idea on the situation prevailing in this state of strategic importance
to the country. But despite all these, the place had plenty to offer to natural
lovers and we continued our ride with the aim of relishing in a few of them
after having delicious beef tandoori and roti from a small hotel in the street.
We checked-in into a hotel just opposite to the Dal Lake and immediately went
for the much awaited event of the day – the Shikara ride. After
much negotiation we got a deal from a shikara guy who agreed for an unlimited
time ride for Rs.1500.
The night ride in Shikara on the beautiful Dal Lake was
quite relaxing and rejuvenating. We were approached by vendors coming in small
boats who sell souvenirs, food items, dry fruits and even fish tandoori. There were
plenty of shops in the lakeside too that remained open even in the late night. We
visited a few of them and did a small shopping of items that include dry fruits,
Kashmiri shawls, blankets, jackets etc. The thing that I found very helpful was
that, these vendors will ship the product you ordered to the destination you
wanted on payment of 40% of the price, and the balance amount can be paid once
the product is delivered. This facility comes handy especially when you are on
a bike trip, with limited space for luggage. It was already midnight when we
finished the memorable ride and came back to the hotel.
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| Apple tree in the hotel |
The
next morning we went again for an hour-long Shikara ride in the Dal Lake, with
the prime aim of clicking some amazing pictures of this unique landscape, and
we were not disappointed. We also clicked our pictures in the traditional
Kashmiri costumes, and the whole experience was very funny.
Srinagar is also
famous for the plenty of centuries-old gardens. We visited a couple of
them too – the Chashme Shahi and Shalimar Bagh, both built by Mughal
emperors Shah Jahan & Jahangir respectively. These gardens are perfect
exemplars of the influence of Persian garden styles, with pools, fountains and
canals apart from the plethora of types of flowers it has.
We
couldn’t spend much time in these gardens as we had to cover a lot more kilometers
the same day. However, it was quite enjoyable whatever little time we spent
here…
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