DAY 101 – SRINAGAR

101) THURSDAY, 6 OCTOBER 1977 : 293KMS. - SRINAGAR

Departure from JAMMU to SRINAGAR crossing the mountains.  There was a convoy of military vehicles on the road.  Almost every city we passed we saw military camp located. Some parts of the road  collapsed on the sides  looking terrifying  when we  think of moving ahead on the road and suddenly it happens as the roadside is a deep abyss . We had to park waiting until there was no car coming from the other direction before we could cross the last mountain, which is not far from BANIHAL (about 2 hours) because the traffic was limited to only one lane as it was under repair.

 

Dangerous road - Photo : panoramio.com / Bing images search

After passing the limited traffic road,  we arrived  through the vast  valley near BARNIHAL. It is terrace-agricultural land for rice crops in steps cascading down that looked beautiful.  We drove further  through a long tunnel  onto “The Happy Valley” or KASHMIR with high mountains and large plains.

http://munichtomadras1977.blogspot.com

We arrived  in SRINAGAR , regional KASHMIR  in the twilight and parked our campervan in the Tourist Hostel ground under the huge Maple tree (along most city streets, I saw big Maple trees ). I guessed that it should have been grown up to 400-600 years  because from the historical evidence of Maple or Chinar trees  in the valley of KASHMIR they were planted in the reign of Mughal (or Mogul) dynasty.

Old Chinar/Maple trees in SRINAGAR - Photo : newshopper.sulekha.com / Google image search