SNOW CALLING !
The road trip from Srinagar to Sonmarg was hands down the most beautiful voyage I experienced in my life. I did travel to many more alluring destinations (which you will read about in the upcoming blogs) but this was something else with snow-draped all over the terrain and also got to experience the very first snowfall of the season.
The BORDER ROAD ORGANISATION had more than an instrumental role to play in making an aspiring tourist’s dream to visit this beautiful part of the world a reality.
Founded in 1960 by India’s first prime minister pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, BRO is responsible to protect and maintain the roads around the border areas of the north and northeastern region of the country. The ministry of defense is its parent organization and as of now, The BRO operates and maintains roads covering more around 33000 km and bridges covering around 12000 meters. It also undertakes projects for friendly countries like SriLanka, Afghanistan, Nepal.
Founded in 1960 by India’s first prime minister pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, BRO is responsible to protect and maintain the roads around the border areas of the north and northeastern region of the country. The ministry of defense is its parent organization and as of now, The BRO operates and maintains roads covering more around 33000 km and bridges covering around 12000 meters. It also undertakes projects for friendly countries like SriLanka, Afghanistan, Nepal.
It felt like being a part of history. The amount of quality work it requires to maintain the infrastructure at such an uncertain place is colossal, to say the least, this was also the time one can feel the vibe of the Indian army in the air. Adding to the beautiful location, the weight of the impeccable history and tradition is a cherry on the cake.
A little traffic jam on the narrow pathway gave me an opportunity to come out of the car and take it all in. The snow was pouring and there wasn’t much visibility to offer, it was all pure white and the only thing perceptible was this green board confirming that I finally arrived in Ladakh.
After a long 4 hour journey covering the beautiful glimpses, it was time to get a good piece of another prominent destination, the destination that I originally set off for: Sonmarg.
It wasn’t the most pleasant days as far as the weather was concerned, the temperatures were almost in the negative and the overcast conditions made it even more tumultuous but honestly, in that given moment I didn’t allow my mind to go on that negative path and I am sure if you were in my boots, your attitude would be the same irrespective of your natural temperament. This was another once in a lifetime opportunity, how many times you will get to ski on snow at one of the most beautiful locations on the planet.
SONMARG means meadows of gold and it justifies its name to the T, snowy mountains acting as the backdrop with the dark blue, clear sky embracing it. It was a cloudy day, so the sky was mostly overcast but the setting didn’t hamper its beauty one bit.
Located at an altitude of 9200 ft, Sonmarg acted as a gateway on the ancient silk route connecting Kashmir and Tibet. It also is a pivotal point strategically for the Indian army for the defense of Ladakh. It normally takes around 3-5 hours to reach a summary from Srinagar and one can reach through a local car or a bus.
On arriving, I had to don into a completely new avatar. My Nike shoes won’t suffice on that stinging snow and then the massive warm pullover came into play to make me keep warm on the day where the temperatures were lower than the average.
Once all set, the arena is yours to own it, you can jump, throw others on the snow or throw the same on others or you can do whatever your creative instincts allow you to do but of course at your own risk.
Sonmarg isn’t the most populous place you’ll come across, the town holds a mere 400 locals, apart from that mostly the habitants are working in the tourism industry, it was an incredibly frosty day but yet the guides were hell-bent to make their tourist’s every single pennyworth.
I got over a wooden plank made by the locals so that I could ski on the surface through the aid of one of the guides. There’s also an option to do a ski manually on the slopes but there weren’t many takers and I would advise you to try that only if you have some prior experience in skiing. The snow is all soft and fun to play with but you don’t want to fall on the face at a high speed on the ferocious surface.
After completing the pony ride at Pahalgam, I was astonished at how powerful the little animal is. In Sonmarg, I witnessed the same for normal humans like us. These guides weren’t the most strongly built but they had immense power. In order for the ski to come to its fruition, a guide will have to pull a tourist seated on the plank to the top of the slop on the snow facet, fighting tremendous friction before skiing straight down. This is a Herculean task, to say the least, and more importantly, a relentless one as the tourists keep on coming. The overall experience turned out to be magnificent and inspirational.
After spending a good time on snow, the rain gods started pouring, a very unique event of experiencing rains and snow at the same time. All quickly rushed to cover, some of them leaving their ski halfway. It was time to have the famous Kashmiri Kavah yet again before giving all the guides a big hug as I look forward to exploring more of Ladakh.
Such experiences make you realize how beautiful this planet is and also what an average person goes through to earn a living. I only had a feeling of gratitude after visiting the beautiful meadow of gold and can’t wait to explore more of the beautiful state as I head to Kargil, a long-awaited dream is going to be fulfilled in a matter of hours.
A little traffic jam on the narrow pathway gave me an opportunity to come out of the car and take it all in. The snow was pouring and there wasn’t much visibility to offer, it was all pure white and the only thing perceptible was this green board confirming that I finally arrived in Ladakh.
After a long 4 hour journey covering the beautiful glimpses, it was time to get a good piece of another prominent destination, the destination that I originally set off for: Sonmarg.
It wasn’t the most pleasant days as far as the weather was concerned, the temperatures were almost in the negative and the overcast conditions made it even more tumultuous but honestly, in that given moment I didn’t allow my mind to go on that negative path and I am sure if you were in my boots, your attitude would be the same irrespective of your natural temperament. This was another once in a lifetime opportunity, how many times you will get to ski on snow at one of the most beautiful locations on the planet.
SONMARG means meadows of gold and it justifies its name to the T, snowy mountains acting as the backdrop with the dark blue, clear sky embracing it. It was a cloudy day, so the sky was mostly overcast but the setting didn’t hamper its beauty one bit.
Located at an altitude of 9200 ft, Sonmarg acted as a gateway on the ancient silk route connecting Kashmir and Tibet. It also is a pivotal point strategically for the Indian army for the defense of Ladakh. It normally takes around 3-5 hours to reach a summary from Srinagar and one can reach through a local car or a bus.
On arriving, I had to don into a completely new avatar. My Nike shoes won’t suffice on that stinging snow and then the massive warm pullover came into play to make me keep warm on the day where the temperatures were lower than the average.
Once all set, the arena is yours to own it, you can jump, throw others on the snow or throw the same on others or you can do whatever your creative instincts allow you to do but of course at your own risk.
Sonmarg isn’t the most populous place you’ll come across, the town holds a mere 400 locals, apart from that mostly the habitants are working in the tourism industry, it was an incredibly frosty day but yet the guides were hell-bent to make their tourist’s every single pennyworth.
I got over a wooden plank made by the locals so that I could ski on the surface through the aid of one of the guides. There’s also an option to do a ski manually on the slopes but there weren’t many takers and I would advise you to try that only if you have some prior experience in skiing. The snow is all soft and fun to play with but you don’t want to fall on the face at a high speed on the ferocious surface.
After completing the pony ride at Pahalgam, I was astonished at how powerful the little animal is. In Sonmarg, I witnessed the same for normal humans like us. These guides weren’t the most strongly built but they had immense power. In order for the ski to come to its fruition, a guide will have to pull a tourist seated on the plank to the top of the slop on the snow facet, fighting tremendous friction before skiing straight down. This is a Herculean task, to say the least, and more importantly, a relentless one as the tourists keep on coming. The overall experience turned out to be magnificent and inspirational.
After spending a good time on snow, the rain gods started pouring, a very unique event of experiencing rains and snow at the same time. All quickly rushed to cover, some of them leaving their ski halfway. It was time to have the famous Kashmiri Kavah yet again before giving all the guides a big hug as I look forward to exploring more of Ladakh.
Such experiences make you realize how beautiful this planet is and also what an average person goes through to earn a living. I only had a feeling of gratitude after visiting the beautiful meadow of gold and can’t wait to explore more of the beautiful state as I head to Kargil, a long-awaited dream is going to be fulfilled in a matter of hours.
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