Jammu & Kashmir

Set like a jeweled crown on the map of India, Kashmir is a many faceted diamond, changing character with the seasons – always extravagantly beautiful. Three Himalayan ranges, Karakoram, Zanaskar and Pir Panjal – snow capped, majestic, frame the landscape from northwest to northeast. They are the birthplace of great rivers which flow through the Kashmir valley. The Mughal Emperor exclaimed “Gar Firdous Bar-ru-e-Zamin Ast ; Hamin Ast ,Hamin Ast Hamin Asto”. Meaning if there is paradise on this earth : This is it, this is it, this is it.

“India’s most fascinating northernmost state consisting of three regions differing in topography and culture – Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh, popularly known as Jammu & Kashmir.”

It is an emerald valley, cradled in the Himalayas, under crystalline blue skies, and against the backdrop of snow capped mountains. It has been praised enormously for its beauty aptly called ” The Heaven on earth” . Kashmir’s capital city, Srinagar offers delightful holidays on the lakes with the shikaras and houseboats..

Srinagar is at the North of Delhi via Pathankot and Jammu. It is on both the sides of River Jhelum and is the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The God has graced this city with such a beauty, that it is often called “Venice of the Orient”. Situated amid clear lakes and lofty mountains makes it a valley of joy. The floating gardens of Dal Lake are the famous attraction of city. Enter a houseboat and you are instantly transported to another world.

This city has long been a center of Indian pilgrimage .

Places of Interest: Ragunath Temple, Ranbir Canal, Bahu Fort, Bag-e-Bahu, Amar Singh Palace and Museum, Dogra Art Gallery..

A distinctive region in the Jammu & Kashmir state, Ladakh is a vast highland desert lying between the Karakoram and the Himalayan ranges. The region is now organized into two districts: Leh and Kargil. Situated at the apex of a triangular plateau formed by the Indus, at an altitude of 3500meters above sea level is Leh – the biggest oasis of the mountain region and the heart of Ladakh. The city is a great tourist attraction for the foreign tourists especially during the Hemis Festival – the birthday of Guru Padmasambava, founder of the red sect of Buddhism in Ladakh.

Ladakh is the abode of rare Kiang & highland Yak. Leh its capital city lies at the Tri junction of the historic silk route from Sinkiang to West Asia and to the plains of India.

The holy cave shrine of Vaishno devi is situated in a beautiful recess of the Trikuta Mountains forming a part of the lower Himalayas at an altitude of over 5000 feet. In the cave there are images of three deities viz. the Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasaraswati. For the devotees it is a journey to peace and solace. For nature lovers it is an excursion amidst breathtaking scenic beauty.

The cave of Amarnath, lying at an height of 3880 Mtrs. is a famous holy place of pilgrimage for the Hindus and is held in the same veneration as Mount Kailash in Tibet. The sacred Cave contains a Shiva Lingam formed of Ice, the size of which increases or decreases according to the position of the Moon. Usually there is a big Festival in the 3rd week of August every year thousands of people from all over the country and from different parts of the world visit this Cave. The difficulty of the pilgrimage continues in itself, an extra ordinary sacrifice.