Road Trip to Heaven...(Part 1)

Sep/Oct 2012

Looks like it has been a loooong week (refer to our post Revitalising)! Also, we have not traveled much since our Wellington trip two years ago L.  

To catch you up, G and I have relocated to Chandigarh and believe me, it is a weekend trip heaven (long or otherwise). So far, we have visited Shimla, Kasauli, Amritsar, McLeod Ganj and Kashmir.  To help us travel to these places, we have on board this absolutely beautiful and stunning beast called Bolero. Oh! We love the vehicle, and it shall be our partner in crime for travels in the hills and beyond.

The road trip + details of the places we visited will become very lengthy for a single post. So, we will be presenting Kashmir in two parts.
Kashmir Part 1 - The Drive
Kashmir Part 2 - Three Exotic Destinations 

Considering our previous track record of posting consistently, prayers are in order for the subsequent posts I guess!!

Kashmir Part 1
The Drive

How it came about
Our initial plan for the Gandhi Jayanti long weekend was Dehradun and Mussoorie. However, a colleague who had planned a trip to Kashmir asked us if we would be interested. My conversation with G went something like - “Wow, Kashmir will be beautiful!– hmmm, Srinagar has a direct flight from Chandigarh. Or, do you think we can drive down?.... Possible, but we don’t know how it is to drive down to Kashmir na?” 

Well, the flights were filled up. So, we decided to do some G&R (Googling & Research LoL. I am mighty pleased with the acronym, so please don’t burst the bubble!).

Shikara at sunrise at Nigeen Lake
More about our boathouse experience in Part 2

Planning the road trip

This was our first long road trip. G&R came up with 665 km from Chandigarh to Srinagar; according to Google Maps that’s a cool 11 hrs. Well, we knew from experience we had to add what we call Google Maps Factor (GMF) to this estimate since we will not be able to travel 60 kmph throughout the trip. A quick calculation and further G&R gave us an estimate of 16 hrs. We decided to split the travel over two days (6 hrs + 10 hrs).
We were met with concerned apprehension from people who learnt about our trip; not safe –need to travel by convoy with security during night– nakabandhi – road opening units that will make our journey slow and painful. But we were sure we wanted to take the road on the simple (maybe naive) logic – (1) People do live in Jammu - Kashmir and lead normal lives (right?). Worst case we will be delayed (2) (Read point 2 in a whiny tone) How can we leave our Bolero behind? (Ya, that would be me!) 

Packing for the drive

Since we knew the route was entirely a National Highway, we were not too stressed. However, packed basic essentials.

BRO Entertainment!

- Torch and additional battery.
- Music that will keep you entertained if not for the BRO signages

- Newspaper and soft cloth to clean windshield. Cigarette in case the windshield fogs up. Also, carry couple of bottles of water for cleaning etc.

- Cool drinks, drinking water and wafers

- Stay option details. As in list of hotels in cities you probably will stop for the night. This was very helpful when we decided to halt in Jammu City instead of Pathankot. Feed numbers on to your phone if possible. - Navigation tool (we used Google maps on our BB)
- Vehicle mobile charger   

Route 

Chandigarh – Hoshiarpur – Pathankot – Jammu - Patnitop – Peerah – Ramban – Jawahar Tunnel – Qazigund - Anantnag - Srinagar

Onward Day 1:

Plan: Drive to Pathankot and halt for the night

Actual: Departed Chandigarh at 3:45 pm and we did good speed. We were at Pathankot at 8:30 pm and decided to drive to Jammu City for the night. We reached Jammu at 10:15 pm. A good decision because Jammu - Srinagar estimate itself was 10 hrs. 

Notes: If you have no plans to enter Jammu City, we suggest you take the NH44 Jammu – Kunjwani bypass.  It will save you a neat 30 minutes.  

Eat: McDonalds and CCD at Dasuya after Hoshiarpur. Comes on to your right side while you drive up. Punjabi dhabas are available throughout the route.  

Rajma-Chawal-Desi Ghee at Pheera

Onward Day 2:
Plan: Pathankot to Srinagar and arrive late in the night.

Actual: Started from Jammu City at 7:45 am and reached Srinagar at 5:15 pm. Hurrey! 

Notes: Drive from Jammu to Katra diversion junction road is bumper to bumper traffic and slows you down due to the Yatris heading to Vaishno Devi. After Jammu, ahead of Nagrota, do not take the Nagrota bypass since the road is still under construction.

Eat: Punjabi Haveli at Katra. Other major towns enroute - Patnitop, Peerah for the famous Rajma-chawal-desi ghee. You can stop at Kud before Patnitop for some yummy Patisa. Ramban is a district HQ and has decent options.

Driving Experience

Kashmir from Titanic Viewpoint

Jammu and Kashmir valley are connected by Jawahar Tunnel built by Project Beacon of Border Roads Organisation. Roadall the way up to Srinagar is a National Highway and the road condition is good. Breathtaking beauty - Army/CRPF  presence is a constant all through the drive.  One will see zillion army and CRPF  convoy movement with men and material, and loads of civilian lorry and fuel tankers. Fresh vegetables, milk, meat, fuel ply on these roads to feed and run Kashmir valley. Now we understand the magnanimity of a road blockage due to land slide and snow in this region! The presence of security forces may be constant, but, there was no random nakabandhi. However, during our early morning drive back from Patnitop, we did see road opening units sweeping the roads for mines . I guess the threat still lurks in the background! 

Once you cross the Jawahar Tunnel, pull over for a few minutes to take in the beauty of Kashmir at the Titanic Viewpoint. 

Getaway from Srinagar  

View on Apple Orchard Road 

• Gulmarg is a 90 minute drive. Head West from Srinagar on NH1A and get on to Srinagar - Gulmarg road (SG) about 15 kms on to the NH. There is a prominent signage for you to take left. SG is a well laid out 4 lane road and the drive is a breeze.
• Pahalgam is a 3 hr drive. It is a base camp for the Amarnath Yatra. You drive South to Anantnag and go North East on the Khanabal - Pahalgam Road (KP Road). However, we recommend you take what is called Apple Orchard road. To get on to Apple Orchard road, take left at Bijbehara before Anantnag. The road is newly made, is less crowded and scenic. Though the top layer work is happening for the last 3-4 kms, it is motorable. This route is not mapped on Google maps.

The return trip

The return trip was pretty straight forward. We started from Pahalgam at 1:00 pm on the KP Road since it connects to Anantnag. We reached Patnitop at 6:30 pm and stayed at Hotel Alpine run by Jammu Kashmir Tourism Dev. Corp. We started at 7:00 am on day 2 and reached Chandigarh at 5:30 pm.

The road trip was definitely a memorable one. 6 days, 1644 kms, 3 exotic destinations! What more can one ask for. 

In the next post, we will talk of our three destinations, things to see, stuff to do and more. Stay tuned and drive safe!!