Thursday, August 15, 2013

SONAMARG IS BEAUTIFULL PLACE FOR TOURIST IN SRINAGAR KASHMIR

Situated on the bank of Nallah Sindh , Sonamarg is a popular tourist destination about 87 km from  Srinagar . Sonamarg is a vast expanse  of open meadows and grassy slopes nestled in the cold - clad peaks of the Himalayas . Sonamarg attracts a large number of  tourists every year and being on one of the two routes to the cave shrine Amarnath, it is particularly crowded during the Amanrnath pilgrimage in summer.



in ancient times, Sonamarg was a gateway on the silk road, connecting kashmir with ladakh and on to china through the zojila pass which lies 15 km east of it . the pass is one of the highest passes for rad transprt in the world. no far lie Kolhoi and Machoi glaciers which are accessible only in summer. Sonamarg is watered by the Nallah Sindh, the largest tributary of jhelum which abounds with trout and mahseer. some 15 km north of sonamarg in the foot hill of zojila is Baltal , the base camp for pilgrims to the holy cave .



and just a trek across the pass is the splendid Leh. From Sonamarg, one can also trek to the Himalayan lakes of Vishansar,Krishansar,Gangabal and Gadsar, which are stocked with snow trout and brown trout . floating ice flakes in the crystal water of vishansar makes for an incredible view from the top of Sonamarg

The climate is very bracing but rainfall is frequent though not heavy , except for two o three days at a time in july and august . in winter, heavy snowfall makes sonamarg, located about 9000 feet above sea level, inaccessible.

sonamarg has of late also emerged as a haven for rafters. the tourism department organises river rafting tournaments every year which now attract teams from abroad .

for campers, there is the ridge that separates sonamarg from Thajiwas. The ridges Sonamarg slope is steep and covered with a dense forest of fir and birch .The ascent on the Thajiwas side is through Alderberry plants and under Sycamore and pine. The range isn an assortment of miniature plateaus separated into distinct compartments. Some 6 km from here is Nilagrad, the confluence of a mountain river and the Indus . its water is a bleeding red which makes for a spell - binding sight. Locals believe this water can cure skin ailments, so they take a bath in it once a week

sonmarg is stunnigly beautiful would be an understatement. just ask Bollywood filmmakers who would flock here to picture it as backdrop for their movies before kashmir eupted in violence in the late 1980s. 

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