SERENE HILL TOWN OF RAJOURI IN J&K.

People mostly correlates RAJOURI as a military territory & it hardly appears in any ones travel itenary to Jammu & Kashmir. But its totally a myth.Its some 90kms+ from Jammu city. After Jammu city limit ,we entered Akhnoor city & took the bypass lane towards Sunderbani..Skipping out Akhnoor ,who we visitd earlier. As we took the bypass ,after few kms we crossed over the HARAPPAN SITE of AMBARAN at AKHNOOR bes-

ides the river Chenab. Its very pretty....The above pic' is of R. Chenab at ambaran.

     On the way to Rajouri , there are 2 more beautiful places of tourist interest ,one is BHAMLA & other is SUNDERBANI. After crossing Akhnoor city , the hill drive begins after few more kms.............. & its truly untouched beauty....

 As we continued our drive from akhnoor towards Bhamla.

                                       At Bhamla..................
We continued across hill mountains & lovely coniferous trees adorning the hills add to the beauty of the region.....alongside the chill of the hills..... The drive upto BHAMLA is just awesome, can try out Paneer pakoras & hot cup of tea alongside the road & carryback home, some lovely homemade Khoyas from the stalls there;
   As we drove ahead ,we reached Sunderbani, which is also a beautiful small hill town on the way to Rajouri.

  Beautiful sunset from the hills of Rajouri....................

         Enjoying a hot cup of soup by a stream at Sunderbani.................

          At Sunderbani , by the stream........................

                Posing for the lens over a broken bridge at Sunderbani.....

       Myself, by the stream at Sunderbani.............in Rajouri (J&K).

                     Beautiful Sunset at Rajouri............................
After crossing Sunderbani ,which is also in Rajouri ,we drove another half & hour ahead & saw a small flowing stream.... instead only driving off ,we thought to stop & walk down the hills upto the stream.... It turned out to be a great idea indeed!!!!! There's a broken bridge over the stream...& we all opted for an afternoon picnic ,with freshly made hot cup of soup.Just a great way of enjoying a winter afternoon in the hills....................As it was almost sunset time at Rajouri, we had to start back for Jammu city. I could capture few lovely frames of the sunset from the hills of Rajouri. We started from Jammu city around 12pm & reached back by 5:30pm................ & well enjoyed trip to Rajouri thus came to an end. Hope to explore Punj in J&K next time.

My First visit to the Indo-Pak border at RS pura in J&K.

My the name INDO-PAK Border ,might excite some people & some others will bore a feeling of fear at heart..... This is my story , which might portray a different perspective about the place & others can make their visit & experience the pride of being there once in their lifetime.
     RS pura ,well known as Ranbirsingh pura is a area well known world wide for its Basmati rice yield is some 7/8Kms drive away from Jammu (satwari) airport on the opposite direction of the city limit.
   It was a winter sunday afternoon ,that I & my husband ,after fnishing our lunch was wondering what to do...as all markets & recreational places are closed in Jammu city on Sundays & we were feeling very bored. I logged onto the net ,but couldn't find much info. about RS pura... soon, I came across a blog posted by DC of RS pura about some wetlands in the area ,were Migratory birds makes it home for the winter season. I soon got that idea,to see the migratory birds & if possible will see the borders,as earlier our friends told that its 10kms from Jammu city....
     We started our drive around 2:30pm ...though not very well maintained but okay driving thru'  the Siakot road upto the crossing of SUCHETGARH & ABDULIAN. I just missed the direction of Suchetgarh & drove off towards Abdulian village ,the last on  Indian soil. The villages were so-o serene..I just loved the drive, But unfortunately couldn't find migratory birds as they come only in Jan-Feb months ( as informed by BSF people)... Then we turned back towards SUCHETGARH.... By the time we reached there, we found its not 10ms from Jammu city instead 37kms to be precise. SUCHETGARH post is now open for public but No display of parade takes place like Wagha border.Once at the post, the BSF people asked my husband to deposit his Army ID card & give his mobile nos..... need to sign on the entry register & only mobiles are allowed inside. We walked in & then the big border gates to be crossed inside in few batches each time....I was so-o excited, that's the PAK-soil, so-o near but still far off..... we were allowed to walk up to the knee height bobbed wire limit...another 50 mts there a bar(like railway phatak) & then the Pakistani post. There's a Banyan tree ,which seems to be a common property of both the countries.... I felt, so much pride to be standing there & salute my motherland INDIA & the brave soldiers who had been guiding there Day & Night to give each of the citizens a good night sleep. Maybe ,I cannot express my feeling in words ,while I stood there ....except only can say, I WAS SO-O Proud to be an INDIAN standing there & offcourse, lucky to get a chance to be there.....

 Suchetgarh post..................the line of divide between two beautiful country.

 Myself, at Suchetgarh post ,in RS pura in J&K.

 The Banyan tree...... a common property of both India & Pakistan.

 The Sialkot road ..........................................From Jammu city to RS pura.

 The Basmati fields of RS pura......................J&K.

While on our return back, we stopped at a mills to carry along a big bag of 10kg basmati rice...its also available in larger quantity,but since we just wanted to get a taste of it...Its quite less priced & too good variety....

Just had a lovely experience of RS pura.... & hope to get there once the migratory birds flies in;Definitely ,I'll recommend SUCHETGARH visit, to all ,who might be visiting JAMMU city to make their way to Vaishnodevi temple.... Pls. dear friends ,Do come down to RSpura-Suchetgarh to experience the pride to be an INDIAN at heart & salute ur respect to all those soldiers guarding our motherland at such hostile condition...... Roads are just safe & nothing to fear about...... Just enjoy the thrill of going round Jammu & Kashmir.

MYJOURNEY ACROSS THE RUSTIC PUNJAB REGION.

Many of us had been to the Punjab state ,might be as a tourist/ resident/ or just passing by...But surely most of u might not be that lucky to experience the beauty of rustic Punjab region. It so happened that my husband had to attend some meeting at Bhatinda Oil Refinery & he planned to take the journey by road from Jammu City to Bhatinda City in Punjab -almost some 400+kms distance & 8 long hours of journey. I just didn't wish to miss this opportunity to see the rustic Punjab state.,though ,earlier I had been to Jalander,Amritsar,Ludiana ,Ambala, But ,this time we were to take on a wrong route through the countryside of Punjab to Bhatinda City.
     We started a bit early in the morning around 9:30am from Jammu city ,were we presently reside.... took the national highway drive to KATHUA city in the Jammu region of J&K state & then off to LAKHANPUR Border...after all check at the state checkpost we proceeded in to Punjab region.

At LAKHANPUR BORDER.

 

At MADHOPUR 

 

After Lakhanpur Checkpost ,we were crossing across over R. Ravi at Madhopur.......The whole landscape changed drastically now......No more ,highmountains across the landscape....its only 2 hrs that we had passed so-o far.....................still a long way to go;

PATHANKOT is almost 93kms from Lakhanpur border & after pathankot ,we were to take towards Dinanagar....I just kept watching carefully ,how the crops/vegetation kept changing from one place to the next......Every place in Punjab have a particular yield.....But its harvesting time everywhere ,either crop cutting was on or some places ,people were preparing their land for the next sowing season....

 

 

 

 

After DINANAGER, Its was GURDASPUR---- Followed by DHARIWAL & BATALA ...we kept drive across the country side on to MEHTA CHOWK.Saw a lot of cultivation around as we drove across towards Jalander- Amritsar highway...................... It was getting quite late & we were in search of a quality Dhaba for lunch.... after a long drive on JALANDER- AMRITSAR HIGHWAY ,we came across a proper place to have our lunch.Saw lot of pea cultivation in this region...We were to bypass AMRITSAR CITY instead ...

 

 

 

After bypassing AMRITSAR CITY, we headed towards the Holy City of TARAN TARAN......Now ,we were driving almost parallel to the border...

 

 

 

 

 

As we drove off from Taran taran towards ZIRA ...its just awesome to see those lovely CANAL SYSTEM that Irrigates the land of Punjab....Driving over the Dam at Zira with the sun going down over its ,was a fabulous experience.    Now we were to drive off towards FARIDKOT..... really felt quite exhausted by now & without a cup of tea ,we just could n't move ahead.The Dhan Mandi at Zira ,was a great experience to see the amount of FOOD GRAINS grown in our country ,but the sad side of it is ,still in INDIA ,so-o many goes off to sleep without food...

 

 

After FARIDKOT ,we were to reach BHATINDA CITY within an hour & half but the road turned out to be bad & over crowded.................. until we reached National Fertiliser Complex at Bhatinda City. My idea was ,Bhatinda city might be a little village But ,MITTAL'S have changed its total look ................... Just got so-o impressed ,that I can simply compare the place with PUNE CITY, with lot of flyovers, good roads, Big malls............ Just impressive!!!!

 

OUR TRIP TO THE TROUBLED LAND OF KATHUA-J&K.

Since we are stationed at Jammu city presently, my whole idea is to go round to every corner of J&K state during our tenure. This time we thought of a straight drive off to Kathua from Jammu city. This place generally doesn't feature in ones itenary ,if willing to visit J&K. But , to me, every corner of Jammu & Kashmir is just picture perfect .Kathua is some 80kms from Jammu city down towards Pathankot.
    Since , except dhabas,having food becomes a problem as one travels by road across the state, we thought of packing our lunch along + snacks.... Our target was JASROTA WILD LIFE SANCTUARY & UJH BARRAGE... The main places,as we drove off ,was SAMBA, HIRANAGAR, DAYAL CHAK to mention a few..... after, we reached JASROTA,from the highway ,we took the turn towards left into small narrow bylanes towards Jasrota wild life sanctuary..... Its quite a few more Kms drive thru' jungle roads...soon we could locate the UJH BARRAGE from the top of mountain roads amidst dense jungle.... We just wanted to go upto the waterfront at Ujh barrage.....but we were really having tough time to find a road to reach the location ..... Our SUV just helped us to drive thru' bolders/muds/jungles ..& ultimately we were there at the sight..... R. Ravi...blue sky & the beautiful Kassh flowers ,just made a beautiful scenary of the landscape. We walked across the barrage lock gate to the other end & now the Jasrota sanctuary was standing tall infront of us;We were more busy watching various types of birds , standing on the top of the barrage lockgate....After sometimes, we just wanted to find some good location  in the sanctuary to munch our snacks/fruit juice; Oh, the monkeys are on...waiting to have their share...................... After that we started onto our walk across the Bird watching zone..........................The walking area is somewhat restricted  with fences...... It was almost lunch time & we thought to finish off our lunch.... Our friend had a small oven to prepare soup & so-o the lunch was spreaded...... amidst dense jungle; What a romantic way to enjoy a good life.... River Ravi/Ujh barrage infront ... amidst Wildlife sanctuary ,a plate of Rajma-chawl,Vegs. & soup...... Next we tried the fort there & later a visit to Samba fort in ruins ,before we returned back in the evening.....

The view from the Ujh barrage.

R. Ravi.

Jasrota Wild life Sanctuary.

BHADERWAH-THE UNTOUCHED BEAUTY OF J&K.





Bhaderwah town

     BHADERWAH -THE UNTOUCHED BEAUTY OF J&K.

Bhaderwah,situated at the bottom of Aashapati peak of Kailash range in Doda distt. of j&K state .Lush green meadows,rolling hills,widespread conifers & challenging rock faces makes this place picture perfect locale. The Seoj,Padri,Roushara, Jantron provides a best place for Eco adventure activities. Jai, Chinta, Khellar,Churala, Blaisa are best valleys for camping as well as trekking.

R.Chenab cutting across Doda region.

Enjoying at the R. Chinta bank at Bhaderwah.

   Often considered as unexplored paradise on earth , Bhaderwah is credited with breathtaking pictureques spots all thru' out the year. Chinta Valley , set on the backdrop of amazing thick conifers is eye feasting ,this valley is ontop of a mountain range of height 6,500ft.Exquiste  view of Chinta riverflowing down thru' the valley are breathtaking.

The Igloo rooms of the Alpine Resort,Khellar Valley.

The Apples & Pears being sold besides the Orchards at Bhaderwah.

   Best season : March-October..... Sumer temp.:- 8C-14C. Altitude-1107mts.

Doda town

Route from Jammu ---- Jammu- Udhampur-Kud- Patnitop-Batote(NH-1A)---then ,need to take onto NH-1B route to Pul-Doda & then move on to Bhaderwah...if interested to visit Kishtwar also ,it is better recommended to plan atleast for 3 days trip orelse, the journey becomes very hectic(as per my experience)...
  Not much big hotels/ resorts at Bhaderwah ..Homestays are most preferred by travellers to Bhaderwah.... If enthusiatic, Do carry Ur tent & make ur stay by the river bed of inside the meadows spreaded across .................. Mostly , Maggi is available as food ..so better be prepared & carry food along .
***** NH1B --truely is well maintained route to take on the journey into the Doda region ,but preferred vehicles are SUV's as often roads get choked by falling rocks ....

The view of Bhaderwah from Khani top

The Chinta valley.