DRASS- the pictureques land of J&K.

While staying at jammu , we got the opportunity to explore the extensive land of J&K and ladakh.... Though , each of the places i had been to across J&K ,has different angle of beauty attached to it in my mind but my most loved travel experience was our visit to Kargil & Drass via Zogilla pass.
Offcourse , Zogila Pass is always a travel enthusiasts dream journey but the extreme beauty is just as one ends their journey across Zogila. The landscape between end of Zogila pass & Drass , mostly known as PANDRASS , is just unexplainable & truely a Jannat.
 The name Drass , itself reminds us of the Kargil War...... the sacrifices of lives of our soldiers....the name Tiger hill ,Tololing peaks, ecos in our mind. I always longed to see this World's 2nd coldest place ie DRASS..... & so ,it came on a platter to me.... I knew the journey is definitely tough but its a memmory to be cherished ever.Zogila Pass drive thru' is beautifully canvased on my lens & whenever I watch those moments on my laptop , I just get shiver ......sometimes, i feel ,I will never again have the courage to traverse that journey again in my life.......I was totally exausted by the time we came to  the end of Zogila Pass..... But now began the extreme beauty of nature................Uff!!!!!just couldnot stop framing each & every angle of the region ,so called Pandrass.....................

What a beautiful landscape , Just mesmerised me .....................& then came Mushko Valley.... Just dont know , who created this unexplainable beauty............ Loved it truely . All my hard efforts to take on the Zogila Pass paid off . 

Mushko Valley.

Its was Drass now,.......................... The War Memmorial was just a treat to be there & may our homage to our brave soldiers who laid down their lives for Our India.

End of Zogila Pass.

White Peaks of TIGER HILL, Drass.

Kargil War memmorial  at Drass.

At my backdrop is the Tololing top at War Memmorial, Drass.

Kargil War Memmorial, Drass.

It was really a great feeling to be visiting the World's 2nd coldest place  -DRASS. My most memmoriable trip across J&K during our stay at Jammu ....
 Now its all memmories to cherish all my life as our jammu tenure ended & we headed back to our home Mumbai ................... So hence on it will be some other places across India to explore.

MY ADVENTUROUS DRIVE ACROSS THE ZOJILA PASS.

The name ZOJILA pass  itself brings severe and thrill  to every travel enthusiasts  mind. It's considered the steepest and the difficult and dangerous  amongst all mountain passes across the Himalayas. ...it was long wished for ,to drive across. Earlier, I had the opportunity to drive across kardungla, changla  passes in ladakh,  Sela pass in Arunachal pradesh , Banihal in jammu region and Rotang  pass in Himachal pradesh. ...but ZOJILA  had been alway a craze for me. Just had the opportunity  last month to travel upto kargil across ZOJILA  pass.....I didn't  wish to miss  this chance and reached Srinagar on 16th June 2015. We were to drive off to kargil on 19th June. ...but it was continous bandh  atmosphere across kashmir valley from 17th June onward. ...was very much worried for that...anyways,  we hired an inova  car  as it's not adviceable  to take zojila  pass in smaller vehicles....

We left Srinagar  very early ie 8am. ...We had prior info that the upward traffic  on zojila was allowed from 1pm...so we had to cross  Sonmarg and reach Baltal  by 1pm.Baltal is the place from which Zojila pass starts...lucky that we cross Sonmarg by 12pm and soon we were on high mountains. ...traffic  jam is very common on this way....We were hanged up at Baltal for almost  2 hrs approx . because of some landslide  little before Baltal. ....I came out of my car , and  what a view across....

At Baltal.
Oh ,  the traffic started moving...and we were on the move...now Zojila  though looked thrilling to drive but really every drivers nightmare. ....road hardly exists...snow melting had brought waters and mud all on the road...the road is so very narrow,  looking down  just brought shivers and as I kept filming my journey  on my lens , I was awstruck  by the treacherous  beauty of the Zojila. ...after a short time others in our vehicle were all started feeling drowzy  but I was not able to wink  my eyes even.....its so so beautiful. ...looked like I am travelling  in some other planet. ...just to the summit,  ie Zero point it's had been a very very difficult drive....above that those dusts and the difficult  twists and turns.....just crazy !!!!!!.....heart was beating very fast as it was really scary. ...
Many tourist who plans for halts at Sonmarg,  do plan for the Summit of Zojila  pass ie Zero point but often those tourist vehicles fool the passenger's and shows places close to Baltal and tells that it's Zero point...
By the time we reach Zero point it was around 3.30pm. ..we had a short stop over there ,  had tea and snacks in small temporary  shops there and watched other people taking on skiing,  snow sledging  and motor  biking on the snow....After the all refreshing  break we then headed for Pandras,  which is the end of the Zojila pass....after the Zero point , it's really picturesque. ....In my total journey  across ,to kargil ,  I loved  Pandras,  Mushkoh  valley,  Suru valley  and  Drass much more attractive. ....kargil town is just hyped by name of the kargil war , but I realised that the war took place in Drass area  in kargil district.......
I tried to canvas my journey  on my lens and the thrill is always to be experienced by one who takes on the drive.

COLOURS OF UNEXPLORED KOKERNAAG IN J&K VALLEY.

Kokernaag  is a sub district town in Breng  Valley ( The golden crown of kashmir).kokernaag  is at the ht  of 2000 mts approx the sea level..It is famous for its Botanical garden  and largest fresh water spring in kashmir valley. If one  takes his drive  across Sinthan pass,  kokernaag  is only 40kms drive.
As such it's quite isolated and off the route on NH1B,  but after visiting the place by the end of fall season , I can simply say, it's beauty is similar to Europe  in Autumn. The kokernaag spring gushes out of the base of a thickly wooded hill from where it divides into channels,  which resembles to the claw foot of hen.Hence ,  it's name koker  means "fowl " and naag  means "serpent". ....
The botanical garden is home to innumerable  species  of trees and bushes  , which in autumn  gets varied colours to the whole landscape..... I was just mesmerised  by the beauty of the place. ....jktdc  has hotel to stay inside the botanical garden complex but truely freezing  place to stay a night ,  so anyone planning a night halt here should come prepared.... The Sinthan pass only opens for 2/3 months  every year...so if one wants to enjoy the autumn colours , u cannot plan via the sinthan pass .
I tried to canvas the beauty on my lens ....

MUGHAL ROAD- A DRIVE OFF THRU' HEAVEN.

        MY DRIVE OFF THRU' THE MOST BEAUTIFUL & ADVENTUROUS -MUGHAL ROAD.

Long I heard of Mughal road , its mesmerizing effect on all those who took on the challenge to drive through it.... But ,some sort of fear did kept my plan to get pospond everytime.It was Janmastami holidays this year 2014 that I and my husband thought to make it to Mughal road... Definitely its a long drive off from Jammu City ,where we presently reside ,So we planned to g
take a night halt at Poonch City which is 249km from Jammu City and then take on the Mughal road drive next morning.
INTRODUCTION OF MUGHAL ROAD:
      Mughal road starts from BAFLIAZ in Poonch district to PEER KI GALI onto SHOPIAN in KASHMIR VALLEY. It is 45kms track & pass thru' the most beautiful region of Jammu & Kashmir. 
   BAFLIAZ- BEHRAMGALA- NOORCHAB- CHATTAPANI- PEER KI GALI -
  
 The Attractive mountainous range have mesmerizing effect on reaching here.One can feel himself/herself in heaven on earth.The Refreshing meadows during summer adds beauty of the place.The road passes over pirpanjal range at an altitude of 11500ft above sea level, wich is higher than BANIHAL PASS on NH1A...

MY EXPERIENCE AS WE DRIVE THRU':

The Glacier Point on Mughal road.

CHATTAPANI.

CHATTAPANI.

    It was 8am on Janmashtami day 2014 that we started from Poonch City after having breakfast as we were aware that No food is available on the way.As we crossed over Poonch city , The SURANKOT VALLEY looked amazingly beautiful in the morning sunshine....It was much more charming that what I felt the evening prior when we came to poonch. My Camera kept on framing every angle of this beautiful valley. We headed to DEHRI KI GALI from SURANKOT ,which is also a narrow way onto BAFLIAZ. Had a cup of hot tea as we could start to feel the chill in the air.

WELCOME TO MUGHAL ROAD.

As we kept gaining height on Mughal road, the pirpanjal range kept charming us.

The Slopes of Pirpanjal range on Mughal road.

At Behrangala- The hanging pool.

Charming beauty.

NoorChab/Ahrabal waterfalls.

Driving our own car at 11,500ft high peerpanjal range was itself an experience,

The beautiful Meadow at Peer Ki gali.

PEER KI GALI.

Myself ,at peer ki gali on Mughal Road.

From topmost point of the meadows at Peer Ki gali.

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THE JOURNEY BEGAN AT BAFLIAZ.
 We were  both very excited to take onto our dream drive  and also the most thrilling and adventous drive. I was all prepared with my Canon aswell my handy cam................... wanted to frame it very well. We were not suppose to stop on the way and every corner the message read" Beware of Falling Rocks"....

Oh WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I  told my husband , "hope I am not dreaming"..... I felt, if really there's a place called HEAVEN ,it should be this.... I have been travelling across, Jammu & Kashmir & Ladakh state for last 3/4 yrs, seen almost every nook & corner, except a few of places , But this is uncompareable. Wondered!!!! why this place has not found its mention on tourism guide of J&K.
 After we crossed BEHRANHALA, which is situated on the foothills of 8,600ft high RATTAN PEAK, we chanced to see the NOORCHAB,or AHRABAL FALLS..... Its really beautiful ,which charmed queen Noorjahan  that she use to take a break here on her journey across & after her bathing ,she use to use the falls water as mirror to dress herself.
We kept moving ahead as we had plans to reach Peer Ki gali by 11am . Thereafter we had to drive back to Jammu city by evening by Rajouri route. But  as we moved ahead, the road became much more steep but hardly we could feel the tiredness as it looks like a dream world all around. Next came CHATTAPANI ( GLACIER POINT).................... Just too good. Don't really know whether even my camera could do justice of framing this beautiful place..... Very difficult to take a perfect shot from moving vehicle , where the road is full of twist & turns, But surely well maintained except a few small pockets of bad road. There Checkpost on the way,Drivers have to give in writing where from they are coming & show licence too & passengers are throughly checked for their Identity......Don't know whether need to show passport for foreign tourist .
After driving a few kms its PEER KI GALI ( Truely a Heavenly place ) .......We are swimming in the big clouds of mist here while enjoying the matchless bliss of nature. The Spot of Peer ki gali is multi dimensional in beauty & attraction. History says that this place got its name because of converted hindu saint sheikh ahmed karim.




Peer Ki gali was so serene, quite chilled ,that stole our mind & heart...... Just can say WOW !!!!! after walking thru' the meadows for awhile, its time to driveback to Jammu .....We took the route instead via Rajouri from Bafliaz But road was very very bad ....it would have been better if we would have gone via Dehri-Ki gali & surankot , which is a longer distance instead. But My experience was totally mesmerising................... No fear anywhere, Very good road condition, Very safe...... To my mind , every travel enthuiast should try this dream drive journey & experience it on his/ her own.....as I could hardly explain how I felt as I took on the drive in words..... Definitely A MUST TRY for all those visiting J&K.

MY ENCOUNTER WITH THE BAR-HEADED GEESE AT PONG DAM LAKE,KANGRA VALLEY.

PONG DAM, well known as MAHARANA PRATAP SAGAR DAM, is an earth filled embarkment dam on R. Beas, just upstream  of Talwara city in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The lake created by the dam,became a renouned bird sanctuary. Pong Dam lake is the largest man made wetlands in the foothills of the Himalayas and is the home to around 43000 barheaded geese, probably half their number globally.Pong dam lake was declared a Ramsar Wetland site on account of its rich waterfowl diversity ,for conservation & sustainable use of wetlands. The large reservoir and its strategic location in the extreme NW of the northern plains have attracted migratory birds from the plains of India and central Asian countries & Siberia during Nov'-Mar'.The stretch of the Pong wetlands is 307sq kms.

Pong Dam Lake, Kangra Valley(H.P)

Pong Dam Lake View.

Pong Dam wetlands site.

As We walked ontop the wetlands site leaving the vehicle behind in the wheat field.

        Since mostly people around are not that familiar with the site, hardly someone attempts to make a visit.

NORTHERN PINTAIL.

The Barheaded geese ,at Pong dam lake wetlands.

It was a fine day in the month of feb'2014 , we thought to drive down 207kms from Jammu city to enjoy the beauty of these migratory birds. We started quite early in the morning around 7am  and drove down to Pong Dam ,via Kathua, Lakhanpur, Hajipur,Talwara ..... We were not aware that a permit is required to cross over the Pong Dam . We had to take a termporary permit from the gates,which allows only 20mins to cross over the dam & its flood gates as a hydal power station is located there. But our intentions were strictly to go to the Pong dam lake & enjoy the birds in their natural habitat. Since it was very cold & raining we were bit upset as we crossed over to the other side of the dam.(photography is strictly prohibited on the dam)...... Soon ,after we crossed the dam ,we could located the lake ,but kept wondering ,how to go close to the lake waters....
We had to struggle a bit to find out the Ramsar Wetlands site of the Pong Dam Lake ,which is almost 19kms from the Dam . As we crossed thru' a bridge we could locate the exact position & the tough job was to go up to the waters in the marshy stretch. Somehow , our friend could drive in his endevour vehicle but had to stop amidst the wheat fields on the Ramsar Wetlands site of Pong Dam Lake.... Now our job is to come out into the muddy stretches & start walking down .... It was an awesome experience; Shoes getting stuck in sticky mud , Raincoats flying off ...chilly winds &Umbrellas finding tough to pave thru' the windy stretches, above that the rains continuing its work of constant pouring....................... But my mind was fixed on to capture the moments in my lens....

 What an amazing site.... its very difficult to keep counting their nos................... But the muds were very difficult to pave our way forward.... Many a time it so happened that ,my shoes got stuck in the mud & i could not pull my legs out....& looking a the condition of our sneakers, our heart broke....should have come in gumboots ,i felt at heart.. But those amazing birds  just stole my heart away.Soon ,my husband & his friend,spreaded the tent on these wetlands stretch....Oh , God!!!!! untill U r that crazy of Nature , U can think of this amidst mud/ water/ rain . They were planning for cooking Maggi & soup.................... Just too ,romantic a moment on Valentines Day. The Soups were a blessing gift in this chilling condition, followed by hot plate of Maggi .... Cann't ask for anything more in midst of this wilderness. Just loving it ,as i recall those moments on 14th Feb' 2014 afternoon. Now , we had few more hours to keep enjoying these birds, Before we would leave back for our homes in Jammu City.

Just had an amazing Valentines Day ; would keep cherishing this memories in the years to come....................


*******ROUTE :- JAMMU CITY- KATHUA-LAKHANPUR- PATHANKOT-HAJIPUR-TALWARA-PONG DAM.

*****NOTE:- Should alway carry atleast 2 pairs of shoes & dresses and also, raincoats and sufficient food stuffs along.

****** TOTAL DISTANCE FROM JAMMU CITY:- 207kms (one way).