Sonamarg: The Gold Rush (kashmir)
Any vicinity with the moniker ‘Meadow of Gold’ has a reputation to stay as much as. Fortunately, Sonamarg, with its terrific high altitude valley that packs it all in — rolling hills, craggy peaks, speeding streams, a glacier, a trout-stuffed river, and miles-upon-miles of pine timber — appears to do so. Even by the excessive requirements set by the various lovely spots inside the Vale of Kashmir, Sonamarg manages to face tall as a veritable goldmine for the character lover.
But with that comes the gold rush. In iciness, Sonamarg lies included below a blanket of snow, but come summer, lots of travelers descend upon this small metropolis, which is also the closing most important supply halt for troops bound for Kargil, Drass and the battlefields past, and for truckers ferrying resources to Leh. After which, in summer season comes the stream of devotees heading to the holy Amarnath Cave, putting in addition pressure at the ecology of this lovely valley.
But even amidst the crowds of tourists, taxis and ponywallahs, and the black clouds of diesel from the trucks on the Srinagar-Leh Highway, it’s possible to snatch moments of tranquillity. On arriving you could be tired, jaded, and wondering what possessed you to come here, but a split second later, all doubts will be gone, when the clear, blue skies and gorgeous mountain vistas reveal themselves, the sun glancing off the peaks, casting a golden glow across the valley.
Matters to see AND DO
The metropolis of Sonamarg lies along an approximately 2 km stretch, west to east, at the Srinagar-Leh toll road, NH1D. As you arrive here from Srinagar inside the west, to your left (north) is the Sind River and in your right are a few accommodations and a road, milling with ponywallahs and ready taxis, that ends in the Thajiwas Glacier. Pressure further along the highway, and also you’ll move an military camp, followed via Sonamarg marketplace, full of shops, dhabas and small accommodations. Across the marketplace, on your proper, are a few large motels and the taxi/bus stand. Cross the bridge and the police checkpost at the eastern facet, and the town ends. The dual carriageway stretches on closer to Zoji l. A..
One of the pleasant activities at Sonamarg is to surely stroll round. The widespread meadows and rolling hills you cross at the manner to the Thajiwas base camp provide awesome perspectives and lots of space to relax, far from the crowds, which make a beeline for the glacier. Any other ‘mystery’ region is determined at the back of the JKTDC hotel within the essential marketplace. In the direction of the back of the property is a pathway that leads as much as the circle of relatives huts. Stroll on beyond the huts and also you’ll come upon a wooded hillside that gives perspectives of Sonamarg and the Sind river. High-quality of all, you’re nearly assured solitude right here, besides for some grazing horses or curious kids. As an alternative, cross the bridge across the Sind and walk all the way down to the river financial institution or the village there.
TIP Hire taxis only from the authorized stand near the market and be wary of the rather aggressive ponywallahs
Ponies between trips to Thajiwas Glacier Fishing PointThajiwas GlacierAs soon as you enter Sonamarg, you’re surrounded by taxi- and pony-wallahs offering to take you to the town’s main attraction, the Thajiwas Glacier. Personal vehicles and cabs from outside Sonamarg aren’t allowed onto the road leading to the glacier, so you will need a local taxi, but don’t take one from here as you’re bound to be overcharged. Instead, drive on till you reach the Sonamarg Taxi Stand (Contact: Farooq Ahmed, Mobile: 09469112945), towards the end of Sonamarg Market, on the eastern edge of the town. The taxi stand offers fixed-rate sightseeing to the local places of interest. A round trip to Thajiwas will set you back ₹800 for a taxi, but that’s still cheaper and far more comfortable than hiring a pony (₹500 per person). You can also walk the distance to the glacier (about 3 hours) over rolling meadows accompanied by some gorgeous scenery. Taxis only go up to the Thajiwas base camp, a small clearing packed with diesel-spewing taxis, pushy touts and food stalls. From here, you have no choice but to either hire a pony (₹100-200, 45 minutes), or hoof it yourself (1½ hours).
The walk from the bottom camp to the glacier is quite an clean one, even though you’ll need to watch out for the thousands of vacationers, walking and on horseback. The preliminary segment may be a piece elaborate as the direction’s a bit narrow and the impatient ponywallahs seem to have little regard for the ones strolling. At times, the melee receives a piece overwhelming and also you start to question the very awareness of visiting the glacier, however cling in there; as the meadow opens up, it receives plenty less claustrophobic, for a chunk as a minimum.
Stop along the way and take some photos of the valley and the green meadows that overlook Sonamarg. You’ll cross a few small streams and a couple of lone tea stalls. Most of the crowd sticks to the pebbled pathway heading to glacier, so step off that and walk on the grass next to the stream from the glacier, and for a moment, you can almost imagine the place as it would have been a few years ago.Up next is a small clearing packed with tea shops, and a small, rickety, twisted bridge that looks like it could fall down any time. The glacier lies just ahead, but once you get there, prepare to be disappointed. Rising temperatures and the influx of tourists have taken a toll on the region’s ecology and the glacier has borne the brunt. It’s receded quite a bit, and the ice now looks rather grimy. Rather depressing, but the stunning scenery on the way makes up for it. You can get sled rides here at ₹60-100 per ‘point’ (a point is around 100 feet).
Fishing point
once again in Sonamarg, head over to the Fishing point Park for a few a lot-wanted solitude. A cab from the taxi stand will value you ₹six hundred (or you may integrate it with a trip to the glacier for ₹1,two hundred). But because it’s just 1½ km past the taxi stand, it’s without difficulty walked. Just be cautious as you’ll be walking alongside a hectic motorway. The fishing point by itself is not anything to talk about. However, it sits under a few craggy peaks and is freed from the hordes of vacationers that appear to overrun Sonamarg. Additionally they hand out fishing licenses — it’ll value you ₹four hundred (device blanketed) for a day-long license to seize as much as four fish from the pond right here. As a substitute, shell out ₹1,000 to fish (you’re allowed to capture up to six fish) inside the nearby Sind River, which teems with trout.
AROUND SONAMARG
Zoji La
(22 km)Take a cab up to Zoji La at 11,581 ft, where the Kashmir Valley ends and Ladakh begins. You’ll earn edge-of-theseat thrills thanks to the narrow road and precipitous drops, with amazing views en route. You’ll also earn bragging rights for having stood at the historically important pass. All this for ₹3,000 for a round trip. Zoji La is the easiest motorable crossing of the Great Himalayan Range, anywhere along its 2,400-km stretch.The Great Lakes TrekThe crowds that throng Sonamarg can take some of the sheen off the region’s exquisite natural beauty. But it would be rather hypocritical to blame your fellow tourists. Instead, leave the melee behind and head off on the Great Lakes Trek. Over the course of a week, you’ll camp by a number of serene Himalayan lakes — Vishansar, Kishansar, Gadsar, Gangabal, and Satsar — and walk over pristine, high-altitude meadows, eventually coming down at Naranag. Check the weather forecast, hire a reliable guide, get your maps in order, pack your tents and don’t forget to carry ID with you as the area is patrolled by the Army and you’ll be asked to show identification at any checkposts you cross. Also, never set off without checking in with the local tourism authorities.
When to go
Sonamarg’s season is late April to August, but go early in the season. By late May the town gets very crowded and even more so once the Amarnath Yatra begins in late June. This stretch of the Srinagar-Leh highway is snowed in during the winter months, and Sonamarg can be inaccessible at times
pics of sonamarg
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