Ep 6 Pari Mahal, Chashme Shahi- Srinagar & Yusmarg | Land of meadows | Charar-e-sharief | Kashmir
Hello Friends ! Welcome to Visa2Explore I'm your host Harish Bali As of now, we're at Srinagar in Kashmir First, you behold the "Dal Lake" spectacle Then, I'll tell you where we'd stayed yesterday night. It's looking wonderful. Isn't it? It's 8:30 AM Look in the front All the mountains that are visible..
Snow is crowned on them In last 3-4 days, there's not been such .. ..a best visibility even on a single day as it is today It's a great photography point Look, Shikara ride has already started Tourists are already riding on Shikara Now, let's talk about where we stayed here We've stayed in this houseboat At moment, I'm standing outside this houseboat Let me show you houseboat's interiors In my last video for "Harish Bali Travels" I provided you full tour of houseboat interiors I showed my rooms to you That's why I'm not repeating that stuff This is outer section Three rooms are here Obviously, since, 3 rooms are here So, 3 different families can book them You can sit here ..enjoy yourself Have a great time ! Ok, let's do one thing Let's have our breakfast Then, we'll go out to explore around.. First two & half hours, we'll be in Srinagar Then, we'll go to Yousmarg One property of JKTDC is "Heemal Hotel" where we'd already stayed Today, I'm thinking of shifting .. ..into a different property ..located in Chashme Shahi ..which is 6-7 KMs from that place I've not done the bookings yet I'd less time so I thought.. ..it's located in the proximity We'd should in person to check offline first If we got booking, then it's good..
otherwise, we'll return to Heemal General Tariffs in Houseboats start.. ..from Rs. 4500-Rs. 5000/- price range Around Rs.5000-Rs.8000/- remains the Tariff The houseboat in which we're staying.. ..it's Club Mahindra's property Since, I'm its member So, I got its booking done Every person has its own opinion Some says, it's not worth staying in houseboat I think it's worth enjoying.. ..but if you stay in it for 1 day A person will get bored in 4 days booking Staying in it affects your mobility Just imagine, you're here..
..and in the morning.. you feel like walking along "Dal Lake" How will you do that here? First, you'll need to get a Shikara ..to sail across to that side So, it ceases your mobility ..it's the biggest reason However, it deserves one day stay Let's go Our luggage has been kept in the Shikara What do we need to tell our driver? Which Ghat Number should he come? Call him at 16 number Very Good ! Such a beautiful flowers So much snow we're watching here Over there, on mountains.. Shall we see it on month of June? Not till that time How long will snow be on them? It'll only stay for 10-15 days more Means, it'll remain till 10th May Thank you, brother Hello, brother Irfan.. ..finally you reached Very nice Today, our entire luggage is with us Very good What a location ! We've just stopped our car I got off it and.. I got shocked to see it What a beautiful place it is ! There's also Governor's bungalow nearby I think it's around half a kilometre away So beautiful This property seems to be quite large It's reception is here Where are its rooms? Cottages are visible over there Let's see, what is here Ok, cottages are also located below In the reception at my front, let's me complete check-in first We'll keep our luggage in the cottage ..then, we'll go for a hang out We've reached atop a mountain Our hut is located here If we needed to walk uphill till here, it'd have taken us 10-15 minutes at least It means it's sprawling property Hut number 222 One room is this It's great ! If you want to have food, you can have your lunch, dinner here One room is on this side Hut in which we're staying at Chashme Shahi Its Tariff we gave: Rs. 7840/- I've got to know..
Single room with double occupancy.. They've 12 such rooms to offer Triple occupancy rooms are also 12 And Double Bed rooms we're staying in.. They've 60 such rooms Though, they all aren't open for tourists Only limited rooms are open for tourists ..that remain available Because, mostly bureaucrats stay here For instance, at the moment.. it's April now..
So, as of today, only 3 huts are available here From 1st May onwards.. that 3 huts won't also be available because.. Bureaucracy will shift from Jammu to this place 6-months they remain in Jammu 6-months they remain here And.. At any point of time, not more than 2-3 huts are available For some reason, if more are available.. 10 huts are thrown open for online bookings Otherwise, you can check offline booking also Just as we came, and by chance.. we got our bookings done Now, we don't make it late Let's go out to explore around..
Having taken Rs. 24/ person ticket, we've got inside the "Pari Mahal" First of all, look at the scene Outer scenery we're getting to see ..is world-class It's next level view When you see such views in person, then you realize the kind of place you've come It took us 10 minutes as we're.. ...walking up the hill How far scenery is visible from here.. During mid 1600 AD, Son of Shah Jahan, "Dara Shikoh" ..built "Pari Mahal" here with a purpose.. to propagate Sufi teachings. It's written outside..
Here, you'll get 7 floors to see So, I'm trying to figure out.. The point from where we entered.. 2 floors are visible One and two.. There's a garden below it One floor is this one.. Some people over there..
are also going down the stairs It's amazing Beauty of Pari Mahal is.. One you get to see an old monument.. ..with arched walls Its 2nd beauty is beautiful gardens ..which we're seeing here 3rd beauty is icing on cake to this location.. That's Srinagar's view This is the place man This is the same place.. You'll get surprised watching it In the last 7-8 days, Any best aerial view I've seen thus far That is this particular aerial view ..which we're seeing from "Pari Mahal" Is the hill visible from here? Total greenery Over there.. So much snow is on the mountain That we've also seen in the morning "Dal Lake" over there..
A while ago, sitting in a houseboat.. ..we're seeing snow-clad mountains How large the "Dal Lake" is And, how awesome the view is Clouds over there looking so beautiful Scenery of the mountains is awesome See, how much we can see with round view Sublime..I just enjoyed it Just as we're talking, it's 7 floors.. I'm not doing any exact counting But, just for my understanding..
See, those upper floors are visible Now, we've come one level down From here also, 2 floors are clearly visible One is over here Another is over there Beautiful gardens Further down lies Golf Course It's looking stunning "Royal Spring Golf Course" is located here ..down over there. I wanted to make a video about.. Royal Spring Golf Course Because, while sitting in a cart.. You can take a ride round.. ..the entire Golf Course Such kind of facility is provided there They charge around Rs.475-Rs.500
Though, I don't recall it exactly That's for two people Go in a cart Enjoy it thoroughly Hats off to its beauty Visit to "Pari Mahal" pleased my heart We could have no better.. ...morning start that this one To come here, the way is opened at 10:00 AM You can't come here after 4:30 PM Since, we're staying in JKTDC's property Tonight, we'll stay there If we wish, we could revisit it.. ..tomorrow at 7:00 AM But, those staying outside can't come I'm talking about JKTDC Chashme Shahi Let me show you view from this side also And..
Few moments ago, we're seeing from there.. We've just come a little ahead Our eyes are now seeing a new perspective I feel like, every 20-30 metres, view is changing Look at here So, the bottom line is.. whenever you come to Srinagar, "Pari Mahal" must be in your list It's point number 1 Point Number 2: Visit Pari Mahal during morning time Means come at 10:00 AM Because, you can't come before that.. But, avoid reaching here at 2:00 PM or 3:00 PM Because, at that time, jam is there You'll need to park your car behind ..and then walk up to this place And, second thing is..
If there's more crowd, you mightn't find it easy for photography Because, not everyone comes at 10:00 AM People also plan something different Let's stop here for another 10 minutes Let's get some photographs clicked Then, we'll leave this place We'll stop at Chashme Shahi for some time Then, we'll leave for Yousmarg After travelling for around 4 KMs, we've almost reached at Chashme Shahi By seeing the number of vehicles, you can guess how many tourists are here We've taken Rs.2400/ .. ..per person ticket from front counter We'll go up from this side Chashme Shahi is very beautiful How spectacular it is looking.. We've come just a little up Fountains are looking nice Chashme Shahi and..
Pari Mahal which we've just seen Both these structures were built.. .. by Shah Jahan for his son Dara Shikoh Pari Mahal was built on purpose so that.. Dara Shikoh can learn "Astrology" there Just imagine, the emperor for his son.. ..got a garden built And monument was built to make.. ..him learn "Astrology" there Here are total 3 gardens.. ..that go by name "Mughal Garden" One is Shalimar Garden; the biggest garden Then, Nishat Garden that also we saw And this is the 3rd garden It's smallest in size Now..
Since, I've been to Shalimar Bagh.. So, I can't say.. But, while standing in Nishat Garden, we'd caught sight of Zabarwan Range ..at the backdrop The speciality about this place is..
You can see Zabarwan Range Hill Range ..at its backdrop Moments before, I was standing below.. I was saying, how beautiful the fountain was.. Now, ascending few steps, we've come up Here are total 3 floors 1st Floor is this one Means, as we parked our car.. Having taken our ticket, we reached below over here 2nd Floor is where we're right now 3rd Floor is located over there 3rd Floor isn't at much height but.. the hut you're seeing.. That's on the 3rd floor If I talk about speciality of this place..
..especially, which we didn't see in Pari Mahal That thing is.. This is basically "Spring Water" Is it visible to you? This thing wasn't in Pari Mahal We didn't get to see fountain in Pari Mahal Let's see that spring water source. ..from where the water is emerging That's located further ahead As I was saying source of .. ..Spring Water was located above Look at the place water is emerging from What we are seeing.. One channel has been made From here, water flows down Lovely, nice place.. Many people are doing photography here Main attraction of this place is..
..beautiful garden "Spring Water" that emerges from a channel.. One feels good looking at it And.. Zabarwan Range at its backdrop Before leaving from Chashme Shahi, let's see the aerial view from here From a distance, it seemed.. there mightn't be any garden below Just as we came to this side, Lots of people are here also It's a quite large garden This side I've not explored earlier It's 12 O'clock Now, we've to go to Yousmarg So, it's better to have our..
..Lunch in Srinagar only This is what I feel doing like Moreover, if you've had your lunch, then you enjoy hanging around If you're hungry, then.. your enjoyment level drops To have our lunch, we've come to.. Pushpa Pure Veg Restaurant I've also been here once before Krishna Dhaba is also nearby at the front Let me tell you one more thing There is a Tourist Reception Centre here "TRC" Just as when tourists come and.. aren't sure, whether or not, way is open For example, let's talk about "Gurez" By rule, we'd go to TRC first They'll give us the updated information If anyone wants to travel anywhere in Kashmir If you've any doubt in your mind ..regarding tourist-related general information You can go to TRC.. Place where we're right now... . Just at half a kilometre distance lies TRC's huge office I've shared it for your kind information I've ordered 2 items for myself in Lunch "Dal Tadka" And, this is "Mushroom Masala" Well, there's one thing Texture of Dal Tadka is fine Preparation is very good "Dal" has been boiled too much Mild spices has been used in the lentil We're eating it hot against cold weather I liked the overall food here, because, Last time, when I visited, then also..
I'd a feeling; before leaving Srinagar I'd have one more meal at this place Lentil had mild spices in it Mushroom had strong spices in it It's full-on spicy mushroom It's name is "Masala Mushroom" Good taste ! Mushroom is fresh Small diced mushroom pieces are added Gravy is thick It's awesome taste It's 12:50 PM now In a sense, we're bit late for Yousmarg By rule, we'd have left for it at 12:00 PM Ok, no problem We'll leave within 10-15 minutes En route, we'll stop our car .. to let you see all those nice locations We, ourselves, will watch them too While being on the way to Yousmarg, we travelled for 1.45 hours Now, we've stopped our car..
..to behold an amazing view Too wonderful ! Look ahead Snow-clad mountains looking so stunning By watching them, it seems as if.. ..these mountains are just 2 KMs far from us But, I don't think, it will just be 2 KMs At least, they maybe 15 KMs far How should I tell you? How great do I feel stopping here ? We're just 6 KMs away from Yousmarg There're 2-3 view points behind which we saw by sitting in our car only We thought to stop at that view only.. ..which we'd feel was too amazing The view we'd not seen in last 8 days So, we finally stopped at such a place Oh, Wow ! I, myself, am feeing here in person.. We'd sit on the grass for half an hour Means, we don't take much tension about..
What will we see as we reach Yousmarg? Just sit here on the grass only ..and keep beholding this majestic spectacle And, take 5-10 nice photographs How beautiful it is looking To put my feelings in short, I'm getting soulful solace by sitting here There're no tourists here, so.. For that reason, there's no crowd Some people in Srinagar told me.. In Yousmarg, locals come more than tourists Though, I don't know the reason behind it I tried asking the same from some people But, I didn't get any proper answer See, what a wonderful place it is At the moment, weather is very clear Visibility is very far Just as I've told you Despite the Sun being overhead, It's not hot at all here Because, weather is cold here We'll sit here for 15-20 minutes We'll watch this view wholeheartedly Then, we'll head to Yousmarg We've reached Yousmarg Our car has been parked here There's a large parking space..
It's at this side and.. It's over there also Let's do thing Let's go over there And, after reaching there, We'll see the meadows Wow ! What a view ! What a wonderful view it is and.. how sprawling this meadow is Visiting this place reminded me of Solang Valley Himachal Pradesh To an extent, like Khajjiar But, Khajjiar's landscape is utterly different However, these meadows are awesome Just now, as we're seeing from a height.. It's a pleasing sight But, the surprising element is.. Here, tourists are very less, all of them are on to its other side Means, something special is on that side Even since, I came to Kashmir when I see a beautiful view ..that happens 3-4 times in a single day Then, I feel it's very different I haven't seen such view before Now, even after reaching Yousmarg, I'm feeling such types of meadows..
..though, I've seen earlier also You can find them in Himachal & Uttarakhand But, the thing that's different here is.. I'm talking about this particular moment I'm talking about today That is.. That large water reservoir.. One is the combination of.. water reservoir with meadows That's unique in itself And, behind it.. Snow-capped mountains in the distance..
..it's quite different for us to behold It's a very unique view Wonderful ! Are you seeing the huts here? Hut is also onto this side See this side, here also ..lies 4-5 huts These all are of JKTDC's property If anybody wants to come for a night stay here.. Then, you can have it here In the morning, as you wake up, And how would you feel when you.. see this view sitting outside your hut? It's looking beautiful even now, but..
how it'd look early morning. Food for thought Lovely ! From here, we're going to see "Doodhganga" It's a river We'll go by car for 1 KM Then for next 10 minutes, ..we'll need to walk down As we return after visiting that place, then we'll take a closer look.. ..at the water reservoir That's located half km down from here Let me tell you one interesting thing.. ...about Yousmarg meadows As we reached here, I saw a sprawling meadows area I really liked that Then I showed you the same meadows Then, we decided to visit "Doodhganga" As we moved toward it, Then, I realized, meadows were on..
..our both left & right sides and .. ..we're walking through them Especially to our one side, sprawling meadows were there ..rising up to towering mountains Then, I realized.. there're lot of meadows here So, this is a quite unique & interesting thing Now, we've got our car parked here Just as I've told you; it's 1-1.25 KMs distance And, Doodhganga's track is from here We need to walk along it that will..
..take around 10-15 minutes to reach there If someone finds difficulty walking, they can also get on a pony Ok, great, come.. While walking down, I'm not realizing .. ..how easily I've been going down Without efforts, my steps are..
..advancing on their own I'm thinking.. as we walk uphill, then our breaths will run out Because, it's a steep slope Just like we're descending, we'll walk up the same way There's one more thing worth noticing here Sunrays are unable to reach this place There's a very little portion, where sunlight is able to reach Because, trees are very much dense here Let's see the first view of Doodhganga We need to go yonder; close to that river It almost took us 20 minutes.. ..to reach up at here from down It'll take us 5-7 minutes.. ..to get closer to the river It looks good standing here, doesn't it? Our earlier way via stairs was easy Now, our way's last phase requires us..
..to negotiate these big boulders May be there's a proper way too But, I couldn't see that That's why, I'm going from this side My left foot slipped into the mud So, little bit water got inside my shoes Ok, no problem Very nice, we're enjoying it I know what the matter is, but.. ..whenever I get close to a river, No matter how much tired I am.. I felt re-energized from within Generally, I feel too good to spend.. ..time close to water bodies Whether, it's seaside or riverside..
or it's any large lake I'm feeling great standing here and.. All of the people standing here.. ..look at their excitement level They're clicking photographs .. ..at different corners They are enjoying a lot here Flow of the river is quite fast River is lined with tall pine trees It's very pleasant experience Here are 3-4 eateries If anyone wants to have tea or eggs, then.. They can have them by sitting here Come & let's go over to that side Let's see how the view is from there Now, I've reached at my favorite place We'll sit here ..at least for 15-20 minutes Wow, amazing ! Too good ! It's an amazing place Doodhganga river view is amazing We thoroughly enjoyed it While returning, we enjoyed our..
..easy downward journey ..in just 15 minutes Our real stamina testing will start now Now, having walked for a while, we've reached up to our parked car We've enjoyed a lot, but.. There's no difficulty walking down.. Walking up got me out of breath It took me almost 20 minutes I didn't take any break in between I told myself to keep walking ..rather, go slow but without stopping From there, we'll sit in our car After going 1 KM ahead to point.. ..where we'd seen the meadows, From there, we'll go down thereon.. We'll see one water reservoir And then, we'll see what to do next As we're walking along the way.. I got to spot some homes..
..of those people who rear sheep See, how many sheep are behind me So, we thought to stop our car We'll request them once If we could learn about their living style We'll go over to talk to them We've come to visit Doodhganga What's your name? Mohammad Hussain Hussain Ji, tell me one thing.. You rear sheep and goat Yes, sir, we rear 10-15 sheep We do have one pony Our employment directly depends on tourists We show them round Do you live in this house? Yes, sir, we live in this house Do you do this way? You move down in winters And come up again in summers When did you come up at this place? We came here today only You came today? Yes It's great, we met you today itself How many total huts are here? Just like your own home At least, 110 huts what? 110 I got to see 3-4 huts only So many huts are spread across to down point Oh, ho ! Just as you've one hut at here, Do you've similar dwelling in Nilnag also? We've Pucca House in Nilnag Ok Because of grass, this place suits you Yes, there's grass all over here This is our source of livelihood Ok, you're rearing sheep, besides.. .. providing pony service for tourists We also send our kids to school here You made a good point How is like educational facility for students? Two seasonal schools are opened here Where? One is Yousmarg That's a very good thing There're many places where.. ..seasonal teachers are employed Very good ! Do your kids go to school? Yes, my kids go to school Those teachers teach our kids It's nice Because kids' education is very .. ..important these days So, you've made a mud house.
Yes, sir, it's made of mud Got it.. Come Shall we take off our shoes? No, sir Shall we come in wearing our shoes? Since, it's dark inside Haven't you made a window towards outside? To let the light in Why? We've our back room for storage. It has a separate door Similarly, our kitchen has a separate door Do wild animals also live across this region? To prevent them from carrying your stuff Yes, danger of wild animals always lurks around Especially, in evening after 8:00 PM We find it difficult to step outside You also must be avoiding.. ..stepping outside after 8:30 PM Yes, sir, we don't go out after that time.. You mustn't be going out I feel you've two rooms here Yes, sir, 2 rooms One is this..
We both cook & sleep in same room 2nd room is for housing livestock That front room Can we see it? Yes, sir Then, show it to us It's condition is untidy owing to dung No problem We've made respective wards Here lives cow with a pony.. That is calf Here, we'll store grass & keep sheep Ceiling above is made of wood And soil is poured over wood Does water leak in during rainfall? We've put polythene & then soil over it Ok, got it ! So, water won't leak in Nice Let's move towards outside What's on to this side? It belongs to my brother Ok Yes Hussain Ji, it's nice meeting you. Your, overall, living style.. ..as well as everyday life is tough, though.. Because, we come as tourists for 2-4 hours Then, we go back But, the person who is living here.. ..under such tough circumstances.. It's indeed tough for them You know about it Anybody can figure it out..
That, as the weather changes here.. you won't get same facilities.. ..which we get in a city Moreover, your livelihood depends on.. these sheep and tourists who come here You all are doing a good job At least, you're earning bread with hard work That's a good thing Very nice, and by the way... ..the place where we're standing now.. Before leaving it, let's catch the sight of..
..the meadows spread all across here How beautiful it is looking we didn't know how time flew It's already 5:45 PM Ok, give us permission to leave We shall go now Thank you Very nice ! We've stopped to view water reservoir See, such a large reservoir is in our front We can't go close to the reservoir Because, I'm seeing.. there is a railing all around So, that nobody can get close to reservoir The thing is as we're seeing it from a height.. It is looking pleasant If someone wants to see from more height, that point from where the car is going View will get better if seen from there The source of water that's flowing down.. ..is stream water Our Yousmarg tour got successful Means, we've enjoyed a lot here From here, we're leaving.. Now, we'll travel for 15 KMs and will visit Charar-E-Sharief Dargah ..located at 15-16 KMs far from here After visiting this Dargah, then.. we'll leave for Srinagar After travelling half an hour from Yousmarg, We've reached Charar-E-Sharief Dargah We've been here for 10-15 minutes.
As I entered the Dargah, I met with Maulavi Sahib I requested him to tell us about .. ..the historical-cum-religious .. ..importance of this place At this moment, you're present.. ..at one of the largest Dargah in Kashmir I'll talk historically about it There're 6 very large " Ziartein" in Kashmir Like "Hazratbal" "Dastgeer Sahab" "Naqshband Sahab" "Makhdoom Sahab" " Charar-e-sharief" As far as, this Dargah is concerned, "Hazrat Sheikh Ul Alam" His popularity is widespread He's paramount contribution in Kashmir If you read about him in detail, then you'd know he's travelled pan Kashmir He's made door-to-door visits What was his aim? His tenets are based on humanity He always promoted humanity lessons And, From Islam's perspective, From humanity's perspective, From brotherhood's perspective, Hazrat Ji played key role; uniting sects in Kashmir His tenets are based on humanity I was talking with somebody ..
..in Yousmarg in afternoon He also gave many of his messages .. ..in the style of poetry. He is deemed great "shayar" of Kashmir His Shayari is unconventional In his "Shayari", you get usage of.. "Kashmiri" language "Arabic" as well as "Sanskrit" language During his time, Sanskrit then had.. ..a prominent place This is the reason, in his "Shayari", you get impression of Sanskrit as well If you see it from inside, you'll get to see so many tied threads What do they signify? Every devotee goes there with some wish.. Then, they tie a thread there They untie same thread as their.. ..wish gets granted Thank you for giving us your time ..and providing entire information Thank you..
Now, we're leaving from.. .."Charar-e-Sharief" Dargah It's 8:45 PM Today's day got very long We're 32-33 KMs away from Srinagar So, here, I'm bidding bye to all of you We're finishing our episode here only We'll reach Chashme Shahi, Srinagar Our tonight's stay will be in Srinagar Last 2 days are left in our journey After reaching there, we'll plan out.. ..what all we can do & explore in 2 days We'll see you all soon again Till then, bye bye Thanks for your time !
2023-06-17 20:53
