We only spent one night in Kargil, serving as a stop to break up our journey from Padum to Srinagar, where we were going to spend several days before returning to Dehli. Kargil, a predominantly Muslim area, is near the Pakistan-India border as well as the border between Ladakh and Kashmir. It is a small town with a rich history as major stop on the silk road that led into India. There are still remnants of some of the original caravansari in Kargil although there is a lot of infrastructure improvements underway in the city so I am not sure how many of the old buildings will survive. Nonetheless, despite the construction chaos, it was interesting to walk around and look at the city!
One of the old Silk Road caravansaris remaining in Kargil. Many are being torn down and replaced by modern buildings.
On our way out of Kargil, we stopped at the Indian war memorial in Drass. The memorial is in remberance of the soliders who lost their lives during the Indian-Pakistan border war that happened in the 1990s. Kashmir has been a disputed territory since the British partition created the muslim-majority Pakistan separate from the Hindu-majority India. Some believed, and still believe, that Kashmir should belong to Pakistan, resulting in a series of terror campaigns that drove a lot of the Hindu families out of the region. In 1990s Pakistan invaded across the border but, with high cost, the Indian army drove them back. The war memorial tells the story of the battles and commemorates the fallen. Since the war, India has taken steps to build up the infrastructure in the area (I have commented on all of the road construction), ensure the governance is efficient and generally invested a lot to integrate the region more intimately to India. The military presence as we left Kargil, all the way to Srinagar, was noticeable, reflecting the fact that there is still potential for an occasional flare-up in hostilities.
The Drass War Memorial. There is also a museum attached that explains the conflict and documents those who did not survive.
The road to Srinagar had us again winding through high mountain passes up, down and around steep slopes with amazing scenery. The road, a major artery not only to get to Kargil, but also Leh (until the new highway connecting Leh and Padum opens) is super busy. Luckily it is paved with bricks and most of the time two lanes wide. Unfortunately in many places the road is in a terrible state of repair with huge, deep potholes that cause traffic to come to a standstill to slowly negotiate through the area. In addition, unlike many of the other mountain roads-no matter how remote, this particular road had no guardrails so the steep drop off seemed especially close as we wound our way down the mountain. The poor road condition and lack of guardrails combined with standard Indian driving approaches, meant that I quickly dubbed part of the transit between Kargil and Srinagar scary road number 3. Fortunately, as only autos are allowed through the pass until late afternoon, when it opens to trucks, at least we did not have to encounter huge trucks while trying to navigate narrow sections of poorly maintained road with steep drop-offs! Apparently a 14km tunnel has been dug and will open within the year, bypassing the high mountain road altogether so the trip will become both safe and more efficient. (Part of the infrastructure build-up happening in the area.)
A view looking behind us on scary road 3. You can see the steep drop off and lack of guardrails.
A view looking forward on scary road 3. You can see the winding path down the steep slope.
It turned out that one of the reasons the road was unnaturally busy was that a major Hindu pilgrimage was taking place at a spot about half-way between Kargil and Srinagar. The pilgrimage called the Amaranth Yatra, is to a cave nestled back in a ravine about 10ish miles from the road. At the base of the ravine is a huge encampment, basically a tent-city, that hosts tens of thousands of pilgrims daily who either hike or take a horse from the camp to the shrine and back. Suryia said anywhere between 10,000-50,000 a day make the hike (it is metered so not everyone starts at the same time…). Because the event is so important to the Hindus and draws lots of visitors to the area, the military and police were out in force between the pilgrimage site all the way to Srinagar, directing traffic and keeping a general eye on the crowds. (Suryia told us the high number of Hindu pilgrims in the area have made a tempting target to terrorists in the past.). There were a LOT of solders stationed along the road at regular intervals!
A view down into the valley at the ravine where the tent city hosted all of the Hindu pilgrims. It was huge!
Another kind of tent city. These tents hosted the shepherds who, like in every other mountain area I visited, brought herds up to graze during the summer. They stayed all summer, returning to their villages for winter.
We reached Srinagar after a scenic eight hour drive on scary road #3. Our accommodations in Srinagar were unique- a houseboat, albeit one that did not actually move; it was anchored in place. Srinagar sits in a large valley basin containing two lakes and the British started a tradition of living in houseboats moored along the shore of the lake. The tradition continues today as a popular tourist experience. We took a water taxi to our houseboat, which was situated on the other side of an island away from the commercial waterfront, so it was very peaceful. The houseboat was well appointed and reminded me a bit of the dahabiya I sailed on the Nile in (See Egypt posts). Like many of the places we had been on this trip, most of the tourists were Indians.
The houseboat community is extensive and not just for tourists. Suryia mentioned that about 20,000 people (population of Srinagar is about 3 million) live along the edges of the lake. The houseboat community is its own small eco-system. As we traveled from the commercial shore line to our houseboat we passed a small floating market complete with restaurants, general stores, clothing shops and artisan galleries. There was a large fleet of water taxis ferrying people around, ironically, mirroring the same chaotic traffic patterns that exist on the roads. Vendors selling tea, jewelry and other small items (including a floating general store- type boat) approached the water taxis, trying to sell something to the occupants. It was all quite unique and fun!
Houseboats lined up on one side of the lake.
One of the floating market areas. Most people were out taking boat rides in the evenings when it cooled off- there were no traffic rules for the boat traffic….
Srinagar was an important city for the Moghul rulers and we visited a fort they established as a watch tower (they did not live there) as well as several of the many gardens they built in the area. The gardens were the basis for their residences; tents would be established on the various terraces creating the royal court. The lower garden terrace was for general auidences, the second level for nobles and important people and the top terrace was the royal residence as well as private audience area. Symmetry and water features, fountains and pools, cascading down through the terraces, were a staple of all of the gardens, creating a beautiful environment for the court. The gardens today serve as parks with kids playing in the fountains (kids playing in water fountains is universal!), people relaxing on the lawn and families wandering around. Outside the gardens street vendors and small shops sell ice cream and other foods creating festive atmosphere. We visited the gardens on a Saturday and so it was very busy.
As we approached Srinagar we were clearly on the “green” side of the ridge because the scenery turned alpine with trees everywhere.
Our stay in Srinagar was relaxing and a nice way to finish off the trip!