BETAAB VALLEY -THE TIME STOPS HERE...

Betaab valley is situated 12kms from pahalgam. It got its name from the movie "Betaab", which was picturized at this location in lidder valley  of jammu and kashmir. Those tourist who makes a stay at pahalgam do tries to visit this place. ....just not aware whether it looks that beautiful in other seasons or not but it was an awesome experience to frame the place on my lens by the fall season. ...It really a sort after locale for film makers. ...

FALL SEASON IN LIDDER VALLEY.....

It's just a matter of opportunity to be at lidder valley during fall season  which starts from 2nd week of Nov. Lidder valley starts soon after Anantnaag in South kashmir region and extends to pahalgam.  This whole area is full of Chinar trees , which might be more than 100 years old. ...This chinars  gets first a yellowish shade , then orange and then red before it falls off by the beginning of winter. Besides chinar , some other evergreen trees also takes on beautiful colours....As one travels by road from jammu. ...There eyes will catch the colours  at Verinag. ..after that the road from Matan  to pahalgam  too got lines of Chinars.....but when I visited Kokernaag on Sinthan  pass road,  I really felt that I am in Europe   ......just a world  of beautiful colours created by nature....
I tried to frame it on my lens which I am sharing on my blog.....All hidden treasures that our country  has to give to all those who come to see it......

CHANDANWARI -WAY TO GOD'S ABODE.

Chandanwari is situated in lidder valley of jammu and kashmir  forms the 2nd stop onto Amarnath yatra. It's altitude is 2895mts  approx. Few people visiting pahalgam  makes it to Chandanwari  as one need to hire local vehicles only to visit Betaab valley,  Chandanwari and Aru Valley. ...outside vehicles are not allowed  to travel to these places around pahalgam. 12kms from Chandanwari  is the mountain lake of Sheshnag. ...1 3kms ahead is the last stop called Panchtarni.  Amarnath  cave is 61kms from here.
Generally, people make it here by end of fall season ie 1st week of Nov. ...but we attempted Chandanwari on 30th of Nov 2014.....The taxi charged us 2000 rs to take us around....after Betaab valley, we headed straight to Chandanwari. ...as we drove uphill ...It really looked as if we are heading for Heaven.A dream world , of peace and tranquillity, snow and the tall pines....bolders  all around...no word to speak....its total silence all around...freezing cold....as we walked down to sheshnag  river bed,  I wonder what those people might  go thru ', who makes it to Amarnath shrine each year....very very difficult terrain....

This above pics of Chandanwari,  will speak for itself the rugged terrain one encounters on their way to Amarnath  Caves.
As I and my husband  was enjoying ourself on the sheshnag river,  all of a sudden the weather turned bad. It hardly gave us to think what  to do next. ..snow storm started in mins and we had to run to our vehicle parked some 500mts  aways from the place where we were enjoying in the snow....since total off season , hardly there was any other tourist vehicle around ..without a second thought  we drove off from the site and after some 7 kms away down,  we stopped to enjoying the falling snow during mid day....though seen snow  before  many times but snowfall and we dancing around in it.....just an memorable  moment for both of us.......now  we had to head off to Aru Valley. ....

MY PRAYERS AT RANBIRESHWAR TEMPLE, JAMMU CITY.

It had been long time , since we came to jammu city that I had been planning to pay my visit at Ranbireshwar  temple , but it was not just happening. One fine Sunday  morning, after a cup of tea , I just thought to plan our morning walk towards the temple site close  to parade  area if old jammu city. .....since its winter , it wasn't tough to walk some 5 kms stretch...
It's really beautiful  temple complex as it's considered as the 2nd most visited temple of jammu after Raghunath ji  temple at Residency road.So too much of security...... but as we visited the temple very early in the morning, I could chance to click some pics inside the complex.....its Lord Shiva's temple  and houses several shiv lingam, inside the main hall.....
Every morning, this temple sees a lot of devotees  coming for their morning prayers and darshan. ....
It's really a great way to start once day.......

FROZEN MORNING ON DAL LAKE, SRINAGAR (J&K).

It was 25th Dec 2014 that we reached Srinagar by road from Jammu city....by the time we reached it was quite late but everyone in our group wanted to stay in houseboat,  but I was not the ready mentally  as it's my 2nd trip there and I would sense the difficult  night ahead. ....but had to give into the wishes  of everyone... 

When we reached our houseboat by the shikara it was almost -5c. ....but everyone was so excited to enjoy the chill  that I had to make myself understand that it's going to be exciting morning next when we wake up....The houseboat was provided with bukhari, ie a heating system using firewood. ...but it was our bad luck that my midnight both our electric blanket that was provided to us and bukhari stopped working and both myself and my husband  had a sleepless night...kept wondering why we didn't bring along our own electric blanket and hot pot as even couldn't drink a sip of the freezing cold drinking water......

It was 6am when my alarm rang on my mobile and I wanted to get out of my bed......but it was so dark outside that I had to wait till  the birds on the Dal lake starts calling.....

House boat on Dal lake.
This was our 2nd stay in a houseboat but it's first hand experience after the massive floods of Jammu and kashmir on 5th sept 2014. It was around 7 am that I took up my camera and walked in total darkness of the houseboat to its front as I had some ideas to take snaps at break of dawn....
It was just freezing at -2/-4c  outside and my whole body started aching but I wanted to execute my ideas of shots so had to stay on......at places could see the top layer of water of dal lake turning ice sheets....but truely amazing site to frame on my lens...All my friends and husband was fast asleep and me in chilling cold framing some unbelievable moments on my lens for everyone to enjoy.......Even found a frozen rose plant which in darkness I mistook as plastic one..... but inevitable it had been an amazing experience to frame the partly frozen dal lake....Rest my pics will speak for itself ....hope all who go down thru my blog will love to see and enjoy .....

HIDDEN TREASURE - VERINAG SPRING.

Verinag  is 25kms away from Anantnag. It is the first tourist spot when travelling by road from jammu city, just after crossing Jawahar tunnel.
Verinag spring in verinag town issues from high scraps of mountain spur and is considered as the source of river Jhellum. It is situated at the bottom  of a hill covered in pines and evergreen trees . Verinag spring  originally an irregular  and shapeless pond oozing out from different places around it and formed a marshy  area.Emperor jehangir 's artistic taste for polishing the natural beauty saw this and later built the octagonal tank of sculptured stones round it. The construction dates 1620 AD. 7 years later mughal emperor  shah jahan  constructed cascades and aqueducts in straight lines through  and a beautiful garden full of Chinar trees around. 
    According  to mythology, Goddess  Vitasta  (Jhellum ) wanted to rise from this spring but when she came here, she found Lord Shiva staying here and so had to go back and took her rise from Vithavatur, a spring about a mile to the NW  of the verinag spring.

MY IMPRESSION  OF VERINAG SPRING :

we had been to verinag spring for the first time by the end of fall season ie 29th Nov 2014......In the mid of Nov,  the whole verinag spring gets a beautiful  red colour of the chinar leaves. .. anyways ,  it's too beautiful  but very isolated area....so one shouldn't attempt this place alone from security side. It's really beautiful and unique. ...specially the tank which is supposed to be the rise of river Jhellum. .....Even the Chinar garden is too big to walk around.....so one should be ready to take on a long walk around the garden.....since by the time we reach the place it was almost 4.30pm,  it was getting  dark......but I don't think the garden might look that beautiful in other season......so the best time to try for verinag spring is the mid of fall season.

PURMANDAL TEMPLE DARSHAN.

People in jammu and around are well aware of purmandal and the significance of the temple there by the Devak river......
Purmandal is exactly 22 kms from Kalu chak on jammu - pathankot highway. It's known as Chota  kashi. ....its the milan sthal  of Lord shiva and goddess parvati.The temple has an unique place in the region because of its reputation, purity and provenience. It is considered  equal to kashi in U.P.
The temple is located on the bank of Devak river which starts it's journey from Sudh Maha dev in Chenani (Udhampur ). ..by the time it reaches the purmandal it is considered the holiest river which gives moksh to dead when buried on its bed or burnt on its bank.....The devak river scrolls down to join ar. Utterbehni  , which makes its way to Pakistan  in due course....
MY EXPERIENCE  OF DARSHAN AT PURMANDAL TEMPLE:- 
It was one fine Sunday morning that I and my husband planned to drive down to a small village called purmandal. ...Our official driver , who is a local from jammu  asked me to try to make it there sometimes before we leave this jammu city.....just remember  the drivers words we took it thru. .... The road definitely is in very bad shape....so we drove in slow speed....soon it took height and we got the glimpse of the R. DEVAK Also  called antersheella, means which don't show herself but is flowing across...after 22kms  drive we reached Purmandal. ...after parking our car , we asked the shopkeeper about the temple and they asked us to walk 3/4 mins over the river bed to the temple....
     After we reached the temple site.....The first expression. ....so peaceful place....its a big complex with multiple temples dedicated to ganpati, kashi vishwanath ji ,  ram mandir, shani mandir and the main sanctum  of the shiv parvati  shela standing in one piece..... There stands some 1400+shivling s...The main temple is in gold. ...after our darshan there,  the priest told us the importance of the darshan here.... people come here as couples and pray to shiv - parvati to safeguard the pair and continue to live a happy life together. ... ( This is a secret that's kept gupt or hidden truth)....
Ladies are not allowed to pour water/milk on the shela , only men pours on the shela. ...its believed that the kund in which the shela stands can never be overfulled. ...no one knows where the milk - water goes....there's  a akhanda depak  that's burning for thousands of years......It seems a fox used to safe guard the shela, later was killed by the king of jammu  who  got cursed in the process. .... so without the darshan of the fox  idol the darshan here stands incomplete. .....
We  found it quite interesting. ......one has to perform ones own puja. ....after the parikrama  of the temple we stood by its coridors  and watched bodies being cremated one by own......that's a realisation, one who came into this world has to go one day..."
It seems bodies buried in the soil of devak river vanishes in mins....but what an irony, people driving vehicles over the river bed... 
In total it was an experience for ourselves.
This holy land is also the birthplace of Saint kabir...every amabashya sees lot of devotees  here. In Feb every year a big mela takes place as a celebration of marriage of shiv parvati. ......

*****recommend :- any couple visiting jammu city should try to have a darshan together here for a long happy married life together. ...making a strong bonding.