Jammu
Travel Blogs from Jammu, India
A Trek in the Indian Himalaya
... because of altitude sickness or lack of leg muscle but because my insides went berserk the day before the trek. 3 weeks in India and not a hint of 'Delhi belly' but suddenly everything I swallowed rapidly reappeared from one point or another. Figuring ...
A Kashmiri Wedding
The family living on the neighbouring houseboat were celebrating their son's marriage all weekend - from our roof terrace we had seen them deck the boat with fairy lights, erect a large Kashmiri tent on shore, and sit for hours preparing food. We had ...
Colonial Life on Dal Lake/Meeting the Local Police
I am fulfilling my long-held dream of staying on one of the gorgeous houseboats on Dal Lake. Back in colonial times, the ruling Maharajah of Kashmir refused the Brits landowning rights, leaving them no choice but to build and live in houseboats on ...
A day in Leh
6a.m., walking through the narrow, twisting, dusty lanes of the old town: weathered faces on hunched bodies with gnarled hands fingering prayer beads, entering the gold-roofed Buddhist temple; 'om mani padme hum' echoing over and over; traders ...
Ladakh is the crack
19 hours in a share-jeep driven by a guy who bore an uncanny resemblance to Rufio from 'Hook'. Good choice to sit in position 1 [front window-side] since sitting in 2 [next to the driver] means he grabs for your crotch every time he changes gear. ...
Yalitong la Mole Singing in Zanskar
"Yalitong la mole" souded from the fields of Zanskar. T'was harvest time, and the locals were singing their happy harvest song. Periodically we would sing out the window of our vehicle, to the villagers, as we drove through Zanskar back to ...
Celebrity Encounter in Leh / the Road to Srinagar
Along with my 4 trek-mates, I was set to leave Leh at 7 a.m. on Tues. By happy coincidence, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was arriving in Leh at the same time. So we joined the throngs of Ladakhis lining the few kilometres of road from the airport ...
Recommendations
Recommendations Below are eleven basic recommendations, as requested, for the study trek area. The recommendations fall under four main topics: safety, traditional culture, ecology, and improving livelihoods. Safety Safety is the most ...
Back to the Mountains
... of all there is to see in India and the somewhat questionable political situation in Nepal, we decided to see the Himalayan portion of India as a substitute. Given the onset of fall, though, we needed to get up there ASAP. So, during our stay in Delhi, ...
Chandi Matha Yatra and the Blending of Cultures
A Golden Eagle flew overhead at 9,200 feet, above the Buddhist villages surrounding Machael, the last Hindu village where the Chandi Matha Yatra pilgrimage was just beginning, soon to attract over 30,000 devotees for darshan. We had set ...
Kashmir - Srinagar & Gagangir, Himalaya's - Day 25
We traveled 85km today to a small village east of Srinagar called Gagangir, which is near the larger town of Sumbal in the heart of the Kashmir Himalayas. The village is situated in a valley with 4000-6000 metre peaks surrounding it, it's similar to ...
Conversations with Sufis
... Indian government helps to bus the beggars, trying to impoverish and styme the Kashmiris. Likewise, perhaps the thousands of Jammu and Kashmir Police with their automatic weapons--soldiers--in the Valley and elsewhere--pairs every kilometer, bunkers in ...
Kashmir - Srinagar - Day 29
An old guy delivers me Kashmir apple juice every morning on his boat, he apparently was a famous Kashmiri actor in his younger days. He must be in 70s or 80s now, he's a really nice chap and the apple juice is the best I've tasted. I'll no doubt see ...
Kashmir - Srinagar - Day 24
... a bit, went to coffee shop and generally tried to absorb the atmosphere. Kashmir has a completely different vibe to the rest of India , you get the feeling you're in a completely different country, the people, food, climate, and scenery is so different ...
Driving to Leh
The road to Leh was long, beginning early in the morning and ending at almost midnight. Our driver had slept for one hour the night before, after tackling the same trip going the other way. Nevertheless, he looked alert and clear for the entire ...
Kashmir - Srinagar - Day 23
... in Kashmir just after nine this morning, landed in a place called Srinagar which is the capital of the Jammu and Kashmir state in the far north-west of India . Had a window seat on the plane and saw some beautiful views of the snow capped Kashmir ...
Phyang Cham Ceremony
Phyang Cham Ceremony, A Slideshow Nate made a list of potential things to do in the Leh area. High on the list were a few summer festivals. Chances of the festivals happening while we were in Leh were slim, but lo-and-behold, the Phayang Cham dance ...
German Bakeries and Old Palaces
Kevin and Nate had two days remaining in Ladakh. I would be in Ladakh another week, to watch the 800+ Year Drukpa Lineage Celebration, visit Tikse Monastery, walk along the Indus River in search of Ibisbill, and relaxing in Leh town. With two days ...
Rafting the Indus
Why, when I type 'rafting', does it always come out as 'farting'?? Anyway, it wasn't the Indus, but the Zanskar River I rafted. Farted. Whatever. T'was fun. Got soaked due to being sat right at the front, and then on the lighter stretches got ...
Kashmir - Srinagar - Day 28
All my mosquito's bites have now cleared up and I'm finally itch free! It's been a nice break to come to a place where the climate is more like what I'm used too, but I'm back in the 35 degree heat of Delhi in a couple of days. At least there's very ...
Military and tranquility
After our relaxing time in McCleod Ganj we were back on the buses, travelling first to Jammu and then a further overnight bus to Srinagar in Kashmir. Srinigar is the most trouble-torn town in Kashmir and it shows with lots of army checkpoints en-route ...
Teaching in the Indian Himalaya
The plane circled Leh for 10 minutes before the Captain announced that due to dense cloud, rendering a landing unsafe, we were now en-route back to Delhi... So it was a 4a.m. check-in again the next day but this time the weather gods were smiling on ...
Crossing Omasi-la Pass
Omasi-la pass may seem remote, and it is, but over time, thousands of people including Zorawar Singh's soldiers, villagers trading goods, monks carrying deodar to construct their temples, Buddhist women going to marry in Zanskar, Zanskari men coming to ...
Snow Leopards and Naropa in Zanskar
For two brief days, we hiked from the Omasi-la pass down to Zongkhul Gonpa in the Ating Gorge. The valleys and moutains in the rainshadow of the Himalayas were sparsely vegetated in the high altitude desert environment. From the pass, we hiked on a ...
A Holiday Picnic
A crowd of young people, in their best threads, are grinning and sweating as they strut their stuff to blaring amplified music in a jam-packed dance area... 'Toffs' on a Saturday night? No, there's no sticky carpet, it's 8 a.m. (and they're just ...
Kashmir - Gagangir, Himalaya's - Day 27
I've drunk a ridiculous amount of Kashmiri tea since I've been here. I don't even drink tea but this stuff is really good, think I maybe hooked. I'll try and sever the addition when I return to Delhi . Shutkari village at 2700 metres is ...
