Pahalgam is the beautiful city of Kashmir. Pahalgam means a
“Valley of Shepherds”. I just visited this place in this month of October.
It is also associated with the annual Amaranth yatra,
Chandanwari, which is the starting point of the yatra. That takes place every
year in the month of Sawan (July to August). To reach pahalgam from jammu it
takes 8 hours from hilly roads. It’s better to drive or take a cab early
morning by 6 am. Early morning journey can avoid the road blocks that could
extend your journey to 10 hours.
First of all I like to say that pahalgam itself is divided
into two parts . One is Pahalgam village and Anantnag city. So people who
wanted to stay with tight prices and experience the beauty of the valleys and
flowing Lidder river, I would advise them to stay at pahalgam village.
Best place to accommodate in
pahalgam ranges from budget hotels, mid ranges hotels to luxury hotels. Tourist
bungalows and JKTDC huts are other accommodation options. However, during the
month of march-November most hotels are booked on account of pleasant weather.
During Amarnath yatra almost all the budget hotels remain booked.
The main sightseeing places in Pahalgam are
1. Chandanwadi
2. Betaab valley
3. Aru valley
4. Baisaran, Pahalgam
5. Gauri Shankar Temple
6. Pandava Mamaleshwar Temple
7. Pahalgam Main Bazaar
8. Gardens of Pahalgam
9. Deer Park
10.Lavender park
In above list I have seen chandanwadi, betaab valley. Baisaran
is good to see only in winter when snowfalls. Gardens were in the vicinity. So
rest of the places I had cover in the car.
Betaab valley was previously called HAGOON OR HAGAN VALLEY before 1983. Then in that year a movie named Betaab, starring Sunny Deol and Amrita Singh was released and it was a blockbuster with highest grossing revenue in that year. From then, the name of this valley has changed.
Betaab valley is also a favorite campsite of travellers from America and Europe as it is also serve as a base for trekking and further exploration of the mountains.
There are 2 taxi stands in pahalgam.
Taxis can be arranged by the hotels or stands are located in main bazaar of
pahalgam. The drivers are part of union here. So there is very less question of
negotiation, rates are fixed. We tried also by asking few drivers on the road
but no one was willing to come at negotiated price. The price lists are mention
below.
For shopping, I would recommend to shop from Srinagar, if you
are moving ahead to Srinagar.
I hoped you enjoy this post of Pahalgam .
And stay tuned for my next post on splendid Gulmarg - Srinagar.
