Something about Pahalgam

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.