National highway 44 Kashmir to Kanyakumari

We drove in spiral turns the trees masked and unmasked the peaks. There were waterfalls and rivulets, horses grazing in some flat paddocks, cows and goats frisked around bright roses.
The time was not the right one as we encountered bare apple trees which blossom in September. We just missed the tulips in April and the saffron fields in November. On hindsight a single trip to Kashmir can never be enough. One can only dream wildly of the changing seasons and the transformed beauty of this heavenly dale. We drove down the road to Pahalgam and stopped at an erstwhile apple orchard. The two trees in front were laden with luscious apples and a stall nearby was selling juice. A “Don’t Touch” sign was pasted ominously on the tree. On closer inspection we found that the apples were stuck on as well. To give us a feel of the real thing!kasKashmir 2

The Shikara ride on the Dal Lake to our houseboat was almost like the films we had seen and we mock sang like Shammi Kapoor thoroughly enjoying the landscape.

The Shikaras were modes of transport but there were others selling everything from clothes to trinkets to food to drinks to handicraft. The edges were lined with shops where we were taken and assured that it was the best wholeseller. Enchanting nostalgia

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