Kashmir Solo - Day 4 - Pahalgam

Baisaran - Mini Switzerland

I asked my wonderful hosts - a father and a son, to provide me with an economical horse ride to Baisaran and other places. The father speaks good english even though he didn’t receive any formal education - thanks to the many foreigners who frequented Pahalgam all throughout his lifetime. They arranged a horse at a decent Rs 800-1000/- (I don’t clearly remember). The horseman was Rameez, a gentleman who is still in touch with me. I was asked to wake up early to start the ride.

The previous night, I enquired in the town for a horse ride. You will find many touts but the prices quoted were a lil higher than what my host offered. He asked me not to purchase anything from Baisaran as the prices would be inflated there.

In the morning at around 8AM, I was greeted by Rameez and his sturdy horse. It was very cold. The horse ride took close to an hour and was super thrilling. The horse was panting heavily and the route was treacherous because all you can see was snow and no road. There are pretty deep gorges on the way.

We stopped at Kashmir valley view point and he took my pictures.

I was the first person that day to travel that stretch. Baisaran or mini Switzerland was empty. The locals came later with some sledges and other fun activity items. There was a ticketing centre but was closed since we reached there early.

The sledge ride was fun and it costs maximum Rs 200/-. Bargaining is the key! I bought a Pashmina shawl for Rs 400/-. It was a low quality Pashmina but it felt so good to touch and was locally woven, as per the seller.

In my return, we saw more ponies coming to Baisaran. Since the path at most stretches were narrow, it was adventurous when one horse had to give way for the other.

You need to bargain real hard for the pony ride. The prices may go up during season. Contact Rameez (+91 7780981010) over chat or WhatsApp for a guesstimate. You may quote my name. He understands and speaks English too.

My next night was at Beach Resort, Pahalgam which was adjacent to Zebrina and the owners were relatives. This was on the banks of Lidder river. I went there to say a ‘hi’. The host Arif was thrilled to see the first tourist after more than a year - thanks to covid and article 370 abrogation. We’re still in touch.

The entire hotel was vacant and I was asked to choose a room. He brought a flask full of kahwa and cookies to indulge. The view was better than Zebrina’s and was spectacular. The huge windows, the Lidder river and the full night sky view were a treat.

View from room

I went back to Zebrina for lunch for a tasty Mutton Rogan Josh, which was sufficient for 3 people. It costed Rs 400/- I guess. I drank many teas but was charged only for 3-4 cups.

Betab Valley

After a heavy lunch, I thought of walking to Betab Valley. I was advised to return before it darkens because of wild animals like bear and leopard.

It was a good 8 Kms of uphill walk. I began the walk at late noon. I thoroughly enjoyed the landscape and wilderness. Met 2 local ladies on the way and I enquired them for any available shortcut. They suggested me one and told me that I could spend the night at their place if it was too late. Such a gem they were! We saw a Maruti 800 coming from Pahalgam and those ladies waved at the car and stopped it. He gave me a lift till Betab valley. He was too good to offer me a detour (downhill) to the valley entrance which I politely refused. He was traveling to Chandanwari. I assume I walked close to 5Kms.

Snow remover in action

I was dropped here.

The snow was hip deep and while I wandered around, I learned the lesson the bad way. I was stuck in snow and it took immense effort to pull up my leg and escape to the safety. I spent almost 30 minutes to manoeuvre a 100m snowy stretch. I was thirsty after the hearty meal and I took mouthfuls of pristine snow to quench my thirst. The snow soon turned hard ice like once it was in my mouth.

I spent some time there and walked back to the new stay - Beach Resort. This was easy because of the downhill slope. Sat by the river bank and appreciated the nature.

Home Visit

I wanted to bath. The bathroom pipelines were completely frozen in my new stay. They gave me 2 buckets full of lidder river water. However, they pushed me to visit their home and take a bath. I was amazed. The bathroom had a huge boiler with continuous hot water supply. I bathed for a good 30 minutes. It felt so nice!

His brother (a local councillor) and parents were present. We ate food - beef, chana dal and kahwa. His father spoke excellent English and was an eminent person in Kashmir. He shared lots of stories, his meeting with Nehru, when he was the contractor for constructing the Betab Valley park, etc.

They were very cordial like my previous hosts or maybe a notch better! One strange thing I saw in their home was that their kitchen sink was present on the floor. It was common in that region. The dinner was reasonably priced.

They provided me kangra and pheran. During winter, everyone wears pheran and carries kangra even in shared taxis/buses. It was a dangerous thing and few causalities are reported from time to time.

I was provided an electric blanket too. Without it, I think it was impossible to sleep. I am someone who loves cold and can withstand cold but I wanted the electric blanket badly then. Temperature was wavering around -10 degree celsius.

The stays at each place costed me around Rs 1500/- to Rs 2000/- with food, accommodation and snacks. At Zebrina, electric blanket was charged extra however the prices were very nominal. Overall, a wonderful cultural experience. The people were lovely in Pahalgam!