Srinagar, a city of ancient Mughal gardens, picturesque lakes and floating villages, is the capital of Kashmir, India. After enjoying the cool weather and majestic mountain views of Gulmarg, we made our way back to Srinagar to experience the city.
Previous entry:
Picturesque views in Gulmarg, Kashmir
We went straight to the
Jamia Masjid, the grand mosque of Kashmir in its old city built by Sultan Sikandar Shah Kashmiri and completed in 1402AD. The mosque was destroyed several times by fire. And the current one, inspired by Indo-Saracenic architecture, is a quadrangle with a charming courtyard garden and four minarets with pyramidal roofs.
From the courtyard, you can see the old
Durrani Fort built on top of
Hari Parbat Hill. We drove close to the fort as me made our way around
Dal Lake. There were interesting mosques at the foot of the hill which I wish we had time to explore.
Just looking outside the van window kept us busy as we observed interesting facets of local life in Srinagar.
Our next stop was
Nishat Bagh, a terraced Mughal garden built in 1633AD. We visited just at the right time as the late afternoon sun highlighted the vibrant colors of this ancient garden. Behind the garden are the
Zabarwan Mountains.
Many locals visit the garden to relax and enjoy the beautiful flora. It's not uncommon to see groups seated together in colorful dresses.
Before proceeding to the house boats on Dal Lake where we were to stay for the next two nights, we had tea while watching the sunset at
Vivanta by Taj, a charming resort build on top of a hill with grand views of Dal Lake and the communities around it.
Jet Airways flies daily to Srinagar!
Jet Airways has twice daily flights from Delhi (DEL) to Srinagar (SXR). Jet Airways also connects to Delhi from Manila via Bangkok, Singapore or Hong Kong at least twice daily!
No comments:
Post a Comment