This blog is a photo-essay of our family travel to divine destinations in different places of India.There are images of temple,treks,rivers,videos of road trip and moments of our thoughtful gestures.Memories do not have a dash board.The memories of our blissful travel are saved here with a hope that its expiration date is prolonged.
I'm not a blessed writer ,nor a avid photographer,hence the casual writing.Grammar police can find lots of mistakes here,please forgive me.
In this part I cover our scintillating and near fatal experiences faced during trek to Maata Vaishnodevi Temple at Jammu . Other temples in and around Srinagar- Ksheer Bhavani Temple ,Martanda temple are presented in this part .
Dal lake, Srinagar
In July 2012, I visited Kashmir with my wife and family with a hope to see what I visualised, during my childhood days. I had visualised Kashmir as a place of gardens, lakes , valleys ,snowfall and the land where kesar is grown. But with the passing years, this picture turned gloom and was replaced by militants, armed personnel and scared pundits fleeing in fear. We booked a tour package conducted by Nirmala travels,Mangalore 2 months ahead of tour. Our family along with Surekha's aunt Meenakshi & uncle Mohandas ,sister Sujatha, Krishna Prabhu & her kid Aparna were in our group.
We boarded a train from Mangalore to Delhi and from there to Jammu. The trains running from Delhi to Jammu were flooded with Amarnath piligrims .Landing at Jammu we experienced warm climate, it was an extended summer, we left for Katra that took 1 hours in a traveller. From January to March the season is white in J&K and April to August is green.
For the next 2 days we were put up at Hotel Singh International in Katra. Our Tour guide Mr. Raviraj briefed all 40 tourists about this package, an initial exchange of pleasantries with other members gave us an idea to plan our trek for next day. Food was prepared by Mangalore based cooks. Maa Vaishno Devi temple stands to be the holiest temple and regarded as the most visited pilgrimage centre in India.
View of Maa Vaishnodevi hill from Katra
Next day early morning,we started trek at 04 am from BANGANGA check post, with others. This first 6 km of walk is the most steep one,really tough for legs. The paved trail is very busy with walkers, ponies, palkies and shops. Because of ponies it stinks a lot till Ardhkumari, even though cleaning is done from time to time. Those allergic to dust may experience throat irritation after journey which may disappear in few days. From there onward last 5 km to Bhawan, there is separate ways for ponies and pilgrims, so much better and fresh air. Drinking water, snacks ,beverages , ice cream, and food is available all along the way.We availed the service of Pittu to carry our luggage, they also carry kids, massage legs .On the way we ate Rajma chawal and drank cold Nestle Tea.
starting point of trek at Bhangangaa,those sticks are helpful during ascent
Paved way ,pleasant weather
View of Katra town from top
this trail is free from passing ponies
Closing down towards the Bhavan
After reaching the Bhawan , we kept our luggage, camera (we did not carry mobile) at the locker ,the queue was a long one,it almost took an hour to get a locker to keep our camera.,by that time others were gone.The Darshan queue was also a long one, ladies and gents were separated in different lines.There is no idol, the cave itself comprises of three natural rock formations or pindies belonging to Maha Kali, Maha Lakshmi & Maha Saraswathi which are immersed in water. Finally out happily, could not find my wife,somehow spotted her due to the dress colour. After this incident, we always plan the spot to meet after the darshan .Very tired after that walk and push ups at Locker we ate dosas carried from Hotel. Surekha insisted to visit Bhairo mandir perched on the top still 4-5km uphill further. This time we hired a pony, it turned to be a steep ascent .Balancing the down hill ride on pony is not my world,I almost slipped ,but the pony care -taker held me at the right moment.
This treacherously long, uphill walk of 12 kms from Katra to worship Maa Vaishnodevi at Trikoota mountains and the return distressing pony ride of 18 Kms (from Bhairo) downhill almost gave me a second life. I surely had Maa Vaishno devi's blessings. Jai Mata di !!.Finally we reached room at 6.00 p.m , I gulped pain killer tablets because my hands and legs were aching.
Shankaracharya Temple,Srinagar
Overlooking the beautiful town of Srinagar, perched on the Gopadri hill is the ancient shrine of God Shiva. Ever since Adi Shankaracharya visited this shrine,the temple got the name Shankaracharya Temple.Here at Srinagar, Shankaracharya accepted the predominance of Shakti cult (greatness of Devi) wrote Saundarya Lahari in praise of Devi after yielding to a lady in discussion ,
There is a motor-able road till top,after that a bit of a trek, some 240+ steps, the views of Dal lake from the top are awesome. There is heavy army presence here, and tourists are not allowed to carry cameras/bags and mobile phones.
Ksheer Bhawani Temple, near Shrinagar
On the way to Sonmarg, 27Km from Srinagar is Ksheer Bhawani Mandir, set amidst the picturesque surroundings covered with the trees of Chinar. The Goddess Ragnya originally worshipped by Lord Rama is depicted in the form of a natural hexagonal spring that is adored by the devotees..Devotees offer 'Kheer' to the consecrated spring. It is alleged that 'kheer' turns black in color signalling inauspicious period for the inhabitants of the valley. Presently the temple is maintained by Indian army,hence tight security maintained at entrance, it is the most sacred place for Kashmiri Pandits. We ate the Kheer prasadm here,Amarnath Yatrees halt for food,donations are accepted here . In the premises ,spotted the branches of a Chinar tree cut and shaped to form the image of India.
Lake circumventing the Ksheer Bhawani Mandir
Chinar trees
Branches cut in the shape of Map of India
Details about the temple
Kashmir is blessed with nature's bounties, temples are most impressive.
After Ksheer-Bhavani, next day our destinies took us to Pahalgam . On the way , our driver stopped our vehicle in front of Avanthipur temple ruins which was once upon a time capital of Kashmir. A sardarji Guide in Punjabi –English accent explained the history of the temple, but we could not capture his accent.
Avanthipur temple ruins
Avantipur ruins speak about glorius past
Martand Suriya Temple, Mattan
En route to Pahlgaon, at Mattan,there is a blissful temple dedicated to Lord Surya having a large pond with fishes. Tourists are often confused with the Majestic National Monument in Martand . Apart from Sun Temple there are temples of Lord Vishnu, Hanuman & Shani in this complex,This is the only place managed by Kashmir Pandits ,also sacred to the Sikhs as Guru Nanak Devji came here & stayed for 13 days. A Gurudwara has been built .We interacted with local temple caretakers,donated some amount and heard the history and relevance of the site from both Hindu and Sikh perspective . From here Pahalgaon is only 34Km.We were not taken to the ancient Martand temple only 2km from Mattan.
