Jammu & Kashmir

The northern most state of India Jammu & Kashmir has always attracted travellers and visitors, tourists and pilgrims to its cool green heights and deep vales. Jammu, the ‘land of the fearless’ and the ‘land of Gods and Goddesses’ was discovered by Raja Jambu Lochan. Cosily placed in the foothills of the Himalayas, Jammu is an ideal short getaway from the hot plains during the summers.

  Jammu & Kashmir

There are charming bazaars crowded with tourists and exclusive boutiques offer the latest in fashion-wear and accessories. There are innumerable temples and shrines dotting the entire cityscape. Ladakh is bounded by two of the world’s mightiest mountain ranges — the Great Himalayas and the Karakoram. Geologically speaking, it is a 'young’ land — having been formed only a few million years ago by the buckling and folding of the earth’s crust as the Indian sub-continent pushed against the immovable mass of Asia.

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Ladakh is the land of gompas and monasteries and also has in its folds a small number of ‘Dards’, who are widely believed to be the pure Indo-Aryan race whose ancestors came from down the Indus and settled here. However, besides Muslims, Ladakh’s population is mostly of Tibetan origin professing the Buddhist religion.

Kashmir it was that the Mughals fell in love with — a retreat from their city courts and courtiers. It was here that they allowed their imagination to blossom into magnificent, formal gardens with flowering bushes and plants, canals, lakes and fountains.

And, of course, the state has a number of important Hindu and Muslim pilgrim centres such as Vaishno Devi, Amarnath, the Hazratbal Dargah, and the Asrari Sharief.

Jammu

Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu & Kashmir rises from the flat plains of Punjab in the south to the magnificent backdrop of the Trikuta range, with the river Tawi flowing along the foothills in the north.

Legend has it that the local king, Jambulochan, was looking about for a proper site to build a new capital for himself. One day, while on a hunt, he encountered the astonishing sight of a lion and a goat drinking together from the same stream. Believing the area to be auspicious, he laid the foundation of a new city at the site and named it after himself.

Jammu is one of the state’s three distinct regions, the other two being Kashmir and Ladakh. The city of Jammu sprawls over the banks of the river Tawi, surrounded by lakes, hills, temples and fortresses. The city is discernible from a distance, the spires of innumerable temples dotting the skyline, and earning it the epithet of ‘temple city’.

ACCESS

Jammu is well connected by air and Jammu Tawi is an important railhead. Trains connect it to all parts of the country. Jammu is also connected by good all-weather roads with all parts of the country. Some important routes are to Amritsar (243 km), Chandigarh (436 km), Delhi (586 km), Srinagar (305 km) and Manali (428 km).

PLACES OF INTEREST

The Raghunath temples constitute the largest group of shrines in northern India. The Dogra Art Gallery near the New Secretariat has a marvellous collection of exclusive pieces of ancient Dogra Art and exotic and exquisite miniatures of the Pahari School. The Amar Singh Palace is perched on a hill overlooking the river Tawi and offers a splendid view of the city and the valley around. Now converted into a museum, it houses a rare collection of Pahari paintings, a family portrait gallery of maharajas, and a library.

Bahu fort - situated on a plateau, has seen wars, and the grandeur of its royal family. It is now a favorite picnic spot.

EXCURSIONS

Surinsar Lake, 42 km away, is an ideal site for a picnic, as well as for an overnight stay. Mansar Lake, 80 km away, is fringed by forest-clad hills. Patnitop, 112 km from Jammu city, is right at the very top of a hill, on the National Highway. Vaishno Devi, 62 km from Jammu city, is the region’s best known pilgrimage centre. Katra, 48 km, has several pilgrimage centres.

Amongst the places where one can go for an excursion are Katra (50 km), Kud (106 km), Patnitop (112 km), Sanasar (119 km), Batote (125 km), Sudh Mahadev(112 km), Gauri Kund, Mantalai, Mansar Lake (60 km), Surinsar Lake (42 km), Shiv Khori (100 km), Dera Baba Banda (75 km), Purmandal (40 km), Krimchi, Jajjar Kotli (35 km), Akhnoor (32 km), Salal Dam and Lake (95 km), and Baba Dhansar (65 km).

ACCOMMODATION

Asia Jammu-Tawi (4 Star), Nehru Market, Jammu-180 001. Phone: 535757. Cable:ASIAOTEL. Telex: 224 ASIA IN.

Hotel Jammu Ashok (3 Star), Opp. Amar Mahal P.O. Box: 60, Jammu 180001. Phones: 543571 (5 lines). Cable: TOURISM.

Cosmopolitan Hotel: Vir Marg, Jammu-180001. Phones:47561, 42966. Cable: COSMOHotel.

Hotel Mansar, Denis Gate, Jammu Tawi-180 001. Phone: 543030, 543610, 543055. Cable: HOTEL MANSAR.

Hari Niwas Palace Hotel, Heritage, Palace Road, Jammu Tawi. Phones: 543303, 547216, 546072, 543180; Cable: Hari Niwas; Fax: 0191-543180, 011-3013171.

K.C. Residency, Residency Road, Jammu. Phones: 542773, 542774, 544869, 546438; Fax: 0191-542779.

Tourist Reception Centre, Jammu. Phone: 49554.

Activities in Jammu

Trekking

Jammu area offers excellent trekking routes for those looking for both long and short treks. Although all routes are open during summers, some are open in winter too. The J&K Tourism Department has trekking equipment hire - shops and also provides trekking brochures for information on routes.

Skiing

Ski courses are conducted at Patnitop during the winters. The gentle slopes of patnitop are ideal for beginners.

Equipment as well as instructors are all available, and accommodation is also not a problem as there are huts and private hotels at Patnitop, Kud, and Sanasar.

Aero Sports

Paragliding has been made available by J & K Tourism, which also rents out equipment. May - June and September - October are suitable months for paragliding at Sanasar.

Fishing

The Tawi river is famous for a variety of fish like Mahaseer, Cat fish, Labio, and Mahi, and permits for fishing can be obtained from the fisheries Department, Government of J&K, Jammu.

Important tourist places in Jammu & Kashmir:

Vaishnodevi, Patnitop, Sanasar, Ladakh, Leh, Kargil, Zanskar, Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam

CAUTION: Because of certain security reasons in Kashmir, tourists are advised to consult the following authorities before making any travel plans to Kashmir - The Director of Tourism, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Tourist Reception Centre, Srinagar, Kashmir; or The Assistant Director, Jammu and Kashmir Tourist Bureau, Kanishka Shopping Plaza, 19, Ashok Road, New Delhi - 110001

Jammu

The City of Temples

Appropriately called the city of Temples, Jammu's very skyline is dotted by innumerable temple spires and shikhars soaring into the sky. Each has its own legend, its devotees and specific days of worship.

However, the most popular and most frequented is the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.

The shrine is approachable on foot along a 12 km long well - laid foot path. Every year nearly 4 million pilgrims pass through Katra, from where the trek starts.

According to popular belief, anybody who walks this Himalayan trail to Mata Vaishno Devi's shrine to ask for a boon rarely goes back disappointed. There are many who journey here year after year to pay obeisance regardless of their faith, creed or class, caste or religion.

Unique festivals of Ladakh

Ladakh, over the centuries developed a unique culture, very different from the rest of India, and found expression in its fairs and festivals, art forms and monuments.

Different occasions — marriages, birth, harvest — are all marked by feasting, dancing and singing. The whole year sees a number of Monastic Festivals which provide the average Ladakhi with the spice of life and offer tourists an insight into the life and style of the people of the region.

These Monastic festivals are held to either commemorate the founding of a monastery, the birthday of its patron saint, or some major events in the evolution of Tibetan Buddhism. Thousands of people join the celebrations in their colourful best.

Chhams, a highly choreographed sacred dance-drama forms the core of the festival. Resident lamas, in brightly coloured brocade robes perform these dances in the courtyard of the monastery. All of them wear masks representing divinities or characters from historical episodes or Tibetan fables. The dances are accompanied by the crash of cymbals, the boom of drums, the melodious shawm, and the deep resonance of 12 feet long blow horns.

The rites of the festival are conducted by the Head Lama incarnate of the monastery, who occupies a high throne with other lamas sitting on either side according to hierarchy.

The masked dancers serve to familiarize the devotees with the kind of divinities they are to encounter during the 49-day transit period between death and rebirth in one of the six forms, depending on one’s deeds or ‘Karma’

While all Monastic Festivals are open to tourists, one of the most popular is the Hemis Festival, also called TSE-CHU — the festival of Padmasambhava.

The 2-day festival is dedicated to Gune Padmasambhava — the founder of Tibetan Buddhism — and the dances are a re-enactment of the magical feats of Padmasambhava in his services to the cause of Buddhism in his eight different manifestations.

The important thing about this festival is the display of the two-storey high Tankga, depicting Padmasambhava, every 12 years in the Tibetan year of the Monkey. This famous Thankga is embroidered with pearls and semi-precious stones and will next be displayed in 2004 AD.

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