This was the second day of my very eventful Kashmir trip, when we were to travel to Sonmarg, a very picturesque village on the Srinagar-Leh road. Frequently visited as a road trip from Srinagar, we were to stay for a night and then move to Gulmarg. At Srinagar, our driver had asked us to leave early to avoid traffic jams. Accordingly, we woke up very early, only to discover that there was no hot water in the bathroom. It was really awful to be stand in the shower in the cold, waiting endlessly for hot water to start. After freezing, I gave up the idea of a bath, got ready and headed down for breakfast. That was disappointment # 2, a very lackluster breakfast, that wasn’t even ready on time.

Fortunately, our driver was there on time. He was as punctual as us throughout the trip. He drove well, with minimal bumps, gave us great food recommendations and didn’t chat too much. The only problem with him was that he was a huge honker and thus, made driving through crowded areas quite a pain.

The drive to Sonmarg took a little under 3 hours, thanks to a lot of heavy vehicular traffic on the road. We passed through a lot of fields and gradually ascended and found ourselves with a view over a beautiful valley.

As we continued our drive, frozen dirty ice trails of the melting glaciers started showing up. Far and few initially, soon, every 10 meters would have an ice trail. Our driver told us that this was the trademark of Sonmarg.

Tall mountains with dark green trees of pine and fir with glacier trails on each side, were grabbing my attention non stop. Excitedly, my camera kept clicking away as if on auto pilot!

We turned into the tiny village and drove through the entire length of the tiny market area filled with crowds and slush, past the lush green meadow with few hotels dotted over it.

Sonmarg, tiny by itself, has quite a few places to see, the easiest and most popular being Thajiwas glacier and Zero point on the road to Leh. There are many treks, especially in the summer, but that wasn’t on our agenda. Our plan was to trek/ horse it to the glacier and see the snow at Zero point. Unfortunately, that day, Zero point wasn’t possible because of road closures, so the glacier and Sonmarg meadow were on today’s agenda.

In most tourist places in Kashmir, you can’t take your rented or personal car for sightseeing. You have to use local cabs and/ or horses only, all of which are hand-in-glove with hotels, drivers, travel agents,etc.

Our driver took us to the parking lot, where we were assaulted by the horse nexus. This would remain a common thread in Kashmir. “Walking is a sin, you must get on a horse, you must get on a shikara, you must buy the wares, you must take a sledge or a ski ride”, so on and so forth. The incessant heckling can make you want to yell at times. At (most) other times, you feel really bad for them, when they ask you to give them some business. And that’s how the gullible us got ensnared quite a few times.

The hubby and teen wanted to take a horse ride, I wanted to walk as I’m scared of horses. The driver and horse owners laughed at my idea of walking. They politely told me to get onto the horse for the initial steep part of the journey and get off when the road was level. They also assured me a small gentle horse.

With a lot of trepidation (me) and excitement (teen), all of us climbed onto our horses. As in, hubby and teen climbed on. I had to be shoved on. I was terrified when I saw how much higher than the ground I was. The hubby was very happy that I was on a horse as he was sure that I couldn’t walk the entire distance (and once again, he was right).

So we set off, a motley crew of 2 happy and excited people led by just one horse handler, and 1 scared-to-death woman on a mild-tempered horse with a very gentle horse handler. Ahead of us and behind us were many people on horses. As Zero point was shut, the entire crowd and more ended up at Thajiwas. It was lucky that we’d reached early. The crowds we saw on our way back were deterring to any form of enjoyment.

As the horses clippity-clopped their way to the glacier, I tried to sit straight, keep my core tight and match the horse’s movement. All I achieved was straining my shoulders and bouncing about on the horse, quite painfully. Finally, I just relaxed and sat, thinking that the worst that could happen was that I would fall off. After that, my ride was fairly pleasant. Of course, the constant sitting in abducted position was tough, but my ample gluteal fat protected my ischial tuberosity from the pain that my skinny hubby and teen experienced at the end of the day.

It certainly helped that the views were breathtakingly beautiful. As soon as we set off, and till we came back, it was tough to know where to look. The entire route was stunning.

The initial climb was steep over many stones. Soon, it leveled out onto a gentler, more defined path. I actually managed to look around and take some pictures while holding onto the bridle for dear life. The hubby and teen were comfortable on their own horses, as though they were born onto them. Soon I saw that they were trotting along, leading their own horses. Great, now I was scared for them and for me!

We ascended slowly amidst trees, getting closer to the glacier. It was fairly cold by now and I was grateful for my many layers of warm clothing.

As we got closer to the glacier, we approached a lush green field, supposedly where the movie Satte-pe-Satta was shot. I desperately wanted to run on that meadow and twirl like Maria in the movie The Sound of Music, but was too scared to get off and then on the horse again. This was the biggest disadvantage of taking the horse, not being able to stop where I wanted.

Past the field, the route was very muddy and over a lot of rocks.  I must credit the horse handler because he really took care to make sure I felt safe. 

Soon I could see the glacier ahead and I decided to get off the horse as I was really struggling on the horse. The horse handler walked with his horse alongside me. The view of the green slopes on one side and the snowy white glacier sloping down to the valley floor was breath-taking.

   

Finally, we reached the at the base of the glacier and dismounted. Once again, I had to be carried off! It started raining and became very cold. We rushed into a food stall for cover and had delicious coffee, Maggie and the lemon tart from the Srinagar patisserie.

By the time we were done eating, the rain had stopped and the sun was out. We walked a few steps towards the snow, planning to run up the glacier and flail about in the snow. Just then, our horse handlers (and many MANY more people) started pestering us to go sledding on the glacier. As the teen was very enthusiastic, we agreed and started our very ineffective bargaining. Note to all who plan to visit Kashmir: it is very challenging to bargain, especially because you feel really bad for the effort they take. It’s probably better not to try it at all.

Our horse handlers/ sled pullers were very helpful and resourceful. They helped us clamber over the slush, dragged our considerable weights and took amazing pictures of us.

They even told us where to stand for the best backdrops and made interesting reels. They made our teen this adorable owl-man and made him wear her glasses.

It’s not that easy to walk on a snowy slope. Clumsy me stumbled all the time, and the smarter teen simply slid on the snow.

We felt and behaved like kids in a candy shop. We threw snow at each other. We ate the snow. We made snow angels. It was a perfect day.

 

Then we sat on our sleds and were pulled down the slope and right across the muddy slushy area we had struggled to walk in. Though I felt really bad using human labor, I had really enjoyed my time thanks to these 3 terrific people as well. By now, the crowds were swelling, and the horse handlers told us to head back soon. Reluctantly, I turned for a last view of the beautiful snow-covered mountains and the glacier flowing down to the center with a patch of water in the center. 

Just then, a man with a pigeon approached us, a little snowy white pigeon that the teen went crazy over.  This was the best part of the day for her.

To get back to the horses, we had to cross a gushing stream of water with a rickety bridge over it. I was shocked to see the huge numbers of people at that point. There seemed to be no law and order to cross, and everybody seemed to want to go across (both ways) at the same time. At this moment I was sure that someone would fall into the stream. We only made it across because of our kind horse handlers.

We hurriedly climbed/ got shoved onto our horses.  The narrow route was filled with horses and handlers. Horses kept bumping into us and injuring us. Our handlers took us on a slightly different path so that we wouldn’t be head on with other horses. At one point we rode through the water.

The views on the way back seemed prettier to me, possibly as I was less scared. This is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, and I really have travelled a lot.

By the time we got back, we were very hungry. Our driver took us to a fabulous hotel, perfectly located facing the beautiful Sonmarg meadow on one side and the flowing Sindh river on the other, beautifully manicured with little cottages everywhere, and a view to die for from the dining room. This is the ideal place to stay in Sonmarg, but I just can’t remember the name!

 After a delicious lunch, we followed a path right down to the river Sindh, a glacial river flowing at great speed. The hubby and the teen touched the freezing cold water and then were too frozen to stay out in the cold anymore, so we rushed into the warmth of the car and drove to our hotel, instead of spending longer on the Sonmarg meadow.

The drive back to the hotel was gorgeous. As we turned out of Sonmarg, we could see the river, the tiny village, the huge undulating meadow and the glacier behind it. Postcard perfect view.

 

Our hotel was 15km away from Sonmarg. I felt very cheated by MMT when I figured this out, especially as I was very keen on staying in Sonmarg itself, and I wasn’t told that this place wasn’t in Sonmarg proper. Fortunately, it was a new and beautiful hotel right by the edge of the river, with a grand view from the balcony.

We then stepped out, needing some hot tea. Unfortunately, the dining area had no view, but the kid discovered a glass-enclosed sit-out where we had delicious tea, hot chocolate and buttered toast.

We walked down all the way down to the riverfront. The river was flowing at a very fast rate and I was really relieved to see that there was no access to the water itself. There was a big boundary which walled it off. The towering sound of the river gushing by and the beautiful mist around us made up for not staying in Sonmarg itself. MMT had finally delivered.

Contented with our day and well fed with tasty food, we slept soundly and woke up the next morning to see the little clouds hanging off the mountains and a beautiful view of the snowcapped mountains all around. We walked down to the river again and simply listened to it gush along, over the stones. It was the perfect morning.

I had no expectations from Sonmarg as my childhood trip to Sonmarg in August had been horrible. I loved it this time round, and truly regretted not staying here for at least 2-3 days. Some day in the future, I hope I will be back. Till then, this view will stay with me.