View of the Pir Pamir range from up above before we touch down.
View of Amritsar International Airport from the plane port.
Posing before taking the gondola up to Gulmarg Phase I.
The smell of pine trees greet you as you emerge from Sringar Airport.
Dal Lake from the Shikara boat.
My boatman in the background is a young man with a sharp wit with woes for the plight of young unemployed youth in Kashmir like him. The Shikara he says only keeps him busy in the tourist season, otherwise he's jobless. Asks me whether it's a good idea to buy a laptop.
Me on the shikara. :)
Gondola ride on Dal Lake. The boatman encourages me to do a bit of rowing on the Shikara.
On the shikara, Dal lake in the background.
The man on the floating hotel in the middle of Dal lake who offers piping hot Maggi.
Scenic beauty on the banks.
Houseboats anchored along the bank.
One of these houseboats featured in a famous Bollywood movie.
Houseboats again, the beauty mesmerizing on a clear morning.
Navigating the shikara through the floating market, now virtually lifeless.
The gondolas anchor along this shore of the Dal Lake
Hazratbal Sufi shrine -the site of the famous incident where terrorists blockaded themselves.
Outside the Hazratbal shrine, the peace and tranquility is underlined by the presence of hundreds of doves and pigeons feeding on grain.
Shalimar Gardens - frankly I felt it was a bit over-hyped.
Inside Shalimar Gardens, yes there's an entry fee!
Walking through the vast expanses of Shalimar gardens - -now bereft of tourists.
An ancient tree - approximately 20 times my age.
On the banks of the Dal lake, lofty mountains in the background.
The 5 Chinar trees on a small island bang in the middle of Dal lake that has been there since ages.
The Dal lake in the evening, fancy fountains seen.
Driving toward the 'Path of Gardens' - Gulmarg.
View on the way to Gulmarg.
Settlements seen on the way to Gulmarg.
Farms and hillocks with wildflowers on the way to Gulmarg.
We stop for a hookah break. My driver smokes the hookah once or twice a day, he says.
I also try out the hookah for fun. :)
Scenic beauty and tea stops on the way to Gulmarg.
The valley below on the way to Gulmarg.
At Gulmarg, the foothills next to the ancient British built chapel.
Small constructions on the foothills of Gulmarg,one of them being the tourist center.
Me, waiting for my gondola ticket to be booked and the ride to start.
Inside the gondola.
The gondola behind us makes its way up.
On the top. Waiting for the horse to carry us all the way up.
Picture postcard beauty at Gulmarg before the horse ride to the snow capped peaks.
Posing with the beautiful backdrop.
Another perspective.
Snow covered lofty peaks.
Navigating the way up between piles of rocks and stones. The horse is young and a bit nervous but agile.
The horse takes bites of grass whenever it can.
The outfit has been rented out, so that I don't freeze with cold.
Examining snow or rather frost for the first time.
Desolation in the middle of nowhere at the top.
Horses graze in the background at the pinnacle. Winter has not yet started.
Standing a pose at the top.
Snow, rocks and more rocks and some grass.
A view of Gulmarg phase II up above which is too windy for us to take the gondola.
Gets greener as we travel down the slope.
My guide took this photo - probably through a green filter. :)
As we travel down to base.
Me, with the horse owner. He makes as much money as a fresh software engineer in Bangalore, during peak seasons.
View of flowering trees from the gondola. It's autumn!
And the next gondola coming up, as we go down.
Flowering trees in autumn.
Down back at base, it's late evening and the weather cloudy and gloomy.
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