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Introduction
Srinagar district is
situated in the centre of Kashmir Valley, is surrounded by
five districts.In the north it is flanked by Kargil,in the
South by Pulwama,in the north-west by Budgam. The capital city
of Srinagar,is located 1730 metres above sea level.The
district with a population of around 9,00,000 souls(1991-
census), is sperad over an area of 2228 Sq.Kms.It comprises
three tehsils/ towns viz Srinagar, Ganderbal and Kangan, four
blocks (Srinagar, Ganderbal, Kangan and Leh), besides 175
villages.The population density in the district Srinagar is
401 per Square Kilometer which is highest in the state. The
literacy rate of the district was 33.80%in 1981.
According to a
popular legend which is mentioned in Kalhana's Rajtaringini
Kashmir valley was a vast lake. Kashyap Rishi drained out the
water and made it habitable. It is said that originally
Yakshas, and Pisacas tribes inhabited the valley at the higher
reaches and did not allow the inhabitants of the valley to
live in peace. King Ashok brought Budhism to Kashmir which was
strenthened by Kanishka. In 6th century Huns came to rule the
valley and Mihirkul was one of the infamous Hun ruler. The
area attained freedom in 530 AD which was shortlived.
According to Sir
Aurel Stein the famous interpretor of Kalhana the chronicler
of Kashmir the city of Srinagar had big market and mansions
made of wood touching the clouds. Hieun-tsang the famous
Chinese traveller visited Srinagar and has described it his
memoirs.
Various capitals were
established by the latter kings but ultimately the city of
Srinagar was destined to be the capital of the State. These
capitals are now found only in ruins or history. Some of the
famous capitals are Prvaerpora of Praversen, Prihaspora of
Lalitaditya, Jayapida's Jayapora, Avantivarman's Avantipur and
cities of Kanishkapura and Juskapura.
During muslim rule
Sultan Sadar-ud-din founded Rinchenpur and Ala-ud-din founded
Alauddinpura near Hariparbat Hill. ZainulAbideen founded
Nowshera as the capital while Akbar founded Naagar Nagar and
raised 28ft tall wall around it.
Holy
Places
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Hazratbal Shirne
The
Hazrathalbal Shirne, which is situated on the left bank
of the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar. This unmatched
reverence is anchored in the love and respect for the
Prophet Mohammad(peace be upon him), whose
Moi-e-Muqqadas, (the sacred hair) is preserved here. The
shirne is known by many names including Hazrathbal ,
Assar-e-Sharief, madinat-us-Sani,Dargah Sharief and
Dargah.Sadiq Khan,laid out a garden here and constructed
a palacial building,Ishrat mahal or Pleasure House, in
1623. The construction of the present marble structure
was started by the Muslim Aquaf Trust headed by Sheikh
Mohammad Abdullah in 1968 and completed in 1979.The
Moi-e-Muqqadas is displayed on various occasions related
with the life of the Prophet and his four holy
companions. |
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Shankaracharya
Temple
It is located
at 1100ft.above surface level of the main city on the
Shankaracharya hill, also known as Takht-e-Suleiman. The
shiva temple, as Kalhana belives, was constructed by
Raja Gopadatya in 371 B.C.and as such is the oldest
shirne in Kashmir. Dogra ruler,Maharaja Gulab Singh,
constructed stone stairs upto the temple. In 1925,the
temple was electrifed. The temple, besides a prominent
religious place of Hindus, is of great archaeological
importance. The temple commands a magnificient panoramic
view of the Srinagar city. |
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Khanqah-e-Molla
The shrine of
Shah-e-Hamdan or Khanqah-e-Moulla is one of the oldest
muslim shrines in kashmir situated on the bank of the
river Jhelum in the old city |
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Jama
Masjid
It is one of
the oldest and the most spacious of all the mosques in
Kashmir, situated in the heart of the city.The
foundation of the mosque, an architectural wonder was
laid by Sultan Sikander in 1398 A.D.The area of the
mosque is 384ftX381ft. spacious enough for over thirty
thousand people to offer prayers at a
time |
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Khir Bhawani
Temple
Situated at
Tullamula in the Srinagar district,is an important hindu
shrine.The temple is associated with the hindu
goddess,Ragnya Devi.An annual festival is held here on
Jesht Ashtami(May-June) when hindus visit the place in
large numbers to offer prayers and seek the blessings of
the diety. In addition ,there are umpteen places of
religious importance in Srinagar. |
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Chatti
Padshahi
Chatti Padshahi, one of the most
important Sikh Gurudwaras in Kashmir.The sixth guru of
Sikhism traveled through Kashmir, stopping to preach
occasionally. It is situated just outside the
southern gate of Hari Parbat fort.
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Tourist
Places |
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Cheshma Shahi and
Pari Mahal
Cheshma Shahi
or the Royal Spring was laid by Shah Jahan in 1632 A.D.
It is 9 Km. from the city centre and is famous for a
spring of refreshment digestive water.Two kilometers
uphill from Cheshma Shahi is situated the Pari Mahal,a
school of astrology founded by Prince Dara
Shikoh,Emperor Shah Jahan's eldest son who was killed in
the war of succession.The Cheshma Shahi-Pari Mahal area
has been developed into a Tourist Village.
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Nishat
Garden
Queen Nur
Jahan's brother,Asif Khan,laid the Garden in 1633 A.D.
It is situated on the banks of the Dal Lake in the
backdrop of the Zabarwan hills,11 Km.from the district
headquarter of Srinagar. The Garden commands a
magnificent view of the lake. |
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Shalimar
Garden
The Garden,15
Kms from the city centre, was built by Emperor Jahangir
for his beloved wife, Nurjahan. The gardens with four
terraces is 539 by 182 meters and gets water from Harwan
through a canal lined with fountains.The fourth terrace
was once reserved for royal ladies. |
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Dal
Lake
The world
famous water body described by Sir Walter Lawerence as
the "Lake par-excellence",half a kilometers from the
city, is the jewel in the crown of kashmir eulogised by
the poets and abudantly praised by the travellers and
tourists.The lake of late has unfortunately, consideably
shrunk in size causing concern to environmentalists.The
Governments have chalked out an ambitious project to
save the lake from extinction.The lake is 6X3 km divided
by causeways into four parts,Gagribal,Lokut Dal,Bod Dal
and Nagin.Two islands,Sona Lank and Ropa Lank,within the
lake add to its beauty. Nagin is the most lovely part of
the Dal Lake separted by a causeway. |
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Sonmarg
Sonamarg, at an
altitude of 3,000 metres above sea level, 87 km
north-east of Srinagar. The drive to Sonamargh is though
yet another spectacular facet of country side in
Kashmir, this time in Sindh Valley. The Sindh
Valley is the largest tributary of the valley of
Kashmir. It is upwards of sixty miles long, and valley
and deep rock-girt gorge to open grassy meadow land and
village-dotted
slopes.
Sonamarg, which means ' meadow of gold ' has, as its
backdrop, snowy mountains against a cerulean sky. the
Sindth meanders along here and abounds with trout and
mahseer, snow trout can be caught in the main
river.Ponies can be hired for the trip up to Thajiwas
glacier a major attraction during the summer
months.
The climate of Sonamarg is very bracing; but the
rainfall is frequent though not heavy, except for two or
three days at a time in July and August with fine spell
in
between.
From Sonamarg, trekking routes lead to the Himalayan
lakes of Vishansar (4084 msl), Krishnasar (3810 msl) and
Gangabal (3658 msl). Other lakes in the region are
Gadsar, stocked with snowtrout and Satsar, glacier-fed
and surrounded by banks of alpine
flowers.
A close by excursion is to Baltal, 15 km north of
Sonamarg. This little valley lies at the foot of the
Zojila, only a day's journey away from the sacred cave
of Amarnath. Trekkers can also reach the starkly
splendid roof-top of the world – Leh, by crossing over
the Zijila Pass
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Culture
Cultural
Background
Jammu and Kashmir has
the distinction of having multifaceted, variegated and unique
cultural blend, making it distinct from the rest of the
country, not only from the different cultural forms and
heritage, but from geographical, demographically, ethical,
social entities, forming a distinct spectrum of diversity and
diversions into Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh, all professing
diverse religion, language and culture, but continuously
intermingling, making it vibrant specimens of Indian Unity
amidst diversity. Its different cultural forms like art and
architecture, fair and festivals, rites and rituals, seer and
sagas, language and mountains, embedded in ageless period of
history, speak volumes of unity and diversity with
unparalleled cultural cohesion and cultural service.
While the Kashmir has
been the highest learning centre of Sanskrit and Persian where
early Indo-Aryanic civilization has originated and flourshed,
it has also been embracing point of advent of Islam bringing
its fold finest traditions of Persian civilization, tolerance,
brotherhood and sacrifice.
Some
of the popular performing traditions of Srinagar are as
follows :-
a) Bhand
Pather
It is a traditional
folk theatre style combination of play and dance in a
satirical style where social traditions , evils are depicted
and performed in various social and cultural functions. Bhand
Jashan is performed by a group of 10 to 15 artists in their
traditional style accompanied by light music for the
entertainment of people.
b)
Chakri
It is most popular form of Kashmiri
folk music. It has some resemblance with chakra of
mountaineous regions of Uttar Pradesh. Normally Garaha,
Sarangi, Rabab were the musical instruments used in the past.
But now thw harmonium too has made its way in its
presentation.
c) Sufiana
Music
Sofians musiqui came
to Kashmir from Iran in the 15th century. Over the
years it has established itself as the classical music form of
Kashmir and has incorporated a number of Indian Ragas in its
body. Hafiz Nagma in fact, used to be part of sofiana music.
The instruments used in this form are Santoor, Sitar, Kashmiri
Saz, Wasool or Tabala. In Hafiz Nagma a dancer is a female
while her accompanists on various instruments are males.
Hafiza moves her feet on musical notes.
There are only a few families in
Kashmir who are practising this musical form in Kashmir.
Whereas the tallest ustad Ghulam Mohd. Qaleenbaft is unable to
move out because of health problems, Ustad Ghulam Mohd.
Saznawaz and Ustad Abdul Ghani Namathali are imparting
training to their family members and are the practising
artists.
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Nature Impressions Of Dal
Lake
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Dal Lake much visited and less
understood provides us with classic example of how
little we appreciate the good things provided to
us by Nature. This once pure lake could turn into
a polluted pond , if we unthinkingly allow soil
erosion and untreated effluents to damage it.
Thousands of residents of Srinagar and millions of
tourists are depandent upon the lake either for
livelihood or for enjoyment. The lake of course is
popular for its Houseboats ,Shikaras and
promenades and it is undoubtedly a bird watchers
paradise..
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Slowly as the Shikara passes
through the channels in Srinagar the houseboats
pass by which are handled by even the children
with great dexterity. The birds in this lake are
very approachable. The kingfishers sit on the tops
of houseboats nonchalantly almost within the
touching distance of humans who seem to be equally
unmindful of the birds. The kingfishers apparently
use walls, steps and piles as fixed perches from
which they directly dive into water to catch
little fish.In Europe these birds are very elusive
but in the happy valley of Kashmir they fear no
danger from humans. Man and Nature seem to exist
happly together in the Valley. Sitting on low
boats i.e. Shikaras we can manoeuvre close to
waders,raptors and divers. |
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While giding on Shikara we can
often observe white breasted
Kingfishers(Halycon smyrnensis), large
striking birds with robust bills perched on the
branches of willow trees. These birds
concentrate their efforts to hunting on the
floating Gardens. These man made islands
comprise of reeds, willow rods, aquatic
vegetations and and held together with humus
consisting of mud from the lake bottom. This is
extremely fertile and provide rich source of
food in the form of frogs,lizards,mice,
grasshoppers and other insects to the
Kingfisher. |
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Now as we move further to the
calm waters of Anchar Lake we are in a totally
different world, there is no crowd of boats, no
motor boat engines to be heard and the mood is
different altogether. Just a few meters ahead
there is a little bittern unmindful of
the boat traffics. It stands motionless in the
reeds waiting for frogs and other insects for
its feed like a heron. This is a very shy bird
and will vanish at the slightest difference.
However it is accustomed to moving water traffic
and is not bothered by it. However if a boats
stops it gets alarmed. |
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There are open lotus flowers
around which the bees are humming collecting
honey. Wagtails active and eager can be seen
dashing from leaf to leaf sometimes leaping into
air to catch that elusive creature for its
morsel. The dipping motion of their longtails
and their undulating flight is fascinating to
watch. Kingfishers keep on diving into the lake
and emerge successful sometimes dripping with
droplets with litlle fish intheir beak.
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A small swimming bird much
smaller than a duck is also seen and is known as
grebe(podipus ruficollis). It dips at one
place and emerges some meters away. The little
grebe is fairly common in the vale.
Common Pariah Kites (Milvus
Migrans) are frequently seen soaring above
the area. Near the Dal they perch on pillars
looking for dead fish and other rubbish. They
are scavenger birds and help clean the
area.
It is not necessary
to have any special knowledge or equipment to
enjoy birdwatching in and around the Dal Lake.
An ordinary ride on a Shikara can provide an
obervant mind with wonderful insights into the
bird behaviour. All that is needed is love of
nature, keen-eye lots of patience and
appreciation | | |
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Dachigam is a
wildlife sanctuary which is home to the
endangered HANGUL species of the Deer in the
country. dachigam is also host to other wildlife of the
state viz Black/ Brown Bear, Musk Deer, leopards and
migratory birds. There is a Trout fish farm also in
Dachigam. It is big natural reserve which requires
permissions from the Wildlife Authorities for
excploration. The dense forests of Dachigam offer a
brilliant view alongwith a Glacier fed rivulet flowing
right through the middle.
General
Information
| Approach: |
Airport |
Srinagar (32 kms.) |
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Railhead |
Jammu (315 kms.) |
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Road |
Srinagar (21 kms.) |
| Area : |
141 sq.
kms. |
| Altitudinal Range
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1,700 to 4,000
metres M.S.L. |
| Accommodation : |
Lower
Dachigam:
Panzgam 2 inspection huts 3
bedrooms = 6 beds.
Laribal 1 inspection hut 1
bedroom = 2 beds.
Laribal 2 dormitories 3
bedrooms = 20 beds. |
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Upper
Dachigam:
Sangargulu 1 inspection hut 2
bedrooms = 4 beds.
Gratnar 1 inspection hut 6
bedrooms = 12 beds. |
| Flora : |
There are over fifty species of
trees,twenty of shrubs and five hundred species of
herbs. The principal tree species are Pinus
griffithii,Abies pindrow,Juglans regia,Morus
alba,Betula utilis,Salix spp.,Populus spp., Prunus
armeniaca, Corylus colurna,Quercus robur,Ulmus
wallichiana, Aesculus indica, etc.Shrubs include
Berberis spp.,Desmodium tiliaefolium,Parrotiopsis
jacquemontiana, Indigofera heterantha etc.
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| Fauna : |
There are twenty mammal species
which include hangul,Himalayan brown
bear,Himalayan black bear, langur,Himalayan
marmot,leopard etc. |
| Avifauna : |
There are over 150 species of
birds.The principal species are
monal,koklas,bearded vulture, griffon
vulture,golden eagle,grey heron,starling,golden
oriole,paradise flycatcher,western yellow-billed
blue magpie,kestrel,peregrine falcon,black bulbul,
etc. |
| Visit : |
Upper Dachigam Mammal/Bird
viewing
Lower Dachigam Mammal viewing
Bird
viewing |
May to August.
September to
March.
March to May. |
| Dress : |
Summer :
Trekking shoes,raincoat and light clothing.
Winter : Trekking shoes,heavy woolens and
waterproof windcheater.
Spring : Trekking
shoes,raincoat and light
woollens. |
For
Reservations contact :
The Chief Wildlife
Warden,
Jammu & Kashmir State,
Tourist Reception Centre,
Srinagar 190001,
(Kashmir.)
Dachigam lies
in Srinagar District and it is 20 Kms from the Distt
Headquarters.The nearest Airport is approx. 25 Kms away
in Badgam Distt.This Airport is connected with major
cities of country. The nearest Rail Head is at Jammu
which is 300 Kms away and from there National Highway
NH1A connects the Kashmir valley with India. Every sort
of transport to suit every budget from Buses to Taxis
ply on this Highway. It Takes around 10 to 12 hours to
cross this mountaineous road which crosses some
beautiful spots and the famous Jawahar Tunnel linking
Kashmir Valley with country. Selected Transport is
available from anywhere in the Srinagar City with
nominal costs to the Gates of sanctuary. From there on
you have to trudge on foot.Taxis, Buses can be chartered
from anywhere in the Srinagar city to this place.
Where to stay ?
The Boulevard
road is lined with Hotels and Restaurants suiting every
budget. the accomodation is available for every budget.
Hotels are also available on the other major commercial
areas of Srinagar.more information on tarrifs the
Manager and Tourist reception centre can be contacted at
Srinagar.Information bookings and reservations can also
be had from the Offices of JKTDC across the country from
the location nearest o you.
What to do
?
Lots of recreational
activities are on the offer :
- Explore the Wildlife in
the natural reserve.
- Talking long
walks/Trekking in the wildlife park.
- Carry your own
refreshments as nothing is available commercially.
- Angling can be allowed
only after seeking prior licenses and
permissions
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