Trekking in Kashmir - Offbeat Yusmarg (April 2016)

About Yusmarg

Scenic Yusmarg

There are a couple of legends surrounding the origins of Yusmarg’s name. One hints at ‘Yusmarg’ being a corruption of ‘Roosmarg’, or ‘meadow of the musk deer’. Another one comes from a belief that Jesus Christ spent some of his ‘lost’ years in India, and passed 
through Yusmarg, earning it the name ‘Meadow of Jesus’. It is believed by the natives that Jesus came to Kashmir and stayed at Yusmarg for some time. Located at an altitude of 2396 meters above sea level and set amidst the pristine woods and gorgeous panoramic vistas, this place reminds you of the painting you would have done as a kid in school. 

So Picturesque - Ideal for a painting. Lovely
cottages set amidst the meadows.

The drive to this place takes one thru breathtaking vistas being flanked by the orchards of apples, peaches and almonds.  It is an alpine valley covered with snow clad mountains and the meadows of Pine and Fir and located in the Pir Panjal Peaks, a sub range of Himalaya. It is situated at the bank of Doodhganga River which is a tributary of Jhelum River.

An Offbeat place away from the usual commercial touristy spots

This place looks pristine, hidden and unspoilt from commercial tourism. One can hardly spot any crowd here and there is only one restaurant in Yusmarg managed by the Jammu and Kashmir tourism department. 

The only restaurant built by the J&K tourism department

The Jammu and Kashmir tourist department has built lovely cottages on these meadows. In 2017, I had the opportunity to visit Scotland and Bhutan as part of my travels, and somehow, the beauty of both these places reminded me a bit about Kashmir. However its not fair to do comparisons as each place has its own unique beauty in different seasons and has its own culture.  

Lovely cottages dotted along the meadows.

My earlier visit to Srinagar as part of my Ladakh tour in July 2013 got curtailed due to a sudden civil unrest in the region and our entire group got caught in curfew and so we could do only a limited sightseeing in Srinagar in the evening after sunset for 3-4 hours when the curfew was relaxed. Luckily this was in the fag end of our main Ladakh tour which went off very well otherwise. So when I got an opportunity to do a full Kashmir tour in April 2016, which included Sonamarg, Gulmarg, Yusmarg, Srinagar etc , I opted for it.  

It was a rainy and misty trek for us at Yusmarg

After couple of hours of scenic ride by bus from Srinagar, we reached Yusmarg by 11 am. As part of the initial itinerary, we had planned on doing the Doodhganga trek also which is barely 2 km to the west of Yusmarg, and is a fast-flowing river named after the water that churns into froth when passing over rocks and an ideal picnic spot too. But as it was raining incessantly that day and so we decided to trek somewhere more close by. Actually it was an ideal day to sit inside cozily with such a scenic view around and just enjoy tea and other refreshments. And so though it was raining heavily, the trekkers in our group  decided to explore the place a little more while the others waited at the only Jammu and Kashmir tourist restaurant in Yusmarg having their tea and snacks. 

Our group taking in the beautiful vistas at Yusmarg

As we stepped outside the restaurant, we could see a few horses/ponies and their handlers waiting outside and pleading with us, the visitors, to take a pony ride. They are Gujjars - a nomadic community in the Himalayas who live in the mountains and rear sheep. During winters they migrate to the villages and in the summers they go back to the mountains. We were not inclined towards taking a pony ride but we decided to engage the services of the handler to lead us on a short trek thru the meadows. So it was the pony, the handler and seven of us who decided to explore this place a little more. 

Our Trek Leader(s) for the day

On the Trek Trail in Yusmarg

Part of the Trek Trail, with streams flowing..

On our trek path in Yusmarg 

One of our team members posing with a Gujjar..a really
misty and scenic day at Yusmarg

 

Oh..it's so misty..amazing vistas at Yusmarg...

On our trek trail...Sheeps grazing in Yusmarg..

On our trek trail..lovely Gujjar Girls posing for us

Loved the rainy and cold trek here in the middle of beautiful meadows with ponies grazing, crossing streams, slush etc due to rains, not to forget the hot tea that we had after the trek at the only restaurant here. But we had to cut short our trek due to incessant rains and didn't want to keep the other group members waiting endlessly for us. So we returned to the restaurant for tea and snacks which we relished more in the cold weather. After that we decided to head back to the bus and back to Srinagar where we were put up for the night.

On our way back we stopped by to click some beautiful pictures along the way of 

shepherds handling their flock of sheep.

The Sheep and their handler - They are Gujjars who
are a nomadic community.

The sheep and their handler..another shepherd
 handling his flock...amazing sights along the way at Yusmarg

We also stopped by to greet a group of Kashmiri children who were going to school. We asked them if we could take their snaps and they happily obliged and were also very happy to receive the chocolates we gave them in return.

These lovely school kids were as excited to see us, as
we were to see them

Lovely school kids posing for us on our way back..
and they loved the chocolates that we gave them in return

And thus ended one more of my lovely and scenic treks with amazing vistas and great memories to cherish for a long time...Happy Trekking...!!

Tip for my trek buddies : If you are planning a trip to Kashmir make sure to include this place in your itinerary.  YUSMARG IS A TREKKER'S PARADISE.