Srinagar Swing: Of a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow

By Rahul Banerji

Watching fresh snow floating out the sky is what most flat-landers pray for on visits to the high hills, but there’s still a frisson when it actually happens.

Plans are made for such eventualities, but external factors have a final say. Conditions change, roads may not stay open, winds decide to play truant.

It’s a long list of ifs and buts one can only hope to be there when the snow-flakes start to fall out of the sky, thickening into a white curtain that gradually blankets the landscape.

Commanding Officer Anjali has done a terrific job of putting together this six-day swing through Kashmir, and a late change in plans ensures we are in the right place and at the right time to fulfil this most childish of fantasies.

Snowball fights, watching flakes settle on one’s clothes, the taste of fresh snow on the tongue are therefore in order as we make the most of the changing weather.

Cashing in

Our destination may only be 50-odd kilometres from Srinagar, but lies at the end of dizzyingly steep ascent that takes us all the way up to 9,000 feet in the Pir Panjal.

Doodhpathri (Valley of Milk) is actually all white on the day, from snow and the melting glacier upstream. And it is actually warmer in the valley as the snow creates a cosy blanket,

Much like its more famous cousin Gulmarg, Doodhpathri is a series of meadows in a small valley. Usually green, it had cloaked itself in white by the time we arrive.

On the way, we have a very special meeting. Just as the road begins its up-swing, the vehicle needs a break to cool off from the strain of the climb.

What follows is a little bit of magic.

Big birds

In the tall trees just off the road is a flock of Himalayan Griffons, magnificent beasts that nest in solitude and isolation after their numbers have been decimated by unplanned use of veterinary medicines,

Two other vulture species can be found at these heights, the Lammergeyer or bearded vulture and the Egyptian Vulture, but the griffon is the big daddy of the pack.

An adult griffon clocks in excess of a hundred inches in wingspan and weighs between 18 and 25 pounds, making it the largest bird in the air in these parts.

Watching the flock take wing out over the valley will remain one the memories of this trip, the long lazy loop of the glide that began from one tree-top and ended on another a half mile or so away,

So between the snow, the cloaked meadows and the griffons, it is already something of a memorable outing.

And just to round it off, yes, one round of golf has been managed at the Royal Springs. Another one awaits ere our departure.

Also read: Srinagar Swing: Smooth landing, and a bumpy ride into city