 IntroductionSrinagar district is situated in the centre of Kashmir Valley, is surrounded by
five districts.In the north it is flanked by Kargil and Ganderbal in the South by Pulwama,in the
north-west by Budgam. The capital city of Srinagar,is located 1585 metres above sea
level.The district with a population of around 10.94 Lakh
souls(2001- census), is sperad
over an area of 294 Sq.Kms.It comprises two tehsils/ towns viz
Srinagar North and Srinagar South, one block (Srinagar), besides
136 Revenue villages.
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 TempleIt 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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IMAMBARA
HASSANABAD
SRINAGAR
The 2nd
oldest shrine and is a world famous place of mourning and
worship of one million shia population of J&K is Imambara
Hassanabad situated in south west of city centre Lal Chowk.
The Imam Bargah is surrounded by world famous Hazratbal shrine
one side,
Temple
of
Mata Sharka Devi
and Gurdawara Chatti Padshahi
on other side. Hassanabad was a developed city during
the Moughal Rule period and the Imam Bara is surrounded by
Moughal Graveyard “ Baba Mazar “ which is the resting
place of a number of Kashmir Lumaneries i.e Baba Ali , Syed
Mirza Shah , the great persian poet of 17th century
“ Mulah Abdul Gani “ and famous poet of Kashmiri Marsia
“Hab Saheb Mullah”.
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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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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.
Nature Impressions
Of Dal Lake
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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. |
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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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 
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 : |
294
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. |
| 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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Introduction
