Set like a jewelled crown on the map of India, Kashmir is a many-faceted diamond, changing its character with the seasons always extravagantly beautiful. Three Himalayan ranges - Karakoram, Zanskar and Pir Panjal - snow-capped, majestic, frame the landscape from northwest to northeast. They are the birthplace of great rivers which flow down into the valleys below, forested with wild orchards and lily laden lakes. 

It is not enough to say that Kashmir is beautiful. Kashmir has captured within its territories the quintessence of all the elements that poetry demands of nature. Awesome grandeur, serenity, a wild profusion of color. The Mughals, who celebrated beauty, planted their symmetrical gardens and added a further dimension to the valleys of Kashmir. They also left behind a heritage of exquisite artisanship among the people, making the handicrafts of the land prized gifts the world over.
 

Srinagar

Kashmir's Resorts

Amarnath Cave

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Kashmir's Resorts Rightly called the 'meadow of flowers', Gulmarg 51 km south west of Srinagar and 2,653 meters above sea level, is famed for its 18 hole golf course: the highest in the world. A beautiful saucer-shaped valley girdled with poplars, trails lead out of here in several directions and are popular with those enjoying pony-rides. >>>		Gardens and Parks in Kashmir Srinagar is justly famed for its Mughal Gardens, vast acres of hillsides, terraced with waterbodies and rimmed with flowering shrubs and trees, laid in formal quadrangles by the Mughal emperors whose love for the valley is legendary. >>>
Places of Tourist Interest in Kashmir Dal Lake: Srinagar's chief distinction is the great body of water, the Dal Lake, which forms its focal point. The Dal has, within its area, two enormous sheet-like expanses of water - Lokutdal and Boddal, the rest of its surface being broken up alternatively by man-made strips of land inhabited by whole colonies of people and vegetation. >>>		Kashmir: Poetry of Nature It is not enough to say that Kashmir is beautiful. Kashmir has captured within its territories the quintessence of all the elements that poetry demands of nature. Awesome grandeur, serenity, a wild profusion of color. >>>
Handicrafts Famed worldwide, the handicrafts of Jammu and Kashmmir are executed with love and care, and are reflective of the interpretation of an aesthetic idiom. >>>		Places of Worship The sacred valley, called Rishi wari till now, abounds in sacred places, Tirthas and Asthans. Long ago at the dawn of civilisation when the sons of Rishi Kashyapa from plains came to settle here they brought with them their traditions, religion, mythology etc. >>>
Jammu Scarping the low-lying foothills of the Himalayas, the overall impression of Jammu is one of large stone mansions, handsome buildings, and the remains of an old fort that stands sentinel over the Tawi gorge. While modern plate-fronted shops line the roads today, there is also, in the older houses, a feeling of timelessness, a tranquility acquired from the passing of an age. >>>		Ladakh: The Land of Rock Ladakh - the land of many passes, of freezing high barren landscapes lying across the lofty Asian tableland - is among the highest of the world's inhabited plateaus. Remote yet never isolated, this trans Himalayan land is a repository of a myriad cultural and religious influences from mainland India, Tibet and Central Asia. >>>
Adventure Sports in Kashmir Climbing sheer ice-walls and vertical granite slabs, trekking the beautiful forest trails to glaciers and mountain lakes, angling in swift flowing trout streams, golfing on some of the highest courses in the world, rafting down rapids and narrow gorges, hang-gliding and hot air ballooning, skiing down some of the finest slopes and ski-mountaineering across range upon range of mountains are among some of the exciting sports Kashmir has to offer. >>>		Glimpses: A Cultural Heritage An ancient repository of the arts, the culture of Jammu & Kashmir is closely linked with the lifestyles of its people. In the aesthetic environment of their homesteads, all items of daily use and all furnishings are created with the help of cottage industry crafts, mostly within the house itself. The beautiful carpets, the carved walnut furniture, the delicately embroidered shawls, papier mache objets d' art, silver and gold jewellery and the beautiful samawar are all expressive of the art the people of the region bring to their daily lives. >>>
Maps Maps of various regions in Jammu and Kashmir. >>>		Major Ethnic Groups The various ethnic groups of the Jammu and Kashmir State though intermingled have their areas of high concentration. For example, Kashmiris are mainly concentrated in the Valley bottom; Dards occupy the valley of Gurez; Hanjis are confined to water bodies of Kashmir; Gujjars and Bakarwals are living and oscillating in the Kandi areas; >>>
Srinagar Srinagar is at once a collection of images: a son et lumiere that tells the story of the love of the Mughal emperors for this paradise vale; deep green rice fields and river bridges, of gardens in bloom and lakes rimmed by houseboats; at once summer capital of the state, business centre and holiday resort. It lies 900 kms north of Delhi. >>>		Geography of Jammu & Kashmir State Geologists believe that about ten crore years have passed when Kashmir Valley which was once a lake called Satisar, the lake of goddess Sati, came into its present form. >>>

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