The most beautiful time in Gulmarg is in September, when the rains are over and the first fresh autumn nip is in the air. Then from the summer-house in our garden, in the early morning, to feast my eyes on Nanga Parbat was a perpetual delight. It was the very emblem of purity, dignity, and repose. Day after day it would appear as a vision of soft pure white in a gauze-like haze of delicate blue. Too light and too ethereal for earth, but seemingly a part of heaven; a vision which was a religion in itself, which diffused its beauty throughout one's being, and evoked from it all that was most pure and lovely.

The foreground in this autumn month was also worthy of the supreme subject of the picture. Through the pines the touches of sunlit meadow, fresh and green, with long shadows of the trees thrown here and there across them and intensifying the effect of the sunlight; the groups of cattle; the horizontal streaks of mist floating on the edge of the woods; the cheerful twittering of the birds; the soothing hum of the bees and insects; the crowing of c.o.c.ks; the rippling sound of running water; and then, looking towards Aparwat, the brilliant sunshine brightening the emerald gra.s.s of the marg; the patches of yellow flowers; the little meandering stream; the pretty chalet huts peeping out from the edge of the trees; the background of dark firs and pines getting lighter as they merge into the bluey haze of the distance; the fresh green meadows over the limit of the pines; the snow-fields; the rocky peaks, and above all the clear blue liquid sky,--all this gave a setting and an atmosphere which fitly served as an accompaniment to this most impressive of Nature's works.

CHAPTER VI

THE VALLEYS AND PLACES OF INTEREST

THE SIND VALLEY

The most bold and striking of the side-valleys is undoubtedly the Sind valley. A fourteen-miles' ride, or a night in a boat, takes the traveller to Ganderbal at its mouth, from which Sonamarg, the favourite camping-ground near the head of the valley, is four marches distant. The lower portion is not particularly interesting, though even here the pine woods, the rushing river, and the village cl.u.s.ters are beautiful. But at Sonamarg--"the golden meadow"--the great peaks close round, glaciers pour down from them almost on to the camping-ground, and the scenery has all the grandeur of the Alps.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GORGE OF THE SIND VALLEY AT GUGGANGIR]

Sonamarg itself is a narrow gra.s.sy flat, 8650 feet above sea-level, extending for some two miles between the hill-side and the river bank where another beautiful valley joins in from the south-west. All the slopes and meadows are covered with alpine flowers. Rich forests of silver fir, intermingled with sycamore and fringed on their upper borders with silver birch, clothe the mountain-sides. From each valley flows a rich white glacier. Grand rocky cliffs encircle the forests and meadows, and culminate in bold snowy peaks which give a crowning beauty to the whole. It is an ideal camping-ground and a strong rival to Gulmarg.

Some fifteen miles beyond Sonamarg is the Zoji-la Pa.s.s leading to Ladak and Baltistan. It was by this pa.s.s that I first entered Kashmir in 1887, and coming thus from the opposite direction, the change in scenery was most remarkable. For hundreds of miles from the northern side I had traversed country which though of the grandest description, was absolutely devoid of forest. The great mountains, sublime in their ruggedness and in the purity of their snowy mantle, were yet completely barren. Then, of a sudden, as I crossed the Zoji-la all was changed in a moment, and I burst into one of the loveliest valleys in the world with glorious forests clothing every slope. It was a refreshing and delightful change, a relaxation from a sublimity too stern to bear for long, to the homely geniality of earthly life, and the remembrance of it still lies fresh upon my memory.

GANGABAL LAKE

About forty miles from Srinagar, and lying at the foot of the great peak Haramokh, is the remarkable Gangabal Lake. It is reached by a steep pull of 4000 feet from the Sind valley. By the side of the path rushes a clear, ice-cold stream. From the top of the rise are superb views precipitously down to the w.a.n.gat valley leading up from the Sind and beyond it to a jagged range of spires and pinnacles. The path then leads over rolling downs, covered in summer with ranunculus and primulas, to a chain of torquoise and ice-green lakes, above which grimly towers the ma.s.sive Haramokh six thousand feet above the water, and giving birth to voluminous glistening glaciers which roll down to the water's edge.

It is a silent, solitary, and impressive spot, and is held in some reverence by the Hindus.

THE LOLAB

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE FROZEN LAKE, GANGABAL]

The Lolab is the western end of the vale of Kashmir, and is remarkable rather for the homely picturesqueness of its woodland and village beauty than for the grandeur of its scenery. It is usually reached by boat up the Pohru River three miles below Sopur. In two days the limit of navigation at Awatkula is reached. From thence the road leads to Kofwara, eight miles, and Lalpura, the chief place, twelve miles farther. The hill-sides are entirely clothed with thick forests of deodar and pine. In the valley bottom are beautiful stretches of soft green turf. Dotted over it are villages buried in park-like clumps of walnut, apple, and pear trees; and numerous streams ripple through on every side. For forest and village scenery it is nowhere excelled. It is like a series of English woodland glades, with the additional beauty of snowy peaks in the background.

THE LIDAR VALLEY

A favourite side-valley is the Lidar, for which the road takes off from the main valley at Bijbehara. It is not of such wild rocky grandeur as the Sind valley, but has milder beauties of its own, charming woodland walks, and in summer a wealth of roses pink and white, jasmine, forget-me-nots, a handsome spiraea, strawberry, honeysuckle, etc. By the side of the road runs the cool, foaming Lidar stream, and everywhere are villages hidden amongst ma.s.ses of chenar, walnut, and mulberry.

On the left bank one and a half miles from Islamabad is the famous spring of Bawan--a great tank under cool chenar trees. The spring is sacred to Vishnu, and is in the charge of Brahmins, who keep a book in which visitors have inscribed their names since 1827. The tank is full of fishes fed by the Brahmins, and thousands dash to catch the bread when thrown into the water. Altogether the village and the cool spring welling out of the mountain-side, and the whole shaded by magnificent old chenar trees, form a most attractive spot well worth a visit.

Twenty-four miles from Bijbehara, or twenty-eight from Islamabad, is Pahlgam, always the camping-ground of several visitors during the summer. Here, too, Colonel Ward for many years has resided in the summer in a small house built by himself, but now taken over by the State. I fancy life here is dull compared with life at Gulmarg, but for those who wish to vegetate and lead an absolutely quiet existence Pahlgam is admirably suited. It is two thousand feet higher than Srinagar. The camping-ground is in a wood of blue pines, and the fresh, clear, pine-scented air is refreshing after the stuffy main valley in midsummer.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EARLY MORNING NEAR PAHLGAM, LIDAR VALLEY]

Above Pahlgam the valley bifurcates, one branch going to Aru, by which a road leads over a troublesome pa.s.s into the Sind valley; and the other leading to Shisha Nag and to the famous caves of Amarnath, the resort of many hundreds of pilgrims in July and August. Immediately beyond Pahlgam, on this latter route, the path leads through beautiful woods with fine views of rocky heights and snowy peaks. Numerous maiden-hair and other ferns, primulas, crane's bill, gentians, and many other well-known flowers line the road-side. Above the wood line are fine gra.s.sy uplands frequented by Gujars with their cattle, ponies, buffaloes, sheep, and goats. Lidarwat is a lovely camping-ground in a green lawn fringed by a deep belt of trees. Beyond is the Kolahoi glacier, the road to which leads over a wide and treeless valley, and in places crosses snow bridges. The camping-ground is 11,000 feet above sea-level, and is set in a circle of stately peaks. The end of the glacier is of grey ice, and so strewn over with fragments of grey rock as hardly to be recognisable as ice, though the ice is, in fact, two hundred feet thick. Above it rises the bold peak of Kolahoi, so conspicuous in its sharp needle form from Gulmarg, and six thousand feet above the glacier.

The cave of Amarnath is about 41 miles from Pahlgam, and is about 13,000 feet above sea-level. It is therefore above all tree vegetation, and is set in wild and impressive scenery. The cave itself is of gypsum, and is fifty yards long by fifty broad at the mouth, and thirty at the centre. Inside is a frozen spring which is the object of worship, and beside it is a n.o.ble glacier and bold and rugged cliffs.

MARTAND

Of all the ruins in Kashmir the Martand ruins are both the most remarkable and the most characteristic. No temple was ever built on a finer site. It stands on an open plain, where it can be seen to full advantage. Behind it rises a range of snowy mountains. And away in the distance before it, first lies the smiling Kashmir valley, and then the whole length of the Pir Panjal range, their snowy summits mingling softly with the azure of the sky. It is one of the most heavenly spots on earth, not too grand to be overpowering, nor too paltry to be lacking in strength and dignity, and it is easy to understand the impulse which led a people to here raise a temple to heaven.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE RUINS OF MARTAND]

The temple of Martand is the finest example of what is known as the Kashmirian style of architecture, and was built by the most noted of the Kashmir kings, Lalataditya, who reigned between the years 699 and 736 A.D.

Apart from its site it cannot be considered one of the really great ruins of the world; but yet there is about it a combination of ma.s.siveness and simplicity, and of solidity combined with grace, which have earned it fame for a thousand years. There is something of the rigidity and strength of the Egyptian temples, and something of the grace of the buildings of Greece. Yet it is neither so Egyptian nor so Grecian as the one or the other. Though Hindu, it differs from the usual Hindu types; and is known distinctively as Kashmirian. It is, however, decidedly Hindu, and not either Buddhist or Jain, and owes much to the influence of Gandhara, while the sculptures show, according to Marshal, a close connection with the typical Hindu work of the late Gupta period.

ACHIBAL

At the eastern end of the valley is another of the Moghal gardens, at the spot where quite a little river comes gushing straight out of the mountain-side. Leaving the house-boat at Kanibal, near Islamabad, we ride through a charming country, not so flat and swampy as the lower portion of the valley. We approach the semicircle of mountains which bound the valley on the east. Numerous streams rush down from the mountains. The valley is divided up into rice-fields, and is everywhere dotted over with hamlets hidden among chenar, mulberry, walnut, and pear or apple trees. Pa.s.sing through one of these villages, which is alive with running water, and completely overshadowed by ma.s.sive chenar trees, we enter a garden of the usual Moghal type, with a straight line of fountains and waterfalls, and an avenue of chenars. At the head of the garden is the mountain-side covered with deodar forest, and welling out of the mountain is a rushing stream of clean, clear water. It is a delicious and remarkable sight; but I think the spot would be more beautiful if the natural conditions had been preserved, and the artificial garden and unsightly buildings had not been constructed round it. For they only serve to hide the magnificent prospect right down the length of the Kashmir valley and the snowy mountains on either hand.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A SRINAGAR BAZAAR]

It is, however, in spite of this a fascinating spot, and the camp which the Maharaja pitched here for the entertainment of Lord Minto was the prettiest I have ever seen, for the lines of the tents accorded with the formality of the garden, and the running water, the fountains, and the waterfalls gave a special charm to the encampment.

CHAPTER VII

SPORT

Sport is, as is well known, one of the chief attractions of Kashmir.

Every year, like the swallows, with the coming of spring, tonga loads of ardent sportsmen begin swarming into the country. Nowadays they cannot, as formerly, shoot wherever they like and as much as they like; and in their own interests it is well they cannot, for if they still had the freedom of former days no game would now be left. For some years past a Game Preservation Department has been formed by the Maharaja, and placed under the charge of a retired British officer, that keen sportsman Major Wigram. Licences to shoot have now to be taken out, and regulations for sportsmen are published annually.

Certain localities are strictly preserved for the Maharaja's own use and for the entertainment of his guests. Others are reserved for Raja Sir Amar Singh. Others again as sanctuaries. The number of head of the various kind of game which a sportsman may shoot is laid down. The number of sportsmen which may be permitted to visit each locality in the year is fixed. And regulations determine how the places are allotted among the numerous applicants. Major Wigram has also under him an establishment to prevent poaching by the natives, and he himself is incessantly touring and keeping a watch on the due preservation of the game. He obtains an income of about Rs. 25,000 per annum from the sale of licences, and spends about Rs. 20,000.

Under these conditions sport in Kashmir will always remain. The total bags of big game for the last two years are:--

1907 1906 Ibex 219 260 Markhor 51 52 Stags 49 51 Black bears 223 226 Brown bears 62 59 Leopards 22 27 Shapoo 100 85 Burhel 64 57 Goa 57 57 Ovis ammon 16 15

These figures do not include what was shot in the Maharaja's preserve, but they were not all shot within the limits of the Kashmir Province. They include also what was shot in the high mountains at the back of Kashmir proper--in Ladak, Baltistan, and Astor.

In this last year it so happens that magnificent trophies were obtained. Captain Barstow shot a markhor of 61 inches, which is the largest "shot head" ever obtained, though a head measuring 63 inches was once picked up. In the Kajnag mountains, which tower over the Jhelum River on the drive into Kashmir, one sportsman shot a markhor of 57 inches, and several other heads of 50 were obtained last year.

And as showing the pure luck which attends sport, it may be mentioned that Captain Barstow had never shot a markhor before he shot the record head.

Three good ibex heads, measuring close on 50 inches, were shot last year, and the other trophies shot were good. The reputation of Kashmir for sport is therefore being well maintained, though sportsmen have, in their own interest, to conform to more restriction than of old.

Last year the record ibex was also obtained by a well-known Kashmir sportsman, though not in Kashmir. Mr. Frank Hadow shot a 59-inch head, but had the bad luck to lose it in a stream while having it cleaned.

In duck-shooting, too, last season was a record year. Mr. T. Kennard shot 325 duck in one day by himself. And Colonel Edwards twice shot over 200 to his own gun while shooting with others. But it would be a mistake to suppose that Mr. Kennard secured this record bag merely by good shooting, and by being placed down amidst a crowd of ducks as in a big ceremonial state shoot. Mr. Kennard is among the most scientific sportsmen who have ever visited Kashmir. I first met him twenty years ago when he built the first house-boat ever seen in Kashmir. He used then to come out to Kashmir regularly every cold weather, and spend many happy months shooting small game in the Kashmir valley, markhor and ibex in Baltistan, the Gilgit district, and Astor, and stag in the Kashmir mountains. No man had a more glorious time, when Major Wigram and the whole Game Preservation Department were still unthought of, and at a time of year when game was most easily obtained, and all the sportsmen in India were bound down to their official duties. After an interval of several years Mr. Kennard returned last year to Kashmir for yet another shoot. He set to work in a most methodical and business-like way. He studied his ground well. He found out exactly when most ducks came. He studied their habits. He spared himself no labour and neglected no detail. And he devoted the entire cold weather to this single sport.

Besides duck and goose shooting there is excellent chikore shooting on the hill-sides, and a few manaul pheasants may also be shot.