Frontier Treks & Tours India

As a tourism company focusing on the Kashmir region, figuring out what to say or not say regarding the protests happening this summer in Kashmir is difficult. Protests in a tourist destination are never good publicity, especially for Kashmir which already struggles with travel warnings from some Western countries.

The current protests that began in June 2010 have greatly affected the whole tourism industry for Kashmir. We have had to make changes to our plans, including revising the Lumen Dei photo workshop/tour that had a portion of its itinerary in Kashmir.

At the present time tourism isn’t impossible for Kashmir, but the situation is far from normal. Certain activities are not advisable, such as touring cultural heritage sites in the old city area of Srinagar (where most of the protests are happening). Others, like visiting the Mughal Gardens or exploring Dal Lake on a shikara boat ride, are possible.

At FT&T India we know Kashmir can be a riskier place for tourists, yet we take the safety of our customers seriously. We don’t rely only upon news reports to evaluate the situation. We spend most of our time in Kashmir, so we know firsthand what’s going on and have built a reliable network of local partners that helps us assess potential risk. While the current situation in Kashmir is far from ideal, we hope for things to improve and remain committed to benefiting Kashmir through responsible tourism.

If you have questions about the latest developments in Kashmir and what’s possible or not for tourism, let us know by email or in the comments below.

Update 3 November 2010: The protests that began this summer in Kashmir are still continuing, however they have lessened in intensity from where things were in August and September. It’s still not “normal”, but tourism is certainly possible provided you stay aware of the situation in case things change. We’ve seen Indian and foreign tourists begin returning to Kashmir in October without any problems. I’m going to close the comments for this post, but please feel free to still email us if you have questions about the situation.

Of the many highlights offered to tourists visiting Kashmir, a relaxing ride in a shikara boat on Dal Lake is one of my favorites. These little gondola like boats can be seen all over the lake, but one of the best times to watch and join in with the shikara traffic is in the early evenings during the summer. The majority of tourists and even locals will be out enjoying the last couple hours of sunlight while the temperature gradually cools down for the evening.

Here’s a scene from last month taken near one of the shikara ghats along the boulevard.

Some photos from a recent trek we did on the Aru-Lidderwat route in Kashmir.

A unique event happens every year in Srinagar around May just before summer arrives. No, not the annual migration of the nomadic Gujjar shepherds bringing their flocks north through the city. I’m referring to the annual painting of curbs, light poles, and traffic lines on the roads of Srinagar.

I’m always impressed by the guys painting these lines on the roads while traffic zooms past them. No orange traffic cones to protect them or alert drivers to their presence before you come around a corner. One of the world’s most dangerous jobs? Maybe.

Last week I noticed a group of men painting lines on the busy road around Dal Lake near the Royal Springs Golf Course. This area of road was under construction on one side, so that made their job even tougher with less space to work with as traffic zoomed by them.

Today when I drove by the same area there was some new construction happening. The side of the road that had just been painted last week now was being paved over with new blacktop! This is the third year in a row I’ve seen traffic lanes being painted only to be paved over a short while later. I’m not sure if the painters mind, unless they don’t get any more pay for the extra work to repaint, but it certainly cracks me up every time I see it.

Ice cream and art lovers have a new place to check out in Srinagar, Kashmir. Creambell Ice Cream Parlour recently opened featuring a variety of ice cream plus an art gallery in the back section of the restaurant called Mahatta Art Café. This new parlour is located on Residency Road under Mahatta Photo Studio near the General Post Office (letter A on map below).

While the ice cream is good, the thing I was most excited about is the space for the art gallery. Currently the gallery is showing photographs taken by the late Mr. Ram Chand Mehta. Mr. Mehta founded the original Mahatta Studio in Srinagar way back in 1918. The photos on display range from 1934-1965 and are a fascinating look back in time at the Valley of Kashmir.

I had seen a larger exhibition of Mr. Mehta’s photos in Delhi a few years ago when my friend Matt Brandon first made me aware of these classic photos. While not much of a photographer myself, I certainly appreciate the history captured through Mr. Mehta’s lens.

There is a flyer inside the parlour indicating that the art gallery is open to any artist who would want to display her/her works. Hopefully this new space will help local artists display and promote their various works. If you’re in Srinagar, come check it out to enjoy some ice cream and local art.

There’s a big construction project going one right now in Srinagar where they’re digging up the main road around Dal Lake to put in new water pipes. It’s causing plenty of traffic trouble right at the start of the peak tourist season.

I was able to capture this shot from my phone while sitting for a while a traffic jam caused by this construction. The image quality from my phone isn’t great, but if you look closely you should be able to see the traffic backing up on the other side of the road. In the midst of all the honking, at least the view was nice to look at.

Some photos from yesterday morning in Srinagar after a nice rainstorm the night before. Springtime is often lovely in Kashmir.

I was in Delhi the last few days with the great group of photographers making up our Lumen Dei Kumbh Mela photo tour. Yesterday while they were out shooting photos I dropped by one of my favorite bookstores in Delhi, Full Circle.

Every time I’m there I notice something interesting and worth picking up. This time I found a book on Kashmir I’ve been wanting to get for a while now – “Travels in Kashmir: A Popular History of Its People, Places, and Crafts” by Brigid Keenan. The summary on the back of the book starts with, “This is the story of Kashmir as it appears in travel literature and historical writings from ancient times to the twentieth century.”

I began reading it on my flight from Delhi to Srinagar earlier today, and it shows promise of being a helpful and enjoyable book on Kashmir. I’ll try to share more after completing it.

I also picked up two other books on India while at the bookstore. One of them details the great Mughal emperors of India, titled “Emperors of the Peacock Throne” by Abraham Eraly. Apparently outside of India the book is titled “The Mughal Throne.”

When I first was looking at the description on the back of the book I wondered what my favorite author on India, William Dalrymple, thought of the book. I then happened to notice this endorsement on the front cover: “It is hard to imagine anyone succeeding more gracefully in producing a balanced overview than Abraham Eraly” – William Dalrymple. That was all I needed to know!

The third book I purchased is interestingly titled “In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India” by Edward Luce. And once again, what did I find on the front cover – “Without question the best book yet written on the New India” – William Dalrymple. As I was already in the travel/history books on India mood I quickly decided to get this one too.

As I mentioned above, I’ll do my best to share more on each of these books as I finish reading them. If anyone else happens to have read any of these already, let me know your thoughts about them in the comments.

As promised, here’s a collection showing some of the clever and amusing road signs seen along the way when driving from Jammu to Srinagar, Kashmir. Unfortunately I missed getting a photo of the one that read “BRO Be Gentle On My Curves.”

I should point out that the letters BRO on the signs stand for Border Roads Organisation. Enjoy!

Wow, what a road trip! Last Sunday and Monday I traveled by road from Delhi to Srinagar, Kashmir for the first time.

On Sunday our trip took 14 hours to go from Delhi to Jammu. The next day’s journey from Jammu to Srinagar took us about 10 hours. Going faster is possible, but we took our time when stopping to eat or stretch our legs.

Travel by air from Delhi to Srinagar takes only 1 hour and 15 minutes, so a road trip may not be ideal for those tighter schedules or who hate spending so much time in a vehicle. If you have time to spare it certainly makes for a unique way to enter the Valley of Kashmir and then you can always fly out when you leave.

Over the weekend or early next week I’ll post a series of photos highlighting some amusing road signs along the highway. For now here’s a quick teaser of one of them: