Kashmir, land of beauty, where Neelum & Jehlum flow wildly with immense power, forming beautiful Neelum and Jehlum valley. Love story of these rivers completes at Muzaffarabd where both the rivers combine together; from here river Jehlum continues to flow downstream. Pines, glaciers, waterfalls and very nice people that’s what Kashmir is. People are very very friendly, very understanding, supporting and very importantly literate. Wherever I was in Kashmir I saw Kids in uniform going to or coming back from school; boys/girls coming back from or going to college. Kashmir has very good literacy rate and it made me proud. This land is recovering from 2005 earthquake and floods of 2010. It will take time to rebuild the infrastructure but I have full confidence that brave Kashmiris will stand strong like ever.
Summer is time in Pakistan when North opens its window for tourists, nature lovers and vagabonds like me. A trip was long due from me and my friend’s side; basic instinct of riding and exploring nature was overcoming all other responsibilities which we normally face in our lives; heart was pushing me to spare time and go to the land of beauty. So, we planned for a three days trip to Neelum and Jagran Valley which started on 15 June, 2012. I am not a hermit/loner and always prefer to have company and friends on trips. Unfortunately for this trip it was only me and Imran, other guys failed to join us because of their personal engagements and I regret that they missed an experience of a life time. I was riding GS-150 and Imran was on CG-125.
To keep the thread interesting, I will update on different visited locations time to time and I am not summarizing the trip in the beginning. My below posts will lead us to above mentioned valleys with pictures and explanations; though words and pictures are not enough to share kinda experience.
I prepared for the trip and took essential stuff with me. As I was riding bike so took following items with me.
- Sleeping bag
- Warm jacket for night
- Wind breaker for riding
- Toothpaste and brush, soap
- Extra pair of shoes and one pair of sleeper
- Warm sleeping suite, spare T-shirts, spare pair of socks
- Torch, toolkit, necessary spare parts for my bike (clutch wire, accelerator wire, brake shoes with springs, headlamp and tail light bulbs)
- First aid kit
- And very importantly safety gear
Looking forward for your support and participation.