The next and third destination of my Kashmir trip was Gurez Valley. Many people asked me what made me choose Gurez. Typically, if you see Kashmir Holiday Packages online or talk to any travel agents, you’ll realize that the standard Kashmir itinerary includes Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonmarg, and Srinagar. You could certainly do this! However, I chose to replace Sonmarg with Gurez. You’ll remember in my first post I had mentioned how my office friends convinced me to book a Kashmir vacation, well they also insisted that most of these typical destinations have become fairly crowded and commercial over the years, and there are many hidden gems in Kashmir, waiting to be explored like Gurez and Bangus Valley. Since this was my first trip to Kashmir, I certainly wanted to do the so called ‘standard’ destinations – i.e., Pahalgam, Gulmarg, and Srinagar. But felt why not add a new and different place to the mix, and so Gurez it was!

Leaving Gulmarg behind, we embarked on our trip to Gurez, that promised beauty beyond imagination. But I have to say, the drive was a long one – while the map showed about 5 hours, it took us over 7. Partly, because our driver wasn’t the most enterprising and partly because in bits, the road was actually quite bad (in some patches, there was no road at all, just stones, which naturally slowed us down). We crossed the entire Bandipura district, which was crowded and not the most scenic. However, beyond that, the landscape changed, and went from pretty to prettier to prettiest 🙂

First Stop – Our first stop was at the Wular Lake viewing point, best known for sunsets. As context, Wular is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia. Another prettier lake which you could stop to see is Manasbal, in the Ganderbal district. It can be visited on your way back from Gurez, it’s closer to Srinagar and considered a nice getaway/day trip for the locals.

Second Stop – Our next stop was at a small food joint near the Peer Baba Mosque. Most tourists stop here for a quick bite (maggi, chai or even daal chawal) – and a leak break (not a pleasant toilet, but atleast one on this route!). The views are gorgeous – before, at, and after this stop – tall pine trees along the hilly slopes before, full view of the valley from here, and then majestic mountains after.

Third Stop – Our third and final stop was the Razdaan Pass, which was about a 10 minute drive from the food stall. We couldn’t help but get off to take some pictures here. This pass connects Gurez to the rest of the world! It is at an elevation of over 11,000 feet and remains closed for several months in the year, due to heavy snowfall. The weather here was pleasant and the air so clean. Like us, many other tourists were also busy taking pictures and making videos of the magnificent panoramic views. 

As we drove from Razdaan Pass to Gurez, the views continued to be breathtaking. And more so, as we reached the Kishanganga river. It was simply stunning. The beauty made me speechless. People who’ve been to Switzerland and rave about it but have not been here, MUST MUST. We all need to be aware of how gorgeous our own country is! 

Note that there will be several army checkpoints on the way to Gurez. At each point, you will need to show your government issued ID and in return you will receive a small paper chit with a reference number that you have to keep safe; to be returned at each checkpoint, when you leave Gurez and go back. 

Finally, we reached our destination – the Kaka Palace Hotel in Gurez. It was like a guesthouse/small and basic hotel. Nothing fancy or elaborate. But a 5-minute walk from here led to a gorgeous view – of the river and the mountains – a spot where one could just sit for hours.

Let me now mention the three biggest highlights in Gurez Valley:

1. As soon as you get to Gurez, a hangout place you’ll hear of is the Log Hut Cafe, better and more popularly known as the Army Cafe. Infact, we had already heard stories of it from other tourists in Gulmarg on our Gondola ride. A very nicely done up cafe run by the Indian Army for the civilians and tourists. It has a very exhaustive coffee menu – if you’re a tea lover, ditch the chai for once, and sip a coffee here instead. The cafe also has a food menu, mostly light snacky items like sandwiches, rolls, and pizzas. The interiors house a lot of nice wall arts and posters with fun messages, and the outdoor sitting area gives you a glimpse of the majestic Habba Khatoon peak – a pyramid shaped single mountain standing strong…

2….which is a must visit when in Gurez. There is enough written about Habba Khatoon, the poetess, you can go check out Google for it. What stands out is the spring water that you must see and taste – clean, fresh, sweet, and cold – and the color is very unique, beautiful shades of green and blue, never seen before. This stream is the Kishenganga River, which merges into the Jhelum river in India and ultimately the Neelam river in Pakistan

3. Last but not the least, the Khandiyal Top. This is a drive to the top of a hill, from where one gets breath-taking panoramic views of the full Gurez Valley – the unending majestic mountains, the Kishenganga river and the camping tents beside it, the town of Dawar, and the camping tents at Khandiyal top itself. It’s a spot where time seems to stand still, and you can immerse yourself in the beauty of nature!

I have covered the key places to see in Gurez Valley. Let’s come to the main attraction from Gurez, i.e., Tulail Valley. I believe it is even prettier, even more untouched, with even more breath-taking landscapes. Now, comes the unfortunate part about my journey to Tulail. My mother and I were eagerly looking forward to our scenic drive to Tulail, a visit to several of its charming villages, a nice home cooked rajma chawal meal at a local’s house, and nearly touching the LOC. But as soon as we reached the first village on the trail, there was an Army check-post which stopped us from going onward on account of some suspected militant activity in the main Valley. So we took a walk in the first village and had to head back to Gurez. We were very disheartened then and decided to cut short our Gurez trip – from two nights to one night – and head to Srinagar sooner. This experience made me think and realize how this is also a part and parcel of traveling to a sensitive destination like Kashmir! And maybe this gives me reason to come back to Gurez again at some point in the future!

Now, coming to my critical section on key points to consider when planning your trip:

1. First and foremost, the drive to Gurez can be tough for some. It is hilly and roads are winding. So, if you have motion sickness, I strongly suggest avoiding Gurez. You could take a medicine, but just to warn you, it is quite a few hours of non-stop hilly road travel, so beware
2. Replacing Sonmarg with Gurez will make your trip expensive. While the stay itself is cheaper, everything else is expensive, given the fact that Gurez is quite remote and not as accessible when you think about supplies – petrol, groceries, etc. Getting to Gurez is longer and harder (e.g., while for our travel to Pahalgam and Gulmarg, we opted for a sedan and were fairly comfortable but for Gurez, we were strongly recommended the Innova Crysta, which shot up the cost)
3. Like I had mentioned in my earlier blogs, here too, you will need a separate taxi for Tulail, so budget additional cost for that 
4. Since Gurez is untouched so far, it does not have any hotels. In some sense, this is good because there is less cement, less clutter, less trash, and less pollution. And a tad bit bad, because there are no comfortable options to stay. While I stayed at Kaka Palace, the other options also seemed similar. For the enterprising, what I’d suggest is staying one night at the camp next to the Kishenganga river and then one night at the camp at Khandyal Top. The morning views from both will be absolutely stunning 
5. Last but not the least, please note Gurez doesn’t yet have hydroelectricity. The hotels keep the generator on only for a couple of hours in the morning and then in the evening. So, for most part, you won’t have access to power – no light, no fans, no TV and no charging points! To some, this may sound like complete bliss but to others it could be annoying. So, ensure you are well prepared to manage this

In summary, Gurez is a hidden gem but one has to pay a price to enjoy this unexplored paradise. Weigh the pros and cons, in terms of what you value more – comfort and luxury vs. serene and scenic natural beauty. Remember that Gurez is a small, yet to be a developed destination, so don’t expect a lot to do here – it’s an ideal place to unwind in nature’s lap. Relax. Sit by the river. Read a book. Sleep early. Plan to not have a plan!

Hope you enjoyed reading about this experience of mine. See you in the next post – my fourth and last destination of the Kashmir trip – Srinagar!