Sonamarg to Baltal and on to the Helicopter

Sonamarg is about 90 km NE of Srinagar and is a very popular place. They used to 'shoot' many Hindi movies here. I don't know whether it is still a practice!!!

 The drive is a spectacular sight in Kashmir, in Sindh Valley. The Sindh Valley is upwards and is of sixty miles long and deep rock-girt gorge to open grassy meadow land. You have to see it to believe it.

Sonamarg ' meadow of gold ' has its backdrop snowy mountains against a cerulean sky. the Sindh river flows along here. Ponies can be hired for the trip up to Thajiwas glacier a major attraction during the summer months. I think this is what Rao, Uma and Bhuvana tried to see and since Uma was not up to it after a Km walk, they returned. I have some photos of them in one of the previous posts.

A breathtaking view of Himalayas from Sonamarg valley

The climate of Sonamarg is very pleasant, but the rainfall is frequent though not heavy. Shangloo arranged our night stay in Snowland Hotel. As usual, the arrangement should have been two beds in each room with extra mattress for the third. But due to over booking by the management, we got one double bed and one mattress on the floor (which Rao obliged to occupy). 

About the bathroom here - any water that we put in the wash basin came out on to the floor. After one person used, the hot water was not available (they said once opened the hot water tap, it should run continuously, otherwise it will stop). To add to this, due to the power cut, we had to wait till the power came back for the other two to shower. The management was extremely polite. They follow the rule of "'you don't have to oblige, just speak obligingly" !!!  

They had food available in their own cafe. The hotel charges included breakfast and dinner. So, we had one meal there and the other in a neighborhood vegetarian restaurant. They promised to pack our breakfast. A sandwich and a piece of chocolate cake. Because of the egg in the cake, we requested two sandwiches for each one of us (but later on, when we opened our bags, there was one very tasty chutney and vegetables sandwich and the cake).

We woke up at 3 a.m. and were ready by 4 a.m. Baltal was only 15 Kms., but we weren't sure how the traffic would be and our Helicopter boarding time was 7 a.m. The breakfast was well packed and even though we paid for the hotel till noon, we had to vacate it. They offered to hold our luggage in the hallway, but we decided to keep it under Suresh's guard in the car. Suresh parked the car at a distance in a lot and walked us to the Pad. We reached the Helipad by 6:30 a.m. 

Here, there are many military, security men and women who appeared very busy. But no one was able to give correct information regarding where to form a line when we hold the boarding pass etc. Finally our turn came to go through the gates to the Helicopter parked area. I decided to stand in the front in the waiting line. at that gate. By then, I learned how to manipulate the 'push and shove' of Indian queues. Just before they called our numbers, they weighed each person in order to distribute the weight in each Helicopter. Rao went in a different copter. With 5 in each, one lady was added to us four. Additional person was in the front seat next to the driver. I thought that I would be afraid of heights. It wasn't so - I enjoyed the ride. The peaks were beautiful (yet at that point, it was nothing like the Rocky mountains of Colorado of my Karma Bhoomi.
Caution: They gave us boarding pass only to Amarnath, for the return, we would get at Amarnath helipad. Sounded very easy - but wait till another post for that story.