Gateway to the Indian Paradise

 On the 4th day of our trip, back in 2010, We set out from Jammu towards Patnitop, in search of respite from the scorching heat of the sun, on a fine April morning.

   

  Patnitop  is a hill top tourist location in Udhampur district, in Jammu and Kashmir, India, on the National Highway 1A, on the way from Udhampur to Srinagar, 112 km from Jammu. Situated on a plateau in the Shiwalik belt of the Himalayas, Patnitop sits at an altitude of 2024 metres. The river Chenab flows in close proximity to this location. It is in the Lower Himalayan Range close to the Pir Panjal range. The towns of Kud and Batote are located nearby. Kud is a very small town where a sweet shop makes fresh Patissa (a sweet). It can be bought hot from the shop and melts in one's mouth. Batote is known as a place for quality rajma or the kidney beans. Once upon a time there was a beautiful pond surrounded by the lush green meadows lined with Deodhar and  Pine trees. The pond was so enchanting that it cajme to be known as 'Patan-Da-Talab' meaning 'Pond of the Princess' because the local princess used to bathe in its waters. It is quite likely that the English got the pronunciation wrong and henceforth it came to be known as Patnitop. 

 Enveloped by thickly wooded forests, Patnitop offers beautiful picnic spots, peaceful walks and breathtaking views of the valleys of the Chenab basin and the Pir Panjal range beyond. In winter, the resort is generally covered with a thick mantle of snow thus providing opportunities for various snow games including skiing. We lodged in the cottages of Jammu And Kashmir Tourism Corporation, though there are other hotels for accommodation too. We called it a day, and decided to enjoy the trail around the tourism complex.

  Early next morning, we set out to explore Patnitop and its twin town of Sanasar, in a Tata Indica that we had hired from Jammu itself. Sadly there was no snow in Patnitop, but the surrounding hills were covered with a fresh layer of snow. Onse such hill was Nathatop, our first stop of the day, which not only provided fresh snow but also a panoramic view of the snow clad peaks of the majestic Himalayas. Nathatop, located 14km from Patnitop, is a hub of a number of adventure sports like paragliding, skiing, sledging and pony rides. Within a few kilomtres from Patnitop, we encountered the first snow along with a host of Himalayan Peaks dominating the Nirth-Eastern horizon. At Nathatop, we were out to enjoy the snow. But it was bad news for 
adventure sports. The snow was enough to stop the paragliding and pony rides but not enough for skiing. The only activity was sledging but it was nothing adventurous. The sledges are nothing but indigenous version of the hand pulled rickshaws of Kolkata. We spent some time on Nathatop enjoying the snow as well as views. We were soon on our way to Sanasar, which was 5km away. The entire stretch of road was covered with snow, and it made driving extremely difficult, taking 20 minutes to cover the 5km stretch. Like Patnitop the prime attraction of Sanasar are its meadows, pine forests and the enchanting view of the snow clad peaks. In sanasar the meadows are much larger, the pine forests are denser and the snow clad peaks appear much close. But the star attraction os Sanasar was its isolation from the large crowd of Patnitop. Reaching Sanasar, we set out to explore the place. We took a walking trail which took us past the J&K tourism Tourist complex and cottages and past the meadows to a forest lined with pine trees. There were several benches for the interest of us tourists, but we chose the grass to enjoy a small snack comprising of biscuits, cakes, chocolates and some Patissa. 

  Then, we set out to explore Patnitop like  "Monarchs of all we survey". The Patnitop Tourist Complex houses the resort and cottages of J&K Tourism, including a restaurant. The landscape is similar to Sanasar but much smaller in magnitude. It is more touristic with hawkers selling Kashmiri artifacts and dresses along with fast food like puchka and bhel-puri. In the evening we waited long enough in our complex and cottage to enjoy our last evening in Patnitop.