My blogs

 Thajiwas Thajiwas valley is a famous beauty spot in Sonamarg and the  Thajiwas Range, overlooking it, is as fine a range as any of like size in Kashmir. It runs SE to NW and joins the Sindh river at Shitkari just below Sonamarg where the westward flow of the river is turned South to the Vale of Kashmir.  The overlooking igneous Thajiwas range is by no means a cragman's paradise. It affords some varied and arduous climbing and for those who are found snow and ice work, it is an excellent playground. The range culminates in 4854m Thajiwas peak and between the ridges are six fairly well defined hanging glaciers  which are steep, harder of ascent than average alpine glacier. Glacier 1 overlooks the Sonamarg and is directly under 4854m Thajiwas peak. The Thajiwas peak was first climbed by J. Waller in 1937. It was his second attempt to this peak and were successful in reaching its summit via a 300m Couloir which was later named as Waller's Couloi...

JKMAC Tatakooti Expedition - Sept 2022 Team JKMAC at the summit A nine-member team of JKMAC summited the Tatakooti peak of Pir Panjal Range, marking the third successful summit of the peak. Distance Covered : 37.57 km  Highest altitude : 4750 m (garmin) Team leaders : Mr Gh. Mohammad (Gullu) and Mr Arashid Majid. Members : Gullu, Arashid Majid Taous Baba, Haziq Beigh, Zeeshan Mushtaq, Mudasir Bashir Shah, Khursheed Beigh,Ahsan Mohsin and Tanveer Dar. A brief history: Tatakooti peak lies on the South Western side of the Kashmir Valley and is the highest peak of Pir Panjal Range, bounding the valley from South West. Dr Ernest Neve, a renowned mountaineer and medical missionary officer, in his book Beyond the Pir Panjal describes the peak as “ the most conspicuous and imposing of all the peaks of Pir Panjal range is undoubtedly Tatakooti peak, the pyramidal shape of which with a central notch and very steep and jagged western and northern sides, makes it look as if it might be exceed...

05 Aug 2022 | Pir Panjal Range Topo sheet along with route and terrain details Far towards the South western end of the valley, around Pir Ki gali, there are dozens of alpine lakes within 3-4 km of radius. Some of them fall in Kulgam district and some in Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu & Kashmir and accordingly there are many routes from these districts to explore all of them.  I started my journey from Kashmir division and m inimum of three days is required to explore the whole area. Jaddi nar valley On 5th of Aug 2022, I with my friend Muhammad Zahid left from Srinagar towards Dongimarg, Mughal road, some kms before from Pir ki Gali and parked our car near the wildlife dept. At around 8am in the morning we left from Dungimarg, crossed the Yanga nar stream which at Sokh Sarai is joined by Rupri Nar and forms the Rambiara river, a tributary of Jehlum river. Chandan Sar T...

31st July 2022  I stayed for the night with bakerwals at Achhan  and it was raining all night. At about 8am in the morning i left the tent after having some noodles and tea. I moved towards Saranjan and crossed a 3850m pass North of Didum peak(Hoen Heng), SW of Chakiali gali which connects Mahu Banihal with Kandimarg Kulgam.  View SE from Saranjan I descended down 200m into Sikwas Nala valley and climbed again to the main ridgeline of Pir Panjal range, NW of Gagarmandu peak(4000m). The top ridgeline separates Kashmir and Jammu division. I then followed the 3900m contour and traversed the ridgeline upto Nikkan gali where I descended 150m down to Nikkan. Top ridgeline of Pir Panjal range On way to Nikkan gali, i explored Mang nar valley, traversed Nunkhul gali which connects Kulgam and Gulabgarh. It was a cloudy weather and as soon I reached Nikkan, it started to rain and i took shelter at Shepherds camp. After 15min the weather got cleared and i left  and entered bac...

Pir Panjal is a basaltic mountain range that bounds the Kashmir valley from South. In the December of 2021, while mapping the peaks, passes, nomadic dwellings and hiking routes on this range in OSM, i planned to traverse the entire range from Banihal To Tangmarg in a single continuous stretch  but unfortunately i had to end it at Aharbal Kulgam.  30th July 2022 - Day1 I took a first train from Srinagar to Banihal at 8:07am and it almost takes two hours to reach there.  I had to reach Mahu valley where from the journey begins. I took a cab from the main market to Mahu and due to bad condition of road and landslides, it took about 3 hours from Banihal to Mahu valley.  This place is really a hidden gem and has a lot of potential for hiking and adventure tourism. Enroute to Mahu valley. At about 2pm, after having lunch and praying Zuhr at my friends home, i left for my journey. On way towards Achhan, there is an army camp about 1.5kms from the village. I proved my ident...

Sunset peak     /   Ro mesh Thong (4730m)  Pir Panjal range   is a lofty basaltic mountain range bounding Kashmir valley from South. It  extends southeastward for more than 200 miles (320 km) from the Neelum (Kishanganga) River in the western  Azad Kashmir  area (administered by  Pakistan ), through southwestern  Jammu and Kashmir  union territory (administered by  India ), to the upper  Beas River  in northwestern  Himachal Pradesh  state, India. Rising sharply to an average elevation of more than 13,000 feet (4,000 metres), it separates the Jammu Hills to the south from the  Vale of Kashmir , beyond which lie the  Great Himalayas .   ( B ritannica) Sunset Peak , so named because it is the last of the tops to catch the rays of the setting sun.It is the second highest summit of Pir Panjal  range encompassing Kashmir valley. This peak has a saddle-back, and has been several times...

    Deo Masjid —June 16, 1911,  Capt. J. B. Corry, R.E., D.S.O., and Lieut. R. D. Squires, 45th Sherwood Foresters, with Asad Mir (Shikari) and L. N. Rajwali Khan, left a camp in the Surphrar Valley and reached the summit of the pass leading to Lidarwat. From the pass they turned south and ascended a peak about 14,000 ft. They descended by easy snow and scree to a col and thence followed the arete to the top of Deo Masjid. As a direct descent to the Jajimarg Valley proved impossible they returned to the col between the peaks, and descended by scree and snow to the Jajimarg Valley and thence to Sekwas.  Alpine Journal 1911 page 85   Kallatip Peak W. of Sonasar Pass (about 15,600 ft.).—1911 July 12. Mason, Corry and Squires with Rajwali Khan left a camp to the south of Sonasar Lake at 6.50 a.m. and ascended by steep snow towards Sonasar Pass till 8 a.m. and then traversed to the west and up rocks and snow till they reached the ridge dividing the valleys that...

Exploring Pir Panjal Range Pir Panja l is a name of the basaltic mountain range with which the Vale of Kashmir is encompassed. It is the largest range of all lesser Himalayan ranges and bounding Kashmir from south. For trekkers in summer and for skiers during the late winter and spring, the Pir Panjal range is a paradise. It is known for its verdant landscapes, upland pastures, high altitude alpine lakes and lofty summits. It separates the valley from the plains of Punjab and a wide range of passes over its crest connects valley with other places. Gurwan Sar I   3rd July 2022 | Sunday Doodhpathri  is a tourist destination at an elevation of 2700m on the lower slopes of Pir Panjal Range and is about 50kms from Srinagar. I along with my team ALPINE ADVENTURERS started our hike from Doodhpathri at about 7am in the morning. The trail first leads through the forest with a gradual ascent and then through a steep scree gully towards the top of the ridge(3350m) that surrounds D...