Patnitop
Going to a hill station in Jammu during winter, might not be a great touristy idea …but that is exactly what we did, when we ventured out to Patnitop in the Jammu – Srinagar highway en route to Srinagar.
Sanasar, one of the best hillstations of the region was closed due to heavy snow and we planned to drive till Nathatop. The road from Khud to Nathatop was heavenly. Hair pin bends would suddenly disappear under the think blanket of fog as we’d tentatively maneuver through it to be beckoned by snow capped mountains making it a postcard view. On the way, we took some heavy winter clothes on rent to keep us slightly warm.
Walking in a lonely snowy road in a winter evening, can make one feel overwhelmed and poetic for some time. … till you remind yourself to stop being so boring and to go have fun in the snow. Sledging at Nathatop would be an experience we would have hated to miss. Missing from the place were the Gujjar Tribes, the local tribesmen, who abandon their huts during winter – to take a break from yak grazing and to do menial jobs in the plains and in their place were small school children from Khud, pulling their sledges to make a buck or two during their winter vacations, by giving a sledge ride to tourists.
Starting from Katra Vaishnodevi in a Maruti Van, we headed towards north despite being warned about the bad weather and the subsequent damage to the roads. Though the distance was just about 85 kms, given the circumstances, we were prepared for a longer trip.
In between we had to step out of the car and travel in the local transport bus, which wasn’t a bad thing as we got to interact with the localities for the first time. From the bus, we invited an army jawan to travel with us and it helped us avoid getting stopped frequently by transport officers and army convoy vehicles. The trip leads through the villages of Chandrakot and Khud. We had a heavy lunch of Parathas at a roadside dhabba, followed by the small snack of Patisa (local sweet delicacy) at a sweet shop in Khud.
Sanasar, one of the best hillstations of the region was closed due to heavy snow and we planned to drive till Nathatop. The road from Khud to Nathatop was heavenly. Hair pin bends would suddenly disappear under the think blanket of fog as we’d tentatively maneuver through it to be beckoned by snow capped mountains making it a postcard view. On the way, we took some heavy winter clothes on rent to keep us slightly warm.
Walking in a lonely snowy road in a winter evening, can make one feel overwhelmed and poetic for some time. … till you remind yourself to stop being so boring and to go have fun in the snow. Sledging at Nathatop would be an experience we would have hated to miss. Missing from the place were the Gujjar Tribes, the local tribesmen, who abandon their huts during winter – to take a break from yak grazing and to do menial jobs in the plains and in their place were small school children from Khud, pulling their sledges to make a buck or two during their winter vacations, by giving a sledge ride to tourists. 
Playing in the snow, drinking cups of hot tea, soaking in the view and basically getting our bones frozen ... that’s what we had come to Jammu for and at Nathatop and Patnitop we certainly got more than we bargained for.
Heavy rains greeted us on the way down but it didn’t deter us from visiting the local snake temple at Patnitop. It had already become dark and there wasn’t much for us to see. So we decided to call it a day and quickly booked a room and quickly jumped into the thick blankets and quickly burnt our tongue with a bowl of piping hot soup … so much for enjoying the winter!
