Kashmir is arguably India’s prettiest state, visually! Beautiful locations, decked up shikaras, thousands of stars in the night sky, pretty valleys, skiing destinations, lush greenery, Himalayan mountains, scenic meadows, kahwa tea, incredibly gorgeous panoramas, bristling rivers, peace and tranquility of nature, hospitality and the niceness of the Kashmiri people are some of the things a traveler will experience in his/her Kashmir trip! 

Arriving in Srinagar was a little different than arriving in a random place around the world lets put it that way. Immediately after I collected my suitcase the tourist police came up to me, asking me a couple questions. They assured me that they approached me only to make my arrival as safe as possible. I asked myself why is this necessary? All tourists have to register at the airport with the police and you have to let them know where you are going and where you are staying. Of course I had no idea yet! LOL The only information I had was a phone number from a homestay family and the name of a fellow Aussie traveler.

The police did their best to track down the place where I was going to stay. It took them more than an hour and I started to ask myself is Kashmir safe for tourists? Being hold up by the police doesn’t seem nice, but it all seemed really peaceful to me. Finally they escorted me out of the airport and put me in a taxi! I was frozen though, it was 9 degrees in the beginning of November and my suitcase contained only clothes suited for a life on a tropic island.