It was just a two days trip to Patnitop. Patnitop is a hill station in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. I along with my cousin had a visit to the beautiful hill station last December. We got down at Jammu Tawi station and from there boarded a train to Udhampur. The nature welcomed us with the smell of fresh air into its fine adobe. There in the platform is a natural water spring as the source of drinking water. I saw a heavy military presence there with massive artillery support guarding the place. From there, we hired a taxi to Patnitop. It took about 45 minutes to reach the hill station. We stayed at Vardaan holiday resort in Patnitop. The hill station is known for its natural charm, climate, pine forests and beautiful green cover of the pine trees.
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Patnitop[/caption]
The hill station is quite close to Pir Panjal range. The scenic natural beauty, beautiful sights and the white snow cover added to the beauty of the hill station. The place is surrounded by thickly wooded forests. The place is a great trekking spot. As we went on winter time these trekking tracks disappeared and the pony rides also stopped due to excess of snow and cold. We enjoyed skiing there as the place was covered with winter snow. Patnitop offered great breathtaking views of the Chenab basin. We also saw Sudh Mahadev, a sacred place visited by pilgrims on the full moon night of "Saawan" to worship the ‘Trishul’ of Lord Shiva.
We also went to the noisy market on seeing the fine Kashmiri embroidery. There we could see the beauty of Kashmiri handicrafts and handlooms. These items were all available at much reasonable price. The handicrafts were of fine intricate designs, hats off to the dedication of the weavers towards their work. After two days of Patnitop exploration, the second day night we boarded train back to our place.