How did you get this name?
The name Doodhpathar means valley of milk. The famous saint Sheikh ul Alam Sheikh Noordin Noorani used to offer his prayers here. Once when he was searching for water in the plains after praying, he stuck his stick in the ground and milky white water came out. That is why he named this valley Doodhpathari.
Before going out of the city on Doodhpathri Road, our first stop today is Army Sukhdev Singh. Sukhdev Singh is from our city Budhlade who is employed in the Defense Army at Srinagar Airport. He is well acquainted with our colleague Harmeet Singh or we can say that he has a ground connection too. Sukhdev Singh welcomes us with a warm hug at the gate of Srinagar Airport. There is a different joy in going out and meeting the people of your area. Today, while Sukhdev Singh is being mourned, our hearts have also blossomed after meeting him. We do not know when we will have Amarti (Jalebi) and salty sweets with hot tea during our conversations. While drinking tea, we ask about Sukhdev Singh, his family and his job. The conversation continues. At the same time, he also keeps explaining to us about the upcoming routes.
Sukhdev Singh also gifted us two bottles of rum at the time of his departure. This is the distinctive feature of our army brothers. Perhaps this is the fourth or fifth visit to Srinagar. Every time the soldiers talk. But this is the reason for the first time. Saying namaste to Sukhdev Singh, we take a U-turn and return to Doodhpathri Road. Sukhdev Singh stopped the traffic on both the roads and made us take a U-turn and his mesmerizing salute is etched in our memory forever.
There are many small towns on the way to Doodhpathri. As we move towards Doodhpathri, the route becomes more beautiful seeing the shine boards. By now light drizzle has started. Doodhpathri is at a total distance of 42 km from Srinagar. It can be reached very easily by car or taxi. You can reach Doodhpathri from Srinagar to Budgam, Budgam to Khansahib and Khansahib to Doodhpathri. In winters the plains of Doodhpathri are covered with snow. April to September is the best time to visit Doodhpathri. From November to February you can enjoy snowfall in Doodhpathri.
This waterfall is the main center of attraction
Doodhpathri waterfall is the main attraction of this place. Although there is no waterfall here, but the Shaliganga river looks like white milk flowing through the rugged rocks. Your eyes are not getting tired of seeing its various forms. Sitting here, it feels as if we are sitting on the banks of a river of milk. As soon as we reach the grasslands of Doodhpathri, our hunger also increases. We have already cooked the vegetable. It is also raining intermittently. Take out the cylinder and let it get some air from the surroundings. The vegetable starts getting hot. Photo session is also going on. When the vegetable is hot, we taste it with a light taste of rum. But after some interval, it starts raining again. Harpal and Harmeet fill water bottles from the fountain. Of course, Yadvinder has kneaded the dough, but due to rain we have to collect all the ingredients again.
Splendour of Shaliganga River
Seeing no one moving, we move ahead to see the Shaliganga river. We reach here after descending a few turns from the hill. Due to the rainy season and the narrow road, the traffic has increased a lot here. As soon as we find a place, we park the car and keep the necessary items in the kit and move towards the river on foot. The beauty of the Shaliganga river is really worth seeing. Everyone is busy in their own fun. We also choose a special place and sit on the banks of the river and enjoy the sound of flowing water. After some time the rain again intensifies. Due to the cold season, everyone looks for shelter to avoid the rain. The rain continued at this pace for about half an hour. Now we are enjoying it sitting under a huge pine tree. We have no desire to leave this place right now.
Flat track on mountain TC
After a gap of half an hour, the rain starts to subside a bit. Then we get lost in our enjoyment. The little crowd that was there till now has also reduced. Here itself, we got information from a gentleman that a walking path starts from the other side of the Shaliganga river. This track takes you to the Mughal plains. The specialty of these Mughal plains is that these are such plains built on the top of the mountain where a person feels as if he is walking in the plains and not on the mountains. These are really surprising things. We imagine the happiness of these plains in our mind.
Well this time we have no intention of going further. As soon as we finish our photo session, we decide to return to our mouth after seeing the milky river. By now the weather has completely cleared. We come back to the meadows and start making our bread. What fun is there in a walk and picnic feast on your bread and on top of that an iron hunger?
These grasslands on the Val Valenve Khandi road before the Shaliganga river fill your mind with coolness. Greenery is visible all around. Somewhere there is an illusion of Khajyar being a mini Switzerland. Your eyes will never get tired of looking around here.
After eating roti, enjoying horse riding in these plains, we head back towards Srinagar.
While this place of Doodhpathri has become an unforgettable place in our journey today, the little boy Arif riding on the horse has been etched in our memories forever. At that time we only talked about his stupid things, don't know how long we will keep doing this.' In fact, the future belongs to these people.