🛕 Srinagar Sightseeing — Lal Chowk and Divine Hills (14th Sept)

 After a stormy road into Srinagar, the city gifted me a day of peace, devotion, and history. (14th September)

After the nerve-wracking drive into Srinagar, the next morning felt calm — a well-earned pause. I gave myself the luxury of a late start, hiring a cab after breakfast to explore the city properly. Srinagar deserved a full day.

The first stop was the Shankaracharya Temple, also called the Narmadeshwar Shiv Ling Temple, perched high on a hill with nearly 500 steps. At Leh, even ten steps had left me breathless, but here I climbed steadily, without strain. The temple was peaceful, the view wide and humbling. I sat for a few minutes at the tapo-sthal of Adi Shankaracharya, doing a bit of yoga and pranayama — a rare kind of calm that only sacred hills seem to hold.

Temple by Shri Shankaracharya

Narmadeshwar Temple 

Shankaracharya Tapashya Sthal

Sri Sharika Devi, Hari Parbat.

Dal Lake

Next, the cabbie drove me — rather hesitantly — to Hari Parbat. The area was under army control, and after security checks, a soldier guided me down a narrow path. To my surprise, I found a grand temple of Goddess Sharika Devi (Chakreshwari), the presiding deity of Srinagar. A group from Telangana was performing a yagna — for a moment, it felt like I was back home. The Devi’s idol, a massive rock carved by time, radiated raw power.

Lal Chowk, Srinagar

Of course, no visit to Srinagar would be complete without standing at Lal Chowk. That square, witness to countless political and patriotic moments, carries a quiet charge even in stillness. I clicked a few selfies, picked up small souvenirs for my grandsons, and stood there for a while, just taking it in. It was my way of commemorating the purpose of this trip — touching a place I had promised myself to reach.

By evening, I walked along Dal Lake, shopped a little, and simply soaked in the city’s timeless charm. Srinagar isn’t polished like a tourist town — it wears its age openly, and that’s what makes it so real.

That night, I went to bed with a sense of closure. The Ladakh drive hadn’t happened, but Srinagar had given the journey its meaning.

“I came for Ladakh, but it was Srinagar’s Lal Chowk that etched itself into my heart.”

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