Jammu Kashmir

Physical Functions :
The state may be divided into 4 main regions: the sub-mountain and semi-mountain plain known as kandi or dry belt; the Shivalik ranges, the higher mountain zone constituting the Kashmir Valley; Pir Panchal array and its off-shoots such as Doda, Poonch and Rajouri districts and portion of Kathua and Udhampur districts; as well as the middle run with the Indus River comprising Leh and Kargil.

Environment :
Despite the fact that a little state, the climate of this state differs from 1 area to yet another. The environment of Jammu region is tropical while it truly is semi-arctic in Ladakh and temperate in Srinagar area. Accordingly, rainfall also varies from area to area and while there is virtually no rainfall in Ladakh, Jammu receives a rainfall of above 1,100 mm and Srinagar about 650 mm.

Flora and Faun :
The state is rich in flora and fauna. In Jammu, the flora ranges through the thorn bush sort with the arid plain for the temperate and alpine flora with the greater altitudes. From the broad-leaf trees, you will find maple, horse chestnuts, silver fir, and so on. At the higher altitudes, you'll find birch, rhododendron, as well as a large amount of herbal plants.

Kashmir is also resplendent with lots of hues of wooden and game. The most wonderful with the Kashmir trees is the chinar found all through the valley. Mountain ranges within the valley have dense deodar, pine and fir. Walnut, willow, almond and cider also include towards the wealthy flora of Kashmir.

In the hilly regions of Doda, Udhampur, Poonch and Rajouri, there's a huge and varied fauna such as leopard, cheetah and deer, wild sheep, bear, brown musk shrew, and muskrat. Kinds of snakes, bats, lizards and frogs are also found within the area. The sport birds in Jammu consist of chakor (Alectoris graeca), snow partridge, pheasants, and peacock.

The dense forests of Kashmir are a delight towards the sport lovers and adventurers for whom you will discover ibex, snow leopard, musk deer, wolf, red bear, black bear and leopard. The winged game consists of ducks, goose, partridge, chakor, pheasant, wagtails, herons, water pigeons, warblers, and doves. Within the in any other case arid desert of Ladakh, some 240 species of neighborhood and migratory birds have already been recognized which includes the black-necked crane.

The Ladakh fauna includes yak, Himalayan ibex, Tibetan antelope, snow leopard, wild ass, red bear and gazelle.

Background :
The background of Jammu & Kashmir is really old. Kashmir is mentioned inside the epic Mahabharata. In 250 BC, Ashoka, the great Mauryan king, established the city of Pandrethan and built quite a few viharas and chaityas. This says a lot about the strategic importance that this area held even in that time. Some sources claim that Buddha also visited this area, though no proof is available to validate this theory. Kanishka, the great Kushana king, called the Third Buddhist Council at Harwan, near Srinagar, within the first century AD. This Council saw the division of Buddhism in two distinct streams named Hinayana and Mahayana.

Kalhana, the first Indian background writer, gave a vivid account of the background of Kashmir before the 10th century AD. Nearby kingdoms ruled extensively in this area until the 12th century AD when Muslims invaded the area. The greatest Muslim king of early medieval age in Kashmir was Zain-ul-Abidin, who ascended the throne in AD 1420 and ruled up to 1470. His long rule contributed extensively to the spread of art, culture, music, and every other sphere in the life of Kashmir people. He also created a strong army and annexed a lot of regions close by Kashmir. These were the time of golden rule in Kashmir when peace and harmony prevailed. After the death of King Zain-ul-Abidin, a period of destruction came calling to Kashmir and many raiders from outside looted the state and made the people and nearby rulers their captive.

In 1587, Akbar annexed Kashmir into his vast empire. Jahangir, son of Akbar and next Mughal ruler, visited Kashmir 13 times and created two beautiful gardens on the bank of Dal Lake, namely, the Shalimar Bagh and Nishat Bagh. After two centuries of peace and development, Kashmir came into the hands from the Pathans in 1752, when the Afghan ruler Abdul Shah Abdali attacked this region on the request of local noblemen. The Pathans established a rule of terror here, no better than that of Aurangzeb, the last important Mughal ruler.

In 1819, the Sikhs under Maharaja Ranjit Singh annexed this region, but their empire remained in place only for 27 years. From 1846 to 1957, the Dogras ruled over this region when British defeated Ranjit Singh and handed over the administration of this region to Maharaja Gulab Singh. The Dogra rule also for that first time put in reality the modern state of Jammu & Kashmir. During India's freedom struggle, people from this state participated extensively under the leadership of Sheikh Abdullah and decided to go with India in 1948 after the country became independent. Ethnicity :

Majority from the people in this region are Muslims with concentration of Hindus mainly in Jammu area, though Buddhists are confined to Ladakh region. Arts and Crafts :

Kashmiri shawls, the woven jewels of Kashmir, have developed over 300 years. You'll find two distinct types of shawls-the amli along with the kani. Amli means embroidered, where narrow strips of cloth woven on a little loom are carefully joined together with just about invisible stitches. In kani shawls the designs are woven on the loom like twill tapestry. Essentially the most valued shawls are the pashminas composed of treads of delicate wool from the under-belly with the wild Tibetan goat that lives four,000 feet previously mentioned sea level. The finest wool is shahtoosh. It is superfine, extraordinarily light and amazingly warm. The most complex woven shawl will be the jamawar, woven like tapestry. Sometimes, as several as 50 colors are used in a single weft.

The origins of hand-knotted carpets can be traced back to more than 2,000 years. In India, the hand-knotted carpet appeared in the 15th century. In Kashmir, it attained a superior degree of perfection especially within the 16th and 17th centuries under the Mughal emperors. Wool will be the basic material, but in Kashmir silk is also commonly used. The appearance and number of knots on the back of the carpet indicates the quality. The Bokhara carpets are one from the finest with about 125-500 knots in a square inch.

For over 2,500 years, the patterns reproduced were those of flower arabesques and rhomboids with an occasional animal design. The patterns have never become outmoded even today.

Music and Dance :
As is the beauty of this state, it has a great cultural tradition. Major performing traditions of this state are Rouf (a dance form performed on the occasion of Eid and Ramjan), Hafiz Nagma (based on Sufiana Qalam, a classical music tradition of Kashmir), song of Habba Khaton (based on the folk renderings of Kashmiri music), Jagarna (a theatrical activity performed by the womenfolk of house when men go out in a marriage), Surma (Dogri songs set to dance), Bakhan (Dogri songs), and Geetru (Dogri dance and song performance).

Fairs and Festival :
The Hemis Festival is held inside the month of July when tourists in large numbers converge here from all over the world to watch the famous masked dances. The music is characteristically punctuated with sounds of cymbals, drums and long, unwieldy trumpets. The masked dancers move about slowly, very slowly, and the most vital part with the dance is the masks and not so a lot the actual movements of the dance. The dances end with Good vanquishing Evil and the evil 1 is brought into the protective fold of Buddhism.

Like the Hemis festival, monasteries like Lamayuru, Thiksey, Spitook, Likir and many others also have their individual festivals. Since they follow the lunar calendar, the actual dates with the festivals vary from 1 year to yet another. Other than these religious celebrations, Ladakh has also been host to a 15-day festival each year to bring forward the numerous nuances of this rich and exotic culture that is peculiar to this large part from the world. The Jammu and Kashmir tourism department organizes the Ladakh Festival in the month of September bringing forward the region's folk dances, art and craft, sporting events and rituals.

Cuisine :
Think of Kashmiri cuisine and visions of deliciously spicy meat dishes and the delicate flavor of saffron come to mind. The Kashmiris are passionate about their food and this is evident from the sum of time they spend either cooking it or discussing about it. Meat being the staple, most of the special dishes have mutton being a major ingredient. Nahari, a special breakfast dish, is actually a stew of trotters and tongue, seasoned with cassia buds, cardamom, sandalwood powder, vetiver roots and dried rose petals. The sheermal bread goes well with this stew. The methi maz , on the other hand, is a superb blend of mild-tasting entrails and strong-flavored fenugreek leaves. One more specialty of Kashmir is the delicately understated saffron. It can be the world's most expensive spice because farmers would have to harvest 70,000 of Crocus sativus flowers to extract 210 thousand stigmas to make one pound, which is less than a kilogram of saffron.

Tourist Places :
Srinagar:
Srinagar, the state capital, is the most famous tourist destination within the state. An ancient city, you will find lots of attractions that can attract even essentially the most unwilling of tourists to this magical land. Dal Lake, Nishat Bagh, Shalimar Bagh, and Chashme Shahi are some from the best-known tourist spot in Srinagar.

Jammu :
Jammu will be the winter capital of the state and next in importance after Srinagar. Most from the tourists who come for the Jammu region have the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine as their destination, which is rather close by. However, the spirit of holiness permeates by the entire city, so considerably so that Jammu can also be called the 'City of Temples'. If Bahu Mata will be the presiding deity of Jammu, the dargah of Peer Budhan Ali Shah is the other shrine that is believed to protect the neighborhood people. The other key tourist attraction will be the Raghunath Temple Complex, which will be the largest temple in North India devoted to Lord Rama. The construction of this temple was begun by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1851 and completed by his son Ranbir Singh six years later.

Travel Information :
By Air : The state has three major civil airports at Srinagar, Jammu, and Ladakh connected to Delhi and other places inside the country. Indian Airlines and its subsidiary Alliance Air operate inside the Delhi-Chandigarh-Ladakh and Delhi-Jammu-Srinagar routes.

By Rail : Jammu Tawi is the principal railhead of Jammu & Kashmir. It's connected to most of the important towns and cities from the country. Moreover, the longest rail route that stretches from Jammu Tawi to Kanyakumari and touches practically all the principal cities and towns of the country originates from here.

By Road : One can easily reach Jammu by the National Highway 1A that goes from Punjab and runs by way of this city, connecting it to the rest from the state, such as the capital Srinagar. The state transport corporation runs quite a few buses to most with the large towns and cities in north India.