Kashmir is popularly known as the “Heaven on Earth.” A region situated amidst the mountains is home to some of the most pristine locations on Earth.
Kashmir is the northernmost region of India. Formerly, a smaller region comprising of few cities, Kashmir today denotes the entire Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). The Kashmir valley is the most mountainous among the 3 different J&K regions, namely; Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
A smaller portion of the region is located in Pakistan, following the continuous agitation between the former and India. They went to war twice for the very same reason. The Pakistan occupied territory is known as “Azaad Kashmir.”
It was accepted by many sages and theologians to be a pious destination for ages. It proved to an important place for the development of Hindu-Buddhist syncretism. Today, many ancient Hindu and Buddhist artifacts and landmarks can be found scattered around the region.
Srinagar is the capital and the largest city of Kashmir. Also known as the summer capital, Srinagar remains the most popular tourist destination in the entire region; and it includes some of the most popular tourist landmarks, namely; Dal lake, Jhelum river, Shankaracharya Temple, Shalimar (Mughal) Garden, JN Botanical Garden, Sher Garhi and Gulab Bhawan.
The Muslim rule in the region marks the important part of the history of Kashmir. Today, the major population of the region is predominantly Muslims mainly because of the lasting Muslim empires of the past in the Indian sub-continent and their flourishing lifestyle.
Shams-ud-din Shah Amir of Shah Mir Dynasty began the first Muslim rule in the region in 1339. It was followed by the Durrani empire of Afghanistan and the Great Mughals. Most of the recent architecture in the region is inspired by the Mughal lifestyle and culture.
Kashmir was known to be the favorite place of Akbar the Great. He also mentioned it in his auto-biography ‘Akbar-nama’ as such -“I love the weather and beauty of Kashmir and its people, and wish to visit the region whenever I feels awful about the scorching heat of Delhi and Agra.