On foot to Jawahar Tunnel, Gateway to the Kashmir Valley – A Photo Journey

Banihal is a small village in the J&K state of India. Banihal pass connects the Kashmir valley to the Jammu region and on its top lies the great Jawahar Tunnel, the second lifeline of the Kashmir Valley, first one being the mystical tower line(s). Banihal Pass (बनिहाल दर्रा) stands at the height of 2835 meters and even in the month of February I could see snow walls as high as 11 feet just next to the road. We don’t get 11 feet snow on roadside at 2800 meters in Himachal Pradesh. In Kashmiri language Banihal means Blizzard and in December-January, the pass literally reflects the meaning of its name. The day I reached Jammu, road to Srinagar was close for the second day in succession. Fresh snowfall had thrown life out of gear in Kashmir and it was very much possible to get stuck somewhere if I had decided to move towards the tunnel. I decided to go anyways.

Approaching Jawahar Tunnel at the top of Banihal Pass, J&K

The sight at the Jammu Bus Station was horrible. Hundreds of Kashmiris were standing, sleeping, sitting, sulking, and shouting at the bus station, waiting for the buses to go, or at least move out of the bus station because they had been waiting for more than 36 hours to go back to the valley. I saw many people sleeping on the top of the buses, luggage tied to their legs and many lined up to find a place on the top or bottom of the bus. Tourist taxis and tempo-travelers run between Jammu and Srinagar and they charge according to “their” convenience.  Not many state transport buses go to the valley and privatization of the transport industry is one big reason behind J&K’s poor performance in the tourism sector. Greatest benefit of Army presence in Kashmir, I feel, is proper maintenance of the roads throughout the year, all the way from Pathankot to Srinagar. The roads are Chandigarh-Delhi lookalike, minus the crazy North Indian traffic jams, the Kashmiri version of traffic jams is far more dangerous than that. If the army is taken out of Kashmir, God only knows what will happen to the roads, let alone the national security.

Jawahar Tunnel, Snow Covered Truck @ Snow Shed. Spot the Tires

I decided to break the journey in several modules because it wasn’t possible to reach at my destination in one go. The first seventy kilometers of the journey were covered in the last seat of a bus, in sleep mode. Udhampur was my first stop and from there I decided to avail the services of Google God. Google maps at an internet cafe helped me to break down my journey into two more steps, Udhampur to Ramban and from Ramban to Banihal, night stay at Banihal, and rest in the morning. Reaching Banihal was not an easy task because traveling in sharing cabs at night with trucks lined up on the both sides of the road for 50 kilometers is not the best way to travel. It was like navigating the vehicle between monster trucks. Our driver wanted to kill everyone coming towards him, going away from him, and everyone else too. There were thousands of trucks standing on the road because the Army had not cleared the road for heavy vehicles and all those trucks were going to Srinagar. Srinagar is surely an important part “for” India, politically and strategically. The Kashmir Problem has troubled our nation since its inception. However, the problematic region accounts only for 15% of the land area of the state of J&K. Interestingly, someone has very logically placed the ‘&’ in the name of the state. Kashmiri people are not liked much in Jammu, Kashmiris are not much fond of the Army, and Army thinks Kashmiris don’t cooperate with them, so the whole picture has become a rare piece of modern art.

Jammu Bus Stand Kashmir Trouble

I decided to stay in the state tourism hotel and they gave me a room for INR 700 and asked me to arrange of the food myself because they did not “prefer” cooking after five. The hotel was beautiful and the staff was uninterested. The J&K Tourism department must learn from Himachal Tourism.

Early morning I started at 7, hired a taxi but decided to walk till Nauganv, the last village of the Jammu region, because the landscape was breathtaking. It was pure white everywhere. I walked the first 9 kilometers in awe. For the next 9 kilometers I tried to think of a “genuine reason” so that the CRPF/Army men allow me to cross the tunnel on foot. They did not allow citing national security concerns and snowy conditions. In the name of identity proof I was carrying only my PAN card which they said was not sufficient enough to prove my identity. They wanted my ration card. Why on earth would someone carry his ration card to the Jawahar Tunnel?

Snow Loaded Hotels near Jawahar Tunnel, J&K

Banihal Railway Station, J&K

The Beautiful Nauganv Village, Last Village of the Jammu Region

I would have entered the Kashmir Valley on foot, which did not happen.

Nauganv Village

I saw army men clearing the snow, the road, the traffic, and everything else that was creating any trouble of any sorts. I saw a ‘madarssa‘ for the first time in my life. I walked 32 kilometers in the snow, which was cleared from the road obviously. The real story of the real Kashmir is quite unreal. Ten years ago walking alone in Banihal or Nauganv was forbidden because of terrorism, times have changed now. They have an upcoming railway line and a beautiful railway station is under construction there. Soon Indian Railways will start its services in the region.

The Mystical Tower Line

The Power Grid Tower. Lifeline of the Valley

The Beautiful Nauganv Village near Jawahar Tunnel

I was wondering all the way from Chamba to Jammu why was I going to Jammu? I had seen a newspaper cutting of trucks lined up near the tunnel, at that time I was in Chamba which is at a good distance of 300km from the tunnel and I decided to go. When I reached at the top of the tunnel, walked those refreshing 32 kilometers, I got my answer.