Many, while deciding where to go on vacation think of the most obvious of places: Paris, London, Tokyo, Caribbean islands, etc … but have you ever considered Kashmir before? Would you be willing to go on adventure to a place most people have never even heard of before? While on winter break, I decided to travel back to Pakistan and Kashmir since my father is Pakistani and my mother is Kashmiri; many of my family members still live there. Every time I travel to Pakistan and Kashmir, I always get confused looks from people in the US, as many have never heard of the mysterious land before. Those who have some familiarity with Pakistan assume the country is a desert, where women wear burka’s and the hijab, and we travel by camel. Well, I want to completely dispel those conceptions. To begin, Pakistan is a huge country that includes the Southern most areas filled with white sand beaches, cities and skyscrapers larger than New York City, and northern areas with mountains and snow. People wear what they want, and depending on the city or town you’re in, people dress to the societal norms. In the cities where I traveled, and even in Kashmir, I spent the entire time in American clothing and looked around to see that many were dressed in the same Zara clothing I was wearing. I would describe Kashmir as the Switzerland of South Asia, and before the turmoil between Indian and Pakistan started over who technically owns Kashmir, the land was regarded as “Paradise on Earth” by many foreigners, royalty, politicians and South Asians. Kashmir today is still filled with beautiful scenery, pine trees, mountainous areas which include views of the alps, teal colored rivers, incredible handicrafts, delicious Kashmiri green tea, beautiful Cashmere wool, and is known for being a place filled with some of the nicest people.
Kashmir is the northernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. It includes Jammu and Kashmir, Indian territory, Pakistan’s Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan and the Chinese territories of Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract. I was fortunate enough to visit Azad Kashmir and get a firsthand glimpse of South Asia’s Switzerland, in the winter. As someone who has traveled both in the winter and summer, I highly recommend visiting in the summer months, as temperatures are much better for touring the beautiful scenery and spending days outside swimming in rivers and star-gazing at night.
Life seems so quiet and simple in Kashmir, where focus is on family, community, working hard, being intellectual, writing poetry, focusing on religion, and education. Lifestyle can differ from the log cabins in the mountainous villages to the 5 star hotels and Airbnb style guest homes set atop the highest peaks in Kashmir. I spent most my time exploring the city of Muzaffarabad and my favorite parts of the trip were the curvy roads up and down the mountains, the night time scenery of the lights on the mountains completely blending in with the night time sky, drinking late night chai huddled around bonfires and sitting by the icy cold, aqua colored river were some of the best parts of my trip. But what stays the same is the people. Going handicraft shopping for Kashmiri shawls, hats, jewelry and books was incredible because I got to meet some of the nicest store owners who loved everything about Kashmir and being Kashmiri. I hope one day everyone has the chance to visit this incredible Swiss paradise.