There are two entrances to the Tulip gardens. One is from the road that goes to Botanical gardens, Chashme Shahi garden etc, and one is from the rear side of the Tulip garden. In prime days, the Dal lake road gets jam packed by vehicles and sometimes made a one-way street. But the month of Ramzan was going on, and because of the roza or the whole day fast, the local visitor crowd was minimal. Our driver dropped us off on the Tulip garden road. We bought the tickets costing Rs.59 each, and ventured in. There are free wheel chairs that are made available, against the deposit of some identity card. I deposited my driving license with them and pulled out a wheelchair, hoping to carry Bhargavee in case she slept or got tired.

The first sight of tulips is unforgettable. A single flower pointing straight to the sky, standing tall at the end of a finger thick stem. Lakhs of such flowers arranged in neat rows by colors for a carpet in front of your eyes, and you can’t help but be amazed by the sight of them.

We could see some patches where there were only stems, no flowers. These would be the first blooming tulips that prompted the government to pre-pone the opening of the festival. Some other tulips were looking slightly older, with their petals pointing slightly outwards rather than skywards, and we wondered how much longer would this bloom last, and whether the last tourist of the season dreaming to see the Tulips would get to witness at least a few of them.

On one end of the Tulip Garden, we could peep over a green mesh to see the botanical gardens, with tall fountains adorning the beauty of the lush green gardens.

On the way out, we walked by fountains and other equally beautiful flowers who were unfortunately shadowed in fame by the tulips, but were equally bright and colourful.

It was almost 12.30 that we came out of the Tulip gardens. Our stop for the day was at Pahalgam, but since it was already lunchtime, we decided to have lunch in Srinagar itself rather than searching hotels on the way. We went to a hotel named Ahdoos, a century old restaurant! There was a bakery below the restaurant, and the baked smells wafting through the window were just amazing. After a scrumptious lunch, we were enroute to Pahalgam.

Speeding in the car, we could see the beautiful tiny yellow flowers spread over acres of Sarson fields. We stopped at a dry fruit shop called Bhat, where we had a great authentic cup of Kahwa – kashmiri tea – in a nearby shop. This was not made with a premix, but rather actually putting 11 types of masalas in a big copper surahi with a pipe at the center to put hot coals to boil the kahwa hot. The thin slices of almonds and the sweet hot aroma of the Kahwa still lingers on our tongue.

We bought a badam called ‘Mamra badam’, which was supposed (and also demonstrated by the shop seller) to have oil that could be extracted by simply pinching a tiny piece of the nut.

The roads are in excellent condition. The beauty of the surrounding lush green fields is contrasted by an equally ever present army presence, either by keen eyed soldiers standing guards, or armoured vehicles travelling or standing by the side of the road. We passed by a sign saying ‘Pulwama’, and the driver told us this was where the Pulwama incident happened. The sad memories sent a chill down our spine.

While heading to Pahalgam to retire for the day, our next halt was Martand Surya temple, a historical sight on the Anantnag road.