Yusmarg or Yousmarg (meaning 'Meadow of Jesus') is a hill station in the western part of Kashmir Valley in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated south of Srinagar the capital of the state. Yousmarg provides space for beautiful landscapes, young pine nurseries, green pastures and heart touching lotic and lentic water bodies. Nilnag, Doodhganga and a nascently created artificial dam adds more to the beauty of the meadows. Nature has bestowed Yusmarg with pleasant flora and fauna. Yusmarg is often referred to as a trekkers paradise.Yusmarg has some modest stay options but some new homestays have come up around the area.Tribe homestay and cafes located at the nearest village Nagbal are gaining popularity especially among the youth. The place is rustic, wooden and reflects the Kashmiri architectural heritage. Among fauna, locals claim that they often sight wolves, bears, apes, cats, aves of various types (flight as well as flightless). Among aquatic fauna, schizothoraxic is abundant one in catch.

Geography

Yusmarg in

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

means ''The Meadow of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

''. It is said to have been visited by Jesus. It is an

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

valley covered with snow clad mountains and the meadows of

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

and Fir. It lies south of

Charari Sharief Charar-i-Sharief (variously spelled Chrar-e-Sharif, Charari Shareef, etc.) (, known as Tsrar-i-Sharif () in Kashmiri, is a town and a notified area committee in Budgam district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The t ...

, a town in

Budgam district Budgam district is a district in the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Created in 1979 with its headquarters at Budgam, it is the district with the largest population of Shias in the Kashmir valley. Administration Budg ...

of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated at the bank of Doodganga

River A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

which is a tributary of

Jehlum River The Jhelum River (/dʒʰeːləm/) is a river in the northern Indian subcontinent. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir, to the Pakistani-administered territory of Kashmir, and then ...

. It is located in the

Pir Panjal The Pir Panjal Range ( Kashmiri: ) is a group of mountains in the Lesser Himalayan region, running from east-southeast (ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian territories of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and then Pakistan's ...

peaks, a sub range of

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. The Peaks are: the Sunset Peak and the Tatakooti Peak for which the expeditions lead from this hill station. It lies at an altitude of above sea level.

Tourism

A trek of 4 km leads to a small lake called Nilnag, famous for its blue water. 10 km trek leads to the frozen

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in Sang-e-Safed valley, which is mostly covered by ice even during the summer. Other tourist activities include horse riding, fishing, skiing during winter and photography.

Access

Yusmarg is easily accessed from Srinagar or Srinagar Airport (SXR), the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, 47 km. The drive in under 2 hours by car or bus leads through

town.

COVID-19

During COVID-19, teachers of High school Kandajan in Yusmarg area started open-air community classes in order to make up for the losses due to the pandemic.

References

External links