The Road to Uri and Beyond

Many of you must have heard of this place called Uri and many must have seen the famous Movie which had the same name (Though it was Shot in Serbia, that wasnt Uri) but how many have you been to Uri. Except for people from the Armed Forces and their known ones I hardly know anyone who has gone or made an effort to go to Uri.

Uri lies at one end of the Kashmir Valley as the Mountains close in and the Jehlum now flows thorugh a Gorge instead of the wide expanse of the Kashmir Valley. The Valley keeps getting narrower as one moves towards Uri from Baramullah.

For the ones unaware of Uri it lies along the Jhelum Gorge as it swirls out of the Kashmir Valley and enters PoK and Uri is the last major Town before the LoC which lies around a dozen kms ahead of Uri. Ahead of Uri lies the Village of Salamabad which was the point for the Cross Border trade and Trucks from the other side of the LoC used to visit in better times. And then of course there is the Kaman Seu which is the LoC between the 2 Countries.

Uri itself is beautifully set, surrounded by Mountains and overlooking the Jhelum as it moves across Kashmir. And its in Uri that things begin to change and Pahadi culture starts to show its influence. Uri is like a gateway to and out of Kashmir. And any Indian citizen can visit Uri Town without any Permits. You are allowed all the way to the Uri Bazaar and incase you want to go beyond Uri you need Permits.

Moving beyond the drive to Uri from Srinagar (its around 100 kms) is also a scenic one and Ive tried to catch some of the views though it was a dreary December so the Mountains were as Brown as ever though there was some Snow on the Mountains.

Sharing some pics of around Uri and I can assure you its much prettier in the Spring and the Summers. We at Travel The Himalayas arrange visits to such Offbeat destinations moving beyond the usual Touristy destinations. 

Dulanja is one of the last Villages on the LoC on the Indian side and just beyond the Ridges is the Pakistani side across the LoC.

Next time on your visit to Kashmir do try and fit in Uri as an Offbeat destination.

Pics from 2017, December.