Kashmir is often thought of as "Heaven" or "Paradise" on earth and walking among the green fields, tall pine trees and lofty snow covered mountains this does not seem far from the truth. Travellers may attract a lot of stares but they are in general friendly and curious ones. It is a tempting destination and one well worth considering if one is comfortable with the current political situation. Since the 1990's Kashmir has frequently been a center of frequent political unrest that has on occasion become violent towards travellers. The US state department imposed travel restrictions in the region in 1995 in response to the kidnapping of 6 tourists near Pahalgam. Conditions have improved since 2010 and domestic tourism in the region has had a healthy increase while the number of international visitors is increasingly more slowly. Several European countries including Germany have lifted travel restrictions in the last few years but the US has yet to follow suit. Keep in mind that real security issues have been rare and that the people of Kashmir are at large warm and welcoming.

Trekking in Kashmir is an experience unlike the rest of the Himalayas. The region experiences a real winter and is largely bypassed by the Indian Monsoon. The heavy snows don't melt until late in June and the best trekking is from July to September. Kashmir, Ladakh and to some extent Mustang (Nepal) offer the best trekking in the Himalaya during the Monsoon when the rest of the range is blanketed in rain.Srinagar has its own charm with its unique house boats on Dal Lake and beautiful Mogul gardens. Take a ride on Shirka, small boats used for transportation, and enjoy a few days in Srinagar the largest city in the Kashmir Valley. In winter pick up your skies and head to the resort at Gulmarg, India's premier ski destination.

Image From Flickr: Baasir Gaisawat, Motographer, Cajetan Barretto, Cajetan Barretto, THINK Global School, Rajesh, Cajetan Barretto, Isriya Paireepairit