Aru is maddeningly beautiful. The view from the window of my room makes me feel that I have travelled in the hills for almost 30 years just to reach this destination. Now I can end my travels and sit here till eternity. A pahari nallah flows a few metres below, its sound the only one that enters my ears, except for bird calls. There is an impossibly green and thick meadow on one side of the nallah, with smaller brooks draining it. On the other side, the valley rises into a dense and dark pine forest. In front, the landscape keeps rising, gradually becoming almost vertical, going beyond the reach of the trees into barren terrain, which then climbs up further into snow territory, joining the twin peaks of Katarnag, whose tops retain their white envelope most of the season. I, meanwhile, sip hot Kashmiri kahwa.
Away from my view is the small market of Aru, which during season manages to bustle with tourists gorging on chhole bhature and chowmein, while ponywallahs restrain their restless mounts and the few shops urge their Pashmina shawls and Kashmiri walnuts on visitors. Then comes the main square where the road from Pahalgam ends and where taxis and cars have deposited the day-trippers. Beyond it, the charming little village itself; its streets playful with wide-eyed and red-cheeked children and no tourists. From here, River Lidder running deep down a slope is visible in the distance. And all around you are mountains laden with dazzling pine forests. Aru is maddeningly beautiful!
THINGS TO SEE AND DO
So far, Aru gets primarily two kinds of tourists: (a) Visitors staying a few days in Pahalgam who come to Aru for a few hours, gaze dumbfounded or squeal in joy and admiration at the visual treat laid out for them, click photographs, have a hot meal at a dhaba or the JKTDC restaurant, go for a pony ride around the petite valley and head back, tired but enthralled and satiated. Or (b) trekkers, mostly foreigners, who live in the few guest houses in the village, hire guides and ponies, and walk for days, in road-less territory, visiting lakes, meadows and glaciers. Aru is now on the verge of growing up from an adjunct of Pahalgam, where people come in thousands these days, into a destination in its own right.
The ‘sightseeing’ points
The valley around Aru is a small opening in the narrow Lidder Valley, where the Lidder is joined by Naphran Nallah coming down from Katarnag, whose twin peaks rise above the valley. The village is at the bottom end, and the rest of the valley is covered in a chubby green carpet. You can find a nice spot and enjoy the view around, or walk around and get different photography angles. The sightseeing ponies-on-hire follow a path past Hotel Alpine, then turn left and up a hillside, and go round towards the back of the market and down again.
A few points have been named on this round trip: Kothpathri is a rock at the beginning of the forest (half a kilometer from the market) on which it seems a recess has been chiselled by human hands and a spring comes out near it. The lovely forest beyond it and the grassland above the hillside on the left is called Aru Valley. Ponywallas charge about ₹ 400 for this round trip. You can leisurely walk this in a little more than an hour. Greentop is a flat meadow up from Aru with great views of Aru valley. Pony rides come at ₹ 800-1,000 for the trip.
Fodder Seed Production Farm
Up a steep but short climb behind the village, on the trekking route to Lidderwat, is the Fodder Seed Production Farm (FSPF) where different orchard grasses are being grown and researched. You can see small fields labelled red clover, fesque, timothy, dachylus, lupin, broom… which are all different type of grasses that either occur naturally in the meadows of this region or are being tested for their ability to grow in these climes. From here, the views of Aru, the Lidder Valley towards Pahalgam and the snow peaks beyond it are breathtaking.
Dredad trek
If you want to be more active and adventurous, try the trek to the Dredad Meadow (3 km). It is on the route of the longer treks to Lidderwat Meadow and Kolahoi Glacier. Carry a picnic lunch and water, and it’ll make for a glorious half-aday outing. Walk past FSPF into the forest — a well-walked track goes steeply up at first and then levels out. Only at one point does the track bifurcate, here take the right (the trail on the left goes down, to Nankan). You will meet only some shepherds on your way, and an occasional trekker. After the forest, the valley opens up into grassland which has about 10 houses spread wide. These are the summer dwellings of shepherds from lower Anantnag District who come here in April and stay on till October.
The valley slope on your side of the river (which has now become approachable) is friendly. The other side of the river is steeper with small streams falling down. You can rest and play and picnic here, and make your way back. Or, give in to that typically mountain urge — “let’s just see what lies beyond the next curve”. Cross the meadow and you’ll be rewarded by an even more stunning scape. The valley falls further, down to a small stretch of flatland with a river flowing through it.
Fishing
Fishing in the streams around Aru is rewarding and is allowed, albeit with a permit. The main attraction here is the trout. There’s a Fisheries Department office a short walk below from the road, 2 km towards Pahalgam. However, fishing permits have to be procured in Srinagar from the Directorate of Fisheries (Tel: 0194-2312046; Contact: 77-B, Gogjibagh, Jawahar Nagar; Web: jkfisheries.in). The permit costs ₹ 2,000 per day for foreigners and ₹ 1,000 for Indians (maximum catch is 6 fish).
SHOPPING
A clutch of shops and a few vendors make up the shopping experience in Aru. You can get a range of stoles, shawls and textiles (purportedly, all of it is pashmina) from travelling vendors who can be persistent once you show interest. The shops in the main market also have a selection of shawls, pherans, sweaters and jackets. You can also get walnut wood and metal handicrafts including candle stands, hookahs, sugar pots, etc. There’s a shop that stocks almond, walnut, dried apricot and raisins.
WHERE TO STAY
JKTDC’s Hotel Alpine (Mobile: 096979 38685, 07298404749; Tariff: ₹2,000-3,500) has 6 double rooms and 1 suite, besides a dormitory (₹300 per bed), in a wooden building. It is located a couple of minutes’ walk away from the village in an enclosed park, a part of which hosts lavender farming. The rooms are spacious (unlike in the guest houses) and comfortable; some of them have great views. Accommodation is also available in 3 tents (Tariff: ₹1,000) pitched in the grounds. During season, there’s quite a crowd in the hotel’s lawn — people warming up in the sun, posing in front of cameras in fancy dress and being accosted by vendors of stoles and shawls.
There are four guest houses in Aru village. Milky Way Guest House (Tel: 01936-210899, Mob: 09419435832; Tariff: ₹800-2,500) is the prettiest and the most stylish, with colourful bed linen and soft carpets. The others are cosy, neat and comfortable as well: Snow Mount (Tel: 212223, Mob: 09419040337; Tariff: ₹1,000-1,500), Rohella (Tel: 211339, Mob: 09622761355; Tariff: ₹800-1,000) and Friends (Tel: 210928, Mobile: 09469014916; Tariff: ₹500-2,200).
Just before Aru on the road from Pahalgam is Aru Eco Resorts (Tel: 200008, Mobile: 09419015555, 099065 80445; Tariff: ₹1,500-2,500) offering stay in comfy tents. Another 2 km towards Pahalgam is the River Front Guest House (Mobile: 09906500026; Tariff: ₹2,500), located down from the road at a hand-shaking distance from the Lidder, with a lovely garden and friendly people running it, offering rooms, food and starry skies. Except for Hotel Alpine, all organise trekking and camping around Aru (see box above).
WHERE TO EAT
Food is available in all the staying options in Aru, but only the restaurant in Hotel Alpine is open to non-residents. Expect mostly north Indian food, with some other additions such as sandwiches and semolina. The market has a few dhabas that offer chhole bhature, aloo poori, chowmein, parantha, samosa, dosa, north Indian meals and Gujarati thali.
The restaurant in Hotel Alpine also does north Indian dishes, but on order will treat you to a sumptuous Kashmiri wazwan for about ₹500 per head, with kebabs, rishta, Kashmiri methi gosht, rogan josh, goshtaba, yakhni and more.
AROUND ARU
Pahalgam (12 km)
Treks from Aru
Aru is a base for many treks. There is no road beyond Aru and walking is the only option to explore the region beyond. This part of Kashmir has a number of lakes and meadows, but the most famous trekking attraction from Aru is the Kolahoi Glacier, the largest glacier in Kashmir Valley, and the source of the beautiful Lidder River. The trek to Kolahoi and back takes 3 days. If you want a shorter option, the Lidderwat Meadow is 9 km away on this route. You can camp a night there and come back. A longer trek would cover Kolahoi and then Tarsar Lake (4 days). Another 1- night trip can be in the Naphran Valley to Katarnag Lake (7 km). The guest houses in Aru organise trekking and camping. For ₹3,500 per head per day, they will organise all transport, equipment and food. The rates go down as the size of the group increases.
If you want to try an ‘independent trek’, without carrying camping equipment, Lidderwat is your option. Even first timers should be able to reach there in 4-5 hours. Tents (₹500-2,000) for overnight stay and food are available there. If you want to ride, a pony will cost ₹800-1,000 for a drop.
FAST FACTS
When to go April to October is the main season. School vacations in the summer and puja holidays see a lot of tourists. Dec-Jan has some snow tourism, but there is not much by way of winter sports
Tourist Office
J&K Tourism, Tourism Reception Centre, Main Road, Pahalgam, Tel: 01936-243224, STD code 01936
GETTING THERE
Location Aru sits at 7,967 ft above the confluence of the Naphran Nallah with the Lidder West River, 5 km from the Overa-Aru Wildlife Sanctuary in Anantnag District
Distances 111 km E of Srinagar, 12 km NW of Pahalgam JOURNEY TIME By Road 2½ hours from Srinagar
Route from Srinagar NH1A to Khanabal via Pampore and Avantipora, Khanabal- Pahalgam Road to Pahalgam via Martand, Aishmuqam and Batakut; state road to Aru
Air Nearest airport: Sheikh-ul-Alam Airport, Srinagar (102 km/ 3 hrs/ Tel: 0194-2303000/ 31, 2303635), connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Leh and Jammu by Air India, SpiceJet, Indigo and Go Air. Prepaid taxis from Srinagar Airport charge ₹3,000 for a drop to Aru
Rail Nearest railhead: Jammu Tawi (304 km/8 hrs). Taxis charge ₹5,000-6,000 for a drop to Aru
Road From Srinagar, follow the well maintained Srinagar-Jammu NH1A past Pandrethan, Pampore, Avantipora and Sangam Bridge, till Khanabal. A kilometer into Khanabal, just across Khanabal Bridge is Khanabal Point, where NH1B turns right towards Kokernag; you must take the Khanabal-Pahalgam Road going left. Follow the KP Road straight through northern Anantnag and past Martand, beyond which you follow the Lidder River past Mulsoo, Aishmuqam and Lidder to Pahalgam. Once in Pahalgam, turn left at the police and fire station to cross the bridge on the Lidder East River. Follow the road as it curves right and runs along the Lidder West, passing the Pahalgam Zoo and Mondlam en route to Aru. A taxi from Srinagar will charge ₹2,500-3,000 and from Pahalgam ₹700-900
TIP Many important roads converge at Khanabal-Anantnag, so if in doubt, ask and double check you are on the road towards Pahalgam. Anantnag is locally called Islamabad