Yousmarg

• Yousmarg is a hill station in the western part of Kashmir Valley in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated 47 km south of Srinagar the capital of the state.
• Yousmarg has a great scope for adventure tourism. Doodganga a river flows through this meadow. In its vicinity lies the alpine meadow of Tosa Maidan. A trek of 4 km leads to a small Lake named as Nilnag surrounded by pine trees. Another 10 km trek leads to the most interesting lake the frozen lake in Sang-e-Safed valley, most portion of this lake is covered by ice even during the summer. A number of tourist huts, restaurants and hotels are available for lodging. The other activities include horse riding, fishing, skiing during winter and photography.
  
  
  

Verinag

• Verinag spring which is in Verinag town issues from a high scarp of a mountain spur, and is considered the source of the river Jhelum. It is situated at the bottom of a hill covered by pine trees and evergreen plants. The Mughal Emperor Jehangir constructed an octagonal tank of sculptured stones around the spring for which carvers for were brought from Iran. A garden was also built by Jahangir next to this natural spring which is of pre-Islamic religious significance. The construction date of the octagonal tank and the garden is 1029 Hijri or 1620 A.D. is duly inscribed on a stone slab built into the southern wall of the spring. The water is collected in a pool surrounded by arched recesses, and then flows down a 300-yard canal to the Bihat river. Jahangir wished to be buried at Verinag gardens, but his wife, Nur Jahan, disobeyed his wishes. Today nothing remains of the pavilions which once decorated the area. According to a legend, goddess Vitasta(Jhelum) wanted to take rise from this place, but it happened that when she came, Shiva was staying here, whereupon she had to go back and then she took her rise from Veravurthur, a spring about a mile to the north-west of this place. Virah in Sanskrit means to 'go back' and 'nag' means a water spring and, as Vitasta had to go back from this place, it came to be called Virahnag or "Vernag".
• Verinag spring was originally an irregular and shapeless pond, and water, oozing out from different places in it and spread about and formed a little marsh. The emperor Jahangir, whose artistic taste for polishing the beauty of nature is well known, saw this and at once determined to improve it. He built the octagonal tank of sculptured stones round it, so that all water was collected therein. The construction of water garden and the octagonal tank around the spring at Verinag was completed in the year 1620 A.D. or 1029 Hijri during the 15th year of the Jahangir's reign. Seven years later, Jahangir's son Shah Jahan, who was no less a lover of natural beauty, constructed cascades and aqueducts in straight lines through and around the fine garden which he, in order to enhance further the beauty of the place laid out in front of the spring. He also built hot and cold baths to the east of this garden, just outside of it, of which little trace is now left. The spring is the main source of the mighty river Jhelum. The water contained in an octagonal spring has crystal blue water in which a variety of big fishes live. History and the carvings on stones in Persian on the walls surrounding the spring tell about how this great source of underwater spring is contained without revealing its architecture.
• The spring is at the exact centre almost 50 feet (as the locals tell about the depth) under water from where the water continuously comes up and flows into the gardens facing the spring. It is also a sacred place for Hindus as there is a Lord Shiva shivling in one of the arcs (the very first on the left of the entry of the spring). The historical garden also has an old temple with some ancient idols of Hindu goddesses.
• Some 2 km away is Veravurthur, supposed to be the source of the Jhelum. The waters of the many nearby springs, called collectively, Sapta Rishi, have their confluence at Sangam, where people bathe on festival days. The birth of the river is celebrated annually with a fair.
  

Tangmarg

• Tangmarg has many tourist spots like Drung, Gulmarg, Baderkoot, Zandpal, Gogaldara, Nigli Nullah and Babarashi. The name 'Babarashi' is based on Baba Payamum-din-Rashi whose body is buried here.
• It is a major stop for buses and other heavy vehicles between Srinagar and Gulmarg or Babareshi. All the vehicles are allowed beyond this point to Gulmarg which is 13 km[citation needed]. Heavy vehicles are not allowed beyond this point during the winter whenever there is a heavy snowfall. This stop is to be taken seriously since there are no more stores on the way to Gulmarg from Tangmarg. A road from Tangmarg to Gogaldara is under construction.
• This road would connect Tehsil Tangmarg with Tehsil Khag of Badgam district. Another road from Drung to Poonch district of Jammu Division is under consideration by the government.
  

Srinagar

• Srinagar is the summer capital of the Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in the Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats. It is also known for traditional Kashmiri handicrafts and dry fruits.
  

Sonamarg

• Sonamarg gives rise to The Three Sisters (Kashmir). In its vicinity lies the great Himalayan glaciers of Kashmir Valley namely Kolhoi Glacier and Machoi Glacier with some peaks of above 5000 meters: Sirbal Peak, Kolhoi Peak, Amarnath Peak and Machoi Peak.
• Sonamarg an alpine valley is situated at the bank of Nallah Sindh, 87 km north-east from Srinagar, it is a popular tourist destination, nestled with in the imposing Himalayan peaks. It lies at an altitude of 2800 metres above sea level.
• The drive to Sonamarg is through yet another spectacular facet of country side in Kashmir, this time its the Nallah Sindh, the largest tributary of the Jehlum River in the valley of Kashmir. It is upwards of sixty miles long valley and deep rock-girt gorge to open grassy meadow land and village-dotted slopes.
  

Sanasar

• Sanasar lake, 20 km from Patnitop by road, offers paragliding, camping, trekking, abseiling, rock climbing and scenic nature walks.
  

Patnitop

• Patnitop or Patni Top is a hilltop tourist location in Udhampur district in Jammu and Kashmir state of India on National Highway 1A 112 km from Jammu on the way from Udhampur to Srinagar. Situated on a plateau in the Shiwalik belt of the Himalayas, Patnitop sits at an altitude of 2,024 m (6,640 ft). The river Chenab flows in close proximity to this location.
• The name 'Patnitop' is a distortion of the original name of the place, "Patan Da Talab" meaning "Pond of the Princess". In olden times a pond existed in the meadows and a certain princess often used to bathe there. Some part of the pond still exists near the local youth hostel. It may be the case that the British had difficulties recording the Indian name correctly in their revenue records. Hence, over the years the name has changed from "Patan Da Talab" to Patnitop.
• One can enjoy the thrill of flying, at Patnitop. The paragliding joyrides rides are conducted at Dawariyai, 2 km landmark, on the Patnitop-Sanasar road. One can ask for paragliding at the Patnitop Development Authority (PDA) barrier.
• The takeoff site is at Dawariyai, on the Patnitop-Sanasar road. The area often called as the Billoo Di Powri point. Approx 400 plus steps have been carved out along the rock face to make the steep slope negotiable. The stairs eventually leading to Dawariyai, the "gateway". The exact dating of the work is still debatable. Any tourist can experience paragliding accompanied by a pilot. The flight takes off from Patnitop and lands at Kud. The flight lasts for 7 to 15 minutes depending upon the wind conditions. One is retrieved by car to the takeoff area. The organizers also give a good quality video of the memorable flight.
• Takeoff is from Natha Top and landing at Kud. The flight can be from 15 minutes to an hour depending on the wind conditions.