The Vale of Kashmir is as glamerous as its name. Lying at an altiinde of 5200 feet, between the lofty Pir Panjal range and the foothills of the Himalayas, its lakes and water ways permanently mirror the beauty of snowy peaks, Flowers grow everywhere, even on the mud-covered roofs of dilapidated houses. Where rice paddies give way td land on either side of the poplar-lined Jhelum River Road. grazing sheep wander knees deep in wild iris, Itis a land of colour and vivid contrasts. Meadows are alight with the yellow mustard from which the Kashmiri extract their cooking oil. Poppies flame in the wheat fields. Birds of brilliant plumage flash through the air and pause to pour out their songs in the ancient chinar trees.
One may live on a houseboat on Sheium River in the midst of all this beauty at very small cost. The best introduction to such an unusual and pleasant holiday is to board the floating home at Sopur, 165 miles from Rawalpindi, From this small village on the Jhelum one is poled and lowed by turns down the winding river to Srinagar, Kashmir's Summer capital, which is reached on the evening of the third day.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.