If one finds travel to Srinagar a risky affair and yet wants to have a whiff of the valley then a alternative could be Patnitop or Patni Top-a beautiful hill top tourist spot located on the Udhampur - Srinagar route.
On cancellation of our helicopter service to the shrine at Vaisno devi due to bad weather (Lucky to get the tickets the next day), we took this journey to Patnitop from Katra, a journey in the lower Himalayan ranges with picture postcard images all along.
A better way explore and bask in the atmosphere here would be to spend at least a day at the many resorts in the the vicinity. On our short visit we could only enjoy the beautiful valley for some time in biting cold on a summer day.
The Beautiful meadows with the tall Pine trees
Cute Little cottages painted green
Pani-puri on the meadows
