“Hold on tight!” The Jeep echoed with my friend’s voice on our journey to Taobat in the Neelum Valley of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The person was apparently trying to alert the children, who were sitting in the back seats of the Jeep, chattering, snacking, and teasing each other. But before I could grasp the handle firmly, my head bumped into the window with a bang. Amusingly, it was neither the first time nor the last. It bumped at least six times during our five-hour Jeep ride from Kel to Taobat.

The distance from Kel to Taobat is a little more than 40 kilometers. But since there are no proper roads, it takes nearly five hours to cover that short distance. Almost the entire track, from Dawarian to Taobat, is unpaved and unmetalled. The narrow, rough, and bumpy path is only suitable for Jeeps, which are rented on a per-day basis. We left our Hiace van at Sharda and took a Jeep for our three-day trip ahead to Kel and Taobat.

Taobat is the last station along the Neelam Valley in Azad Jammu & Kashmir. The long and bumpy ride to it and the lack of communications become all worth it once its breathtaking landscape comes into view.

Majid Raja was our jeep driver and a master of his craft. He has been taking tourists to these areas for the past 13 years and knows almost every nook and cranny of Neelum Valley.

As you proceed to Taobat from Dawarian, you can see several small settlements and villages along the way, including Machhal, Janoi, Phulwai, Sardari, Hilmat, and Makroon. Large herds of cattle, led by two or three shepherds and a dog, often blocked our way.

Most of the houses in these villages are made of wood and painted in bright neon colors. Kashmiri women stroll about, wearing long black velvet gowns with striking embroidery, carrying piles of sticks and wood on their heads.

As we were leaving from Kel to Taobat, Majid bhai suggested getting the necessary items we would need for two days from Kel. “There is a small bazaar in Taobat, but you would probably not get the items of your choice,” he warned.

All the places we stopped by, including Muzaffarabad, Keran, Sharda, and Kel, have their own charm. The beautiful bank of the Neelum River in Keran, which serves as a natural border between India and Pakistan, is as mesmerizing as the meadows of Sharda and Kel.

Taobat was our last destination in Neelum Valley and my last hope to wear the sweater that took up the most space in my luggage. In early June, the days in Kashmir are bright and sunny, whereas the nights are pleasantly cold.

Magical Taobat

Located at an elevation of 2,281 m (about 7,500 feet), Taobat is the last station and village in the Neelum Valley before the Indian Line of Control. The village is spread over 100 houses, most of which are in shabby condition. The villagers mostly speak the Shina language.

A vast section of the population works in the fields to make their living, whereas a small section works in other sectors as well. Fields of corn, kidney beans, potatoes, and other vegetables are scattered around the village. The village has a bazaar, as small as Majid bhai had told us.

There is also a primary school, whose worn-out signboard indicates the miserable state it must be in.

We had stopped at a checkpost in Hilmat, where the officials kept our national identity card. It is approximately six kilometers away from Taobat. The perfect time to visit Taobat is between June and October.

“Approximately 60 percent of the tourists who visit Kashmir visit Taobat,” Majid Bhai states. “However, the remaining 40 percent do not go there due to time or budget constraints.”

As soon as you enter Neelum Valley, mobile networks stop working, and you are left at the mercy of your hotel’s WiFi facility. The only network that works well in AJ&K is SCOM, which is run by the military. You must purchase the Scom SIMs in Muzaffarabad, but we have not realized this.

Bridge to adventure

One of the highlights of Taobat is a long bridge over the majestic Neelum River, which connects the unpaved road to never-ending meadows. Most of the hotels are located on this side of the bridge. Amazingly, this is as far as Jeeps can go, and you have to cross the bridge on foot and trek ahead to explore the meadows.

With a handbag and my two-year-old, I got off the Jeep to cross the bridge. It was the first time I had walked on such a bridge, so it took me quite some time to reach the other end. The bridge was wobbly and would get even wobblier if many people were crossing together or if someone was walking along in the opposite direction. Neelum was flowing underneath the bridge with all its might. It was a sight to behold.

The hundreds and thousands of white daisies reminded me of the golden daffodils William Wordsworth might have seen when he wrote his famous poem Daffodils.

The thick, shady trees took me to ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’ where William Shakespeare might have been. I wandered around lonely as a cloud.

Courtesy: Dawn

https://www.dawn.com/news/1768671