Yusmarg

Yusmarg or 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.

Geography
Yusmarg in Kashmiri means The Meadow of Jesus. It is believed by the natives that Jesus came to Kashmir and stayed at Yusmarg for some time. It is an alpine valley covered with snow clad mountains and the meadows of Pine and Fir, It lies 13 km south of Charari Sharief a town of Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated at the bank of Doodganga River which is a tributory of Jehlum River. It is a popular tourist destination, nestled with in the imposing Pir Panjal peaks, a sub range of Himalaya. The Peaks are: the Sunset Peak and the Tatakooti Peak for which the expeditions lead from this hill station. It lies at an altitude of 2396 metres above sea level.

Tourism
Yusmarg 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.

Access
Yusmarg is easily accessible from Srinagar or Srinagar Airport (SXR), the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, 47 km drive in under 2 hours by car or bus leads through Charari Sharief town. During winter the road gets sometimes closed due to snowfall and remains cut off from the Valley of Kashmir for weeks.