m and at a distance of 97 kms from the town of Srinagar. The word Sonmarg comes from the words ‘Son’ which means ‘gold’ and the word ‘marg’ which means meadow hence the word literally means ‘Meadow of Gold’. The place becomes a scenic paradise with meadows and flowers in bloom in the spring season. The place is a popular visitory of the tourists and the trekkers who come to enjoy the hills and the mountains of this beautiful hill station. The people of the place speak mostly Hindi, Urdu and Kashmiri languages. The place falls on the way to Ladakh and is situated just before the Zojii La Pass.
Sonmarg is a smallest of the hill stations in the located in a forested valley and has a few good places that can be included in the tourist places in Sonmarg.
Nilagrad
the place has found its place in the pages of tourism for the river that is red in color and the water of which is found to bear curative properties that heal the skin diseases. This river is formed by the small streams meeting with the Indus River at the Nilagrad. Nilagrad attracts crowd during the most times of the year except the winters when the mercury dips to freezing temperatures.
Krishnasar Lake
At an altitude of 3801 m the Krishnasar Lake is located very close to Sonmarg. This lake is famous for the water sports. One can also enjoy trout fishing on the lake. The lake is truly picturesque and during the summer months when the days are warmer and the skies are clear a large number of tourists flock to the lake. The visitors can also opt for the route via the Nichinai Pass and descend down to reach the lake. If the tourists are interested they can also choose to visit the Bisansar Lake which is also not very far from here which is yet another popular spot.
Baltal
Baltal falls on the way of the famous Amarnath Cave temple trekking route and the camps are setup in this place by the government with the help of the locals for the pilgrims. The place has its own beauty of the meadows and the mountains that can be seen from the place. The pilgrimage usually takes place during the months of July- August when the Shiva Linga get formed in the cave with ice. This place lies near Ladakh and just at the foot of the Zojila Pass.
Thajiwas
The Thajiwas has become a picnic spot for the tourists and sees many horsemen providing tours to the tourists to the glaciers that form the clear water streams and also the beautiful cascades at places.
The valley continues to entertain every heart visiting the region but in recent times this hill station is been getting polluted due to tourist activities. Hence it becomes the moral responsibility from our side to preserve the natural beauty of Sonmarg so that our future generations may also enjoy visiting the place rather than regretting.