Gulistan bana rahega "Akhnoor"

I was just came back from the school and mom told me that my father got new posting in Akhnoor. As my dad belongs to army so we have to travel to every other Indian city after every 3-4 years. I gave a weird expression upon hearing the name akhnoor but a  sense of fear ran into my body when I came to know that akhnoor is a small town situated in the one of the disputed and war-conflicted state of India i.e. Jammu & Kashmir. I had all these presumptions about  J&K  just because of the news of militancy and infiltration which was a everyday affair to be telecasted in news channels at that time. But at that moment I had no idea that all my beliefs were soon going to be fallacious. It’s been years since I left akhnoor but the memories and time spend there is still fresh in my mind. Based upon my encounters with akhnoor  am writing this article which is purely inspired by the rustic and picturesque beauty of akhnoor. Akhnoor alias " Aakhon ka Noor " well  it lies on Jammu-Poonch national highway about 28km away from jammu city.

Soon the day came when we finally arrived at Jammu railway station. Jammu station is like any other railway stations of india except you can find a good number of army persons roaming and patrolling here and there. We reached akhnoor in a army stallion truck which was sent to escort us from jammu station. This picturesque town is located on the banks of river Chenab river which also separates it from other parts of jammu. Vehicles have to cross a steel bridge built upon Chenab River guarded by elite army men to reach akhnoor. The bridge is also considered to be the lifeline of the akhnoor. There is also an another bridge recently being constructed on Chenab river.

Chenab river bank with akhnoor bridge in the backdrop

It was around 9 pm when we reached our new home in akhnoor inside an army establishment named G.S. Vihar. It was pitch dark but suddenly I saw something which amazed me . It was the world renowned Hindu pilgrimage of vaishnov devi trikuta hill infront of my eyes and whole mountain was illuminating  due to the series of  light bulbs fixed there on the trail going to mata vaisnov devi  cave shrine. It was a magnificent view. It was like goddess herself welcomes our arrival in her holy land. I humbly folded both my hands to the direction of the shrine hill and whispered slowly – “ JAI MATA DI“! Such glimpses of trikuta hill can be seen from all most every part of the akhnoor.

Trikuta Hill glows at night

There were many Himalayan peaks can be easily seen from akhnoor and in winters you can also locate snow patches on these peaks. Whole akhnoor is like a one giant hardcore army cantonment as there were many army establishments and battalions operating and guarding the region from any possible infiltration or war like situation as  akhnoor also shares border from Pakistan from one side. This revelation itself was enough to gave me Goosebumps. A few months earlier I was surrounded by huge sky-scrappers and traffic jams of metropolitan Mumbai and now I was at some town of jammu surrounded by forest , Army and Himalayan peaks which majority of Indian's doesn’t even knows.

Army convoy

Akhnoor Market

Akhnoor has both mythological and historical importance. It is believed to be the ancient virat nagar of epic Mahabharata. This is the town where paandavas had to hide themselves from kauravas for one year. For this a cave temple better known as Paandav Gufa also situated on the banks of river Chenab. The footprints of lord Krishna also found in the cave temple. Although the main cave is prohibited for the people but this temple is a must visit for every mythology patron.

Jiya Pota ghat (left) and Akhnoor Fort 

 Just near the cave temple you can locate the ruins of akhnoor fort. This fort was buit in 18^th century by king Tej singh. For all those who have interest in historic places this is the perfect site as excavations done by archaeological survey of India have found that akhnoor was one of the last bastions of Harappan civilization. 

Ruins of Akhnoor Fort

Other places to visit in akhnoor is jiya pota ghaat and a beautiful Gurudwara . Also both are situated on the Chenab banks itself. All these places were basically situated in a que  runs in parallel along the river bank. At Jiya pota ghaat there were many temples has been built and whole surroundings gives a inner sense of peace specially at evenings. The gushing sound of high speed chenab currents along with the cool breeze flowing with it and chiming sound of temple bells along with the smell of burned incense sticks offered in temples makes the whole atmosphere pious and spiritual. Here you can also have the pleasure to take a dip in icy-cold water of Chenab. I lived here in akhnoor  for 3 beautiful years of my life until I moved to Delhi.

Akhnoor Gurudwara on the banks of chenab

Hotels at akhnoor are very few but you could get a lot of hotels easily in jammu city. So this beautiful town akhnoor is a must visit attraction  situated at just  an hour journey from jammu city. Road connecting jammu & akhnoor is itself very enchanting. Visit Akhnoor for its beauty, visit akhnoor for its culture, visit akhnoor for its people, visit akhnnor for Chenab.

History and more about Akhnoor . click :-  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhnoor

Note:-  This description of akhnoor  is presented on the basis of my experiences few years ago. Today akhnoor is developed so much. Now there is a tiled pavement had been built recently along the banks of river Chenab which becomes a evening celebration for the people.

JAI MATA DI !!!

EXPLORE, DREAM, DISCOVER

 Note 2 :- Almost all images are sourced from internet (http://akhnoor.nic.in/) as i am writing this article after many years of akhnoor experiences.So i didn't have much photos of the place.