Srinagar is the summer capital of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It lies in the Kashmir Valley, on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats. It is also known for traditional Kashmiri handicrafts and dried fruits.Srinagar is one of several places that have been called the "Venice of the East" or the "Kashmiri Venice". Lakes around the city include Dal Lake noted for its houseboats and Nigeen Lake. Apart from Dal lake and Nigeen lake city is also famous for wular lake and manasbal lake to the north of srinagar. Wular lake is one of the largest fresh water lakes in Asia. Srinagar has some Mughal gardens, forming a part of those laid by the Mughal emperors across the Indian subcontinent. Those of Srinagar and its close vicinity include Chashma Shahi (the royal fountains); Pari Mahal (the palace of the fairies); Nishat Bagh (the garden of spring); Shalimar Bagh; the Naseem Bagh.
Jammu also known as the City of Temples is nestled against the backdrop of the snowcapped Pir Panjal Mountains, the region of Jammu constitutes the southern most unit of the state of Jammu &Kashmir. Jammu is separated from Kasmir by Pir Panjal mountain range.Jammu borders Kashmir to the north, Ladakh to the east, and Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south. In the west, the Line of Control separates Jammu from the Pakistan region called Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Sandwiched between the Vale of Kashmir to the north and the Daman Koh Plains to the south, the Shivalik Range comprises most of the region of Jammu. The Pir Panjal Range, the Trikuta Hills and the low-lying Tawi River basin add beauty and diversity to the terrain of Jammu.The city of Jammu, the winter capital of the state, is the epicentre of all socio-economic activities in the Jammu region. It is also the base for visiting various centres of tourist and pilgrimage interest in which the region abounds.
Ladakh is a land like no other. Bounded by two of the world's mightiest mountain ranges, the Great Himalaya and the karakoram, "land of high passes" is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent. Ladakh is renowned for its remote mountain beauty and culture. It is sometimes called "Little Tibet" as it has been strongly influenced by Tibetan culture. The Ladakh range and the Zanskar range, Geologically this is a young land, formed only a few million years ago by the backling and folding of the earth's crust as the Indian sub -continent pushed with irresistible force against the immovable mass of Asia.
