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Aru Travel Guide

Aru, 107 kms from Srinagar, is situated at an altitude of 2408 m. Aru is a serene and idyllic natural paradise devoid of heat, dust, pollution, vehicles, crowds, etc.

It is a meadow bordered on one side by a gorge with a small hamlet of wood-and-stone houses, some of them built in the typical Gujjar-shepherd style; flat roofed, squat and backed against the hillside.

It is a ravine of the Lidder river with a small stream running through its golden-green meadows. Aru is on the shepherds' trail to the high Kashmiri meadows.

One can often come across the Bakerwal or Gujjar tribes moving with their flocks of goat, sheep and fierce sheep dogs.

There is a tourist bungalow, a small distance away from the hamlet, in the middle of the green, undulating meadow. All around it and encircling Aru are conifer covered mountains with occasional glimpses of high, snow-covered, peaks rising against the blue sky.

One can trek or ride to the Lidderwat meadow, 11 km away. The trek to Kolahoi Glacier (3,200 m), 24 kms from Aru, is challenging and enthralling.

Alternatively one can go for a walk in the whispering woods with sunlight filtering through the leaves or stretch out on pine needles or enjoy the magnificent sunrise and sunsets. There are a few eating houses or dhabas in the hamlet.