KASHMIR SERIES, DAY 5 – 6
AMRISTAR – PAHALGAM
Hitchhiking to the World’s Most Militarized Region. Not the sort of title you expect to write when your only reader is your mum.
MY FIRST TIME HITCHHIKING AND FOR SURE WONT BE MY LAST…
When I told my Amritsar guide the plan he thought I was insane. Still, he was nice enough to drop me at the highway and wished me good luck.
DAY 5 – BAPTISM BY LORRY
Within two minutes of sticking my thumb out, a motorbike pulled over. No helmet, no seatbelt, just me clinging on for dear life as we rattled along at full speed. Then for a start of all starts. Just ten minutes in, the bike broke down. After a little rub by the local it coughed back to life, and eventually got dropped at a toll booth — prime hitchhiking real estate!
Next up: a truck. This was the ride I’d been waiting for. Indian trucks are legendary, painted in neon colours with “Horn Please” scrawled across the back. Inside, they’re almost lounge-like — padded seats you can sprawl across while your driver chain-smokes and sings along to the same Bollywood hit on repeat.
My driver, his son, and their helper were the perfect hosts. After a few hours they insisted I come home with them for food. The house was humble — maybe one bedroom and a kitchen — but what they lacked in space, they made up for in hospitality. Their two daughters gave me the grand tour of the village, visiting the local shrine and meeting their friends & neighbours. Once again I was reminded that people with the least often give the most.
Hitchhiking to the World’s Most Militarized Region
KASHMIR BORDER
After enjoying some famous Rajma Chawal in the family’s bedroom which doubles as a living room and dining room it was back on the road. The next few hours were long and after making it to the Kasmir border (the disputed region in northern India) my driver has some issues. I had no idea what they were but just knew I needed to move on. Which was a shame as I had enjoyed the last few hours with them. But borders can take hours, especially in contentious areas like this.
Eventually another slow-moving lorry took me to Jammu where I was dropped of at the edge of the city. It was here I received a warning. After helping me get a rickshaw for local price a ex-soldier reminded me
“Once you get to Kargil and Ladakh, do not trust anyone. Use your head.”
I’m hitchhiking, trust is all I have!
But that was it. My first hitchhiking day was done — and I was hooked.
Hitchhiking to the World’s Most Militarized Region
DAY 6 – THE CHEAT CODE
The second morning didn’t go as well as the first. Almost an hour went by with locals staring at me like I’d lost the plot. Eventually, as what usually happens two offers came at once — and of course, I chose the slowest truck in India. Decent lads, terrible pace.
An hour or so in the guys decided we were making too much progress and wanted to stop for some food, which was the perfect opportunity for me to bail. Bad choice to try and look for a lift on the side of a motorway. After 45mins of waiting, a man in a tiny car stopped. He might’ve been smoking a joint, but I wasn’t gonna argue, I needed a better spot and that I got, right at an army checkpoint!
This wasn’t like some of the checkpoints I had been before. Soldiers waved me over, handed me chai and forced me to eat half a packet of biscuits, and then revealed the cheat code to Kashmiri hitchhiking: they can literally commandeer cars to take you where you need to go. Watching them pull over drivers — who looked like they were about to be arrested — only to be told to chauffeur a foreign backpacker was comedy gold. It took a few cars, just to be sure they were heading my direction but eventually we got another lorry, and it was a bullet train! Good lads!
Hitchhiking to the World’s Most Militarized Region
RELATED READ: PROBABLY THE BEST HIKE IN CAPE TOWN
INFRASTRUCTURE
The next driver was quick and talkative, and we sped through what felt like an endless stream of construction — the scale of development in Kashmir is staggering. Endless roadworks and ambitious new bridges and elevated highways made the place look like a construction site that could rival China.
Hitchhiking to the World’s Most Militarized Region
KASHMIR FACTS:
- The Most Militarized Zone in the World – Kashmir holds the record for being the most militarized region on Earth, with estimates of over half a million troops stationed there. That’s more than the population of some small countries, and it’s been a flashpoint between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan for decades.
- Asia’s Largest Tulip Garden… in a Conflict Zone – Despite the constant tension, Kashmir is home to Asia’s largest tulip garden, with over 1.5 million tulips blooming every spring in Srinagar. It’s a surreal contrast—flowers on one side, soldiers on the other.
- The World’s Highest Battleground – The Siachen Glacier in Kashmir is often called the world’s highest battleground, sitting at over 6,000 meters (20,000 feet). Both Indian and Pakistani troops are stationed here year-round, where more soldiers die from avalanches and frostbite than bullets.
ANANTNAG DRAMA
By night we arrived at Anantnag, where we would go our separate ways and I would get a taxi. And it was here I was reminded I was still in India. A shouting match broke out between taxi drivers over who got to fleece me for $20. I wasn’t happy at the fare but eventually realised the drive was 45 minutes — so not a bad deal.
FINAL THOUGHTS
For my first ever hitchhiking trip, I couldn’t have chosen a better route. From chai with soldiers to neon lorries and family dinners, Kashmir gave it all and some. The people here were unforgettable — warm, generous, and sometimes stoned.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
172/229
NEXT UP
Checking out the site of the recent terror attack in Pahalgam! Click to read.
This post is part of the Kashmir Series, for the entire series click here, or for episode 1 click here.
To see a different side of my trip, head to my socials: YouTube, Instagram & TikTok. Links at the top of the page.
Question Time
- Would you ever hitchhike through the world’s most militarised region?
- Could you trust random lorry drivers with your safety (and tea preferences)?
- Do you think the soldiers’ “cheat code” is genius hospitality or mild dictatorship?
Let me know in the comments below . . .
