Patnitop is a hilltop tourist location in Udhampur district
in Jammu And Kashmir State. Travelling
to Patnitop with an altitude of 2,024 m (6,640 ft) at any time of the year
would be a memorable experience, tendering the rich natural exquisiteness
unlike anywhere else. It is one of the main tourist attractions in this state.
Winter
months in Patnitop are marked by a number of skiing courses and setups coming
up in the area. Given the modest and gentle slopes in Patnitop, it tends to be
an ideal destination for skiing for people with no prior experience. Madha Top
(5-6 kms from Patnitop on the Sanasar Road) has good possibilities for all
levels of skiing. There are many options for skiing at a place called Madhatop.
How to Reach Patni Top?
Patnitop is well connected to Jammu and Srinagar by national
highway and can be reached by a local bus or taxi. Share taxis are available
from Ghantaghar near Lal Chowk in Old Srinagar. Srinagar to
Patnitop journey is completed in 5-6 hours.
Origin of the name Patnitop is a distortion of the original name of "Patan
Da Talab" meaning "Pond of the Princess". In olden times a pond
existed in the meadows and the kings princess often used to have her bath
there. Part of the pond still exists near the youth hostel.The Britishers
probably couldn't get the name correctly in their revenue records , and over
the years it changed from "Patan Da Talab" to Patnitop.
By Flight
The nearest civil airport is at Jammu. The distance between
Jammu airport and Patnitop is around 110 km and it takes around 4 hrs to cover
the distance by road. Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet and other airlines have
direct flights from Delhi and few other major cities to Jammu. Cabs and buses
are easily available to reach the destination from the airport.
By Road
Patnitop is connected to all major cities of Jammu and
Kashmir by state road transportation. Buses are frequent to Patnitop,
especially from Jammu. Taxis and private coaches are also available for hire.
The road network is quite good with stunning mountain landscape. However,
hiring an experienced driver is recommended as the terrain is hilly with sharp
turns. There are also bus services from Shimla, Srinagar and Chandigarh to Patnitop.
By Train
Closest railheads are also located in Jammu (Jammu Tawi) and
Udhampur. There are many trains running from Delhi and Chandigarh to Jammu
Tawi. There are trains from other parts of the country to Jammu Tawi as well.
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