After a satisfying lunch, Palzer began to feel drowsy and decided to go back to the hotel and sleep. However, I was not ready to waste an entire day in the hotel watching TV. We might never again return to this place. I decided to hike all the way to the Shankaracharya temple which is situated right on top of the hill. No matter how hard I tried, I could not persuade my friend to join me. Finally, I decided to make my way up there all alone. Made up my mind to take the shortcut through the forest. My path went through a guarded property where the water-tanks were situated. Unfortunately, the gate to this place was locked. So, I wandered through the cemetery nearby and the swampy area on the other side, asking for directions from the local people passing through the area. However, I couldn’t get any conclusive answers. Finally, I decided that I had to trespass.
I slipped through from under the large iron gate (thank god I have slim frame), and then I jumped over a wired fence, and in five minutes I was on the other side of the property, from where the jungle got dense. I found a path and followed it without knowing if I was going in the right direction. After walking for about ten minutes, I came across a couple of Kashmiri guys and went to them asking for directions. “You have come in the wrong direction, but have made the right choice,” one of them said. “That way is short, but it is tiring and dangerous as there are a lot of snakes there. Along this way (the one I had taken), you will have a wonderful scenery to enjoy. The trip to the temple up above will cost you about a hundred bucks by a vehicle. But the way you have chosen is worth eight hundred bucks.” Now when I look back, I disagree with him on the last point. The hike was priceless. They took me along with them a little farther and showed me the way out from the point our ways diverged.
When we parted ways, one of them invited me to join him as he smoked ‘charas.’ I politely declined their offer and made my way. The scenery around was wonderful even as the jungle kept getting denser. I was scared of coming across some snakes on my way. Fortunately, I did not come across any of those reptiles.
After another fifteen to twenty minutes, I stumbled upon the main road. The temple was just a couple of kilometres away. By the time I reached the temple, I was quite exhausted and had a tough time climbing up those endless steps leading up to the main temple complex. Finally, I reached up above and had a proper ‘darshan.’ The view from the top was majestic. Unfortunately, they did not allow anyone to carry their cameras inside. I could see the entire Kashmir valley down below- the city of 
On my way back, I decided to stick to the main road for a different experience (even then, I couldn’t help taking a couple of shortcuts through the jungle). I did not regret my decision at all. The main road was beautiful too, with greenery all around and beautiful flowers on both sides of the road at various places. After about a nine kilometres walk back, I finally reached back to the hotel – exhausted but extremely satisfied. It was then that I realised there is nothing more relaxing than a long, hot shower when one is exhausted.
At night, we had dinner at Shamyana Restaurant on the recommendation of our host (i.e. the “hotel-wallah”). He said it was the best restaurant in
Goodbye 
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