Srinagar, July 23 -- The road to Bhal Padri doesn't reveal its secret all at once. It unravels slowly, like a whispered story, beginning in the bustling center of Gandoh and snaking through pine forests, sleepy hamlets, and hills painted in green.

There comes a time when the asphalt turns patchy, the air grows colder, and somewhere between the sound of cowbells and wind slipping through trees, the world begins to feel softer.

Then the meadow appears.

Wide and wild, Bhal Padri stretches out like a dream: rolled in flowers, framed by forests, and crowned by distant snowy peaks.

For a moment, it feels as though time has folded in on itself. There are no hotels or tour buses, no phone signals or souvenir stalls. Only colours - lavenders, ...