The vast high altitude meadow of Tosamaidan has great historical significance. It falls on the shortest route to Kashmir from outside the valley. On the other side is Loran in Poonch district. In ancient times Loran had two strong forts of Lohar-Kot which had resisted numerous attempts at invading Kashmir.

Among the invaders were the Alexander the Great and Mehmud of Ghazni. Mehmud of Ghazni is supposed to have laid siege of the forts for over two months but could not subdue these. Alberuni had accompanied Mehmud on this campaign and stayed near Loran for two months. His writings on Kashmir were based on interaction with the local people from Loran. After a heavy snowfall Mehmud had to lift the siege and retreat. In 1965 the bulk of infiltrators from the Pakistani Kashmir had taken the same route to enter the valley and in fact their presence was discovered by some local nomadic shepherds. On the valley side there is an interesting trek from Gulmarg to Yusmarg via Tosamaidan. The trek starts from Ferozepore area near Tangmarg and goes towards Sunrise Peak after crossing the nallah. The first stop is Drang Habar. The trail then crosses through a dense forest and across the ridge is Tosamaidan. From here one can follow the higher trail across mountains or descend to Drang Khag and take a rough road up to Gretabal and thence trek across to Yusmarg. It was in early eighties that I had the opportunity of taking part in this trek partially. The British High Commissioner, Sir Robert Wade Gerry, and his friend the French Ambassador Serge Boidevaix were keen to undertake a short trek in Kashmir valley.

I had met the British High Commissioner during the visit of the wife of the British Governor of Hong Kong to Kashmir. Sir Robert Wade Gerry phoned me and asked if I could arrange a two to three day trek. He was very keen to trek to Tosamaidan about which he had read a lot. I informed him that one could undertake a two to three day trek from Gulmarg to Yusmarg via Tosmaidan. He was thrilled by the idea. However, some people connected with the Ministry of Defence in Delhi had told him that it was possible to drive up to Tosmaidan. I had not heard about it. I told him that I would get it verified from local Army authorities. I contacted the local headquarter of the Army but was told that the road to Tosmaidan was not ready. They informed that the fair weather forest road is not good for light vehicles. Accordingly, we decided for a trek. As I had some urgent work in Srinagar, I told Sir Robert that I would join the trek in Tosamaidan by taking a short cut from Khag Drang. They would start from Gulmarg. Two of our Skiing and Mountaineering instructors Hajam and Dar joined them in Gulmarg. They started from Ferozepore and had planned to camp for the night in Drang Habar.

I also started from Srinagar next day and stayed in the forest hut at Drang Khag. The route to Drang Khag takes off from the Srinagar-Tangmarg road at Magam. The forest hut in Drang Khag is located on a height and has a commanding view. From here we planned to go up to Tosamaidan to receive the party. We started quite early as the climb is very steep, all the way up! It is through a dense forest. We took some pack lunch. It took us about two and a half hours to reach the top. Tosamaidan is a huge meadow surrounded by high mountain ridges on one side (Jammu side) and the valley side is flatter affording fantastic views. At the top of the trail going from Drang Khag we saw ruins of an ancient watch post. The entire meadow seemed to have been dug up! We came to know from the local Army unit that this was due to heavy artillery shelling practiced by the Army here. We stayed near the ruins and had our pack lunch. It was a beautiful day. The ruins reminded me of all the historical coming and goings through this route. From this point the valley looks like a huge lake due to the fog at lower levels. However, towards afternoon when the fog cleared, it afforded a wonderful view. The party did not arrive and we presumed that they had stayed an extra day on the other side. We left for Khag Drang along the same route we had come up. Going down was quite easy. Next day, the trekking party arrived towards afternoon by the same route. They had stayed an extra day in the lovely forest on the other side. However, Sir Robert was very upset. He had seen Army vehicles in Tosamaidan. I told him that the local headquarter did not have correct information.

To satisfy his ego we decided to stay one extra day in Khag Drang and would omit our stay in Yusmarg. Next morning after breakfast we drove in his Range Rover towards Tosamaidan through Gretabal. The journey was quite tough as the road was full of ruts and pot holes. It was a long drive but ultimately we reached Tosamaidan! Sir Robert was happy that he had taken up his Range Rover flying a British flag to Tosamaidan. We had some tea and snacks with the local commander and then came back. Next day we had to start very early as we had a long day to reach Yusmarg. We drove up to Gretabal in our vehicles and then sent these away to meet us in the evening at Yusmarg. The trek to Yusmarg was more or less flat except for one or two steep stretches through a dense forest. The last portion after crossing Doodh Ganga stream is a bit steep. It was a pleasure to reach Yusmarg meadow in the late afternoon. Our vehicles had already come up. So after having some tea, we left for Srinagar. It had been a very easy but enjoyable trek. Mountains always provide opportunity of developing lifelong friendships. Both the diplomats became my fast friends and I was in touch with them for a long time. Sir Robert retired and went back to London to join Barclays Bank. Serge Boidevaix retired as the French Foreign Secretary and I visited him a couple of times!