One and a half hour drive through lush pine and fir forests in Kashmir Vally will lead you to some of the most exotic meadows nestling in the lap of dazzling Pir Panchal mountain range.
Situated at an altitude of 3200 meters above sea level, Dodhpathri, spread over 240 square kilometers from Palmaidan to Ashtar, is considered to be the largest meadow of Kashmir valley, surrounded by Sukh Nag Nalla and Shaliganga river, which originates from Tata Kati glacier situated at 4563 meters above sea level. Three lakes – Gurwan Sar, Daman Sar and Pam Sar – enrich the awesome beauty of Dodhpathri. In the vicinity of Dodhpathri is Dumail glacier, which happens to be the source of Doodganga river.
The journey to Dodhpathri is half the enchantment of reaching there. Dodpathri is a part of series of meadows starting in the East from Yusmarg and culminating in the West in Gulmarg.
Prior to 1989, before the outbreak of militancy in Kashmir, Dodhpathri had witnessed a huge influx of foreign and domestic tourists, but during the past 20 years it had almost gone into oblivion. However, with the revival of tourism, tourists are again showing interest in visiting Dodhpathri. Going by the Dodhpathri Development Authority (DDA) records, 1.50 lakh tourists had visited Dodhpathri during 2003-2004. In 2004-2005, 1.6 lakh tourists had visited the place. The figure had gone up to 1.75 lakh in 2005-2006.