| Bhal Padri | |
| Native Name: | Bal Padri |
| Native Name Lang: | ks |
| Settlement Type: | Hill Station |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Doda |
| Subdivision Type3: | Tehsil |
| Subdivision Name3: | Gandoh (Bhalessa) |
| Pushpin Map: | India Jammu and Kashmir |
| Pushpin Label Position: | center |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Bhal Padri in Doda, Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Coordinates: | 32.9439°N 75.8416°W |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Urdu |
| Demographics Type2: | Languages |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Local |
| Demographics2 Info1: | Kashmiri, Urdu, Gojri, Bhalessi, Bhaderwahi |
| Elevation Ft: | 11,000 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
Bhal Padri (Kashmiri; Bal Padri) is a hill station situated above a group of small valleys[2] covered with a dense forest located in the Changa, Bhalessa.[1] area of Doda district. It borders Padri Pass, [3] Bhaderwah at a distance of 4km (02miles) northeast. Rivulets and streams flow through this valley.[2]
The name Bhal Padri is derived from the words, Bhal, which stands for Bhalessa, and Padri, the name of a nearby location popularly known as Padri Pass or Padri Top.[4]
Bhal Padri village is located to the northeast of Padri Pass, the highest point on the Bhaderwah-Chamba road.[5] Bhalessa is the nearest village on the northwestern side. People residing there belong to the Gujjar community[6] and live in mud houses without electricity. They use solar-powered lights.[7]
Bhal Padri is situated above a group of small valleys,[2] at an elevation of 11000feet[1] above sea level. The landscape around it is characterised by streams flowing through meadows, surrounded dense forest.[8] The area is popular for trekking, as the town of Bhaderwah is located only 4km (02miles) to the southwest.[9]
Bhal Padri is located 66km (41miles) from the headquarters of Doda district. It is known to be the connecting link between Bhaderwah and Bhalessa.[4] It is not directly connected to any roads. However, nearby roads include the Bhaderwah-Chamba road and the Gandoh-Khilotran road. The Bhaderwah-Chamba road at Padri leads to a path by which one may reach Bhal Padri after a NaNkm (-2,147,483,648miles) walk.[10] The Gandoh-Khilotran road is 12km (07miles) from Bhal Padri on foot.[4]
The route starts from the nearest airport and provincial headquarters at Jammu.
The road starts from Jammu—Batote (via NH1A), changing route from Batote—Thathri (via NH244) and turning right near Thathri-Kishtwar Bridge towards Thathri—Khilotran Highway till the Khilotran area of Gandoh Bhalessa, a footpath is found that leads the travellers to Bhal Padri.[4]