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Not because of walls or armies (though there are plenty of both), but because of the mountains. The Pir Panjal and Great Himalayan ranges wrap this 135-kilometer oval basin like a geological siege. Getting in or out meant one treacherous highway that closes for weeks every winter due to snow and landslides.

That isolation ended last year.

The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link is now operational. Its crown jewel is the Chenab Bridge, a steel arch standing 359 meters above the riverbed, higher than the Eiffel Tower. For the first time in history, the Kashmir Valley has reliable, all-weather surface access to the rest of India.

Not because of walls or armies (though there are plenty of both), but because of the mountains. The Pir Panjal and Great Himalayan ranges wrap this 135-kilometer oval basin like a geological siege. Getting in or out meant one treacherous highway that closes for weeks every winter due to snow and landslides.

That isolation ended last year.

The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link is now operational. Its crown jewel is the Chenab Bridge, a steel arch standing 359 meters above the riverbed, higher than the Eiffel Tower. For the first time in history, the Kashmir Valley has reliable, all-weather surface access to the rest of India.