Paradise is alive

 

 

Kashmir, the land of green valleys, beautiful lakes, icy deserts, high mountain passes, rugged terrain, foothills, picturesque plains and of many golf courses is geared up to host more than one million domestic and foreign tourists in the coming months. The state tourism department has declared 2010 as ‘Visit Kashmir’ year. To pull more and more domestic visitors towards Kashmir, the department has been holding road shows and Kashmiri festivals in different cities of the country during the past few months.

“We are expecting more than one million non-pilgrim visitors to Kashmir this year.” Nawang Rigzin Jora, tourism and culture minister told TSI. “We are trying to re-establish the state back as the most favoured tourist spot on the global map by making world class facilities available to visitors.” he added.

The expectations of the Jammu and Kashmir government aren’t misplaced. Visitors across from the country have started to land in Srinagar, the summer capital of the state. The Shahs of Mumbai are in Kashmir on a tour for the last ten days. “Undoubtedly, this is heaven on earth. We plan to extend our stay over here so that we can see many more places,” Pankaj Shah, head of the nine-member family, said.

The family is staying in a houseboat in the world famous Dal Lake. On the shore of the lake, the guests happily posed for a photo session. Everyone in the family seemed thrilled. “We are planning to re-visit Gulmarg tonight,” they said.

Gulmarg, literally the "Meadow of Flowers", is a mountain resort 56 km from Srinagar. It is one of the state's most visited destinations. The legendary beauty of the place, prime location and proximity to Srinagar make it one of the Kashmir’s primary hill resorts. Gulmarg was discovered by a Kashmiri king Sultan Yusuf Shah in the 16th century. The king was inspired by the sight of its grassy slopes emblazoned with wild flowers. Today, Gulmarg is not just a hill resort of marvellous beauty but also the India’s premier ski resort in winter when it is wrapped in snow. The immense beauty and adventure activities make Gulmarg much more than a cool hill resort. The place possess Asia's highest and longest cable car project called Gulmarg Gondola. The two-stage ropeway has a capacity to carry more than 500 hundred people every hour back and forth from Kongdoori Mountain, a shoulder of nearby Afarwat Peak (13,780 ft) of the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalaya chain. “About six lakh tourists visited Gulmarg last year. This year we are expecting more, so we are trying to develop the infrastructure by giving licences to the locals to set up guest houses in the area,” Ilyas Nasir, chief executive officer, Gulmarg Development Authority, told TSI. Pahalgam is another beautiful place where tourists from across the country and foreigners prefer to spend much time during their Kashmir visit. Pahalgam was once a preferred location for Bollywood films. It is located at an altitude of 2130m above sea level amidst the great Himalayan range. A two-hour drive (95 km east of Srinagar) leads to this beautiful place which presents glamorous look due to its pine forests, snow clad mountains, healthy climate and vast meadows and pastures. The place is Kashmir's premier resort, cool even during the height of summer when the maximum temperature does not exceed 25 degree centigrade. The Liddar river is popular for trout fishing. Travellers interested in fishing have to obtain a licence from the Directorate of Fisheries in Srinagar which is being easily provided to them. Pahalgam is the starting point of a number of trekking and hiking trails to the surrounding mountains.

Trekking around Pahalgam is exhilarating, as it takes the traveller through virgin pine forests, clear mountain streams, and meadows of wildflowers. Pahalgam is also the entry point for the famous Amarnath Cave, a holy site for Hindus. Most of Amarnath pilgrims choose to return back from the Baltal route to see charming beauty of Sonamarg.

Sonamarg (meadow of gold), situated at an altitude of 2730 m has snowy mountains as its backdrop. The Sindh river that meanders through the valley abounds with trout and mahaseer. Ponies can be hired for the trip up to Thajiwas glacier, which is a major local attraction during the summer months. Sonamarg is the base of a major trek that passes along several mountain lakes –Vishansar, Kishansar, Gadsar, Satsar and Gangabal. Sonamarg is also the take off station for the drive to Ladakh across the Zojila, a major pass in the Great Himalayan Range, through which the Srinagar-Leh Road passes.

“A brief visit isn’t enough for this place. We would like to come again in June or July to spend at least a month here,” says Pankaj Shah. The same excitement was seen on the face of Noor Muhammad Jalha, a 70-year-old Dal Lake shikarawala. “It seems the tourist season is picking up,” said Noor, awaiting his turn to ferry visitors around the Dal Lake. Noor owns a beautiful shikara named “Jalha Palace”. It is a boat made of local cedarwood with a beautiful painted roof. It is a “water taxi” used for ferrying tourists to and from houseboats.

“It seems the days have gone when tourists were hesitant to visit Kashmir due to the violence. Now they seem fearless as the situation has improved. I am expecting good income in the coming months,” Noor, who takes up to Rs 400 from visitors (two or three people) for a two-hour shikara ride, told TSI.

Noor is among more than 2000 registered shikara owners who have witnessed the worst tourist seasons from 1989 to 2004, when militancy was at its peak in Kashmir. “Few tourists would visit Kashmir in those days and we used to sit idle,” he recalls. “Those were horrifying days as Kashmir’s tourism industry had all but collapsed,” echoed Manzoor Wangnoo, president of the Houseboat Owners Association. “Thank God those days are behind us now.”

Kashmir’s tourism department has taken up several schemes to promote adventure tourism destinations.

“The key objective for organising Kashmir Festival in different cities was to boost the summer tourism in Kashmir Valley,” Jora added.