Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir

Panoramic view of Dal Lake, Srinagar city and Kashmir valley
Char Chinar at Dal Lake, Kashmir
Houseboat- Dal Lake, srinagar Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. In the seventeenth century, the Mughal emperor Jahangir said that if paradise is anywhere on the earth, it is here (the Kashmir Valley), while living in a houseboat on Dal Lake. "Gar firdaus, ruhe zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin ast", which translates to "if there is ever a heaven on earth, its here, its here, its here". In Jammu and Kashmir the most important tourist places are the Kashmir Valley, Srinagar, the Mughal Gardens, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Jammu, and Ladakh. Some areas require a special permit for non-Indians to visit.

Regions

The Vaishno Devi shrine attracts millions of Hindu devotees every year, located in Jammu region.
Shikaras on Dal Lake in Kashmir region.
The 9 Stupas at Thiksey Monastery, Ladakh is famous for its Indo-Tibetan culture.

Cities

Overview

Before militancy intensified in 1989, tourism formed an important part of the Kashmiri economy. The tourism economy in the Kashmir valley was worst hit. However, the holy shrines of Jammu and the Buddhist monasteries of Ladakh continue to remain popular pilgrimage and tourism destinations. Every year, thousands of Hindu pilgrims visit holy shrines of Vaishno Devi and Amarnath which has had significant impact on the state's economy.[2] The Vaishno Devi yatra alone contributes ₹ 475 crore to the local economy annually.[3]

Tourism in the Kashmir valley has rebounded in recent years and in 2009, the state became one of the top tourist destinations of India.[4] Gulmarg, one of the most popular ski resort destinations in India, is also home to the world's highest green golf course.[5] The decrease in violence in the state has boosted the states economy specifically tourism.[6] It was reported that 7.36 lakh tourists visited Kashmir in 2010 including 23,000 foreigners. In 2011, the number of tourist arrivals in Kashmir touched the mark of 10 lakh.[7][8]

Language

The state's official language is Urdu. However, the main languages spoken are Kashmiri in the Kashmir Valley, Ladakhi in Ladakh and Dogri in Jammu. Most people can speak Hindi as a second language.

As elsewhere in India, English is fairly widely spoken among the educated classes and those involved in the tourist industry.

Entry

By plane

Srinagar International Airport

Flights operate to Jammu, Srinagar and Leh. Air India , Jet Airways , GoAir India , Indigo Airlines and SpiceJet are some of the flights operating in the state.

By train

See also: Kashmir Railway
Banihal Railway station.

The last stop on the railway line north is Udhampur, where you can catch onward buses and hire SUVs/MUVs (Tata Sumo / Toyota Innova/ Mahindra Scorpio). However it is better to get down in Jammu and catch a taxi from there as these are more readily available.

The Kashmir Railway is a railway line being built in India to connect the state of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country. The Project officially coded USBRL (Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Railway Link) starts from the city of Udhampur, 55 kilometres (34 mi) north of Jammu, and travels for 290 kilometres (180 mi) to the city of Baramulla on the northwestern edge of the Kashmir Valley. The route crosses major earthquake zones, and is subjected to extreme temperatures of cold and heat, as well as inhospitable terrain, making it an extremely challenging engineering project.

By bus

There are two ways to get in by land - via Jammu and up to Srinagar or via Manali in Himachal Pradesh and up to Leh.

Khardungla 18380ft.

Transportation within

Sanji Chhat helipad vaishno devi

Tourist places

Gulmarg

Gulmarg is well known for its amazing natural beauty and it is counted as one of unique tourist destinations in the world. Gulmarg is surrounded by dense forest. This place is famous for its golf hikes and beautiful highland golf course. The natural beauty accompanied with clean fresh air and a beautiful environment highlights Gulmarg as a major tourist destination.

Vaishno Devi

The town of Katra, which is close to Jammu, contains the Vaishno Devi shrine. Nestling on top of the Trikuta Hills at a height of 1700 m is the sacred cave shrine of Vaishno Devi, the mother goddess. At a distance of 48 km from Jammu, the cave is 30 metres long and just 1.5 metres high. At the end of the cave are shrines dedicated to the three forms of the mother goddess — Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasarasvati, which is manifested as Vaishno Devi. Pilgrims start trekking to the cave temple, which is 13 km from Katra, enter in small groups through a narrow opening and walk through ice-cold waters to reach the shrines.

Sonmarg

Sonmarg Valley

The way to reach Sonmarg or the Meadow of the gold is from the Sindh Valley. This valley also shows more amazing facet in Kashmir. Sonmarg is located at an altitude of around 2730 meters from the sea level; it has snow-covered mountains as its backdrop against the sky.

Raghunath Temple

Raghunath Temple is dedicated to the Hindu Lord Shri Rama. All the inner walls of this temple are covered with gold, on three sides. Galleries of this temples are covered with ‘ Saligrams’. The other surrounding temples are related to other gods from the Ramayana. This temple is located in the centre or we can say in the heart of Jammu.

Bahu Fort

Bahu Fort

Bahu fort was modified and improved by Dogra Rulers of Jammu but first it was built by the Raja Bahulochan. This fort is located at a distance of around 5 km from the main city and perhaps is the oldest edifice in the Jammu. This fort is facing the Tawi River. There is a temple of goddess kali in the fort.

Mubarak Mandi Palace

Mubarak Palace was built with the touch of three different styles, Rajasthani, Mughal and Gothic. Most famous part of this Palace is the Sheesh Mahal segment. There is a Dogra Art Museum, which is a treasure house of miniature paintings from various hill schools.

Peer Baba

This is one of the holy places for Muslim saints. Here, people from all the religions comes in large number to pray, on Thursday.

Chadar Trek

Zanskar is located at a very high altitude in Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of the best trekking destinations around the world. In Winter, Zanskar river freezes up, and gets converted into an amazing adventures trek called Chadar-The Frozen River Trek.

Khilanmarg is another beautiful scenic beauty and a favourite tourist destination . the famous Liddar Valley is prominent feature .

The traditional name for the Zanskar Trek is Chadar Trek as the river becomes a snow sheet during winters due to heavy snowfall. It boasts of some of the lowest temperatures making it a challenging trek for the adventurers. The most isolated and inaccessible for nearly eight months in a year due to heavy snowfall resulting in closure of all the access passes; Zanskar has the distinction of being the least interfered with microcosms of Ladakh, and thus one of the last few surviving cultural satellites of Tibet. This geographical isolation together with the esoteric nature of Buddhism practiced here has enabled its ten thousand inhabitants to preserve and perpetuate their cultural identity.

Other lesser known Tourist Destinations are Achabal, Kokernag, Verinag and Gurez.

In Kashmir Valley

Skiing is popular in Gulmarg, showing cable car in a snow clad mountain.
Shikara In A Row

In Jammu

Patnitop: a view towards the mountains
Paragliding in Sanasar

A temple for a snake god, Sheshnag, is located on the banks of lake. It is believed that it is auspicious for newly wed couples to seek blessings of Sheshnag by performing three parikarma around the lake. Holy dip in the Mansar Lake is assumed to be purifying the sins.

A temple of Durga and two other ancient temples Narasimha and Parvathi Shiva (Umapati Mahadev) are located in the close proximity of the Mansar Lake. Mansar Lake is an ideal spot for boating, amidst the lusting greeneries of Jammu. There is a wildlife sanctuary nearby.

In Ladakh

Tso Moriri in Ladakh
Main article: Tourism in Ladakh

See also

Outline of Tourism in India

References

  1. ↑ "Vaishno Devi pilgrimage close to 5 million". dailyexcelsior.com.
  2. ↑ "Amarnath Board to study yatra impact on Kashmir economy". Online edition of The Hindu. Chennai, India. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
  3. ↑ CJ: Rattan Sharma (27 Aug 2007). "Vaishno Devi yatra injects Rs 475 cr to Katra economy annually". merinews.com.
  4. ↑ "Foreign tourists flock Kashmir". Online edition of The Hindu. Chennai, India. 18 March 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  5. ↑ Cris Prystay (26 October 2007). "Fairway to Heaven". WSJ.
  6. ↑ "Tourists arrival gives boost to J-K economy". Sify.
  7. ↑ NDTV News report. youtube.com.
  8. ↑ NDTV Correspondent (29 May 2011). "Welcome to Jammu and Kashmir's new tourist hot-spot". NDTV.com.
  9. ↑ Kamlesh Moza. "Prominent Holy Places in Kashmir".

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