KASHMIR TOURISM

Kashmir division is the most frequented of the three divisions of Jammu Kashmir. It is a beautiful valley and undoubtedly the most beautiful part of the state. Kashmir tourism forms the very soul of the Indian tourism industry. It is one of the most favoured tourist destinations in the world. The land is blessed with some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. As you step on to this blessed land, it feels as if you have stepped into the best part of the heaven. Tourism in valley is the main reason for people thronging this heavenly place.

People since ages have been travelling to Kashmir and getting fascinated by its magical beauty. The lavish natural beauty of the place has won high praise from the travellers. The climate and landscape of Valley has made it a perfect tourist resort. It has drawn parallels with the most beautiful of the world and has been referred to as the “Paradise on Earth”, “Switzerland of the East” and “Venice of the East”. A lot has been written about this heavenly place, still it seems like nothing has been written yet. It is a wonder that celebrated writer Thomas Moore wrote his book on region on accounts of other travellers and never visited the land. His book forms a perfect picture of Dale and it tempted many people to visit Valley. No one was disappointed.

Tourism in Kashmir is ages old. People have been thronging this place for a long time now. The local people have been and still are very cooperative. A large section of people depend on tourist and derive their livelihoods from it. People along with many travel agencies give the tourists here a perfect touring experience.Area boasts of unique hospitable culture.

The progress in the world tourism has seen a rapid growth in the number of tourists in Kashmir and thus the local government and the local population has been taking steps to make it one of the most favoured tourist destinations in the world. Its natural beauty is enough to lure people to visit this place. However local people, government and many travel operators are trying their best to make the guest extremely comfortable and happy. Many tourist places in Vale have all the basic facilities of food, stay and shops.

Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg are the top tourist destinations in Kashmir. The places are absolutely beautiful. Srinagar is the summer capital of the state and is a comparatively a plain area. The most famous Mughal Gardens in Kashmir, Nishat Garden, and Shalimar Garden are in Srinagar. Dal Lake, Shikaras and houseboats form the soul of Srinagar and Kashmir. Besides this Asia’s largest Tulip garden, PariMahal, ChashmaShahi, Nehru Park,Harwan Garden, Hazratbal Shrine, Nagin Lake, Shankaracharaya Temple, Jama Mosque, Handicraft and paper machie centres are the other main attractions of Srinagar. Gulmarg has been ranked as one among the top five ski resorts in the world. It is lush green meadow which gets covered with soft white powder from heavens during winters. One of the world’s highest and longest cable car – Gondola, world’s highest 12-hole golf course, pony ride, mild trekking routes, Khilanmarg, Apharwat, Alpathar Lake are some of the major attractions apart from skiing. Besides these places there are a lot of places to be visited like Doodhpathri, Yusmarg, Drang, Nilnag, Achabal, Kokarnag, Aishmuqam, Vering, Tosamaidan, Manasbal Lake, Bangus Valley, Daksum and many more. The places form the soul of the Kashmir tourism.