Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India locked in Himalayan Mountains. Jammu and Kashmir is home to several Valleys such as the Kashmir Valley, Tawi Valley, Chenab Valley, Punch Valley, Sindh Valley and Lidder Valley. Some major tourist attractions in Jammu and Kashmir are Srinagar, the Mughal Gardens, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Patnitop, Jammu, and Ladakh. Some areas require a special permit for non-Indians to visit.
Regions[edit]
The Vaishno Devi shrine attracts millions of Hindu devotees every year, located in Jammu region.
Jammu — Jammu is the winter capital of state and it is famous for its temples, particularly The Vaishno Devi Temple in Katra which is visited by over 1 crore (10 million) pilgrims every year,[1] making Jammu the most visited part of Jammu and Kashmir State.
Shikaras on Dal Lake in Kashmir region.
Kashmir Valley — is famous for it's, beautiful gardens, vast lakes, and pristine streams and landscapes. Kashmir Valley consists of many ancient temples and shrines which makes it an important site for Hindus and Buddhists.
The 9 Stupas at Thiksey Monastery, Ladakh is famous for its Indo-Tibetan culture.
Ladakh — consists rivers like Indus river. The peaks in the Ladakh Range are at a medium altitude close to the Zoji-la (5,000–5,500 m or 16,000–18,050 ft) and increase toward the southeast, culminating in the twin summits of Nun-Kun (7000 m or 23,000 ft).
Tourist Attractions[edit]
Jammu — the winter capital
Srinagar — the summer capital of the state, set around famous Dal Lake, with its floating houseboats
Gulmarg — Skiing and the India' highest gondola
Katra— in the foothills of the Trikuta Mountains and home of the holy Mata Vaishno Devi shrine
Leh — the jumping off point for treks and adventures around Ladakh
Pahalgam — a calm and serene place offering multiple trekking routes. Starting point of Amarnath Yatra
Patnitop — a small hill station in Jammu
Udhampur covered with snowy mountains is tourist attraction for many
Overview[edit]
Before militancy intensified in 1989, tourism formed an important part of the Kashmiri economy and Kashmir was the favorite destination for Bollywood. Kashmir had 19 cinema halls which were closed due to rising Islamic Terrorism.[2][3]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.[4]
Tourism in the Kashmir valley has rebounded in recent years and in 2009, the state became one of the top tourist destinations of India.[5] Gulmarg, one of the most popular ski resort destinations in India, is also home to the world's highest green golf course.[6] The decrease in violence in the state has boosted the states economy specifically tourism.[7] 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.[8][9]
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.
Transportation[edit]
By plane[edit]
Srinagar International Airport
Flights operate to Jammu, Leh and Srinagar. Air India, Jet Airways, Air Asia, GoAir, Indigo Airlines and SpiceJet are some of the flights operating in the state.
By train[edit]
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 Jammu–Baramulla line 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[edit]
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[edit]
Sanji Chhat helipad vaishno devi
Buses are operated by J&K SRTC to most points around the state. They offer package tour to Gulmarg, Shonmarg, Yusmarg, Wular lake, City tour, etc. There is Tourist information center, where one get the tickets plus info.
4 wheel drive jeeps are quicker, a little more expensive and reach more locations. Private hire jeeps are also available.
Tourist places[edit]
Gulmarg[edit]
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[edit]
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. [10]
Sonmarg[edit]
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[edit]
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.
Mubarak Mandi Palace[edit]
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.
Chadar Trek[edit]
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[edit]
Skiing is popular in Gulmarg, showing cable car in a snow clad mountain.
Shikara In A Row
Vernag Spring and Mughal Garden- A fresh water spring and a Mughal garden next to it, spring is chief source of Jhelum River.
Amarnath temple - pilgrimage site for Hindu devotees of Shiva.
Srinagar - Summer Capital of Jammu and Kashmir, a popular hill station
Dal lake - famous lake in Srinagar, with house boats called shikharas.
Manasbal Lake
Shalimar Gardens—Mughal Garden
Nishant Gardens-Mughal Garden
Chashme Shahi- Mughal Garden
Badamwari Garden
Pari Mahal- old monument of Pari Mahal, one can have full view of Dal Lake.
Shankaracharya Temple- Ancient Temple of Lord Shiva
Hari Parbat- Ancient Temple of Goddess Sharika Bhagwati and an old fort on this hill.
Kheer Bhawani Temple
Martand Sun Temple - a Kashmiri Hindu temple dedicated to Surya (the chief solar deity in Hinduism) and built during the 8th century CE. Martand is another Sanskrit name for the Hindu Sun-god. Now in ruins, the temple is located five miles from Anantnag.
Gulmarg - Popular hill station and skiing destination.
Pahalgam - Hill station
Betaab Valley- A lush green valley 06 km from Pahalgam where the movie Betaab was shot.
Sonmarg - Hill station
Yusmarg - Hill station
Aru - scenic valley
Eco-tourism places:Gurez, Dudhpathri, Bangus valley.
In Jammu[edit]
Paragliding in Sanasar
The Vaishno Devi shrine
Vaishno Devi - famous Hindu shrine.
Patnitop - Hill station
Bhaderwah - Hill station
Poonch
Sanasar
Eco-tourism places: Mantalai and Shivkhori
Punj old fort
Shahdra Sharif shrine
Bhimgarh Fort
Ramnagar Fort in Udhampur District
Mansar Lake -Mansar lake, with its length more than a mile and width half-a-mile, is a very attractive lake in the midst of lusting greeneries surrounded by forest-covered hills. It is considered as a very holy site known from mythological periods sharing the sanctity and legacy of Mansa Sarovar. It is a very popular base of tourists.
A temple for a snake god, Sheshnag, is located on the banks of the lake. It is believed that it is auspicious for newlywed couples to seek blessings of Sheshnag by performing three parikramas around the lake. The 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[edit]