In a recent column it had been pointed out that the maximum thrust of our tourism development had remained focused on the golden triangle of Srinagar, Gulmarg, and Pahalgam. Most of our world class potential in tourism has remained unexploited. If any of the other potential areas have been taken up for development off and on, it has been done in an ad hoc manner. Simply highlighting a potential tourist area without providing proper connectivity and infrastructure not only smacks of politicisation of tourism but can result in a damaging backlash. In a number of instances tourist bungalows and huts have been constructed in remote and far off places without any access for the tourists. In some cases certain areas have been hyped in media without providing any infrastructure. The most sensible approach is to first identify potential areas which can qualify to be developed as tourist resorts in a highly competitive market. Second step is to ensure the connectivity of these areas for tapping inflows from the available markets. Most ideal proposition would have been to develop the “Tourist Rim Corridor” giving access to all potential tourist areas and ensuring inter-connectivity of different resorts. During the process of development of this basic requirement of connectivity, detailed master plans on a perspective basis need to be developed for all these future tourist areas. The most viable areas which can be developed as future destinations are Gurez, Bangus, and Wadwan Valley of Kishtwar. Each area has a “Unique Selling Proposition” or what is referred to in tourism parlance as USP. Let us take Gurez first. It is the beautiful valley of Kishenganga River inhabited by Darads. Historically this area has played a very important role in Kashmir’s history. The last sovereign king of Kashmir, Yusuf Shah Chak came from this area. The valleys of Gurez and Tilel were the gateway to Central Asia for Kashmir and formed part of the famous Silk Route. These places have a better connectivity with Gilgit and Drass than with Kashmir. The road beyond the Razdani pass (11,672 feet) which leads into Gurez is quite rough. There is no doubt that Gurez and Tilel area are going to be very important tourism destinations of future in the Kashmir region. However, we have to first improve the road. Additionally there is urgent need to build up the infrastructure. Bagtor, Kanzalwan, and Dawar are something out of this world. Totally unspoilt landscape in the wild form as nature created it. The valley has an average altitude of about 8,000 feet above sea level. The entire area is suitable for both leisure as well as adventure tourism. The famous Habba Khatoon Peak is a beautiful climb and dominates the whole valley. The first view of Nanga Parbat from the top of Razdani pass is quite bewitching. On a clear day one can see the plume atop the mountain. A cloud of flying snow dust which always sticks to the summit. This famous peak is hardly few kilometres from this place as the crow flies. One can build a wonderful Golf Course in the Bagtor meadow. In Dawar there is possibility of developing Eco-tourism by constructing Chalets in the local tradition. The State Tourism Department is organising Gurez Festival in the second week of July. It is a good attempt to project the area but mere holding of Festivals will not bring it on the tourist map. As already pointed out, the first and foremost requirement is to improve the accessibility. There is now a complete circuit available through Gurez and Tilel. A connection has already been established by Border Roads Organisation between Tilel and Drass through Mushko Valley. If the road from Bandipore to Drass is developed by upgrading the entire stretch to a dual carriage highway, it will open up a completely new tourism circuit. Lush green meadows surrounded by pine forests, lovely streams full of trout fish, and above all the majestic mountains with immense possibilities of adventure tourism. In the first instance, we could promote adventure tourism by establishing modern tented colonies as well as local paying guest houses on the pattern of home stays of Ladakh. For easy access one could explore the possibility of starting a helicopter service. In earlier times, the State tourism Department used to operate Pawan Hans helicopter between Dawar and Srinagar during winter when the entire area gets cut off due to heavy snow. There will be many private takers for operating such a service. There is a tremendous response to Amarnath Cave Helicopter Service. Why not a similar service for Gurez? It will immensely benefit the local population which gets totally cut off in winter and will also throw it open for tourism immediately. This will also avoid frequent road side checks which travellers have to normally undergo because of the area being quite close to Line of Control.

The second important tourist area which can be developed to international standards is the Bangus meadow. This is one of the most beautiful meadows in the whole state. Bangus is a couple of Gulmargs put side by side. It is a huge meadow surrounded on all sides by pine forests with a stream flowing through it. World’s finest Golf Courses can be built here. It could one day become the venue of most prestigious Golf tournaments in the world. However, the only handicap is its being bang next to LOC. With the improvement in situation and the “Cross Border Terrorism” being replaced by “Cross Border Tourism”, this area could become a very important tourist destination. Again the first requirement is connectivity. It is at present approachable through Kupwara via Reshwari. Connected with Bangus is the Lolab Valley. An excellent area for Bi-cycle touring. It was very popular with British tourists before the eruption of turmoil in the valley. They used to go in groups on their mountain bikes and would camp in different villages through out the Lolab Valley. This area is also famous for caves of Kala Roos where there are some Stone Age wall paintings. There is a legend that some of the caves go right up to Russia! It may take some time to revive the tourism in this area but right now it is the ideal opportunity to get a detailed tourism plan for its development prepared by some professional consultants. At the same time the connectivity of Bangus has to be improved to ensure a comfortable journey for potential tourists. Here also one can explore the possibility of starting a helicopter service. In late eighties some Austrian consultants had surveyed the area and had prepared preliminary plans for its development. However, it is not known as to what happened to those plans?

The third destination of the future is the Wadwan valley of Kishtwar. This valley runs parallel to the Lidder valley beyond a range of high mountains. From Kishtwar side it takes a number of days to reach it though Marwa. However, from Kashmir valley, the shortest route is through Margan pass. One can reach the valley even in a days trek from the road head. The road from Kokarnag bifurcates short of village Larnu, named after Sir Walter Lawrence. One branch goes to Daksum and thence crosses the Simthan pass. The other branch goes to Matihund, Lehinwan, and thence climbs to Margan pass. It is not yet through to other side and one has to go on horse back or trekking to reach Inshan, the first village in the valley. Near the Margan top there are three very beautiful mountain lakes. The valley is about 25 kilometres long and on average 3 to 4 kilometres wide. River Wadwan runs through the entire length of the valley which averages in altitude to about 8,000 to 8,500 feet above sea level. The River has a number of islands in the middle with clusters of pine trees. It is dotted with small hamlets all along. From Inshan to Sukhnis going upstream along Wadwan River the valley is quite wide but from Sukhnis to Rangmarg below the Golul pass it narrows down into a gorge. In Rangamarg the track bifurcates, one part leads over Golul pass to Sheshnag while as the other track goes across Botkolanganj pass to Panikhar in Suru valley of Kargil. This was a very famous trekking route for foreign tourists before the onset of problems. Gujar nomads take this route with their herds of sheep and cattle in summer to reach Suru and Zanskar valleys. From Inshan downstream the route follows the River to Kishtwar. The unique quality of Wadwan valley is that it is still unspoilt and has not seen hordes of tourists. Only a few adventure loving trekkers have been going there. The inhabitants are the purest form of ancient Kashmiris who migrated here in earlier times. They speak pure Kashmiri unlike our Indianised and Westernised modern dialect. It is a remote place with very poor people but exceptionally enchanting and fascinating. There are extensive possibilities for tourism development in the entire region. However, being a virgin place, one has to be careful. It would be advisable to prepare a plan for its phased development over a period of time. It is a wonderful lay back area for future tourism in Kashmir even though it forms part of Kishtwar. The close proximity to the valley makes it a natural extension of the Kashmir Tourism Circuit.

All the three areas constitute the future destinations of tourism in Kashmir. At the present moment the State Tourism Department is going all out for development of different tourist areas. It would be useful if the tourism planners keep these areas in mind and start their proper development. Highlighting these areas is a welcome step as it demonstrates to both the potential tourists as well as to the people at the helm that Kashmir is not only Gulmarg, Pahalgam, and Srinagar but much more than that. Having done that successfully, one has to get down to the serious business of proper and planned tourism development to make Kashmir a world class “Tourism Destination of the Future”! Let us hope it will be done?