Cable cars to now make their way to Pahalgam
Jammu and Kashmir Cable Car Corporation aims to propose to the government development of infrastructure for a ropeway in picturesque Pahalgam tourist resort in Anantnag, which is known for its breathtaking ice-fed streams, lakes, pine forests, mountain trails and glaciers
With the success of multi-phase gondola lift at popular skiing destination Gulmarg in north Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir Cable Car Corporation is now planning an aerial tramway at south Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which is also a base camp for the trek to Amarnath shrine.
The corporation aims to propose to the government development of infrastructure for a ropeway in picturesque Pahalgam tourist resort in Anantnag, which is known for its breathtaking ice-fed streams, lakes, pine forests, mountain trails and glaciers.
Last week, the corporation had surveyed at least four probable sites for the project, but appears to have chosen the route from Yatri Niwas, a property of the J&K Tourism Development Corporation, to Bai Saran, a meadow on a hilltop surrounded by pine forests and snow-clad mountains.
“We are trying to set up a gondola lift in Pahalgam on the pattern of Gulmarg. A survey has been conducted and most probably, the project will come along the Yatri Niwas-Bai Saran stretch,” said Ghulam Jeelani Zargar, managing director of the J&K Cable Car Corporation.
“The aerial length of the route is just below 2km,” said Zargar, who also is the chief executive officer of Gulmarg tourism development authority.
Pahalgam, also called ‘Valley of Shepherds’, is about 90km from Srinagar and is one of the picturesque tourist resorts of Kashmir valley in Anantnag district nestled amid lofty hills and evergreen forests. Pahalgam also houses a base camp for the Amarnath cave shrine located at a height of 12,775 feet.
The Bai Saran’s elevation is roughly the same as the first phase of Gulmarg gondola in north Kashmir’s Baramulla, which takes a person for about 2.5km to Kongdori at a height of 8,530 ft.
Gulmarg ropeway is popular among tourists, skiers, and winter sports enthusiasts and serves as a major attraction to the bowl-shaped meadow.
“Bai Saran is at the same height as the first phase of gondola at Gulmarg. The topography of the two places is also similar,” Zargar said.
Gulmarg’s cable cars, one of the Asia’s highest aerial tramways located in deep Himalayas near the Line of Control (LoC) in Baramulla district, has attracted tens of thousands of tourists and die-hard skiers so far and earned millions since its opening in 1998 for Jammu and Kashmir, a troubled region whose urban areas are dependent on tourism.
In May, 2005, the second phase of the project up to Apharwat mountain at a height of 13,500 ft was also thrown open, making it one of the highest and largest ropeways in Asia having a total aerial distance of 5km.
The year 2022 witnessed the highest-ever arrival of tourists in Kashmir’s history at 26.5 lakh of whom, 15.42 lakh made it to Gulmarg, majority of them taking a ride in the cable car.
Buoyed by the Gulmarg success, the cable car corporation did a survey last week in Pahalgam and has been preparing the report to be put forth in the board of directors’ meeting for the government approval.
“We will present it in our board of directors’ meeting, which is expected to take place soon,” Zargar said.
The corporation had submitted a preliminary report to the government earlier as well, but then the central government announced Parvatmala scheme last year, a national ropeways development programme aimed to improve connectivity in hilly areas.
“The government is intending to introduce ropeways as a means of urban transport. It is a very eco-friendly technology. We are trying to get the Pahalgam gondola approved under the Parvatmala project,” Zargar said.
The tourism stakeholders in Pahalgam are upbeat over the plans.
“It will be a great addition to Pahalgam tourism. This is the latest trend and people are demanding a gondola lift here,” said assistant director, tourism, Bilal Ahmad.
In 2022, Pahalgam had recorded a tourist footfall of about 7.89 lakh, of whom 2.6 lakh were local visitors of J&K.
“Gulmarg gondola is often overcrowded. Such type of car lift in Pahalgam will decrease the pressure there. In fact, Pahalgam deserves gondola as it is vast and much more diverse in terms of tourist spots,” Ahmad said.
