Trekkers’ paradise Aru Valley attracts tourists

From the past two years, locals say a large number of tourists are visiting Aru, promoting authorities to lay fresh macdam on the uphill road right from Pahalgam

There is a beeline of local and foreign tourists enjoying the beauty of Aru Valley surrounded by majestic mountains and a gushing rivulet passing on the side. The Valley is around 12 kilometers from Pahalgam and a stopover to the famous Kolahoi glacier.

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The resort, known for breath-taking ice-fed streams, lakes, pine forests, mountain trails and glaciers, is a trekkers’ paradise, with mostly foreign trekkers exploring the destination. And for nature lovers, on the outskirts of Aru, there is a tented accommodation for tourists.

While foreign tourists love to go for horse rides or trekking, tourists from different parts of the country enjoy in taking a stroll on the lush green meadow. Over the past two years, locals say a large number of tourists are visiting Aru, encouraging authorities to lay fresh macdam on the uphill road right from Pahalgam.

“It’s a very beautiful place. I would like to spend a full day here,” said Fedrik, a tourist from the United States, adding, “The only thing I can say is Kashmir is beautiful.”

Another foreigner, Mouin ul Haq, who works as a freelance journalist in Bangladesh, was capturing beauty on his DSLR camera while his wife Menu and daughter were busy taking selfies. He said has been to several South Asian countries along with his family but Kashmir’s beauty is all along different.

“We came from Kolkotta to Kashmir and stayed here a couple of nights in Pahalgam, and then moved to Srinagar and other tourist places. Our trip has been wonderful. Hope I will come again to this place,” said Haq.

A newly married young couple from Karnataka said they liked Pahalgam and its surrounding villages. “We have extended our stay here for one more night and would love to come to this place again.”

Despite the Amarnath yatra, when heightened security was placed around the resort, more than three lakh tourists visited the resort and its adjoining localities. “In July and August, around 3,22, 594 tourists visited Pahalgam. Now more tourists will come as yatra has ended and many people have made advance bookings in hotels, cottages, and huts,” a senior tourism officer said.

Though the yatra has ended, the rush in the market that houses dozens of shops of Kashmiri art has started picking up and traders are hoping that tourists will flock to the resort so they too can make some earnings. “For us, the last two months were a lean business period. The yatris never stopped in the market and due to the extra security, less number of tourists came to this place. We hope now rush will go up,” said Raja Waseem, who owns a big shop of Kashmir handicrafts in the main market.

Another trader Ghulam Jeelani who lives in neighbouring Batkote village and owns a dry fruit shop in the market said hotel owners have confirmed good bookings after the yatra. “We hope tourists turn in good numbers so we too can make profits. Earlier this place used to be full of foreigners, now very less foreign tourists visit the resort,” he said.

Irshad Ahmad, manager of a prominent hotel in Pahalgam, said now tourists from southern parts of the country and non-resident Indians (NRIs) also visit in good numbers, which is encouraging. “From the past three years, there has been a spike in tourists’ arrival but still it will take time to declare Pahalgam a destination visited by the maximum number of tourists.”

He said the government should try to look for options when more tourists will prefer to visit Pahalgam during winter. “Efforts and facilities should be created to make Pahalgam a winter tourist destination.” He said the shooting crews have started returning to Pahalgam.

Another hotelier said Phalgam’s infrastructure is still far behind with top destinations of the world. “If tourists prefer to visit Pahalgam, they should get world-class infrastructure. Unfortunately, we still lag behind.”

With the success of the multi-phase Gondola cable car lift at the ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, the cable car corporation is also planning a Gondola feature at Pahalgam.

The corporation aims to propose to the government the construction of the cable car in the picturesque Pahalgam tourist resort in Anantnag known for some breath-taking ice-fed streams, lakes, pine forests, mountain trails and glaciers. The corporation surveyed some four probable areas but appears to have selected the route from Yatri Niwas, a property of J&K Tourism Development Corporation, to Bai-Saran, a meadow on a hilltop surrounded by pine forests and snow-clad mountains.

In 2022, Pahalgam recorded a tourist footfall of about 7.89 lakhs of which 2.60 lakhs were local visitors of J&K. Officials said this year the number will cross the one million mark. The government figures claim that 1.27 crore tourists, including foreigners, have visited J&K till August and the Valley has seen a 59% increase in foreign tourists.