Unexplored Tourist Destinations of Pir Panjal Range

 

Mohammed Tahir Raoof Malik¹, Dr. Dil Pazir², Nafisa Mushtaq³

¹PhD Research Scholar, Department of Economics, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, (J&K) India-185234.

²Head Department of Economics, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, (J&K) India-185234.

³Department of Economics, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, (J&K) India-185234.

 

ABSTRACT:

Tourism around the globe is considered as a major tool of economic growth and development. Jammu And Kashmir State has a special status among the important tourist destinations of the world. Famous Pir Panjal range (Part of Lesser Himalyas) is known for its beautiful fresh water Lakes (called Sar) and huge green Meadows (called Margs). The range spreads over 900 Sq Kms area carrying 27 big and small Lakes and 12 Meadows, all above the height of 12000 ft from the sea level. In this paper the author has made an attempt to explore the unexplored tourist destinations of Pir Panjal Range by conducting a primary survey of the area. More strange and amazing are the findings that despite of having touching beauty, the area observes very small number of visitors and the number are continuously declining during the recent years. This decline is due to Urbanization, Government jobs etc. particularly among Nomads, who used to stay for 3-4 months in the area (Called Dhoks) along with their cattle every year. Findings indicate that the lack of basic facilities and non-availability of modern technology act as the main hindrance for growth of tourism in the area. Therefore the facilities like Road connectivity, Power supply, Mobile and Internet connectivity etc. can promote tourism and hence the Economic Growth and development of whole Pir Panjal Range. Famous Peer Ki Gali (Highest motor able pass on Mughal Road) is an exception, where thousands of travelers and tourists visit daily and the number is continuously on a hike. The study relies on the primary data and tabulation is done in most of the cases for better understanding and clear representation of data.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

Tourism around the globe is a major tool of Economic Growth and Development. This is a booming industry in countries like, India, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, Srilanka, etc. (Udupa and Kotreshwar 2010). Tourism provides opportunity for economic growth, employment generation and poverty alleviation. Tourism holds the key for creation of rural wealth, opportunity for the hitherto neglected segments of society, artisans and service providers in the backward areas (Dulababu T 2010).

 

India is ranked 68th among the world’s 139 most attractive destinations and scores very high on natural resources (ranked 8th) and cultural resources (24th), with 30 world heritage sites and strong creative industries in the country (Jayswal and Jaiswal 2015). Tourism can be of various kinds-adventure tourism, pilgrimage tourism, wellness tourism, medical/health tourism, wildlife tourism, eco-tourism, and culture tourism (World Tourism Organization, 2016). 

 

As for as the Jammu and Kashmir state is concerned tourism is one of the fastest growing and most reliable sector, as it contributes almost 9% to the state grass domestic product (SGDP) and generates 8.7% of total employment (A.M. Hilal 2014). Famous Pirpanjal, a part of lesser Himalyas is situated principally in the Southeast of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Pir Panjal is the largest range of the lower/lesser Himalayas. It extends for more than 200 miles (320 kms) from the Nilam (Kishanganga) River in western occupied Kashmir area, through southwestern Jammu and Kashmir State to the Beas River in Northwest Himachal Pradesh state, India. At an average elevation of more than 13000 feet (4000 meters), it separates Jammu Hills to the south from the vale of Kashmir beyond which lie Great Himalayas.

 

Jammu and Kashmir is known for its scenic landscape, beautiful valleys, lakes, snowcapped mountains, cool climate, skiing, trekking and fishing opportunities, and archaeological, historical, cultural and religious places all over the world (Ahanger 2018). The region is totally ignored and neglected both by J&K tourism department and District development authorities of Rajouri and Poonch. Despite of many efforts made by the Tourists, Nomads and locals, the region so far does not have any special identity on J&K tourism map.  The than minister of CAPD of J&K state, Jb Zulafqar Ali Ch. Announced a mega project of Rs5.98 crore earmarked for Darhal tourism project for 8km long Budhkhanari Shakar Marag trekking track aiming to connect Tehsil Darhal with the beautiful Shakar Marg to expose its natural beauty to the world, for which the work is in its initial stage. While inaugurating The Minister said “The area has a great potential for tourism owing to high pasture lands, lush green fields and seven lakes located towards the higher reaches of Pirpanjal”.

 

During the year 2017 a group of mountaineers along with some locals were sent by the J&K tourism Department under the direct control and supervision of Rajouri development authority as 3 days trekking expedition to Shakar Marg and 7 lakes of Pirpanjal range, as an effort to bring the region to the map of tourism. With similar efforts the Indian Army is making lot of attempts for last couple of decades by Inspiring, motivating and sending volunteers and local youth in order to bring the region in the limelight. Recently a group of experts including Forest Officers, Doctors, Professors and Intellectuals under the guidance and supervision of Dr. Ashiq Raza (Prof. Botany, GDC women Ghandhi Nagar Jammu and Director Eritrae Institute of technology Asmara) visited the upper reaches of Tehsil Darhal. Dr. Ashiq Raza during his visit to the region said, “It (Pirpanjal) has a huge potential for tourism as compare to other sites and it is the Paradise unexplored”.

 

In this paper the Author has made an attempt to identify and locate each and every unexplored tourist destination of Pir Panjal Range and analyze each of them in a broader sense in order to highlight them at grater platform. Further author has tried to touch each and every nook and corner of the famous range to explore and gather as much information as possible by maintaining the records. The records maintained by the author are name of each small and big lake, names of meadows, area adjoining to the meadows, distance of lakes from each other and from a particular benchmark for a clear cut understanding of readers and future researchers. Shape, size, location of lakes and topography and Vegetation of Meadows are also recorded along with an ample of photographs of the area.

 

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

As per the brief literature available with the J&K tourism department website along with the sites of District Development authorities of Rajouri and Poonch and the information gathered by personal interviews with the local residents and frequent travelers of Pir Panjal area with the help of a small questionnaire and interviews, it is found that the Pir Panjal region is spread on an area of approx. 900 sq kms which contains about 27 big and small lakes locally known as “Sar” and many Meadows known as “Margs”.

 

OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of the study are:

·       To highlight the unexplored tourist destinations of Pir Panjal Range.

·       To identify the location of Lakes and Meadows of Pir Panjal Range.

·       To analyze the economic value of tourist spots of Pir Panjal Range.

·       To provide feasible suggestions for highlighting the tourist potential of the area.

 

METHODOLOGY:

As the title indicates, the purpose of the study is to explore the unexplored tourist destinations of Pir Panjal range. To carry out the study, the author relies on the primary data. For the collection of primary data, the author has divided the whole study area into three parts. First the Area adjoining to Rajouri, Second area adjoining to Poonch and third area adjoining to Budhal. Author personally visited the area adjoining to district Rajouri in order to conduct the direct personal interviews from the locals. By travelling on foot the author hired a local guide to find out the exact location of lakes and meadows. During the whole journey the author maintained a good gallery of photographs of every beautiful spots and stunning beauty for records. The personal direct interviews are conducted from the local nomads and temporary residents for compilation of first hand authentic data. The data of range adjoining to Poonch and Budhal is collected by telephonic interviews from the local residents and also from frequent travelers of this region. Information in written form is also obtained from the local professors of Poonch, regarding the name and location of the tourist spots. The information about the tourists of Peer ki Gali and of Mughal road is gathered from internet and from the sites of district development authorities of Rajouri and Poonch. The published newspaper articles are also used for the sake of data. Further simple statistical tools like tabulation etc. are used to make the information clear, brief and easily understandable.

 

LAKES OF PIR PANJAL RANGE:

Tourism industry has a great contribution in the development of the economy (Sinha S 2017). Lakes of Pirpanjal area are the backbone of tourism in this area. A continuous chain of Lakes starts from Nandan Sar in the West to the Simar Sar in the East near Budhal. All the tourist spots including these lakes are above the height of 13000 ft from the sea level. Starting from Nandan Sar Lake, which is almost at a distance of 8 -10 kms towards East from famous Peer ki Gali (The most famous and highest motor able pass of Pirpanjal region, connecting Rajouri and Poonch with Shopian). As the facilities like Electricity, Phone connectivity, Railways and Roads in the region are like a dream come true, therefore travelling on foot becomes mandatory to visit this area. From Pir ki Gali walking towards The East, it takes almost 6-8 hrs to reach a very beautiful Nandan Sar lake, which lies in the lap of Nature between the two lofty peaks called Northern and Southern peaks of Nandan Sar.  Nandan Sar is the largest, Voluminous and the most famous among the all other lakes of Pirpanjal range. This lake is almost 1 km long, oval with a tapering end having blue and fresh water and so far the most known to the travellers and visitors. Toward its north at a stride of 2 hrs comes the Katoria Sar, named after the bowl (Katori in local language). The Lake is very beautiful and remains laden with snow and icebergs till June-July every year. Nandan Sar and Katori Sar Lakes lie on either sides of a high mountain called Nandan Sar chot (peak). Another Chandan Sar (considerd Secred for Nomads), almost equal to the size of Nandan Sar lies just at half an hour stride from Nandan Sar. Towards East at a walking distance of 1 hour comes Kaldichni Sar, which is blackish in color, horror in looks, very deep and oval in shape. In the same row towards North-East at a walking distance of 1 hour comes the famous Sukh Sar, which is another beautiful medium sized lake located in this region.

 

Towards the South-East of Sukh Sar, at a stride of half an hour in the lap of nature comes another beautiful and very attractive lake called Neel Sar. As its name indicate, it has crystal clear blue, clean and fresh water. The next destination after Neel Sar towards the North-East by foot for 2 hrs comes the Handu Sar, which is round in shape and comparatively smaller in size. Finally in this series of seven famous lakes the next one is Gum Sar, which is also a scenic beauty. It is an oval shaped lake near to Nandan Sar. One can reach to Gum Sar by crossing the Nandan Pass towards the South of Nandan Sar. The nomads from Budhal, Bakori, Kalakote, Darhal and Thannamandi pass through these series of seven famous lakes to reach the Kashmir Valley during summer every year, in search of food and fodder for the cattle.

 

Another group of Lakes is Rawi wali Marg group of lakes located toward the West of Katoria Sar. This group consists of four famous lakes which are Kokar Sar, Neel Sar, Bhag Sar (in Rupri Marg) and Ding Sar, all above the altitude of 33000 ft, could be the one of best camping site for tourists. Other famous lakes of this 90 km long stretch are Jang wali Sar and Kagalna Sar lakes towards the North-West at 2 hrs long walk from the famous Shakar Marg. Another very famous lake called Smat Sar also known as Richh Bagla Sar, very much known for frequent visits of people and school children of Budhal and Bakori for excursions. It is just at a distance of 4-6 hrs stride towards the North of the Budhal town. It is almost 1 km long lake with fresh, clean and cold water. Other lakes mostly inaccessible, smaller in size and known to very few are Kala Sar(between Peer ki Gali and Nandan sar), Chammar Sar (near Chammar Marg), a triangular Akhil Darshani Sar (near Sukh Sar), lamp shaped Diya Sar, and Padyaran  Sar I & II (near Kalakote through Ropri pass).

 

Table 1.  Series of Seven famous Lakes of Pir Panjal Region.

S. No.	Name of the Lake (Sar)	Shape of the Lake	Direction from Pir ki Gali	Distance from Pir ki Gali (By foot)	Distance from the nearest Lake
1	Nandan Sar	Oval with tapering end	East	3-4 hrs (10.5 Kms)	-
2	Katoria Sar	Bowl shaped 2-3 tapering ends	East	8-10 hrs	2 hrs from Nandan Sar
3	Chandan Sar	V shaped	East	7-8 hrs	Half an hr fron Nandan Sar
4	Kaldichni Sar	Rounded(deep)	East	7-8 hrs	1 hr from Nandan Sar
5	Sukh Sar	Oval	East	9-10 hrs	1 hr from Kaldachni Sar
6	Neel Sar	Oval	East	10-11 hrs	Half an hr from Sukh Sar
7	Handu Sar	Round with various tapering ends	East	12-14 hrs	2 hrs from Neel Sar

Source: Primary Data.

 

Table 2. Other smaller and unknown (Unexplored) Lakes of Pir Panjal Region.

S. No.	Name of the Lake	Direction from Pir ki Gali
1	Gum Sar (Poonch District)	East
2	Kokar Sar	East
3	Bhag Sar (Rupri Marg)	East
4	Ding Sar	East
5	Jang Wali Sar	East
6	Kagalna Sar	East
7	Smat Sar (Richh Bagla Sar)	East
8	Kala Sar(Between Nandan sar and Peer ki Gali)	East
9	Chammar Sar	East
10	Akhil Darshani Sar	East
11	Diya Sar	East
12	Padyaran Sar I	East
13	Padyaran Sar II	East

Source: Primary Data.

 

MEADOWS OF PIR PANJAL RANGE:

The lush green Meadows without presence of the high conifers and other woody trees, with fresh clean and cold air presents a heart throbbing view all around become a great attraction for visitors. These Meadows has the stretch from Budhal Dhoks (summer destinations for nomads) in the East to the Poonch Dhoks in the West. The famous Meadows (Margs) are Peer Marg near the famous Peer Ki Gali pass, near to it toward North is Doongi Marg. Then comes the famous Shakar Marg, the (Southern) most of all the Meadows adjoining to the boundaries of Darhal of district Rajouri. Adjoining to this is Doodh Wali Marg, Khari Marg and Chammar Marg, all the three are towards North-West of Shakkar Marg almost at half an hour’s walking distance. Rupri Marg and Sheikh Marg adjoining to the Budhal area are also very beautiful meadows of Pir Panjal region. Jaddi Marg and Ravi Wali Marg are two famous meadows under the jurisdiction of Poonch District. Other tourist spots worth visiting are Phanjari Marg, Goray Battay, Tegyar Choti(peak), Kgora, Namnad, Byadh, Khunali, Kagganali, Chapar Nalo, Kuthgal, Banj, Kundaan Dher, Kafar katha, Gordiyan, Shaitani Paida, Girjan, Badjori Marg, Sari Mastaan, Marguri, Rupri Gali, Seti, Che Sari, Bela Marg and Sarota Marg(valley of flowers). All these places are either Dhoks for keeping cattle during summer, as well as for the sites of summer camping and tours. (Table 3).

 

Roads connectivity to the Pir Panjal Range:

Tourism is a field of human activity known to mankind from time immemorial. (Shridhar and Shrivastava 2018). Rural tourism is to benefit the local community through entrepreneurial opportunities, income generation, employment opportunities, conservation and development of rural arts and crafts, investment for infrastructure development and preservation of the environment and heritage. (Singh and Jaswal 2014). Roads are considered as the arteries and lifeline of any economy, so are in J & K. In spite of hilly terrain and dangerous topography, the government has successfully completed the famous Mughal road in recent years. This road is an upgraded version of historic routes of great Mughals who use to travel through this way to enter into the valley of Kashmir. Mughal road originates from Befliaz (a tehsil of district Poonch) to Chandimarh, Dugra, Chatta Pani and stretches for 55 kms upto the Peer Ki Gali top. From Peer Ki Gali it runs for 45kms through Aliabad Sarai, Zaz Nar, Hir pur to Shopian (a district of Kashmir) Kashmir. This road is the best option to visit the stunning beauty of peer Panjal range as it cuts the range into two equal parts. As mentioned in table 4, other roads which are still under construction are Poonch Gulmarag (Tangmarg) road and Budhal Shopian road in order to expose this slice of Peer Panjal range to the rest of the world.

 

Table 3. Famous Meadows of Pir Panjal Region.

S. No.	Name of the Meadow	Vegetation Type	Adjoining Area	Topography
1	Peer Marag	Grassland	Poonch and Shopian	Plain with adjoining Mountains.
2	Shakar Marag	Grassland	Rajouri	Plain with highlands
3	Doodh Wali Marag	Grassland	Rajouri	Plain with sharp slopes
4	Khari Marag	Grassland	Rajouri	Plain with Highlands
5	Chammar Marag	Grassland	Rajouri	Plain surrounded by Mountains
6	Rupri Marag	Grassland	Budhal	Plain with highlands
7	Sheikh Marag	Grassland	Budhal	Plain with adjoining  forests
8	Jaddi Marag	Grassland	Poonch	Plain with adjoining highlands
9	Ravi Wali Marag	Grassland	Poonch	Plain with adjoining forests
10	Phanjari Marag	Grassland	Budhal	Plain
11	Badjori Marag	Grassland	Information N/A	Plain
12	Bela Marag	Grassland	Poonch	Plain
13	Sarota Marag	Grassland	Rajouri	Plain with steeps

Source: Primary Data.

 

Table 4. Road connectivity (Accessibility) to Pir Panjal Region.

S. No.	Name of the Project (Route)	Status	Area Covered
1	Rajouri and Poonch-Shopian (Kashmir).	Completed	Bafliaz, Behramgala, Noorichamb, Dugra, Chatta pani, Peer Ki Gali, Aliabad, Chattisnar, Hirpur, Shopian.
2	Poonch-Loran Mandi-Gulmarag (Kashmir).	Under Construction	Loran mandi, Gaggrian Sawjian, Barshi Nallah, Barnara Marg, Jamia Marg, Jamia Gali, Gul Marg(Tangmarg)
3	Budhal-Nandkote-Shopian (Kashmir).	Under Latest Survey	Budhal-Nandkote-Majra Kund-Shopian

Source: 1. Primary Data          2. Data extracted from internet.

 

Table 5. Recreation Facilities (including Huts, Hotels, Cafeterias, Restaurants, Parks etc.) in Pir Panjal Region.

S. No.	Facilities Available	Number
1	Huts	Nil
2	Hotels for Night stay	Nil
3	Restaurants (For lunch and dinner)	Nil
4	Cafeteria (For tea and coffee)	5-7 Temporary on Mughal road only
5	Parks and Swing (Jhula)	Nil
6	Cell Phone Towers (Mobile Signals)	Nil
7	Shops (Eatables like Snacks, Soft drinks)	Nil
8	Availability of Tourist Guides	Nil
9	Sheds (to get protected from Rain and Snowfall)	10-15
10	Health Amenities (Hospitals and Clinics)	Nil
11	⃰kaccha Huts (Taraas)	600-700

Source: Primary Data.

 

Availability of Recreation facilities in the Pir Panjal Range:

The purpose of tourism is travel for recreational or leisure (Dulababu 2010). Table 5 indicates that there are no recreational facilities like parks, restaurants, huts etc available in the whole range at all. The exception is Peer Ki Gali and Mughal road, where only few temporary outlets are available to fulfil the immediate needs like tea and coffee to the travellers in the chilled cold weather throughout the year.

 

⃰kaccha Huts locally known as (Taraas) used for 3-4 months stay by nomads in Pir Panjal region. These huts protect the cattle from hail storms and chill cold winds during their stay. The kaccha Huts (Taraas) remain open from the front even during night and acts as a shelter for nomads during rainy seasons.

 

ECONOMIC ASPECT OF PIR PANJAL RANGE:

Tourism has a significant role in the creation of buoyant economies along with eradication of poverty while considering it as the largest growing industry in the world. (Mathew and Kuriakose 2018). Table 6 shows that the only source of income is the income from dairy products like Ghee, Butter and Milk. Every household earns Rs 9000-10000 per buffalo or cow in a single season of 3-4 months. No other option of business is available in throughout the Pir Panjal range, except Pir Ki Gali where every business man (with a temporary shed) earns Rs 1000-2000 per day.

 

Table 6. Various sources of income of Nomads and others (Per season) in Pir Panjal Region per Household (Per Season).

S. No.	Category	Poonch	Rajouri	Budhal	Pir Ki Gali
1	Cattle Rearing (Dairy products like Ghee, Butter, Milk etc)	15-17kg Ghee/Butter per buffalo or cow	15-17kg Ghee/Butter per buffalo or cow	18-20kg Ghee/Butter per buffalo or cow	5-6 Kg Ghee/Butter Per Buffalo or Cow.
2	Business (Temporary sale points)	Nil	Nil	Nil	Rs. 1000-2000 per day
3	Agriculture	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil

Source: Primary Data.

 

Table 7. Region wise Income (Economic value) of dairy products in Pir Panjal region Per Household (Per Season).           In Thousands

S. No.	Name of product	Poonch (Rs)	Rajouri (Rs)	Budhal (Rs)	Pir Ki Gali (Rs)
1	Ghee	9-10	9-10	10-12	2-4
2	Butter	5-6	5-6	6-7	2-3
3	Milk	6-7	6-7	7-8	1-2
4	Cheese and Kaladi (Milk products)	2-3	2-3	2-3	12-15

Source: Primary Data.

 

Table 8. Visitors from different areas and purpose of visit (per season/annual) Pir Panjal Region.

S. No.	Category of Visitors	Poonch	Rajouri	Budhal	Pir Ki Gali	Duration of stay
1	Tourists	35-45	30-50	60-80	1-2 Lakh	1-2 days
2	Nomads	150-200 Families	200-250 Families	150-180 Families	20-30 Families	3-4 months
3	Passengers (Including mobile Nomads)	30-40 Groups	30-40 Groups	25-35 Groups	100-150 Groups	1-2 days (1-2 weeks for nomads)

Source: Primary Data.

 

Note: Amount (Economic Value) from dairy products vary depending upon the number of cattle (Cow/Buffalo) per family/Household and quantity of milk they produce. Feeding patterns and quality of fodder also alters the quality and quantity of milk production. The above data is taken for a single household, who are having one milk producing cow or buffalo. The values may vary with the increase or decrease in number of milk producing cattle.

 

Visitors of Pir Panjal Region (Various Purposes):

Apart from Pir Ki Gali, the number of tourists with different purposes is very small (Table 7). According to Prof. M. B. Magray (famous writer, researcher and Geographer), "The nomads attract tourists, as they (nomads) become the source of attraction and mean of food and shelter in hilly areas to the tourists". The more will be the number of nomads, the more will be the frequency of tourists in the area. The more interesting fact according to Prof. Magray is that the number of nomads over the years is on a continuous decline and so is the number of tourists (local nomads’ interviews). The decline in number of nomads in this range is due to urbanization, government jobs, less health facilities and no education of children in the area (Prof. Magray).

 

As far as the number of travelers/tourists through Pir Ki Gali is concerned, it is totally opposite to the rest of the Pir Panjal region. The number of travellers through Pir ki Gali touches 5000-6000 per day (internet). Some estimates show that in a month during the summer season, the number touches 1-1.5 lakh in the form of tourist and travelers. Moreover the travelers prefer to travel through Pir Ki Gali while travelling from Jammu to Kashmir in order to enjoy the touching beauty of the region. Further Mughal road is again preferred to avoid the heavy traffic of Jammu Srinagar national highway.      

 

HOW TO REACH:

It is very vital to note that many travelers are very much concerned about the responsible practices involved with tourism destinations (Mathew and Kuriakose 2017). However for those who are fond of trekking and having an interest in adventure sports, can take either Darhal or Budhal or Thannamandi as base for reaching to these tourist sites. Taking Budhal as base one can travel through Saveri Marg, Khodra, Simar Sar lake, Bella Marg, Katoria Sar lake, Dhakyar peak towards Kashmir. While taking Darhal as a base point one can go through Budhkhanari. Thamal, Shakar Marg, Che Sari, Doodhwali Marg, Chammar, Hndu pass, Bagh Sar, Sarota valley, Neel Sar, Girjan, to Noori Chamb, Behram Gala and back to Rajouri, which is one of the most appropriate and extensive area covering route for visitors. Taking Thannamandi as base one has to go through Dera Ki Gali, Girjan, Panjtari, Khuha Gum Sar, Nandan pass, Nandan Sar lake, Aliabad, Hirpur to Kashmir.

 

SUGGESTIONS FOR HIGHLIGHTING TOURIST SPOTS OF PIR PANJAL RANGE:

From the above discussion it is clear that the Pir Panjal range is a region fully loaded with very attractive and beautiful tourist destination with a huge tourism potential. The tourist spots are yet unexplored and completely ignored. Proper and planned efforts by the government and policy makers can make this area a hub of tourist destinations, which as a result could be the biggest source of economic and social development of the region. Following are some of the suggestions in order to highlight these tourist destinations on the tourism map of J&K state.

1.     The first and foremost thing is that each and every lake and meadow of Pir Panjal range should have a road connectivity. Though it is very difficult to make roads through this area due to its tough topography and hilly terrain, but road connectivity is the only option available to have an access to these beautiful spots.

2.     Formulation of recreational facilities like parks for children, huts, restaurants, shops etc could be the most important source of attraction for tourists.

3.     Mobile and internet connectivity is one of the most important part of present day life. The installation of mobile phone towers should be done at the earliest in order to provide phone and internet connectivity like facilities to the tourists.

4.     As long as the Pir Panjal range will remain without the first and foremost need of present time called electricity, the chances of its development will remain very less. The availability of electricity for reaping the benefits of modern day technology should be made available at the earliest.

5.     The tourist authorities of J&K state should mention and highlight the famous spots of Pir Panjal range on their tourism maps in order to make this region an integral part of tourism of J&K.

6.     The Margs (meadows) with high snow falls could be used for adventuring like skiing etc. by the tourists. The installation of Gondolas as in Gulmarag, could help to make this region a tourist hub.

7.     The hotels and restaurants with famous Kashmiri wazwan and other delicious food should be installed throughout in the region in order to attract more and more tourists.

8.     The area should be exposed to the Kashmiri handicrafts and architecture so that tourists can avail the facilities of Kashmiri culture during their visit to the area.

9.     Special camps should be organized at city headquarters of Jammu and Srinagar along with some advertising through print and electronic media to promote the tourism of Pir Panjal range.

10. Proper security for the purpose of safety should be provided to the tourists for their satisfaction during their visits to the area. Moreover the authorities should install the tourist guiding centers for proper guidance and timely assistance of tourists during their visit in far flung areas of Pir Panjal range.

 

CONCLUSION:

Kashmir is called as the Heaven on Earth and Switzerland of India. Famous Pir Panjal Range in J&K is a part of Lesser Himalyas consists of almost 900 sq Kms area. The area contains 27 big and small beautiful lakes (Sarr) and 12-13 Meadows (Margs), all above the height of 13000 ft from the sea level. Despite of having stunning beauty and loaded scenery, the area is still hidden from eye of a common man. All the lakes and Meadows are still unexplored and has not been brought under the control and management of the Tourism Development Authorities of J&K. A series of seven famous lakes known to very few are Nandan Sar, Katoria Sar, Chandan Sar, Kaldichni Sar, Sukh Sar, Neel Sar and Handu Sar, of all Nandan Sar is the most famoues and frequently visited by tourists. Famous Meadows are Peer Marag, Shakkar Marag, Doodh wali Marag, Khari Marag, Chammar Marag, Rupri Marag and Ravi Wali Marag of all Shakkar Marag adjoining to Darhal area of Rajouri District is very famous. All these lakes and Meadows are accessible only by foot as there is no road connectivity at all except the Famous Pir ki Gali pass through which the famous Mughal Road passes. The tourists travel for 3-4 days to visit this area and Nomads stay there for 4-5 moths along with their cattle. Other Mobile Nomades (Bakarwals) pass through this area by foot, which take them almost a month to carry their sheep and goats to the upper reaches of Kashmir. Findings show that the number of Visitors, tourists and Nomads is on a continuous decline due to various reasons. The decline in number of Nomads is due to Urbanization, Government Employment and Non Availability of basic education to their children. The Number of tourist to the area depends upon the Number of Nomads, as the Nomads becomes the source of attraction for visitors and also the source of food and shelter during their visit. The Pir ki Gali (Highest Motor able pass of PirPanjal Range) is the exception where the Number of visitors is very high and it is on a continuous hike. Nomads (Gujjars and Bakarwals) have shifted their route from Rajouri, Poonch and Budhal area to Pir ki Gali paas for ease and in order to avail the facility of road while carrying their Goats and Sheep to the upper reaches of valley during summer. The Nomads during their stay of 3-4 months in the area have very few sources of income mostly in the form of Dairy products, which earn those Rs. 9000-10000 per season. The decline in the Number of Nomads and hence the Number of tourists and visitors is alarming. The availability of Roads, Electricity and Mobile and Internet Connectivity can help this area to become a big tourist hub which therefore leads to the socio economic development of the area. Proper attention from J&K Government and tourism authorities by bringing the beautiful lakes and Meadows on the tourism map can help in making the famous Pir Panjal range as one of the best tourist destinations in the world.

 

REFRENCES:

1.      Mir, A.H., (2014). Impact of Tourism Industry on Economic Development of Jammu and Kashmir, International Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research, Vol  5, Issue 6, pp 592-598.

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13.   Websites:

14.   http://rajouri.nic.in/visit/lakes_files/lakes.htm

15.   https://www.holidayiq.com/Pir-Panjal-Rajauri-Sightseeing-948-17584.html

16.   https://www.trekatribe.com/pir-panjal-range/

 

 

 

 

Received on 06.04.2019                                  Modified on 30.04.2019

Accepted on 21.05.2019      ©AandV Publications All right reserved