By Shiekh Bilal
Impressed by its beauty, Jahangir defined Kashmir as heaven on earth. His famous words, “Gar firdaus, bar ruye zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin ast” (If there is ever a heaven on earth, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here), are now the tourism signature line for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir !
Kashmir is dotted with beautiful lakes, surrounded by magnificent valleys. And it is bestowed with nature’s bounty in terms of fruits and flowers. In winters the white blanket of snow adds to the beauty of Kashmir. The valley is the choicest destination not just for the tourists and travellers but also for the film industries and sports activities. The travellers visit different tourist destinations and health resorts including Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Yousmarg etc. Besides these beautiful destinations, Gurez is also a great place to travel and enjoy the beauty of Heaven Kashmir.
Gurez is the most beautiful valley of Kashmir, 85 Kms from the Bandipora district headquarters, Gurez is located in the high Himalayas. Many a travellers have now started to travel to Gurez to enjoy the pure natural beauty, but only in the summer season. The destinations other than Gurez like Gulmarg, Pahalgam etc also witness a huge rush of tourists in winters also. Valley of Gurez-Tulail also has a huge potential of winter tourism and winter sports. The snow doesn’t accumulate more than Gulmarg in Gurez but being unexplored and neglected hasn’t developed enough in the tourism sector. Having a huge potential Gurez is even neglected by the travellers in summers also and a very little number of travellers visit the valley. The travellers who visit Gurez after returning complain about the lack of facilities for visitors. Many a travellers complain about the worst road condition, lack of accommodation, mobile connectivity, a few hours electricity supplied by the diesel generators etc. Having a great potential of tourist attraction, Gurez-Tulail Valley is always neglected by the travellers. Gurez is most peaceful area for the outsiders, people are known for their great hospitality, 100% natural health resorts and tourist destinations make one feel like heaven. Gurez is as much beautiful and appealing in winters also as it is in summers. The thick blanket of snow adds to the beauty of the valley. Gushing streams, snow-capped mountains, white coated trees, beautiful white fields make the valley look not less like Switzerland.
The local youth to promote the winter tourism and winter sports, play different games like cricket, football, volleyball etc. The local youth make snowy pitch in the nearby fields and pass their time playing different games there. They organize cricket tournaments which is joined by the nearby village teams. They manage everything by their own without any support from local administration. This winter the army their also held different games like road race, volleyball tournaments, carom championships, and even skiing competitions, which shows the high potential of tourist attraction and winter sports.
If developed, Gurez-Tulail the most beautiful Valley of Kashmir can play a crucial role in Kashmir’s tourism industry. Had there been a road tunnel at Razdan pass, tourist huts in different villages, better local roads, better mobile connectivity, upgraded health care facilities, 24 hour electricity, etc hence a Gurez Development Authority, this valley can also have a huge rush of tourists round the year.
Keeping the great significance of tourist industry in view in the Kashmir economy, I expect the government and the Kashmir tourism department to upgrade and develop this unexplored, neglected, far flung but very beautiful and attractive valley in the tourist map. Make Gurez Development Authority like that of Sonamarg, Gulmarg etc. I am sanguine that this valley will be number one tourist attraction for the travellers, local as well as the national and international travellers. The valley will be the fondest destination for the travellers in both summer and winter seasons.
Impressed by its beauty, Jahangir defined Kashmir as heaven on earth . His famous words, “Gar firdaus, bar ruye zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin ast” (If there is ever a heaven on earth, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here), are now the tourism signature line for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir!
Kashmir is dotted with beautiful lakes, surrounded by magnificent valleys. And it is bestowed with nature’s bounty in terms of fruits and flowers. In winters the white blanket of snow adds to the beauty of Kashmir. The valley is the choicest destination not just for the tourists and travellers but also for the film industries and sports activities. The travellers visit different tourist destinations and health resorts including Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Yousmarg etc. Besides these beautiful destinations, Gurez is also a great place to travel and enjoy the beauty of Heaven Kashmir. In 1895, the British author Sir Walter Lawrence called the Gurez Valley “one of the most beautiful scenes in all of Kashmir,” where the tourmaline waters of the Kishen Ganga River are framed by “mountain scarps of indescribable grandeur.” In the book he wrote after traveling throughout the princely state, Lawrence predicted that Gurez would soon become one of Kashmir’s most popular Himalayan tourist destinations. For reasons he never could have foreseen, 120 years later, Gurez is still waiting.
Gurez is the most beautiful valley of Kashmir, 85 Kms from Bandipora district headquarters, Gurez is located in the high Himalayas. Many a travellers have now started to travel to Gurez to enjoy the pure natural beauty, but only in the summer season. In the year 2021 to boost the tourist flow and to explore the valley the then Dy.SP Gurez Shiekh Adil started a campaign ‘Go Gurez’ and thanks to him Gurez got a huge rush of tourists in the months of June to September. Gurez is blessed with nature’s bounty of finest views, the gushing clear water of Kishanganga, wonderful trekking roots and much more. In the year 2021 because of Go Gurez campaign and availability of network, people in large numbers started to visit the valley. The local people especially the youth played a vital role in exploring this hidden paradise by showing very much affectionate hosting to guests and also by sharing the videos and information about the valley. The travellers around the world have now started to visit Gurez-Tulail but only in summers.
Writer is a student of Earth Sciences at IGNOU and is also a social worker in Gurez-Tulail.
