Another lost trekking season in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: In the last two decades, adventure tourism has turned Kashmir’s mountains into a magnet for high-end domestic and foreign tourists. Hikers traverse alpine meadows, glacial valleys, and mountaineers climb Mount Korahoy, making the area one of the fastest-growing tourism industries in the valley. Much of the activity has now fallen silent.After last year’s Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, all trekking routes in Kashmir were closed, bringing the valley’s once-thriving adventure tourism industry to a near standstill.“Adventure tourism in Kashmir has grown significantly in the last two decades and has become an important part of Kashmir’s tourism industry. But in the past one year, it has died,” said Rouf Tramboo, chairman of the Winter Games Association and a well-known mountaineer in the valley.The government has heavily promoted trekking over the past six years, encouraging local entrepreneurs to invest heavily in camping equipment, trekking logistics and mountaineering infrastructure, Tranbu said in his office overlooking Dal Lake. A tourism department official said that after the abrogation of Article 370, the government opened more trekking routes in the valley, taking the number of trekking routes to 75. There are even forest cabins available for visitors.Over time, there has been an influx of tourists, especially from Southeast Asian countries, which have been less affected by safety-related travel warnings than those from Europe and the United States. “Our trekking season is from June to October. We have actually failed this year due to the prolonged closure (after the Pahalgam attack),” he said.Major routes include the Kashmir Lakes Trek (a 70-km-long trail that passes through alpine lakes, glacial streams, meadows and mountain passes), the Kolajoy Glacier Trek, the Thasa Masar Trek, the Tosa Maidan-Usmarg Trek and the Dhara-Pahalgam Trek, an alternative high-altitude trail that connects the lush valleys of Srinagar and Pahalgam. The Dhara-Sonamarg trail and the Kashmir-Ladakh route through the Kishtwar Varwan Valley also attract enthusiasts.The most popular Great Lakes hike climbs to nearly 13,800 feet at Harmukh Pass. Arif, popularly known as Arif Mountaineer, who runs the Kashmir adventure tour company Cliffhangers India, said the Great Lakes trek has led to the opening of other routes.Arif said that by 2024, his company will host at least two groups of people on Great Lakes hikes every week, creating jobs for guides, porters, cooks, foals and campers in villages along the way. Tramboo said his company will employ nearly 2,000 to 2,500 horses annually.“We will even arrange South Indian food. I have more than 45 employees and we will hire hundreds of horsemen. Now we have only a team of five. Great Lakes trekking is safer as it is surrounded by army camps. We hope to at least reopen so that the industry survives,” Arif said.As the recession deepened, Ali shifted base to Manali. Tramboo now leads trekkers to Ladakh. “I could choose to move out, but other people wouldn’t be so lucky. They might give up their business,” Arif said.It’s unclear when the situation will improve. “The decision to open trekking routes is beyond our jurisdiction,” a tourism department official said, adding that rafting is now allowed only in Sonamarg and Pahalgam.