Gurez became a tourist place: 1000-1200 tourists are coming every day after decades, there is no echo of terror in this valley; It used to be the route of infiltration of terrorists.

The Kishanganga River flows from the Gurez Valley, which later joins the Jhelum River in Pakistan-occupied Muzaffarabad. (Photo – Gurez Valley on the Silk Road).

Things have changed in the Gurez Valley of Bandipora, once a major route of infiltration into Kashmir from across the border. In this valley falling in the ancient Silk Road, now the echo of terror is not heard, but the movement of tourists is being heard. These days hundreds of tourists are drawn towards the plaintiffs here. According to the local Hotel Korbari, 1000-1200 tourists are reaching here daily. This is the first time that such a large number of people have been coming since the tour opened in 2007.

However, in the absence of the Tourism Development Authority, the authorities do not have the exact figures of tourists. He said that a large number of tourists are reaching Gurez this year. To encourage tourism, tour and hotel operators are being encouraged to find places here. Recently, tourism festival also took place here. High mountains, rivers, lush green meadows and wildlife are enough to please the tourists in Gurez Valley.

The Kishanganga River flows from the Gurez Valley, which later joins the Jhelum River in Pakistan-occupied Muzaffarabad. Mohammad Subhan of Gurez says that most of the youth here are in the army or police, the rest do agriculture. Now tourism is creating huge employment opportunities. He says that the local people have also built guest houses, stay houses and small hotels in Gurez.

Firdaus, who has set up tents for tourists on the banks of the Kishanganga river, is quite happy with the influx of tourists, saying that he has six tents. Not a single one is vacant these days. The fare for one night is 800 rupees. Manish Gupta, a tourist from Delhi, stayed in Gurez for three days last week with three friends. They say on this trip that we stayed in the tent for three days. We will remember this happy feeling forever.

We have never seen such beauty anywhere. All this has been possible because of the army in this area of ​​extreme conditions. The soldiers of the Rajput Regiment guard the borders in Gurez. A soldier of the regiment told that there is no infiltration here anymore. The area has been fenced in and the local people also help. About 40 thousand people live in more than 15 villages of Gurez.

Mercury becomes minus 30 degrees

Snow storms keep coming in Gurez. In 2017, 15 soldiers lost their lives in a snow storm. Another soldier posted here says, ‘About 12 feet of snow falls at this place. There is no mobile connectivity here and we are sometimes unable to talk to family members for weeks. The borders from Gurez to Kargil are guarded by the Indian Army and we face minus 30 degree temperature during winters. Soldiers do not leave the post even in harsh weather.

In 1925, the son of US President Roosevelt also came.

Gurez was once an important stop on the Silk Road. It connected Kashmir with Kashgar in Xinjiang province of China. In 1925, Ted and Kermit, the son of the 26th President of America, Theodore Roosevelt, came here. It was closed for tourists till 2007 due to terrorists.