Tourism in Kashmir: Students, families throng Neelum Valley for vacations

MUZAFFARABAD: Before Ramazan begins, people from across the country are making way to the picturesque areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to enjoy summer vacations; and to beat the heat.

Families and students are rushing towards Neelum Valley to take in its natural beauty, crystal clear streams, lush green mountains, and dense forests.

Holding bags and carrying walking sticks, a group of students, from a private girls’ college in Lahore, was very enthusiastic about trekking to Arang Kel from Kel.

“It is unbelievable that we are in Pakistan. The landscape and beauty in this part of the AJK make it seem as if we are somewhere in Europe,” said Mahnoor, a student from Lahore.

She said that she loved to walk in mountainous areas and the experience in Arang Kel was awesome, especially when the clouds were near enough to be touching your cheeks.

“You can only dream of, while living in Lahore, a place with lush green gardens full of flowers; and the nearby mountain peaks are covered with snow in the last days of May. It is only possible in Arang Kel; I would really love to spend the whole summer in Neelum, but can’t,” said Mubeena Mir, a medical student from Faisalabad.

Families visiting from the plains of Punjab prefer to cook their food in the open here.

“Here, we can easily get desi chicken from the nearby villages at the cheapest rates. Travelling is all about fun and when, as a man, you cook for your family, it makes the trip much more memorable,” said Haroon Hameed from Karachi, who was busy chopping onions to prepare lunch for his family, while they sat on a plastic sheet under a pine tree nearby.

Tourist families spend their nights in Sharda and Kel hotels and guest houses.



However, they prefer to enjoy the cool fresh breeze in the lush green plains of Arang Kel and Sharda during the day.

They were also happy with the arrangements made by the Neelum District Administration and Tourism Department for the tourist season.

“Whenever we need any assistance with the directions, everyone guides us with smiling faces, which really impressed me,” said Saif Alam, a businessman from Rawalpindi, who was with his four-member family on a weekend trip.

The AJK Tourism Department said that it was expecting more than one million tourists to visit the region during the season; however, in the two months before Ramazan, nearly 100,000 tourists had visited the region.

“After Eid we expect a good number of tourists to visit the upper areas of Neelum; and we are ready to welcome them,” said Khawaja Raees, the spokesman of the tourism department.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2016.