Amir Tantray
Jammu, May 27: As the entire north India is under intense heat wave, tourists are making a beeline at Jammu two hilly destinations– Bhaderwah valley of Doda district.
The place is fast emerging as one of the best tourist destinations. During the month of May so far more than 1.5 lakh tourists have visited the valley also known as “Chota Kashmir”.
Bhaderwah was brought on the tourism map of Jammu and Kashmir by Peoples Democratic Party-Congress coalition government from 2002 to 2008 and especially by Ghulam Nabi Azad, when he served as the Chief Minister in the coalition government.
Since then the infrastructure started developing and when Bhaderwah Development Authority (BDA) came into existence, it improved a lot. At present BDA offers 70 rooms at Teligarh, Gatha lake view resort, Jai valley and at different locations whereas 21 hotels have also come up in and around Bhaderwah town where tourists stay.
People also host tourists as paying guests and offer them the best possible service which has become a source of income for the locals.
According to the officials of BDA, major tourist attraction in Bhaderwah are Guldanda, Padri, Chattergala, Nalthi, Gatha lake view, Jai valley, Khellani top, Thanthera and Teligarh which provide scenic view to the tourists coming from outside.
“Since the start of the month of May, more than 150,000 tourists have visited Bhaderwah and at present all the hotels and accommodations of BDA are booked. People from Jammu plains, neighbouring Punjab and national capital New Delhi are mostly visiting Bhaderwah whereas few tourists from Gujarat and other states have also arrived,” an official of BDA said.
“Many foreign tourists also visit here for adventure tourism and the Bhaderwah-Chamba circuit provides ample opportunities for them,” he added.
To ensure cleanliness at tourist places, BDA in collaboration with Bhaderwah Municipal Committee organizes weekly sanitation drives in Padri, Chattergala, Thanthera, Guldanda and Gatha Lake view resort.
Bhaderwah town is situated around 200 kilometers from Jammu and the nearest airport is Jammu airport whereas the nearest railway station is at Udhampur, some 135 kilometers away. The surface connectivity is from national highway 44 upto Nashri and one has to travel on NH244 (Batote-Kishtwar) upto to Pul Doda. From Pul Doda onwards, Bhaderwah is just 30 kilometers.
For any medical emergency, the Government Medical College Doda is at the distance of 35 kilometers at Doda town whereas sub-district hospital Bhaderwah also provides emergency healthcare facility.
