Raja Syed Rather
Ganderbal, May 2: Sonamarg is witnessing a heavy footfall of tourists with nearly three lakh visitors thronging the place in the last four months.
Sonamarg, with a literal meaning ‘the meadow of gold’ and with snow-clad mountains sharing a spectacular blue sky, situated at an altitude of 2730 m, is a mesmerising hill station in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
There was a surge in tourists from January to April 2023 with a total of 271,774 tourists visiting the place, according to official data.
In January, 6,065 visited Sonamarg, in February 6,658, in March 2,05,184, and in April 53,867.
“The flow of tourists is much better than what it was earlier. We are thankful to the tourism department for the promotion of the place. With time, it is getting better and better,” a local hotelier said.
Welcoming the tourists, the people associated with the tourism sector said they are happy that their business is booming after almost three years. They said the tourism department should move towards Sonamarg as much as possible.
The hoteliers said this time all hotels are packed and the season is going on very well after several years.
