A file photo of tourists waiting for a hot air balloon ride at the Bangus Valley, around 100 km from Srinagar.
| Photo Credit: NISSAR AHMAD

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday (March 6, 2025) announced a new set of rules for Bangus, a far-off tourist spot near the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir, in a bid to promote it as an ecotourism destination. 

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The decision comes in the wake of unplanned and uncontrolled growth in concrete structures in the traditional tourist hotspots of Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonamarg in Kashmir.

“To maintain ecological balance, the department concerned has focused on avoiding the construction of massive buildings and hotels. The aim would be to develop the area as an ecotourism destination,” J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, while speaking in the J&K Assembly. 

He said the department would focus on creating basic recreation facilities, rain shelters, public conveniences, signages, lighting, and waste disposal facilities for visitors.

Bowl-shaped valleys

Bangus lies close to the LoC in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. After Gurez, Machil and Keran, Bangus is one more addition to the list of tourist spots near the LoC. Once a militant infiltration route, Bangus is around 100 km away from Srinagar, with two bowl-shaped valleys perched at an altitude of 10,000 feet.

Work on the basic facilities, according to Mr. Abdullah, would be undertaken after the Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara, identifies land parcels in consultation with the Forest department. “Once the land parcels are identified, the necessary permissions and no-objection certificates shall be sought on the Parivesh Portal for forest clearance,” Mr. Abdullah said.

Guest houses

To safeguard the livelihood of local shepherds, nomads, and other inhabitants of the Bangus Valley, Mr. Abdullah said the J&K Tourism Department had initiated the process of registering paying guest houses in the area.  “This will help to preserve and promote local culture, traditions, and cuisine, and would be an immersive travel experience for tourists,” he added.

At present, 19 paying guest houses in the proximity of the Bangus Valley are registered with the Department of Tourism, Kashmir.

The fresh measures towards ecotourism are being introduced in the wake of uncontrolled constructions in the favourite tourist places of Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonamarg.   

Officials told the J&K Assembly that notices were issued against 269 unauthorised constructions in Pahalgam over the past two years. “The Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) has been conducting demolition drives whenever necessary to curb illegal construction activities in the area,” the government told the House.