Kashmir: Tourists Return As Fresh Snowfall Ends 2-Month Long Dry Spell
An almost two-month-long dry spell in the Kashmir Valley was broken by light snowfall in the upper areas of Kashmir, which resulted in a notable increase of tourists on 25 and 26 January. Snowfall reports came in from several places, including Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonmarg, Gurez, Macchil, Karnah Doodpathri, and Shopian as sporadic snowfall continued.
Before daybreak, there was a light rain in certain areas of Srinagar. The lowest temperature in Srinagar was recorded at minus 0.5 degrees Celsius, three degrees higher than the previous night. With the arrival of new snowfall, other regions such as Pahalgam, Qazigund, and Gulmarg also witnessed temperature changes.
Greater Kashmir reported that visitors were spotted having fun in Daksum's winter along with the ancient Mughal Road, where they were photographed sledding on brand-new snow carpets and engaging in snow fights.
Heerpora is the last village on the Shopian side and it witnessed around 3 to 4 inches of snowfall. This marked the second occurrence of snow since the onset of winter, drawing tourists from Orissa, Punjab, Gujarat and NCR.
Previously, the authorities had closed the Mughal Road due to substantial snowfall at Peer Ki Gali mountain, hence tourists couldn’t venture beyond Heerpora. Some tourists cancelled their return tickets after finding out about the change in weather. After the season's first snow in November, tourists started to pour in. But, when it stopped snowing in December again, some tourists cancelled their hotel bookings.
Meanwhile, tourists flocked to Sinthan Top in Anantnag district, but overnight snowfall prompted authorities to restrict access beyond Daksum along the route to Sinthan Top.
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