Jammu and Kashmir Of India Tourism

Jammu and Kashmir Tourism, located in the extreme north of the country, is situated between 320 17' and 370 5' N latitudes and 720 40' and 800 30' E longitudes. It is bounded on north by China, on eastby Tibet, on south by Himachal Pradesh and Punjab and on west by Pakistan. Geographically, this state is divided into four zones – the mountainous and semi-mountainous plain known as Kandi belt, hills including Siwalik ranges, mountains of Kashmirvalley and Pir Panjal range, and Tibetan tract of Ladakh and Kargil. The state has a number of lakes, rivers, rivulets and glacial regions. The important rivers of this state are Indus, Chenab and Sutlej (Jhelum).

There are extreme variations in climate in the state due to its location and topography. The climate of
the state varies from tropical in Jammu plains to semi-arctic cold in Ladakh with Kashmir and Jammu
mountainous tracts having temperate climatic conditions. The temperature of this state varies spatially.
Leh is coldest and Jammu is the hottest region in the state. In the winter nights, temperature goes down below zero and very often heavy snowfall occurs during November to February. The annual rainfall varies from region to region with 92.6 mm in Leh, 650.5 mm in Srinagar and 1,115.9 mm in Jammu. Geologically, the state represents constituted rocks varying from the oldest period of the earth’s history to the youngest present day river and lake deposits.

Jammu and Kashmir

Agriculture

Agriculture is the mainstay of more than 80% people in Jammu & Kashmir. Major food crops are
wheat, paddy and maize. Barley, jowar and bajra are also cultivated in some parts of the state. Agroclimatic condition of this state supports horticulture; about 5 lakh families, directly or indirectly, are related with horticulture activities.

Industry

Handicrafts, the traditional industry in the state, are receiving top priority in view of employment
potential and demand in wood carving, paper-machine, carpets, shawls and embroidery, etc. Carpets earn a substantial foreign exchange. Export of handicraft products has increased about six fold in the last decade. Handloom Development Corporation is producing woolen items like export tweed, blazers, blankets, shawls, dhussas and kani shawls, etc. As per Annual Survey of Industries (1999-2000), Jammu & Kashmir had 393 factories employing 26,311 persons. Total investment was Rs. 58,504 lakh and net income generated was Rs. 18,123 lakh. As on 31st March 2002, there were about 32,245 small scale industries in the state.

Jammu and Kashmir Tourism

Tourism

Kashmir valley is described as a paradise on the earth. Major tourist places are Chashma Shahi springs, Shalimar Bagh and Dal Lake, etc., in Srinagar; Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg, etc., in the Valley; various ancient temples, Buddhist rites and scenic beauty in Ladakh; Vaishno Devi temple and Patnitop near Jammu, etc. When the heat in the plains of India becomes oppressive, the people turn to the hills and visit Kashmir valley and enjoy living in house boats. But at present, the flow of tourists to the Kashmir valley is interfered by the universally denounced terrorism. The famous shrine of Mother Goddess Vaishno Devi is visited by thousands of pilgrimage on foot or horseback every year. In 2001, about 39,74,540 Indian pilgrims visited Vaishno Devi temple. The number of Indian pilgrims who visited Amarnath in Kashmir had gone up to 1,19,037 in 2011.

Physiography : Himachal Pradesh lies between the latitudes 30o 23' – 33 o 13' N and longitudes 75 o 43' - 79 o 4' E. The state is bounded by Uttaranchal on the southeast, Tibet on the east, Punjab on the west and southwest, Haryana on south and Jammu & Kashmir on the north. It is situated in the northwest corner of the India; right in the lap of Himalayan ranges. The altitudinal variation ranges between 460 meters to 6,600 meters above mean sea level. The state is divided into three zones the Siwaliks or the outer Himalaya, the low mountains which have less altitude in comparison to great
mountains in the middle, and the zone of the Zanskar (high peaks of Himalaya). Many parts of this state are snow bound from December to April.

Most important rivers of this state are Chenab (Chandrabhaga), Ravi (Iravati), Sutlej (Shatadru), Beas (Vipasa) and Yamuna (Jamuna). The Chenab flows 122 km inside Himachal Pradesh before it enters Jammu & Kashmir. Yamuna has a catchments area of 2,320 km2 in Himachal Pradesh. The climate of northern part or the glacial region of this state is almost cool throughout the year. In winter, snowfall continues until March and could be as high as three meters on the average. The southern part has similarity with the plains and varies from hot to subhumid. The state experiences cold season from October to middle of March, hot seasons from April to June, and rainy season begins from July and goes upto September.

Transportation

Roadways: There were 823 km of national highways, 688 km of state highways, 7,671 km of major
district roads and 3,372 km of village roads, as on February 2002, in the state.

Railways: At present, there is railway connection up to Jammu. The extension of Jammu to Udhampur and survey works in Udhampur-Srinagar section are in progress for further extension of railway tracks in the state. Total rail track length was 96 km in 2000-01.

Aviation: The major airports of the state are Srinagar, Jammu and Leh.