Unexplored Tourist Destinations of Pir Panjal Range Malik Mohammed Tahir Raoof1,*, Dr. Pazir Dil2, Mushtaq Nafisa3 1PhD Research Scholar, Department of Economics, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, (J&K) India-185234 2Head Department of Economics, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, (J&K) India-185234 3Department of Economics, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, (J&K) India-185234 *Corresponding Author Email: maliktahir399@yahoo.com
Online published on 25 July, 2019. Abstract Tourism around the globe is considered as a major tool of economic growth and development. Jammu And Kashmir State has a special status among the important tourist destinations of the world. Famous Pir Panjal range (Part of Lesser Himalyas) is known for its beautiful fresh water Lakes (called Sar) and huge green Meadows (called Margs). The range spreads over 900 Sq Kms area carrying 27 big and small Lakes and 12 Meadows, all above the height of 12000 ft from the sea level. In this paper the author has made an attempt to explore the unexplored tourist destinations of Pir Panjal Range by conducting a primary survey of the area. More strange and amazing are the findings that despite of having touching beauty, the area observes very small number of visitors and the number are continuously declining during the recent years. This decline is due to Urbanization, Government jobs etc. particularly among Nomads, who used to stay for 3–4 months in the area (Called Dhoks) along with their cattle every year. Findings indicate that the lack of basic facilities and non-availability of modern technology act as the main hindrance for growth of tourism in the area. Therefore the facilities like Road connectivity, Power supply, Mobile and Internet connectivity etc. can promote tourism and hence the Economic Growth and development of whole Pir Panjal Range. Famous Peer Ki Gali (Highest motor able pass on Mughal Road) is an exception, where thousands of travelers and tourists visit daily and the number is continuously on a hike. The study relies on the primary data and tabulation is done in most of the cases for better understanding and clear representation of data. Top Keywords Tourism, Meadows, Lakes, Nomads, Pir Panjal. Top |