Margan: Virgin Valley calling to be unveiled
By: Aadil Mohi ud din Malik
The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in general and Kashmir in particular has been blessed with some enchanting tourist sites popular all over the world for their charming and breath taking beauty.
From Kalhan’s “Rajtarangini” to Sir Walter Lawrence’s “The Vale of Kashmir” one can explicitly find abundant and ardent admirers of the valley. On account of its bracing and pleasant climate, Kashmir has undoubtedly become a wonderland thereby attracting thousands of visitors to enjoy the brief yet Kashmir’s exquisite summer. Great Mughal emperors were utterly infatuated with the beauty of Kashmir and therefore spent the hot summer months in this delightfully cool valley.
Jammu and Kashmir has tremendous potential to generate employment and enhance livelihood opportunities from its Tourism Sector as it is endowed with pristine natural beauty.
One such spot not so prominent is “Margan Valley” which is colloquially called “Valley of Death”. Situated at an elevation of 14000 feet above sea level in Southern Kashmir’s Anantnag District, Margan Valley is a great tourist attraction and gateway to Warwan and Marwa Valley.
Margan Valley is a hidden paradise especially in summers. Surrounded by snow clad peaks, cool breeze and covered with dense green vegetation, Margan Valleys serves as transit site to travellers on either side of the valley.
A beautiful nallah (Handirkash in local parlance) with sweet water drains it satisfying both hunger and thirst. The valley has been quite tortuous for the travellers in the ancient past as there was no resting place making it one of extremely difficult passes.
It has consequently created havoc at times especially in horrible blizzards, torrents and heavy rains. Despite being an unsafe place, it has lush green meadows and scenic beauty gravitating nature lovers.
Nestled in the “Margan Valley” is a beautiful Choharnag Valley which offers trekking and camping like activities. Along with my friends in July last year, I felt that this place has surely everything that can turn it into a major tourist hub.
Having such a large and clean water body at such a great height is extremely phenomenal. I was at first astonished to see the charming beauty of Choharnag as after travelling through a deplorable road, I along with my friends had become exhausted and despaired as well.
Deplorable paths they say often lead to beautiful destinations. This axiom still holds true as corroborated by this trip. It taught that unconventional and less travelled routes at times can bring unexpected growth and development in our life.
All along the way we came across tourists eager to visit this wonderland. From Margan Valley, one needs to travel for 30-40 Minutes to reach Choharnag; a group of four alpine glacial lakes.
June- July is the best time to visit the spot as it is mostly pleasant and hospitable period of the year. Clean water, charming meadows, small snow clad peaks and mostly virgin vegetation is fascinating and breathe taking.
However, these days this wonder land of God Almighty is getting polluted as can be seen from empty plastic bottles, polythene, leftover food etc as unluckily no arrangement has been made on the part of authorities to manage these wastes.
Even though the place is getting immense prominence now a days thereby attracting thousands of tourists. The area is however devoid of basic amenities. The road from Gawran to Margan valley is in its worst condition making it extremely difficult not only for tourists but also for Forty thousand inhabitants of twin Warwan and Marwa Tehsils.
Washrooms constructed are not operational which has ultimately added to the miseries. Tourist Development Authority Kokernag should pay heed to the genuine demands being raised and address the same on priority.
Authorities entrusted with the administration and management actually lack commitment to manage these sites effectively. Even if developed on a small scale, local people can reap significant economic benefits in serving tea and other edibles to visitors.
The upper belt of Tehsil Larnoo is economically backward area with most of the people engaged with subsistence farming. As such development of Margan Valley as a tourist spot can bring a sigh of relief for such economically downtrodden people. The spot under discussion has undoubtedly tremendous potential to create economic opportunities and can definitely reduce challenges associated with poverty and unemployment of the area.
To me Margan Valley and Choharnag are two scenic and underrated tourist destinations. If the genuine demands of local people and tourists so visited the area are taken into account, these spots shall be the top tourist destinations- so much that many outside UT of J&K might prefer them over.
