The festival was organised by Tourism Department J&K, Directorate of Tourism Jammu, Kishtwar Development Authority and District Administration Kishtwar, tourism is being promoted with full focus in Kishtwar
The largest, yet least populated, district in Jammu and Kashmir, Kishtwar, has never been truly showcased as a tourist hub despite having a lot of potential to attract visitors from all around the country and abroad. However, things are changing now. With the combined efforts of Tourism Department J&K, Directorate of Tourism Jammu, Kishtwar Development Authority and District Administration Kishtwar, tourism is being promoted to a whole new level, in the process opening up new opportunities for the local people.
Recently, for the first time ever, Warwan Festival was organised in the district. Prior to this, Warwan had never witnessed an event like this which not only aimed at boosting tourism but also encouraging local entrepreneurship and livelihood opportunities.
THE WARWAN FESTIVAL
While speaking to Indian Masterminds, DC Kishtwar, Devansh Yadav, said, “Warwan valley, where this festival is being held, gets cut off from November end due to heavy snowfall in the area. The place has meadows just like Kashmir and has seen less tourist activities in the past. The Warwan festival is one of the first such move to boost tourism here. After joining as the DC of Kishtwar, we planned to organise this festival in the tourist season before all the places get shut.”
SDM Marwah, Dr Mohsin Raza, was the Chief Guest on the occasion, and he inaugurated the programme in presence of Guest of Honour, DDC Councillor Warwan Abdul Razaq Lone and others. The festival hosted a variety of tourism activities like cultural shows, horse riding, angling, heritage walk, trekking and local cuisine, wherein a large number of nature enthusiasts and locals participated with zeal and enthusiasm.
A trekking expedition from Kaveerto Sukhnai to Warwan was organised wherein scores of enthusiastic trekkers took part. Apart from this, renowned local and UT level artists and students engrossed the audiences through their singing and dance performances highlighting the traditional and cultural elements of the UT and particularly Warwan Valley.
The stalls of local handicrafts, handloom products, and local cuisines, mainly Rajma-Chawal, Tromba Tchut (Buckwheat/millet Roti) with Kehwah Chai (local tea recipe) added to the taste, tradition and rich culture of the area. Whereas, the herbal tea stalls set up by the forest department gave an insight into the medicinal plants and the treasures of these local forests to the tourists and locals.
Apart from this, a special summary revision of electoral roll-2022 stall along with free screening, medical check-up and AYUSH medicine distribution stall were also installed in the festival. Many senior citizens received on-the-spot medical advice and treatment.
FUTURE PLANS
Talking about the way forward, Mr. Devansh Yadav said, “I visited Warwan recently, and after taking the post-event details, I found out that the event was successful and a lot of footfalls were seen in the valley. Now we are thinking of introducing adventure sports in the Warwan valley along with permanent tourism infrastructure, for which, we want to rope in some entrepreneurs so that it becomes commercially viable.”
Recently, Mr. Yadav also visited a place called Tatta Pani (Hot Springs) which is located in Marwa, adjacent to Warwan. “As the hot spring is said to have medicinal properties and many people from Kargil and Kashmir visit it, we are thinking of making it a tourist circuit. Along with Warwan, we will link up Tatta Pani and make people explore this serene hot water spring area,” he said.
Apart from this, there are many more places like Padder, Kishtwar National Park, and various renowned peaks that will will be promoted as tourist spots in the coming years, as it will not only boost the tourism sector, but also help the locals in getting livelihood opportunities in the form of home stays, restaurants, etc.
