Lakadh: favourite tourist destination in Jammu and Kashmir

New Delhi, May 31 (UNI) As the number of tourists visting the Kashmir valley declined by a whopping 39 per cent during January to April this year, Lakadh has emerged as the new favourite destination among visitors, domestic as well as foreign .

Last year more than 43,000 tourists visited Ladakh, 6,000 more than the previous year while the just begun tourist-season this year is expected to reap good dividends.

And to give it a fillip, the Jammu and Kashmir Government and the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) have announced a series of programmes to promote Ladakh as an ideal destination.

Among the major initiatives is a three-day 2007 Singhey Khababs Spring Festival (Sindhu Darshan Utsav) which is expected to give the tourist arrivals to the region a new boost.

Besides, 13 Monastic festivals will be held in Leh area and three in Zanaskar and one at Nubra with the Hemis festival, to be held on June 25 and 26, Announcing June 12 as the opening day of the Singhey Khababs, festival, LHADC Chief Executive Councilor Tsering Dorjee said the council and the state Government are working closely for improving tourist and accommodation facilities in the region.

''There are 7,700 beds in about 100 hotels and 270 guest houses available in Leh,'' he added.

''The Singhey-Khababs, which means sprouting out of lion's mouth, is expected to give a boost to the tourist arrivals to the region,'' he added.

boost,'' he added.

Mr Dorjee said Ladakh is an ideal destination which has something to offer to all the people and all facilities and infrastructure are in place to provide the best hospitality to the visitors.

''We offer adventure tourism including trekking, mountain climbing and mountain biking. Culturally, Ladakh offers a rich package of tribal groups, fairs and festivals. The main attraction still are the centuries-old monasteries, which are the repositories of artistic and cultural heritage,'' he added.

Describing Ladakh as a unique largest region of the state, Kashmir Tourism Director Farooq Shah said the department had persuaded the central government to include the state in the country's Buddhist tourist circuit.

Besides, Rs 2.87 crore have been released till March 2007 as capital outlay for the region for tourism development, he added.

Two tourist development authorities have been established at Leh and Kargil and another development authority for Zanaskar is being established.

Last year, LAHDC re-christened the popular 'Sindhu (Indus) Darshan' as 'Ladakh Singhey-Khabab Festival' to provide it ''cultural linkage with the region where the Indus river exists''.

Ladakh is the largest region of Jammu and Kashmir, covering more than half the area of the state and bordering China and Tibet in the East and Baltistan in the West.

It is the highest plateau in India, straddling the Himalayan and the Karakoram ranges and the Upper Indus River Valley.

UNI