Tourism around Pahalgam picking up; upcoming Amarnath Yatra litmus test

Srinagar: The tourism industry is plodding its way to routine, a year after the Pahalgam attack. But the shadow of the incident continues to haunt Baisaran, where the attack took place, and surrounding tourist spots which are yet to reopen for tourism activity.

Echoes of the attack still linger in the tourist spots, located in the forest areas of Pahalgam in Anantnag district of southern Kashmir, that were accessible through pony trails. The closure for over a year has majorly impacted the livelihood of hundreds of pony wallas whose income has now reduced to a meagre 20-30% of what they were earning before the attack.

According to pony wallas, the tourist spots of Baisaran Valley, Deno Valley and Dobyan Valley and Kashmir Valley, which are around 5-8 km from the Pahalgam town in different directions, for which tourists hire ponies, remained closed for a year now.

"Tourism industry suffered massively after the attack and pony wallas are one of the worst sufferers. A pony wala who earned ₹1,000-1,500 a day is now making ₹200 to ₹300 a day," said Waheed Ahmad Wani, who heads one of the pony walla associations in Pahalgam. There are at least 3,500 registered pony wallas from nearby villages, who operate in Pahalgam area. They were the first responders on the day of attack and managed to save and transport many injured and stranded tourists to safety on April 22 afternoon, when gunmen opened fire at the tourists in Baisaran Valley. One of the pony walas, Adil Shah, lost his life while protecting tourists from the gunmen.

"We have been assigned a scan code after verification that will have all our details, but we still need permission to even look for our stray cattle and ponies in the forest area. This has become a laborious routine," said a pony wala.

Hotel owners in Pahalgam said occupancy currently is around 30% and is limping back to better numbers, but the stay in Pahalgam has shortened due to inaccessible tourist spots in the mountains. "Tourists now stay in Pahalgam just for a day or two. They go to Betab Valley and Aru Valley in cars and return in a few hours," said Mushtaq Ahmad, a local in Pahalgam.

Following the Pahalgam attack in April 2025, in which 26 people including 25 tourists and a local pony wala were killed, the government had announced temporary precautionary closure of 48 tourist spots, mostly in the upper reaches of the mountains due to prevailing security threats in the region. The strict security measures that followed wiped out last years' tourist season in Kashmir Valley. In September 2025, the government had opened 29 of the 48 spots in a phased manner and in February this year 14 more resorts were opened.

NC MLA Altaf Kaloo said Pahalgam is returning to normal and tourist activity is gaining momentum. "A section of paramilitary forces from Kashmir was relocated to poll-bound areas across the country. Once they return, we have been promised that these tourist spots will be reopened," he said.

J&K Police said they have upgraded security across the Kashmir Valley including Pahalgam - one of the two main routes of Amarnath Yatra.