Kishtwar.com

Kishtwar is a unique Land of Sapprire and Saffron. It has lofty mountains and sloppy hills around which bestow upon it grandeur and fascinating look for the on lookers who live in this land or visit this land. It has no beautiful landscapes and panorama that it finds a superb place on the tourist map of India also. Its bewitching scenery, picturesque and charming spots have often held the foreign travelers spell bound.The waterfall of Potnag on the opposite side of the Chinab river is so wonderful that one becomes astonished to see its jumps from a distance Its splendor and exquisite sight fascinate one and all.Niginsheer cliff is 4090 meters above from sea level, on its eastern side is just like a crown on its head.It has spring of fresh cold water and green pastures all over the cliff. People enjoy themselves by climbing the cliff and see around it.

Geographical Features of Kishtwar

Kishtwar is bounded on the north by Kashmir and Zanskar Velleys, on the south by Bhaderwah and Doda Tehsils, on the east by Himachal Predesh and on the west by Anantnag and Ramban Districts. Kishtwar district branches off in three valleys of Marwa,Warwan,Padder and Chatru with their terminal at Kishtwar town.Their is no other vehicular road link to these valleys except from the Kishtwar terminal.The Gateway to Dachhan is Ekhala and Hanzel to Marwa Warwan Valley whereas Lidrari is Gateway to Padder valley and Dadpath Chatru Valley.

Mountain Passes

There are a number of mountain passes on the mountain ranges which links kishtwar district with the other parts of Jammu & Kashmir state.Synthan pass links Chingam with Daksum valley of Anantnag District at the elevation of 3784 meters whereas Margan pass links Warwan Valley with Naubugh in Kashmir at a height of 3585 meters.Bhot Kol or Lanwille pass ,the route between Warwan and Zanskar at a height of 4421 meters.Another pass is Chatru Valleyis Singpur pass called Marbal pass,3670 meters high,which provides a route from Singpur to Gadol in Kashmir.Marwa and Brang of Kashmir valley are linked by Hukhsar pass which stands at an elevation of 4300 meters above sea level.From Sambole side Pogal Paristan of Banihal Tehsil of Ramban District is linked by Nandmarg pass 4110 meters above sea level.On Padder side Umasi La Or Bardhar of 5340 meters above sea level.

Hot Springs

Tatta Pani in Padder Tehsil is a famous helth resort which abounds in hot springs.The main source of hot spring at Tatta Pani is a pond wherein boiling hot water gushes out.It is very hot in the pond where it is difficult for a peson to touch it.There are other hot springs as well at Tatta Pani which range from very hot to luke warm water.In Marwa Tehsil hot spring is located near village Renai or Anjar. It is situated at aplendid place where people go from all over for a hot bath.Another hot spring is located on the right bank of Chandra Bhaga opposite of Padyarna.These hot springs have some peculiarities.People having rheurmatic pains get relief by taking bath in the hot springs.
District Kishtwar in the past used to be an independent hill principality and was merged with the State of Jammu and Kashmir in 1821, A.D. With the passage of time Kishtwar became a Tehsil of District Udhampur and remained its part till 1948, when it became part of newly created District Doda in the wake of first re-organization of the state during the post-independence period. Kishtwar branches off in Marwa-Wadwan valley, Paddar valley, Chatroo valley and is flanked by lofty Himalayas from all sides. The monsoon hardly reaches this part of the State which makes it a drought prone area and insufficient in food grains in particular the Marwah-Wardwan area which remains cut off for 5-6 months in a year due to snowfall in winter. In order to avoid any starvation death sufficient stocks of food grains and other essential commodities are stored well in advance in these areas so that the public may not suffer on this account. Kishtwar is having lot of potential for generation of Hydro Electric Power. One of the major projects is Dul-Hasti which was commissioned in April 2007. Kishtwar is popularly known as ‘Land of Sapphire and Saffron’ is also very rich in forest products. The richest forests in Jammu and Kashmir are found on the high mountains and hills of Kishtwar. Kishtwar is linked with other parts of the state by an all weather road, Nathional Highway 1-B, which remains open throughout the year Kishtwar is also connected with Kashmir Valley by Chatroo-Synthan road, which is being upgraded into National Highway Kishtwar is situated on the banks of the Chenab the town has remained very famous for its natural beauty, religious places and political supremacy. Kishtwar is situated 284 kilometers far from Srinagar, . In 1981 the area of Notified Area Committee, Kishtwar , was 0.63 square kilometer, which has expanded much during the last 21 years. According to the census of 1981 the total number of houses was 1167, which has now reached almost 2500 because of big colonies of Dulhasti Project have also benn formed during this period. Among religious places Darbar e Faridiya and Darbar eAsrariya are very famous. In addition to Jamia Masjid there are Masjid Bazar,Masjid Kamgar,Masjid Faridiya,Masjid Asraria,Abu Bakr Masjid, Bayt-ul Mukaram Masjid and Gorian Mohalla Masjid in the town.Hindu Tamples are in Sarkot, Bagwan Mohalla,and Brahman Mohalla and Sikh Gurudwara Is near Dharamshala. The Kishtwar Town is central to this area. There is hustle and bustle during daytime. The number of vehicles is increasing day by day. There are two bus stands in the town. There is a small aerodrome outside the town, where the aeroplane often lands on SOS basis, Zanskar is situated to the north of Kishtwar, Himachal to its east,Doda/Bhaderwah to the south and Anantnag to the west of the Kishtwar Kishtwar town is 5270 feet or 1607 meters above the sea level. This area is situated between 75.46 Longitude ease and 33.19 Latitude north.The valley Kishtwar is about 7 to 8 kilometers long and 4 to 5 kilometers wide .The total area of Chowgan is 520 Kanals or 165 acres.

• Altitude =5.270 feet
• From Jammu=230 km
• Best time to visitme to visit
• September To March Bird Viewing – March To May
• How To Get There Arriving At Kistwar By Flight: The nearest airport is situated in Jammu (250-km).
• By Trackways : The nearest railhead is situated in Jammu (248-km).
• By Roadways: The road is constructed upto Ikhala, but bus services are only operated up to Plamer, which is 20-km away, in the north of Kishtwar.

As of 2001 India census, Kishtwar had a population of 14,936. Males constitute 61% of the population and females 39%. Kishtwar has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 62%. In Kishtwar, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. The Kishtwar is situated 232 km form Jammu and 284 Km from Srinager. From Jammu the Bus and Tata Somuo service is available upto 11.30am from Indra Chowk and You can also get an information about Kishtwar from Shahidi Chowk Jammu from the Hotel Kong Poosh or from Faridia Hotel and from srinager the trafic facility is minimum you can board either Government Transport Bus or you have to book Tata Somuo.There is also a small aerodrome outside the town, where the aeroplane often lands on SOS basis, Zanskar is situated to the north of Kishtwar, Himachal to its east, Doda/Bhaderwah to the south and Anantnag to the west of the Kishtwar Kishtwar town is 5270 feet or 1607 meters above the sea level. This area is situated between 75.46 Longitude ease and 33.19 Latitude north.The valleys Kishtwar is about 7 to 8 kilometers long and 4 to 5 kilometers wide .The total area of Chowgan is 520 Kanals or 165 acres.

MLA/MLC

• Mr.Sunil Kumar Sharma (Kishtwar)
• Mr. Ghulam Mohd. Saroori (Inderwal)
• Mr.Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo (MLC)
• Mr.Firdous Ahmad Tak (MLC)

Designation Office

• Deputy Commissioner 01995-259362
• Additional Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar 01995-259362

Travel to Kishtwar

Travel to Kishtwar is extremely popular among tourists for the Kishtwar national park that includes the catchment areas of Kiar, Nanth and the Kibar streams. Animals such as the Snow Leopard, Antelope, Wild Yak and the Tibetan Ass can be commonly sighted in this park. At a distance of 19 kilometers from Kishtwar lies the holy pilgrimage of Sarthal Devi. The shrine of Sarthal Devi is well known for its historical importance. The statute of the 18-armed Goddess is a prime attraction at Sarthal Devi. It is believed that this shrine is the winter abode of the goddess Sarthal Devi. There are several Muslim shrines in Kishtwar. Sufi dargahs are found in almost every village of the district. In fact Doda’s most famous Sufi shrine is located at Kishtwar. The Ziarat Asrar-ud-Din Sahib shrine is located in Kishtwar, Doda. Tours to Kishtwar offers you an unique opportunity to visit the sacred Sufi shrines that reflect the culture of this region Kishtwar is also famous for its sapphire mines that are located at Paddar

SAFFRON

(By Jogindrr Shan) Saffron is one of the precious natural resource of India which is being used for making various medicinal and cosmetic products. Apart from this, precious saffron is used by Hindus in their religious activities and due to its inherent energetic properties it is mixed with ice cream, sweets and other food items. It is said that if a pregnant lady takes two petals of saffron with milk every week her child develops beauty and wisdom. A few countries of the world have been gifted the climate by almighty for cultivation of saffron. Among these, Indian saffron is considered as the best than Spain and Iran. Indian saffron costs ten times more than Spain and Iran which reveals the high quality of Indian saffron. In India, J&K state is the only one where saffron is cultivated and the areas where saffron is growing are Pampore in Avantipora, Kashmir and Kishtwar. Almost 10-15 KM area in Pampore is undertaking cultivation of saffron and in Kishtwar it is being cultivated in various villages viz. Pochhal, Hidyal, Tund, Matta, Bera-Bhata, Chirhar etc. which undertake almost 1000 kanal of land. Saffron grown in Kishtwar is considered superior to that grown in Pampore, Kashmir. Cultivation of saffron at Kashmir and Kishtwar is being done in different manner. At Kashmir saffron is sown like potatoes, in a row where as it is sown in rows like onion, at Kishtwar saffron is usually cultivated in the month of July-August. Cultivation of saffron requires special type of land that experience snowfall and retains moisture. The land undertaken for cultivation of saffron is not meant for any other cultivation, reason being that seed of saffron remain in the fields where it grows. Seed of saffron is like garlic that remains in the field where it is sown thus farmers don’t have to purchase the seed from the market, still, they have to do lot of exercise to sow it again. Firstly the seed is dug out of the field then mixed with chemical & manure and then re-sown at the other place. Now-a-days horticulture Department is keen to maximize the production of saffron and provide special type of manure for cultivation of saffron. Production of saffron is purely dependant on rains. The saffron flower bloom as early as it rains and temperature decreases. Usually it blooms in the month of October – November and the production is directly proportional to moisture in the fields. Saffron flower is blue in color. Inside the flower are six petals three of which are saffron color and three are yellow in color. The three petals which are saffron in color is the real saffron where as rest three yellow petals are used for making medicines. There is huge variation in the quantum quality between saffron colored petals and yellow colored petals e.g. say, if, Saffron colored petals costs Rs.120/- per 10gm, the yellow colored petals cost Rs.120/- per kg. To get saffron from the flower is the most difficult and technical procedure in the cultivation of saffron. Saffron flower bloom after sun sets and it is to be plucked before sunrise otherwise the saffron petals inside it decays. The whole procedure from plucking of flower till separating saffron petals from it involves care and patience. The farmers and their families together support each other in this activity and this is the time not less than any festival. Saffron petals are plucked very carefully and either tied in small lots or packed in hard sachet. The flower is of no use hence thrown. Saffron from Kashmir & Kishtwar directly reaches the markets of Delhi and Amritsar from where it is exported to various parts of the world. And this way reaches the love, affection, innocence and hard work, packed in small lots / sachet, from saffron towns to the whole world.