Tourist Destination in India

Explore the ancient city of Jammu where the voices from the past speak to the future.Discover the beautiful old temples and shrines and enjoy the scenic sights.

Kishtawar

Kishtawar, the upland valley in the north-east corner of Jammu region, lies ensconced among the picturesque folds of the Pir Panjal and the Great Himalayan Ranges.

The area is drained by the Chenab river system which, flowing in from neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, enters the area through Paddar, home of the famous sapphire mines.

Paddar, Dacchan and Marwah are major valleys of Kishtawar. It is along these valleys that the trans-Himalayan trekking trails leading to the Suru and Zanskar valleys of Ladakh pass amidst breathtaking mountain sceneries.

Kishtawar town occupies a central plateau set amidst sylvan surroundings of forested hills. It is famous for the fine saffron grown here. Several waterfalls provide enchanting contrasts to the lush green landscape. The nearest of these is only 3 kms away from the town and drops down from a height of over 700 m in a series of seven c ascades. Other local attractions include the highly revered shrines of two Muslim Sufi saints to which thousands of devotees and pilgrims throng from far and wide.

The main purpose for visiting Kishtawar would be for climbing or trekking across the Great Himalayan Range. Kishtawar is a major mountaineering base of J&K State and is surrounded by an incredible number of peaks. There are peaks like Tupendo up the Kaban Valley, which closely resemble the Chamonix Aigulles with varying degrees of climbing options. The walk up to the base camps of most of the peaks generally takes 2-5 days. Peaks like Cerro Kishtwar have been attempted by serious mountaineers like Mick Flower and Andy Perkins in recent times, while as other steep faces like the Hagshu North Face have had John Barry and his team attempting four times without success. The area was first explored for climbing by two Austrians, Fritz Kolb and Krenek in 1946 who were held up in India at the outbreak of the World War. Eight years later, as they waited for their passages home, they went off to Kishtawar and climbed Bramah-II (6, 425 m) and christened it as ‘Dreikant’.

After a period of closure, Kishtawar was reopened for climbing in the early 70’s, and in 1973 Chris Bonnington and Nick Escort made the first ascent of Brammah-I via the south-east ridge. The first ascent of Sickle Moon (6574 m) was achieved in 1975 by an Indian expedition of the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS). In 1986, two lady members of a French expedition were on the summit as well. The Japanese were active in the late 70’s in the Barnaj group which lie in the eastern part of the valley. During the late 70’s and early 80’s, one of the major Indo-British expeditions led by Chris Bonnington and Balwant Sandhu climbed Sickle Moon and made the area quite popular as a climbing destination. Other popular peaks in the area are Brammah, Brammah’s wife (5478 m) and Eiger (5513 m), all of which have been attempted by renowned mountaineers during the seventies and eighties.