A motor expedition explores Gurez valley

Dawar(Kashmir): Gurez, a picturesque valley located in the Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir  at an altitude of about 8,000 feet above sea level, remains snowbound most part of the year.

It is mainly between June and August when travellers can enter the valley and surrounding villages. Last week, about 40 motorsport enthusiasts chose Gurez for an off-road rally.

The Kashmir Off-Road’s second edition named “Glorious Gurez 2018”began in Srinagar on July 28. The two-day event saw men, women and children, and machines making their way to hostile mountain terrain, covering about 600 km and crossing more than a dozen places —- surrounded by pine deodar and wildflower forests. The 41-km road between Srinagar and Bandipore offered a spectacular view of  Manasbal and Wullar lakes.

However, it was in the charming town of Bandipore, situated on the banks of Wullar, that the expedition was flagged off by deputy commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary.

Welcoming the explorers, he said, “I’m glad to see the increasing number of visitors to our region, especially women and children. We extend them our full support throughout the journey.”

He hoped that the expedition would help boost tourism and promote Gurez as a unique destination for tourists all over the world.

In fact, the initiative taken by Ali Sajid, founder and owner of Kashmir Off-Road, had a dual goal of promoting motorsport and help the authorities and the people of Gurez in their effort to showcase its diverse beauty.

This was the second off-road expedition to Gurez organised by Kashmir Off-Road. Mr Sajid said, “Last year we came with around 20 people and we have more than doubled the number of participants, including men, women and children. All came prepared in their cars and bikes. The valley is totally untouched and extremely beautiful and we really want more people to explore this region.

An uphill journey from Bandipore to Razdan Pass at an elevation of 3.557 m above the sea level has a breathtaking viewpoints and the shrine of Peer Bubo, the saint who came from Lahore in 1933.

The next stop of the expedition was Dawar, the central township in the area, around which are scattered about 15 villages. The area remains cut off for six months due to heavy snowfall. The people of Gurez are Dards who speak Sheena or Shina language and have their ancestral connection with Gilgit-Baltistan, now in Pakistan.

Gurez was historically part of ancient Dardistan, stretching between Sharda Peeth in the west, Minimarg in the north, Dras in the east, and Baghtor in the south. The valley falls along the ancient Sikh Route, which connected the Kashmir Valley with Gilgit before continuing further to Kashgar.

Dawar is situated on the banks of Kishen Ganga river, a tributary of Jhelum with a length of 180 miles which rises in extreme eastern Tilel and flows westwards. The Kishen Ganga river starts and re-enters Pakistan via Gurez valley. The river offers an easy level of stream for rafting. Some of the surrounding mountains have a challenging scope for rock climbing. The place has lovely camp sites and one of these was chosen by the participants of the Kashmir Off-Road team for pitching tents to spend night.

Next day began the journey through villages of Tilel, the first of these located at a distance of about 20 km from Dawar. On the way, logwood houses presented an awesome view. These unique houses add to the magnificent view of mountains full of pine and fir trees and colourful wildflowers. The road from Gurez to Tilel is just eight or nine years old, which has been extended to Drass in the Kargil region of Ladakh. The group had planned to cross over to Drass via Tilel valley, Kabul Gali and Mushko valley. However, it had to stop at Kabul Gali and take Tilel-Dawar route for return journey for a couple of reasons. First, the Army was reluctant to permit travel along the stretch of road beyond a certain point, apparently for its close proximity to the LoC. Besides, the road had been blocked at several places due to landslides. Prior to 1947-48, Gurez had been a popular destination for foreign trekkers, mountaineers and other tourists. Among them was Franklin Delano Roosevelt who is known to have visited Gurez so
metime before becoming the 32nd President of the United States in 1933. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi were accompanied by Kashmir’s legendary leader Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah to Gurez in the 1940s where they went for angling for trout.

After partition, Gurez was closed to visitors. Even those from the Kashmir Valley and other parts of the state could enter the region only with special permits from the district administration.