Betaab valley, originally called as Hajan Valley or Hagan Valley, is situated at a distance of from

Pahalgam Pahalgam (), known as Pahalgom (; in Kashmiri) is a town and a notified area committee, near Anantnag city in the Anantnag district of the Indian-administered union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a popular tourist destination and hill ...

in the

Anantnag district Anantnag district is a district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of ten districts which make up the Kashmir Valley. The district headquarters is Anantnag city. As of 2011, it was the third most populous district ...

in India's union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley got its name from the Sunny Deol- Amrita Singh hit debut film

Betaab ''Betaab'' (''Restless'') is a 1983 Indian romance film written by Javed Akhtar, directed by Rahul Rawail and produced by Bikram Sing Dahal. The film stars Sunny Deol and Amrita Singh in their debut roles along with Shammi Kapoor. The music ...

(1983). The Valley is towards northeast of Pahalgam and falls between Pahalgam and Chandanwadi and is en route Amarnath Temple Yatra. The valley surrounded by lush green meadows, snow clad mountains and covered with dense vegetation.

History

Betaab Valley, which is a part of Pahalgam area – one of the several sub-valleys of Kashmir Valley came into existence during the post geosynclinal stage of the development of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

. Betaab Valley lies between the two Himalayan Ranges –

Pir Panjal The Pir Panjal Range ( Kashmiri: ) is a group of mountains in the Lesser Himalayan region, running from east-southeast (ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian territories of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and then Pakistan's ...

and

Zanskar Zanskar, Zahar (locally) or Zangskar, is a tehsil of Kargil district, in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. The administrative centre is Padum (former Capital of Zanskar). Zanskar, together with the neighboring region of Ladakh, was brie ...

. Archaeological evidence proves the human existence in this region from the

Neolithic Age The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

, especially at

Burzahom The Burzahom archaeological site is located in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Archaeological excavations have revealed four phases of cultural significance between 3000 BCE and 1000 BCE. Periods I and II represent the Neolithic ...

, Bomai and Pahalgam. Betaab Valley – a part of the Kashmir region, was ruled by the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

since the 15th Century. In latter part of the 15th century the Turko-Mughal Military General Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat ruled over Kashmir first on behalf of Sultan Said Khan of Kashgar and then on behalf of the Mughal Emperor

Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...

. Ghiyas-ud-Din Zain-ul-Abidin invaded and ruled Kashmir region for about 40 years during which he was famous for promoting peace and harmony in Kashmir. He even gave a directive to restore and restructure Kashmir during his reign – in sharp contrast to the other plunderers who preceded him.

Tourism

Natural view of Jammu and Kashmir at Betaab Valley

Betab Valley is a very popular tourist destination in Jammu and Kashmir. Betaab Valley is also a favorite campsite of travelers as it also serves as a base camp for trekking and further exploration of the mountains. The valley is a walk-able distance from Pahalgam. The crystal clear and chilly water of the stream bubbling down from the snowy hills is a delight; locals here drink this water too. Baisaran and Tulian Lake are few nearby attractions that can be visited.

In popular culture

Kashmir was home to the

Indian film industry The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...

from the sixties to the eighties. Scores of films were shot in the Valley like ''

Aarzoo Aarzoo (transl. ''Desire'') is a 1999 Indian Hindi romance film directed by Lawrence D'Souza stars Madhuri Dixit, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Amrish Puri, Paresh Rawal and Reema Lagoo. The film was primarily filmed in Mumbai, but some scenes w ...

'', ''

Kashmir Ki Kali ''Kashmir Ki Kali'' () is a 1964 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Shakti Samanta. The film stars Shammi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore in her Hindi movie debut role, Pran, Dhumal, Nazir Hussain and Anoop Kumar. The music was compose ...

'', '' Jab Jab Phool Khile'', '' Kabhie Kabhie'', '' Silsila'', ''

Satte Pe Satta ''Satte Pe Satta'' (transl. 'Seven on Seven') is an Indian Hindi-language action-comedy film released in 1982 and directed by Raj N. Sippy, and produced by Romu N. Sippy. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Amjad Khan, Ranjeeta Kaur ...

'' and ''

Roti Roti (also known as chapati) is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is popular in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trini ...

''. Film shooting almost came to a halt after militancy erupted in the Valley but with things improving now, one can hope that Bollywood would soon return to what many believe is its original home. The threat of militancy was a deterrent for over 30 years but with director Imtiaz Ali shooting for his film ''Rockstar'' in the valley with actors

Ranbir Kapoor Ranbir Kapoor (; born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. He is one of the highest-paid actors of Hindi cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the re ...

and

Nargis Fakhri Nargis Fakhri (born October 20, 1979) is an American actress and model who primarily works in the Indian Hindi-language films. Her first role in film came with the 2011 romantic drama ''Rockstar'', for which she was nominated for Filmfare Award ...

, the violence seems to be a thing of the past. The hut where Bobby was shot continues to be famous as the 'Bobby Hut'. Many films like Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Yeh Jawani Hai deewani, Haider have been shot in the Jammu and Kashmir state. File:A panoramic view of Betab valley in Gulmarg.jpg, Betaab Valley, panoramic view. File:Betaab Valley from top.jpg, Betaab Valley-aerial view

References

{{Kashmir Valley Tourist attractions in Anantnag district Valleys of Jammu and Kashmir