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 hi ...

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 distr ...

in India's union territory of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

. The valley got its name from the

Sunny Deol Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1956), better known by his stage name Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, politician and current Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur (Lok Sabha constituency) of Punjab, India. As an actor, ...

Amrita Singh Amrita Singh (born 9 February 1958) is an Indian actress. Through her films such as '' Betaab'' and '' Mard'', she gained popularity and became a well-known and popular actress in the 1980s. She took a break from acting in the early 1990s for ...

hit debut film Betaab (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 A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

and covered with dense vegetation.

History

Betaab Valley, which is a part of Pahalgam area – one of the several sub-valleys of

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range a ...

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 ...

. 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 A ...

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, 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, Norther ...

. 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, K ...

from the sixties to the eighties. Scores of films were shot in the Valley like '' Aarzoo'', '' Kashmir Ki Kali'', ''

Jab Jab Phool Khile ''Jab Jab Phool Khile'' () is a 1965 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film. It stars Shashi Kapoor and Nanda. The story is of a poor boy who is a boatman in Kashmir and falls in love with a rich tourist. The film became a "blockbuster" at t ...

'', '' Kabhie Kabhie'', ''

Silsila Silsila ( ar, سِلْسِلَة) is an Arabic word meaning ''chain'', ''link'', ''connection'' often used in various senses of lineage. In particular, it may be translated as "spiritual genealogy" where one Sufi Master transfers his ''khi ...

'', '' Satte Pe Satta'' 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 (2011 film), Rockstar'', for which she was nominat ...

, 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 Haider is a predominantly Arabic name, with alternative spellings such as Haidar, Haydar and Heydar. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Haider Al-Abadi, Iraqi politician * Haider Ackermann (born 1971), French fashion designer * H ...

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