The Lolab Valley, earlier known as Lolo, is a

Himalaya 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 Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

n valley located in the

Kupwara district Kupwara district is an administrative district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mentio ...

of the Indian

union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union Territory (UT) is a region that is directly governed by the Government of India, central government of India, as opposed to the states, which have their own State governments of India, s ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

. It is named after its founder, Maharaja Lolo. Lolab Valley extends from its entrance at Goose Village, east of

Kupwara Kupwara ( ; ) is a city, District headquarter and a municipal council in Kupwara district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Municipal council Kupwara is an Urban Local Body with elected members which administers the city Mun ...

, to Diver. The valley is oval-shaped, 15 miles (26 km) long with an average width of 3.10 miles (5 km) that includes three sub-valleys: Kalaroos, Potnai, and Brunai. The valley is at an altitude of 1,590 metres (5,215 ft) above sea level. Lolab Valley is characterised by lush green fields, dense forests, and scenic views, making it a popular destination for nature enthusiasts and tourists seeking tranquility.

Geography

The Lolab Valley is situated within the jurisdiction of Sogam Lolab, a sub-division of

. Lolab is a sub-district of Kupwara. It is bordered by the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir, a region in Indian-administered Kashmir.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcont ...

to the south and the

Neelum Valley Neelum (spelt also ''Neelam''; ) is a district of Pakistan-administered territory of Azad Kashmir, in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir disput ...

to the north, and is separated by Nagmarg meadows from

Bandipore Bandipore () or Bandipora ( ; ) is the headquarters of district of Bandipore in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located on the northern banks of Wullar Lake—the second-largest freshwater lake in Asia. From baramulla ...

to the east. It is formed by the Lahwal River, which flows from east to west. The Lolab Valley is home to many ancient springs and is covered with dense forests of deodar, kair, budul,

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

, and

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

. Fruit trees such as

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

, and

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

are common in the valley, which is known as "the fruit bowl of Jammu and Kashmir". The valley has several natural landmarks and tourist spots, such as the caves of Kalaroos and Green Meadows. The main villages in the Lolab Valley are Saiwan, Surigam, Putushai, Khumriyal, Sogam, Lalpora, Darpora, Cherkoot, Kalaroos, Wavoora, Maidanpora, Khurhama, Warnow, Aafan, Takipora, Cheepora, Goose.

Ecology

Like other valleys in the region, Lolab Valley is also home to many Himalayan wild animals, which include the Himalayan black bear,

Himalayan brown bear The Himalayan brown bear (''Ursus arctos isabellinus''), also known as the Himalayan red bear or isabelline bear, is a subspecies of the brown bear occurring in the western Himalayas. It is the largest mammal in the region, males reaching up to ...

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...

ibex An ibex ( : ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. T ...

markhor The markhor (''Capra falconeri'') is a large wild ''Capra'' (goat) species native to South Asia and Central Asia, mainly within Pakistan, the Karakoram range, parts of Afghanistan, and the Himalayas. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Near ...

hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

, and

musk deer Musk deer can refer to any one, or all eight, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family (biology), family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, b ...

. Lolab Valley is adjacent to Kishenganga Valley, and separated by the

Line of Control The Line of Control (LoC) is a military control line between the Indian and Pakistanicontrolled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary, but ser ...

. The Valley has seen many armed combats, which have resulted in the displacement of many wild animals.

Access

The Lolab Valley is well connected by road to

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, and

Srinagar Airport Srinagar International Airport , officially named as Sheikh Ul Alam International Airport, is an international airport serving Srinagar, the summer capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is owned by the Indian Air Force ...

. A bus takes 2 hours & 30 minutes to cover a distance of and leads through the towns of

Sopore Sopore ( ; ) is a city in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is north-west of Srinagar, and north-east of Baramulla. Sopore is one of the largest subdivisions in Jammu and Kashmir, consisting of seven tehsils an ...

and

. An under-construction road from Bandipora to Lolab via Anderbugh, Nagmarg Meadows, will cut short the Srinagar-to-Lolab distance by 50 kilometres. In Lolab Valley, there are a few tourist huts and many camping sites. It has the potential to become one of the best tourist destinations in Kashmir.

Tourism

Travelers visiting Lolab sometimes visit the resting place of the saint Kashyap Reshi, which is located at a distance of 1 km from the village of Lalpora. A spring called Lavnag can be found nearby. The spring is three feet deep and has crystal clear water. Gauri Spring is another major spring in the area. Due lack of intervention by the government, the place has a very poor flow of tourists, which keeps its tourism potential still unexplored. This place still manages to be one of the topmost camping sites in Kashmir. Some tourist attractions in the valley include Nagmarg Camping Site, Kairwan, Satbaran Kalaroos, Kalaroos Caves, Chandigam, Warnow, Aafan, Machil, Kairwan Anderbugh, Gagal, Doorusa, and some upper forest places like Nagmarg, Trumukhann, Nachyan, Lashkoot, Ibje Pathar, and Kimsar.

Poem

Lolab Valley was once visited by the Urdu poet

Muhammad Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

, and he wrote a poem, ''O Valley of Lolab!'' in honour of Lolab's natural environment, which starts with: پانی ترے چشموں کا تڑپتا ہوا سیماب مرغانِ سحَرتیری فضاؤں میں ہیں بیتاب اے وادیِ لولاب اے وادیِ لولاب ''Your springs and lakes with water pulsating and quivering like quicksilver,'' ''the morning birds fluttering about the sky, agitated and in turmoil,'' ''O Valley of Lolab! O Valley of Lolab! گر صاحبِ ہنگامہ نہ ہو منبر ومحراب دیں بندہٌ مومن کے لیے موت ہے یا خواب اے وادیِ لولاب اےوادیِ لولاب ''When the pulpit and the niche cease to re‐create Resurrections,'' ''faith then is dead or a mere dream, for thee, me, and all.'' ''O Valley of Lolab! O Valley of Lolab!''

Notable people

Shah Faesal Shah Faesal (born 17 May 1983) is an Indian civil servant, bureaucrat currently posted as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Culture (India) In 2010, Faesal secured Rank 1 and became the first Kashmiri to top the Civil Services Examination, In ...

, a bureaucrat and the first Kashmir

Civil Services Examination The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a standardized test in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to higher Civil Services of India, civil services in the Government of India, such as the All India Service ...

topper. *

Anwar Shah Kashmiri Anwar Shah Kashmiri (; 26 November 1875 – 28 May 1933) was an Islamic scholar from Kashmir in the early twentieth century, best known for his expertise in the study of hadith, a strong memory, and a unique approach to interpreting traditions, ...

, an Islamic scholar of

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

* Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, Cabinet Minister, Politician * Abdul Haq Khan, cabinet minister *

Qaysar Jamshaid Lone Qaysar Jamshaid Lone is an Indian politician from Jammu and Kashmir. He is a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly from 2024, representing Lolab Assembly constituency as a member of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference party. ...

, Politician, MLA Lolab * Ashraf Sehrai, politician, separatist, and former chairman and founding member of

Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Tehreek-e-Hurriyat () is a separatist political party in Jammu and Kashmir, India founded by Syed Ali Shah Geelani. It was founded on 7 August 2004 after Geelani quit his former party Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir. Geelani floats new party, ''The State ...

Ghulam Nabi Wani Ghulam Nabi Wani Sogami (O2 January 1916 - 23 July 1981) was an Indian politician from the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. He was the grandfather of Nasir Aslam Wani. Born in Sogam Lolab, Wani represented the Lolab Valley constituency ...

, politician

References

External links

Lolab Valley
{{Kashmir Valley Valleys of Jammu and Kashmir River valleys of India Kupwara district

Geography

Ecology

Access

Tourism

Poem

Notable people

See also

References

External links