The Lolab Valley is a Himalayan valley located in 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 ...

, India. The entrance to the valley lies east of Kupwara, and the centre of the valley lies northwest of

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir. LOLAB is known as Land of Love and Beauty. It is an oval-shaped valley long with an average width of . Valley is at an altitude of 1,590 metres (5,215 ft) above the Sea level. An under-construction road from Bandipora to Lolab via Anderbugh Nagmarg Meadows will short cut the distance from Srinagar-to-Lolab by 50 kilometers. 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.

Geography

The Lolab Valley is situated within the jurisdiction of Sogam Lolab, a block of Kupwara. Lolab is 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 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 and ...

to the south and the Neelum River 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. Bandipora has a ter ...

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

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

. Fruit trees such as apple,

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 nam ...

, peach,

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 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, Putushai,Khumriyal, Sogam, Lalpora, Darpora, Cherkoot, Kalaroos, Wavoora, Warnow, Takipora, Cheepora, Goose, etc.

Ecology

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

Himalayan brown bear The Himalayan brown bear (''Ursus arctos isabellinus''), also known as the Himalayan red bear, isabelline bear or Dzu-Teh, is a subspecies of the brown bear and is known from northern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, northern India, west China an ...

, snow leopard, ibex, markhor, hangul and

musk deer Musk deer can refer to any one, or all seven, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, but rather their fa ...

. Lolab Valley is adjacent to KishanGanga 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 serve ...

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

Access

The Lolab Valley is well connected by road to

, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, and

Srinagar Airport Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport also known as Srinagar Airport and Budgam Airbase, is an international airport serving Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is owned by the Indian Air Force, and the Airports Autho ...

. A bus takes three hours to cover a distance of and leads through the towns of Sopore and Kupwara. An under-construction road from Bandipora to Lolab via Anderbugh Nagmarg Meadows will cut short the Srinagar-to-Lolab distance by 50 kilometers. 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

LOLAB is known as Land of Love and Beauty. Travelers visiting Lolab sometimes visit the resting place of the saint Kashyap reshi, which is located at a distance of 1 km from village 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 government the place has very poor flow of tourists which keeps it potential for tourism still unexplored. This place still manages to be one of the top most camping sites in Kashmir. Some tourist attractions in the valley include Nagmarg Camping Site, Satbaran Kalaroos, Chandigam, Warnav, Machil, Kairwan Anderbugh, Green Meadows of Diver. New Tourist Site (Kairwan) is under Construction at Diver Lolab.

Poem

Lolab Valley was once visited by the Urdu poet Muhammad Iqbal and he wrote a poem, ''O Valley of Lolab!'' in the 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 for all.'' ''O Valley of Lolab! O Valley of Lolab!''

Notable people

* Shah Faesal * Adhik Kadam * Anwar Shah Kashmiri * Ghulam Nabi Wani * Nasir Aslam Wani

References

External links

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