Amid early snowfall Kashmir witnesses record-breaking tourist arrivals

At a time when it's still autumn in Kashmir, hundreds of tourists were taken by surprise to witness snowfall at various locations in the valley. Most of them had come to enjoy the autumn hues and the golden coloured chinar trees of Kashmir, but got snow instead.

- NOOR-UL-QAMRAIN

The J&K government on Friday released figures that show that 1.70 crore tourists have already visited the Union Territory of J&K this year, and by this yearend, the number may cross the 2-crore mark, which would amount to a remarkable surge in tourism for Kashmir. A peaceful atmosphere, snowfall in October, coupled with the launch of Vistadome train services have added to the tourist rush to the Kashmir valley. According to tour and travel outlets, they were getting a lot of queries about tourism packages in Kashmir valley for the autumn season, but the early snowfall resulted in a lot of bookings for the winter months, especially as the tourists want to enjoy snow at Gulmarg and Sonmarg.