{"id":89089,"date":"2025-06-30T23:46:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T18:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/?p=89089"},"modified":"2025-06-30T23:46:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T18:16:36","slug":"tourist-rush-increases-in-pahalgam-weekend-witnessed-traffic-jams-for-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/30\/tourist-rush-increases-in-pahalgam-weekend-witnessed-traffic-jams-for-hours\/","title":{"rendered":"Tourist rush increases in Pahalgam, weekend witnessed traffic jams for hours"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ahead of Amarnath Yatra, stakeholders hopeful of full revival; hotels see rise in bookings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pahalgam, Jun 30 (KNO): As the Amarnath Yatra draws near, Pahalgam witnessed an even larger tourist influx this weekend, with thousands thronging the scenic valley. The rush, mainly comprising local tourists, led to massive traffic jams that lasted for hours on the Pahalgam routes on Sunday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The growing buzz is seen as a promising sign for the valley\u2019s tourism sector, still recovering from the shadow of a 22 April Pahalgam terror attack that had initially sparked fear and cancellations.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

According to the news agency\u2014Kashmir News Observer (KNO), traffic snarls were reported from multiple stretches between Anantnag and Pahalgam, with vehicles crawling for miles. Despite the inconvenience, the atmosphere remained festive, as families, trekkers, and nature lovers took advantage of the weekend to visit the lush green meadows, riversides, and famous parks like Betaab Valley.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the second consecutive weekend where we\u2019ve seen a huge footfall,\u201d said Fayaz Ahmad, a hotelier in Pahalgam, told KNO. \u201cOccupancy touched 80 per cent by Sunday evening. It feels like the season is picking up pace again, and we\u2019re hopeful the upcoming Yatra will boost things even more.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Local businesses, which had been reeling under uncertainty after the attack, are slowly regaining confidence. \u201cThe fear was there, but people have started coming back. The market was lively again, and we\u2019ve had good sales after a long gap,\u201d said Asma Jan, a handicrafts vendor near Lidder Park.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tourism department officials said the steady rise in visitor numbers is a positive indicator. \u201cWe\u2019ve been working to ensure safety and coordination across all departments. The weekend rush shows that people are regaining trust in Pahalgam as a safe tourist destination,\u201d an official told KNO.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Security has been tightened in view of the upcoming Yatra, with additional personnel deployed along key routes. The traffic department and Pahalgam Development Authority were on the ground, managing the crowd and ensuring that the rush didn\u2019t spiral into chaos.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe traffic was heavy but manageable. With proper planning and more deployment during the Yatra, we hope to streamline the flow better,\u201d said a traffic official.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photos and videos of the bustling Pahalgam along with jams went viral across social media, drawing praise and raising further hopes for a revival of tourism.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stakeholders believe that if the current momentum continues, the season may still turn around. \u201cWith school vacations going on and Yatra, we hope the flow to further increase. If peace prevails, we\u2019re looking at a near-normal season,\u201d said Mohammad Yousuf, who operates a pony service.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stakeholders said that there are still three months of peak season, and if they will go good, they will be able to earn their livelihood despite the dent caused by the attack\u2014(KNO)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ahead of Amarnath Yatra, stakeholders hopeful of full revival; hotels see rise in bookings Pahalgam, Jun 30 (KNO): As the Amarnath Yatra draws near, Pahalgam witnessed an even larger tourist influx this weekend, with thousands thronging the scenic valley. The rush, mainly comprising local tourists, led to massive traffic jams that lasted for hours on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89090,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kashmir"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89089"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89091,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89089\/revisions\/89091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.khushalekashmir.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}