Neelum valley is one of the beautiful places of Azad Kashmir and
it’s named after the river which has curves like snake and has blue color. It
is also called as the “PARASIDE OF KASHMIR”. There is a contradiction that this
valley was named after a precious stone called Neelum. Neelum Valley is located
in the Kashmir Region and to the North & the North East of Muzaffarabad and
running parallel to the Kaghan Valley. It is different from it by snowstorm
covered mountain which are 4000 meters higher than the ocean level. It contains
about 370 large and small villages. It mostly contains hills and mountains with
great valleys. The valley has thick forest, streams and rivers. This valley is
dipped in most amazing beauty and attracts lots of tourists from within the
country and other foreign countries as well. The valley can be approached from
two different points. One from Kaghan Valley and the other is Noori Top.
Besides these two it has many minor passes as well.
The district
of Neelum valley starts 43 km from Muzaffarabad. The area is also famous for
its mineral mines from that particular locality mineral are being tranposrted
to other cities of Pakistan. In addition to that there is also LOC (LINE OF
CONTROL) where relatives can cross the bridge and can meet their relatives on
the other side of the bridge twice a month. There is a tourist seventeen
century fort built by the town’s founder, a chief of the Chak tribe named
Muzaffar Khan, to ward off the Mughal armies of Emperor Akbar.
This land
also has many local fruits which are of great taste including Apples, Apricots,
Walnuts and Plums which are famous. A large number of tourists visit it in
summers. The whole valley gives fascinating and beautiful scenery. There is
also a mountain “SARWALI” (6326 meters) which is one of the highest mountains
in Azad Kashmir. The valley include lush green forests and high altitude lakes
makes the surrounding heavenly and it is like a dream come true for the people
who visit it. The snow capped mountains and the fast flowing Neelum River all
make us believe that we are in some part of Switzerland. Many of the tourists
who are interested in mountain tourism also come and enjoy here. The river is
also famous for its fishing and it has Trout fish in abundance.
Some of its
famous places like Shounter Pass, Chita Khata, Ratti Gali, Baboon, Noori Top,
Sharda, Kel, Surgon and many more are mentioned by famous tourists like
Mustansar Hussain Tararr etc. Tararr even wrote a travelogue on after visiting
there. The three rivers present in this area are Jhelum, Neelum and Poonch.
The people of
districts Kotli,Mirpur & Bhimber, are simple, truthful and deeply attached
to their land. The culture of this area resembles to that of the adjoining area
of Punjab. People here mostly follow the culture which quite resemble to that
of Punjab.
While the
district of Muzaffarabad has its own distinctive culture. The people are
intelligent, hard working and are skillful. As it is the capital of AJK so it
quite established and people here are educated and sophisticated when you
compare with the other areas of the neelum valley.
Some of the
important areas of the valley include:
Kutton and Jagran
It is situated in the lower part of Neelum valley, Jagran Nullah
(stream) plays pivotal role in the formation of its landscape beauty and charm
which reveals the richness of the area. For the convenience of tourists, AJK
tourism Department has constructed a rest house here. A mega hydro electric project
is installed here that produce electricity to the state. A long a
beautiful series of Himalayas mountain starts from here to Kaghan, Skardu and
Chillas.
Authmuqam
This valley
town is very unique in its beauty with respect to the other places we had yet
visited, it is also significant as it marks the beginning of control line with
Indian Held Kashmir in Neelum. It is named Authmuqam because it is 8th
station from Muzaffarabad to upper valley. Most people are government
employees, rest are in different fields.From here upwards emerges typical
Kashmiri living pattern with houses built of wooden logs, most of them double
storied.. Hiking tracks for surrounding mountains are traced by peoples and
tourists.
Sharda
Sharda is one
of the most beautiful places with its lush green planes, smooth flowing river
which frozes in sever cold season and serves as passage for people of both
sides of the river. This place from the point of view of tourists is so
attractive and they get their money’s worth when they spend a few days here. In
Sharda one also finds ruins of an old place of learning. There are also ruins
present there which might be interesting for people doing historical research
there. Also there are signs of an old university and was the center of knowledge
for the people of China, East and Central Asia.
Kel
It is also
one of the attractive places of the valley neelum. One of the fact is the there
is a long track goes towards Nanga Parbat. People can actually see this Nanga
Parbat mountain from there and it is a beautiful sight for everyone who visit
it.
Dress
Men of these
valleys wear normal Shalwar Kameez and so does the women. The men mostly wear a
weskit because in summers also the weather there is pleasant and cool and when
we talk about winters the sweaters and the normal jackets comes into play.
Women also wear the Shalwar Kameez and you won’t see a single lady wearing a
tight jeans or t-shirt. Women of these valley like to cover their faces aswell
and mostly all of them wear a Burka or if not this than cover themselves with
duppata and hence the
Language
The official
language which is spoken in this valley is Urdu because it can be understood by
mostly anyone in the valley so that’s the sole reason for it. The local mix of
people including Kashmiris speaks their own local languages Kashmiri or Pahari
or Hindko. The few of the people living there also follow Punjabi and Pashto
aswell because some Punjabi’s and Pathan’s are also doing their business in the
valley.
Crafts
People of
this valley make good handicrafts aswell which include Carpet, Namda, Gubba.
They are also famous for their Silk Woolen Clothing. People also make Woolen
shawls. Besides all these they are also good at Wood Carving and in making Rugs
Dishes
The area is
famous for its dishes like Gushtaba. The Kashmiri people love this food and are
their most favorite. People eat rice a lot. They don’t consider a luch or a
meal with not having rice. Tabak Maaz is also quite eaten in this valley
and the preparation of which is considered an art and a point of pride in
Kashmiri culture.
The valley is no doubt a
great place to visit specially with frends and family and in that way can enjoy
the beautiful places and the nature aswell as can enjoy the local dishes and
the fruits that can be found there. It can be a really good summer outing
location where one can spend his vacations to relax and enjoy the wild thick
forest and in that way being close to the nature.
