Aharbal is a hill station in the south-western part of Kashmir Valley in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, south of the summer capital of Srinagar (Sub district: Damhal Hanjipora, District: Kulgam). Aharbal Waterfall is also known as Niagara Waterfall of Kashmir.

Geography

Aharbal lies in the Kulgam district's Noorabad area of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located on the Veshu River, a tributary of the

Jehlum River The Jhelum River (/dʒʰeːləm/) is a river in the northern Indian subcontinent. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir, to the Pakistani-administered territory of Kashmir, and then ...

, in an

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

valley covered in pine and fir trees within the

Pir Panjal The Pir Panjal Range ( Kashmiri: ) is a group of mountains in the Lesser Himalayan region, running from east-southeast (ESE) to west-northwest (WNW) across the Indian territories of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and then Pakistan's ...

mountains. It lies at an altitude of 2266 metres above sea level. The road route is from Srinagar-Kulgam-Nehama-KB Pora-Aharbal Road.

Aharbal Fall

Aharbal is known for its

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

, Aharbal Falls, where the Veshu falls noisily 25 metres and 7 metres through a narrow gorge of granite boulders. Aharbal Falls are also referred to as the

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

of Kashmir, owing to the volume of the water that falls. According to a report, the water volume would be sufficient to generate 100 MW of hydroelectricity. The terraces leading to the falls are fenced, but care must be taken to avoid slipping.

Aharbal Development Authority

The Aharbal Development Authority, a government agency responsible for development in Aharbal, has built tourist infrastructure including huts and a cafeteria, and other lodging and boarding facilities have also been made available. But still development issues are at the hill station like parks are not maintained properly, there is no amusement park like Lidder Amusement Park, littering, proper roads and parking issues. The area is peaceful and the crime rate is very low. G

Oldest Fossil Site in J&K

The exact site which is barely 2 km from the famous Aharbal waterfall along the Kunghwatan route, experts believe that the site which is rich in fossil biodiversity and replete with dense fossil samples at specific locations can be as old as 488 to 354 million years. However, the exact date can be ascertained only after radiocarbon dating. Preliminary investigation it was revealed that the fossils fall between the Ordovician and Devonian period. “The different organisms of that period include bryozoans (colonial animals); gastropods, trilobites, ancestors of C scorpions, and ancient relatives of snails etc”. This recently ‘discovered’ fossil site at famous tourist destination Aharbal has been secured by the department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums.

Access

Aharbal falls in Noorabad sub division of District

Kulgam Kulgam (), known as Kolgom () in Kashmiri, is a town, an administrative division and capital of the Kulgam district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of from the summer state capital of Jammu and ...

and is easily accessible from Srinagar via Shopian ab-ul-Islam only 8 km from the

Mughal Road Mughal Road is the road between Bufliaz, a town in the Poonch district, to the Shopian district, in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The 84-kilometre roadhttp://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=6_12_2008&ItemID=35 ...

that connects Srinagar and Poonch. The 75 km drive takes less than 3 hours by car or bus via

Pulwama Pulwama (known as Panwangam in antiquity, and later as Pulgam) is a City and notified area council in the Pulwama district of the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located approximately south of the summer capital of ...

and

Shopian Shopian or Shupiyan (), known as Shupyan () in Kashmiri, is an administrative division of the Shopian district, located in southern part of Kashmir Valley, of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Shopian is called the ''Apple town of Kashmir'' as majorit ...

. An alternate route leads to Aharbal via

-Nehama-DH pora -Kb pora -Manzgam-Wattoo-Aharabal. It is only 22 km from the District

the first District one enters the Kashmir valley after crossing the Jawaharlal National Tunnel. The nearest railway station is

Anantnag Anantnag (/ə'nʌntna:g/ or /-nɑːg/ ), also called Islamabad, is the administrative headquarters of the Anantnag district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of 53 kilometres (33 miles) from the u ...

railway station at 44 km in the east.

References

External links

{{Kashmir Valley Cities and towns in Kulgam district Hill stations in Jammu and Kashmir Waterfalls of Jammu and Kashmir