The Sind Valley is a Himalayan sub-valley of the Kashmir Valley in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The entrance of the Sind Valley lies northeast of

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

the capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a long gorge valley with an average width of .

History

The Sind Valley had a strategic importance on the ancient

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

. It worked as a bridge between

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

along with Srinagar-Skardu Route. First

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and then

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

spread in Kashmir through this route. The Sind Valley still connects

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

with the rest of India through a National Highway NH 1D, though it remains closed during winter due to heavy snowfall at Zojila.

Geography

The Sind Valley is situated within the jurisdiction of Kangan tehsil, of Ganderbal district. It is bordered by the Kashmir Valley in the west, Zojila in the east, Gurez Valley of the Kishanganga River in the north and the Lidder Valley in the south. It has a length of and reaches a maximum length of at village Preng towards the north through a stream Wangath Nala which flows down from Gangabal Lake. At some places the width is less than which gives only space to NH 1D, a National Highway which connects

and the Kashmir Valley. It is formed by the flow of the Sind River which flows down from east to west. The River originates from the inner Himalayas at Drass in Machoi Glacier and runs through green forests of pine and fir and alpine meadows of Sonamarg. The Sind Valley contributes heavily to the economy of the State, through generation of hydroelectricity, provides fresh water supply to other districts and irrigation for agriculture. The Sind River flows through the entire valley passing several natural landmarks, tourist spots including Baltal, The meadow of gold, Gagangear, Naranag and Wayil. The main towns in the valley are Gund, Mammer, Kangan, Wangath, Preng, Wussan and Manigam.

Geology

The Sind Valley has formed over a period of several thousand years as the Sind River cuts into the Himalayan mountains. The

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

s of the valley are shrinking. Today, the river continues to deposit the sheets of sand in the lower areas of Ganderbal. Gradual erosive processes have washed away side forests and created a deep gorge at many places.

Ecology

The Sind Valley has many glacier fed streams, the tributaries of the Sind River are home to different types of

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

among of which is the

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

. The valley is the natural habitat of Himalayan black bear, the Himalayan brown bear,

musk deer Musk deer can refer to any one, or all eight, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family (biology), family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, b ...

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...

and

hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

. Markhor and

ibex An ibex ( : ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. T ...

are also spotted in Sonamarg of the Sind Valley.

References

External links