The colors of winter tourism in Pakistan

 Sunday, January 19, 2025

Islamabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jan, 2025) Experts who monitor Pakistani tourism say that winter tourism provides a special enjoyment to citizens. Watching live scenes of snowfall in valleys surrounded by severe cold has always been fascinating for tourists. A tourist, Dr. Majid Ali, told DW that there are many recreational places in Pakistan that are famous for winter tourism.

“Among them, Swat (Malam Jabba), Murree and Galiat (Nathia Gali, Ayubiya and Bhurban etc.) are famous for snowfall in winter. Similarly, the areas of Hunza, Skardu and Chitral in the northern areas are also considered important centers of winter tourism. Forts, frozen lakes and glaciers here are very attractive to tourists.

Although there are security problems in Pakistan’s troubled province of Balochistan, the pine forests and cold weather in Ziarat near Quetta are also of interest to tourists.

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Green Light Adventures CEO Muhammad Naveed Ahsan told DW that the Babu Sartab road is usually closed in winter, but many winter tourists come to Kaghan, Naran and Shogran to enjoy the winter season. According to him, the difficult areas of the valleys of Chitral and many recreational places in Kashmir beyond Muzaffarabad are also favorite places for tourists for winter tourism.

“If you look at Punjab, spending time in the desert in winter and visiting various places including Noor Mahal are also very popular with tourists. In winter, the jeep rally and Cholistan Jeep Safari in the Cholistan region of southern Punjab are also popular with tourists.”

Naveed Ahsan said that many festivals are held in cold regions in winter, such as the Kailash Festival and the Malam Jabba Skimming Festival, and people also come to participate in these festivals.

“In addition, for the past few years, we have been seeing that many mountaineers from inside and outside the country come to Pakistan in the winter to scale the snow-capped mountains. Some people come to the mountains in the winter for paragliding and rafting, and this type of tourism is also growing.” Dr. Majid Ali, who spends a lot of time in tourism every year during the winter, told DW that winter tourism is a financially cheaper process, hotel rents are also lower than in the summer, off-season transport is also available at a lower price, but still winter tourism is a difficult task.

“This is not just a matter for the common man, but it is the work of adventurers, but surprisingly we have seen that many people have reached winter tourist destinations with their families.”

In response to the question of what are the problems of tourists in terms of winter tourism in Pakistan, Dr. Majid Ali said that one thing is that holidays are not available during winter tourism days like in summer.

“Landslides happen in winter, roads get blocked. Emergency services are also less available. The harshness of the weather is more severe. Most of the hotels in remote areas are closed.”

Another tourist, Tariq Mahmood Ahsan, said that it is not possible to confine winter tourism to any travel plan because sometimes a person comes from home for a five-day tour, but due to landslides or road closures, he may have to go and return home after seven days.

“Enjoying winter snowfall is an interesting experience. "The great joy of tourism comes at a high price," tourist Laiba Ghaffar told DW. She had just returned to Lahore a few days ago after visiting the northern regions. According to her, it is not easy for female students in Pakistan to travel to remote areas on their own without any security. "If the government pays attention to the issue of law and order and solves the problems of tourists, winter tourism in Pakistan can get a lot of boost." Another tourist, Nida, told DW that the government should make arrangements to open roads in tourist areas soon. Alternative roads should be built to replace the frequently closed routes, and tourism activities, including fairs, should be promoted in tourist areas. There is a need to keep a close eye on hotel prices and the quality of their services. And law and order should be improved in tourist areas.