'Valley Weekends' starts in J-K

To beat the lean tourist flow, the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department today started the 'Valley Weekends' festival, which will continue through the winter season.
The festival would provide tourists the local experience and a host of activities on each Saturday and Sunday, Director Tourism for Kashmir Mahmood Shah said here.
The department today organised a play at the famous Mughal Garden-Shalimar and a musical evening in which local bands performed.
He said that festival also includes adventure activities such as mountain biking, canoeing and rowing.
"The festival has been organised in autumn as it usually is a lean tourist season in Kashmir and it also aims to send a positive message across the globe that Kashmir is a safe and a tourist-friendly place," the director said.

"The weekend festival will run through the winter season during which we will organise a host of cultural, musical events, besides competitions in poetry and painting," Shah said.

Recently, the department organised a heritage walk here.
"There is an impression that autumn is a lean tourist season in Kashmir and no activity happens here. However, it is the most beautiful season and Kashmir is enchantingly beautiful now," he said.
The department is also gearing up for the carnival this winter at the ski-resorts of Gulmarg and at Pahalgam, he said.