1.23 cr pilgrims, 13 lakh tourists visit J-K in 2013

Over 1.23 crore pilgrims and over 13 lakh tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir last year, the state Legislative Council was informed today.

The pilgrims visited shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi, Shiv Khori and Sharda Sharief, among other places, in Jammu region in 2013, Tourism Minister Gulam Ahmed Mir said.

He said 142.63 lakh pilgrim tourists had visited Jammu region in 2012.

Similarly, over 11 lakh tourists visited Kashmir Valley, while 1.37 lakh tourists visited Ladakh region in 2013, he said.

The minister said 13 lakh tourists had visited Kashmir Valley and 1.78 lakh visited Ladakh region during 2012.