Unseen Kashmir

Ceasefire along the LoC has opened up areas with untapped tourism potential in Kashmir, signifying a semblance of normalcy and garnering favourable response from local people

- TARIQ BHAT

Last summer, a group of young tourists visited Suhail Ahmed Khan's residence at Keran village in Kashmir's Kupwara district. Situated on the banks of the Kishanganga river, Keran is about 135km from Srinagar. Part of the village stretches to the other side of the river in the Neelam valley of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Across the Line of Control, the river is called Darya-i-Neelam (the river Neelam).

The young travellers reached late in the night and were looking for a place to stay. Pleasantly surprised, Khan gave them a spacious ground-floor room, and offered them dinner. But they wanted just some tea. "I woke up my wife, and she made tea and makki ki roti (flatbread made from maize flour)," said Khan. The guests ended up spending four days with him. Later, they shared a video on YouTube about their time in Keran, praising Khan and his family for their hospitality and mentioning his phone number. Before long, Khan, who runs a pharmacy at the local hospital—the only place in the village with internet access—began receiving inquiries. Now there is a signboard outside his residence: "Suhail Guest House".