Destinations & Things To Do
Adventure Tourism Halted in Kashmir
Adnan’s Journey: A Dream on Hold
With eyes full of wonder and a heart that beats for the mountains, since his childhood Adnan was fascinated by travel, mostly going to the mountains. He was never fascinated by luxury hotels and city lights, but the raw, rugged trails that led through forests, up mountains, and across hidden valleys.
In 2023, when he grew older, he started his shop at Srinagar’s Bemina area, namely Rentozz. The shop is full of gear that is useful for mountaineering, and trekking.
“I started this business so that people interested in adventure tourism could get access to quality gear which was previously not available in Kashmir easily,” he says, and gradually filled up his shop with proper trekking shoes, waterproof tents, sleeping bags, utensils, and climbing ropes.
Travellers either had to rely on poor-quality gear or buy expensive equipment from outside the state.
“Rentozz is a store dedicated to adventure lovers like him. It isn’t just a business—it was my dream,” he says, and his eyes twinkle when he talks about it. In a moment that shine is gone.
“But dreams are fragile in the face of conflict,” he adds with sadness.
“After the attack in Pahalgam, the government imposed a sudden and indefinite ban on trekking activities across Kashmir,” he says. “The decision taken by the Government of India in the name of safety shattered our business. Tourists on adventure trails completely cancelled their plans to visit Kashmir. Locals no longer come to look for gear,” he adds.
From an energetic hub of energy and excitement, Rentozz has become a quiet room filled with untouched gear and fading hopes. Adnan, however, hasn’t given up. “I hope everything will be fine soon,” he says.
Until then, Adnan waits—not giving up, just holding on.
Zeeshan Mushtaq: A Guide without a Trail
Zeeshan Mushtaq, 25, from Srinagar, Soura, has been working as a freelance mountain guide for over a year. He takes people up into the beauty of Kashmir’s hidden valleys, snow-clad slopes, and wild trails. “I guide tourists and locals. Weekends were for group treks,” he says.
This year, Zeeshan had planned to start his own trekking company. I had bookings lined up— people from across India and abroad, also some locals. Some wanted ice climbing, others trekking through the meadows and hills.
Then came the ban!
Without warning, trekking and climbing activities were banned in the name of security. The result was cancellation of every single booking. For Zeeshan this was a blow.
Months of planning were wasted. Income for the season vanished. All the advanced payrolls had to be returned.
I kept calling the tourism department. They listened, but didn’t act. They said it’s because of security reasons. But how do we survive?
I’m not just a guide. I’m someone who wanted to create experiences, jobs, and hope — especially in a place like Kashmir, where unemployment is already crushing so many young dreams.
Now I’m mentally exhausted, not just due to loss of money, but because of loss of momentum, of purpose. When you finally feel like you’re building something real, and it shatters overnight, it feels suffocating.
But still, I tell myself: the mountains haven’t gone anywhere. They are waiting.
Mohsin Farooq: From corporate Desks to Mountain Trails
In the bustling heart of Srinagar’s Nawa Bazar area, Mohsin Farooq started his Adventure Gear business six months ago. Mohsin left behind the comfort of a stable corporate job to follow a path less travelled—one carved through Kashmir’s majestic mountains and valleys.
“For years, I worked behind a desk,” Mohsin says. “The job was good, the pay was handsome, but something was missing”. That “something” was his passion for trekking— and unshakable love for the outdoors – the mountain peaks, the fresh air, and the silence of nature that spoke louder than any office meeting.
One day, he made a bold decision. He quit his job.
With faith and determination, he opened his adventure store, it became more than just a shop; it was a hub for explorers, travellers, and young dreamers. “Every Sunday, our team organises local trekking events, guiding small groups into the surrounding hills and mountains,” he reveals.
But it wasn’t just about the trails. Something deeper was happening.
“I noticed many boys who had fallen into drug addiction. They came with us on these treks, and slowly, they changed. The mountains healed what the streets had broken,” Mohsin shares.
A sudden ban on trekking shattered the business. 90% of our work vanished overnight, he says, his voice heavy. “We faced losses we weren’t prepared for… But more than money, I fear for the youth. Without such outlets, they may fall back into the trap of addiction and hopelessness”.
Despite the setbacks, Mohsin’s resolve remains strong. “Startups face a lot of issues. But we started this with a belief, not just in a business, but in change. And that belief will carry us through.”
From corporate meetings to mountain summits, Mohsin’s journey is one of courage, faith, and resilience— a story that proves that even when the road disappears, the will to walk remains.
Wings in the wind: The story of Two friends from Pahalgam
In the quiet village of Laripora, nestled in the breathtaking Pahalgam valley of Kashmir, two friends — Ishaan Ibrahim Raina and Nasir Hussain Raina — shared a dream that soared higher than the surrounding Himalayan peaks.
From a young age, Ishaan and Nasir were drawn to the skies, They paid ₹50,000 to enroll in the P1, P2 and P3 paragliding courses. It wasn’t easy. Every rupee was earned through hard work, and every lesson was a step closer to touching the sky.
After months of training, they took the next leap: they bought their first glider together — a sleek beauty worth ₹2.5 lakh. It was more than just equipment. It was a symbol of their unity, struggle, and vision. With that glider, they became the first certified paragliding pilots from Kashmir.
In the months that followed, the skies over Pahalgam came alive with colour and joy. Tourists from all over the country came to experience paragliding and the duo were fast recovering their investment cost.
This included the fee for site permission from the government for 3 years to operate their paragliding.
But then the unexpected happened. After the tragic attack in Pahalgam, the government imposed a ban on trekking and related adventure activities across Kashmir. Their business, built with heart and hard-earned money, came to a crashing halt even before they could cover the cost of setting it up.
With no flights, no tourists, and no income, Ishaan and Nasir found themselves grounded — not just in the sky, but in spirit. Their gliders lay folded, gathering dust. The gadgets and safety gear — all investments made with hope — now felt like burdens. They had dreams and plans to promote paragliding education. All of it paused.
“We don’t know when we’ll fly again,” Ishaan said, we thought we were building something beautiful. But now…. We’re stuck. No money, no way forward.”
Desperate and disheartened, they are toying with the idea of shifting their business — perhaps to Himachal Pradesh, where adventure sports still thrives. But starting over isn’t easy when you’re already deep in loss, emotionally and financially.
Still, somewhere inside them, the same fire flickers — the one that once made them chase the wind in winter. Because dreams don’t die in silence — they wait for the wind to rise again.
Payal’s Journey to Kashmir
Payal, a tourist from Mumbai, had always been enchanted by the beauty of Kashmir. She said, with its snow-capped mountains, lush valleys, and serene lakes, it had long held a special place in her heart. So, when she and her husband decided to take a family vacation with their young son, Kashmir was their first choice.
They made their plans well in advance, full of excitement and hope. But just before their trip, news of an attack in Pahalgam came. The incident was disturbing—Payal describes it simply: “it was not good at all”. Many friends and relatives urged them to cancel the trip.
But Payal and her family chose to move forward “We had planned this before the attack, and we believed in the goodness of the place and the people,” she said.
A week after Pahalgam, walking through the peaceful valley and interacting with the warm-hearted locals, she said that she feels safe and welcome. “The people of Kashmir are truly good. They treat us with so much respect and kindness. We never felt unsafe for even a moment,” she shared with a calm smile.
Her message was clear and heartfelt: “Kashmir is a paradise on Earth. Don’t let fear stop you. The people here are dependent on tourism, and by coming here, we support their livelihood and get to experience unmatched beauty and hospitality. I sincerely request everyone to please come to Kashmir without fear”.
Low to modest tourists is beginning to resume since the calm following the three-four days of hostility between India and Pakistan between May7 and May 10. But adventure tourism continues to remain suspended.
Growth and Decline
In recent years, the tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir had been experiencing steady growth, with visitor numbers rising from 26 lakh in 2022 to 27 lakh in 2023 and reaching an impressive 35 lakh tourists in 2024. After 5 lakh tourists visiting in the first three months of 2025 before the crisis began, the momentum was brutally interrupted after the attack, even more after the India-Pakistan confrontation, leading to skirmishes on the borders and air battles between the two sides.
The impact has been immediate and severe. According to the Kashmir Hotel Association, a staggering 80 percent of tourist bookings to Kashmir were cancelled following the Pahalgam attack, effectively paralysing an industry that had become a cornerstone of the region’s economy.
Mushtaq Chaya, Chairman of the Kashmir Hotel Association said that while tourism stakeholders are undoubtedly affected by the business decline, their primary concern remains the tragic incident itself. “We are not worried by the decline of our business, but we are sad because of the incident that took place in Kashmir,” Chaya stated.
The consequences extend far beyond hotel cancellations. Kashmir’s once-bustling tourism infrastructure now stands largely empty, with mountain retreats deserted and local businesses hit adversely.
While people were slowly beginning to recover from the shock and fear caused by the Pahalgam attack, the recent India-Pakistan military dispute further deteriorated the situation. The conflict, which began when Indian Armed Forces attacked alleged terrorist camps in Pakistan on May 7, 2025, in response to the Pahalgam attack, has created additional layers of uncertainty and fear.
The Kashmir Times visited the director of the tourism office to inquire about the GDP contribution of the tourism sector and the impact of the current situation. However, the PA didn’t permit a meeting, and phone calls went unanswered.
Kashmir’s Skies Grounded
What brought tourism to a complete halt ahead of the India-Pakistan skirmishes was the complete shutdown of the Srinagar airport amidst tensions. But flights remain reduced even after the tensions have subsided a bit.
Kashmir witnessed 70% drop in air flights immediately after Pahalgam attack, even as the fares were drastically slashed.
The India-Pakistan tensions that started building up in the aftermath of the Pahalgam killings compelled the Indian Government to shut 32 airports, including Srinagar airport, leading to suspension of air traffic from May 7 to 15. However, later, after the ceasefire, the airports were re-opened on May 13.
Srinagar airport also resumed operations with about four flights. The number has picked up since then but the size of travellers has drastically dropped.
The official data shows that the number of air travellers has plateaued at around 6,500 from 19,140 passengers before the Pahalgam attack, Now the total traffic combined doesn’t meet either the incoming or departing flyers of 9,000 a day at the airport.
This has forced the airlines to reduce the daily flights by more than half, with a total of 22 flights arriving a day at the Srinagar Airport.
Many flights like Air India operate only five flights a day, while cancelling three scheduled flights to the Valley.
This situation has triggered “operational losses” for many airlines with mass cancellations of tickets in the last over a month.
Majority of the travellers are either the local population, pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage or defence personnel, an executive added.
“Why would you want to hike 500 miles alone?”
“You need to be careful; anything could happen.”
“I really wish you wouldn’t hike this trail.”
These are all things I’ve heard as more friends and family learned of my plans to hike the Colorado Trail, taking the Collegiate West route. Thankfully, I’ve never been one to let fears stand in my way of what I wanted to accomplish.
I didn’t know about the Colorado Trail until I moved to Colorado in 2013. It was a trail I quickly learned about, but it didn’t seem like anything I’d ever be able to do. I had hiked and camped a lot growing up, but my dad was the type to bring everything except the kitchen sink. If I ever wanted to do the CT, I’d need to learn how camp very differently. Even if it was only a pipe dream at the time, I knew it would be life changing if I could accomplish it. Over the years, I began hiking, camping and backpacking all across Colorado, getting more and more comfortable with my abilities, and loving every minute of it. Still, hiking 500 miles seemed impossible.
It started with a kidney donation.
Fast forward to 2020/2021. One of my friends needed a kidney transplant and I decided to see if I was a match. To my surprise, I was, and surgery was scheduled for February 2021! I spent a lot of time in 2020 backpacking (I mean, who didn’t need a mental health boost that year). I didn’t know the time spent on the trail would also help me prepare for and recover from surgery. Once we had our surgery, I was already looking forward to the next time I could get back out there. I started hiking again only a month post-op.
After learning about how many people struggle with kidney disease, I decided I would find a hike and turn it into a fundraiser for the American Kidney Fund. I landed on hiking as much of the Collegiates as I could manage, with the goal being at least 100 miles. Just 6 months out from our surgery, I started my hike. I fell a bit short of my goal with only 60 miles of the Collegiates completed, but I raised around $2000 for the AKF. After that, I knew I would eventually come back to attempt the full trail.
Time is ticking.
In my “real life,” I work full-time as a nurse in Arkansas, so I wasn’t sure if I’d even be able to hike the CT. Who can afford to quit their job or take a month of PTO just to hike?! Well, turns out working as a nurse is helpful there, and I was able to take a month of PTO to do just that. Now, I’m only a few days out from starting my adventure on the Colorado Trail. In preparing for the trail, let’s just say “mistakes were made” may as well have been my nickname.
This past year has been full of ups and downs to get to this point, and I’m not sure any amount of training would have me feeling ready. But I’m here, and the time is ticking down until I step on that trail. Yes, I will be hiking alone. Trust me, I’d love to share this experience with a select one or two humans, but schedules don’t always align. I know I’ll meet some new friends on the trail, though! I’m as ready as I can be and I am so excited to share my journey with you all!
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To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.
Another peaceful night spent on a dining room floor of an AMC hut. No raiding parties came for the propeller last night, which was weirdly disappointing as it would have made for great blog fodder.
Chestnut and I quickly packed up a little before 6am. Our plan was to hike about fifty metres over to the adjacent campsite and enjoy a zero. The reason for the zero was twofold. First, the body needed a break. Second, it was needed if I wanted to take advantage of the free hut nights I’d been gifted the day prior.
So we wandered over to the camp, let Sofia know the questionably good news that she would have the pleasure of our company for another twenty four hours, and then started to plan how much mischief we could possibly cause in the middle of the forest.
Breakfast
In a change to normal programming, I had to prepare my own breakfast. Whilst sitting in the communal cooking area of the campsite, and contemplating what bar to eat for breakfast, we were joined by a few overnight campers that were enjoying their first adventure in the wild. It was fun to talk with these fresh face newbies, and share what limited wisdom we could to help them in their endeavours.
In return for this supposed wisdom (and more likely because we look like the walking dead), the hikers gave us food before moving on with their day. The situation was becoming quite precarious. I now had my last resupply that was meant to last four days, and at least three more days worth of food gained from the kindness of strangers. Couple this with not consuming any of the food in my pack because of the generous hut system, and my bag was really getting heavy. A wonderful dilemma indeed.
So I did what any self respecting thru hiker would do and started stuffing my face with food. This seems a solid strategy to deal with the challenge of overstocking, I’ll continue to update on my progress.
Accommodation
The next step after eating three donated bars and a large handful of pistachios was to set up tents for the rest day ahead.
As there aren’t many thru hikers about in the Whites, and the long weekend had come to a close, Sofia was kind enough to let us setup on an oversized platform with stellar views. My tent continues to delaminate and essentially disintegrate before my eyes as I set it up. It’s had a solid eight years of life, and all good things must come to an end. I will need to start thinking about a replacement as I cannot imagine I’ll stay dry much longer.
A Masterclass
The two children we had entertained the day prior eventually escaped their parents from the hut and came and sat with me, Sofia and Chestnut. Sofia felt this was an opportune time to teach the seven principles of leave no trace to the children. I of course saw an even better opportunity to teach a slightly modified set of LNT principles.
Did I mention I was keen to work on some zero day mischief? After thirty minutes I’m pleased to say that the children were now very clear that all seven of the LNT principles were essentially the same, and all involved hugging a bear whenever you were lucky enough to spot one in the wild.
Sofia did seem to think the class had gotten away from her a bit, and maintained that hugging bears was not the right thing to do, but I’m reasonably confident that the kids were more comfortable with the direction I had taken the class. When the parents joined us, I think they realised their error in leaving their kids in my general space.
Pancakes?
I was now about 10am, and the family needed to get moving. The children were reluctant to move on, I suppose mainly because of the valuable lessons we were imparting about nature. Eventually the family headed back to the hut and it seemed my fun for the morning had come to an end.
Sofia then came up with a brilliant idea. She suggested we cook pancakes. This idea was brilliant on all kinds of levels. One, pancakes. Two, fun. Three, pancakes.
So we headed to the caretakers cooking space, and began to make chai pancakes.
I was left to run the grill, and it’s fair to say results were mixed in regard to size and quality. The children had made another miraculous escape from their parents so of course we made them pancakes too. Eventually the escapees were located and led off to hiking jail.
After eating pancakes until we were all full to bursting, we decided to go and hang out in the hut. The huts in the middle of the day are essentially empty as all the guests have moved on to enjoy their hikes. Upon arriving at the hut, there had been a croo change and a relief croo were busy prepping food for dinner. They offered us some burnt pancakes. Did we say yes? Of course we did.
An hour or so later around 1pm, the croo came over and gave us more pancakes. Unburnt. Did we say yes? Of course we did.
Hammock Time
So after three separate pancake sessions, I decided it was time to sloth out. I set up my hammock and spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on blogs.
The afternoon sailed on by as I let my creative juices flow, and before I knew it the heat had gone out of the day and it was time to start contemplating dinner.
Now I cannot lie, the triple pancake day had filled me up. Never had I thought that while spending time in the White Mountains would I be eating better than I had anywhere else on the trail. Even a zero at a campsite had resulted in multiple trail magic moments and thousands of calories of free food.
While cooking up my tried and tested pad thai ramen, a few fast moving NOBO’s from Georgia came into camp. They looked absolutely shattered as they are by and large maintaining their twenty mile a day philosophy through this difficult section of the trail. This equates to 14 hour walking days and 2000m plus of elevation gain and loss. Hike your own hike people, I’m sticking to zero day pancakes thank you very much.
The sun had set on another magnificent day on the trail (or to be more precise off the trail). I curled into bed very content with my work, and looked forward to seeing if any trails had been created for the next part of the Whites while I had rested for the day. My gut says probably not.
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To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.
What was supposed to be two days from Whitehall to Ennis ended up being 4 hitches and one long climb. Pretty quickly while leaving town, we stuck our thumbs out to get a short ride along the 8 or so miles of road between town and the trail. Quickly, a red mini van pulled up offering us a ride that we couldn’t resist. However, as soon as the doors were closed and as we were trying to iterate our desired destination, sweet Laurie turned the car around and began driving East instead of South. As we explained to her where we wanted to go, she mistakenly thought we were trying to get to a popular local trailhead. As we attempted to steer conversation back to our drop off point, she evaded until we reached the post office. Finally, I showed her on a map where we needed to go and ultimately, we ended up cutting off a whole day of hiking. Laurie was very sweet though and spoke so highly of her kids and grand kids. It was hard to be upset with her.
Unfortunately, despite losing a day of hiking, we were still 10 road miles to the nearest trailhead. After a few miles, a young guy in a white pickup truck up offered us a ride closer to the actual trails. Being a former thru hiker himself, he knew how much we appreciated cutting out the roads. We hopped in the bed of his truck and sat along the gun walls since a four wheeler occupied the main bed space. We bumped down a gravel road until we intersected with a trailhead. We thanked him and he sped off.
However, once again, we realized that we’d been taken to a trailhead where we’d be leaving a trail for another gravel road walk. Feeling a little defeated, we headed off down the dirt road determined to just start walking. After another few miles, a couple who were out prospecting in the area offered us our third ride of the morning. Begrudgingly, I hopped into the bed wary that we’d get any hiking done today. But my spirits were boosted when we nearly passed by Stitch. She was a French Canadian hiker who’d flipped north due to the snow in Colorado. She was very nice, knowledgeable, and best of all, a woman. I was craving female company so I yelled out “Stitch!” As we passed and the couple slowed the truck to a halt so she could jump in. I smiled as we bumped down the road to where we were finally able to join a trail.
I didn’t even care that we had a steep climb ahead of us. I was thrilled to be back in the comfort and safety of the woods. We be following a steep uphill climb to over 9000 feet of elevation. But I was ready to dig my feet in and climb. And boy was it beautiful. There was a waterfall, an abandoned cabin near the summit, an out of place storage container at the summit, and the joys of climbing up to the pass were indescribable. The valley below looked so far away and we had just hiked up from there.
We hiked the remainder of the afternoon downhill towards a beautiful lake where Plan B and I took a plunge. The water was chilly but it felt good in the mid day sun and even better to lay on a warm rock and dry off afterwards. I felt a bit cleaner at least and even brushed through my tangled mess of hair feeling 1000x more human than before the swim.
We were still quite a ways from Ennis and figured we’d either walk or hitch into town the following day. But Stitch knew of a trail angel in Ennis who drove the dirt roads out to us to snatch us up for the evening. And this is where I Introduce Queen Margaret of Ennis and her right hand dog, Tonka. Margaret was such a cool human being. She had just returned from a long canoeing trip through the Yukon and detailed her day to day of the paddle. For contexts sake, Margaret is not a young lady. She is not old either but when you picture a woman paddling the Yukon, you may be biased to picture a 20-30something year old lady. Nope, she was a greying badass.
As she shuttled us around town to get food and then to her house where we were staying, she recounted numerous other adventures she’d been on. We laughed about the irony of losing her gps device during a trip. Then were left in awe of how she was able to utilize the connections she’d made on that trip to get the device bounced around from hand to hand and shipped back all the way from Alaska. With each adventure story she told, she became more and more a matriarchal idol to me (sorry Steve Irwin, you’ve been replaced).
Back at her house, she offered us laundry, put us up in her guest house – which she has been working on a building herself – and we each took turns throwing a ball or frisbee with Tonka while winding down for the evening. In the guest house, there were 4 rooms. Two rooms with beds, a kitchen area, and in between both bedroom was a bathroom with an open shower in the middle of the room. Unfortunately her hot water heater was not working and so I took a brief cold shower while enjoying the freedoms of moving throughout the whole space by placing one part of my body under the water at a time.
Just as the sun was setting, Stitch and I sat on Margaret’s back porch chatting more about her adventures, our adventures, and the finer details of life. Without getting into politics, we were able to talk about things such as healthcare, since she was a nurse and me now a PT. I appreciated the perspectives she shared and was almost shocked by her modern ideas. I also appreciated Stitch’s perspective being from Canada. It was an open and honest conversation and changed my perspective on having these types of conversations. They didn’t need to be polarizing or argumentative. They could totally be a sharing of ideas and understandings.
Finally, with the sky dark and the hour late, we retired to our suite. I threw the ball over the deck for Tonka one last time and smiled as he bounded down the stairs and into the darkness after it.
This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek’s ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!
To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.
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