As tourist flow once again returns to Kashmir at the levels seen in the months before the terror attack in Pahalgam in April, a multi-layer security cover was thrown around tourist destinations in the Valley on eve of the New Year on Wednesday (December 31, 2025).
The J&K Police used facial recognition devices to keep local terrorists and their supporters, registered by the police, away from Pahalgam in south Kashmir. Scores of vehicles entering Pahalgam, which is decked up for the New Year celebrations, were checked, and travellers were scanned with facial recognition devices, officials said.
Additional checkpoints were set up in Gulmarg, which borders Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), in Baramulla district. Special events, including light and musical shows, unfolded on Wednesday evening at the famous winter destination, which is covered by a thick blanket of snow after the latest spell of snowfall in the past 24 hours. Hundreds of tourists are camping in Gulmarg for New Year’s eve. Most hotels reported full occupancy. Accommodation in Gulmarg includes about 2,200 beds in hotels and huts.
Security has been beefed up in Sonamarg in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal. Areas close to Baltal, on the route to the Amarnath Yatra, have been kept out of bounds for tourists. Sonamarg, which was opened for winter tourism for the first time in 2024, has also witnessed a fresh spell of snowfall in the past 24 hours
