Security personnel conduct security checks at Pahalgam town in Anantnag on Wednesday
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Police personnel stationed at the entrance of Aharbal waved vehicles back as the tourist destination remains closed to visitors. The pathway leading to the waterfall and adjoining park has been sealed with coils of barbed wire, leaving the usually bustling spot largely deserted.More than a dozen taxis stood idle in a nearby parking area, their drivers waiting for tourists who were no longer arriving. Restaurant owners, tea stall vendors and pony operators said business had come to a standstill in recent weeks.“For more than a year, we have been struggling to make ends meet. Just when we were hoping for a good tourist season this summer, the shutdown after the attack pushed us back into uncertainty,” said Bashir Ahmad Magray.The tourist destination was closed by the administration following the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, in which 26 people, most of them tourists, were killed. Since then, heightened security measures and restrictions at several tourist sites across Kashmir have hit the livelihoods of people dependent on tourism during the peak summer season.Nearly 48 tourist destinations were shut after the attack. While 41 were reopened in phases following a security review, the remaining sites continue to stay off-limits to visitors.Besides Aharbal, destinations such as Sinthan Top and Gurez Valley remain closed to travellers.Tourists arriving at these spots are often forced to return disappointed after being denied entry. Many visitors, unaware of the restrictions, travel long distances hoping to experience Kashmir’s scenic beauty, only to encounter barricades and police personnel at the entrances. Some tourists were seen taking photographs from a distance before leaving.Roshan Kumar, a tourist from Uttar Pradesh, said he was disappointed to find the destination shut.“This is the second tourist spot that I could not visit during my trip to Kashmir. We had heard a lot about the scenic beauty of Aharbal, but we were stopped at the entrance and asked to return,” he said.Published on May 19, 2026
