Danish Nabi, a 30-year-old traveller, has been spending his free time exploring various unexplored places, caves and alpine lakes for over a decade, making a small, but significant, contribution to promoting adventure tourism in the Kashmir Valley.
Hailing from Bandipora, Danish takes to the mountains on his bicycle or on foot, explores lakes and meadows and discovers previously unknown tourist spots.
Speaking with Rising Kashmir, Danish said when he set out on a journey to fulfill his dreams, little did he know that he would be able to make his dream come true but with passion and dedication, he has so far explored and rediscovered more than a dozen alpine lakes in the Himalayas of Bandipora District.
Danish said that every weekend, he sets out on his bicycle, hikes into the mountains, explores lakes and meadows and discovers previously unknown tourist spots. “I have never wasted my idle time, holidays or Sundays. I have followed my schedule strictly and whatever happens I travel every Sunday and on holidays”, he said.
He captures his adventures on his GoPro camera and posts the videos on his YouTube channel and Facebook page for other adventure tourists.” I have visited many alpine lakes several times through multiple routes and have geo tagged them for the benefit of other adventure lovers so they may not face any difficulty”, Danish said.
Danish has received an overwhelming response on his videos that he uploads on social media and many people have started visiting these places.
With Danish exploring new places has not only attracted more people towards these picturesque places but has also helped the locals to earn their livelihood.
He said that this year many travelers approached him for guidance to reach these places while local people found a source of income by providing them with horses and food.
Danish mostly visits the gurez valley and tries to rediscover its alpine lakes because of its untouched beauty and unexplored picturesque valley. “I spend most of my weekend exploring new places and lakes of gurez because it has been ignored and it needs to be explored because of its immense natural beauty”, he said.
He has re-discovered Shalpooth lake, three Handmarg lakes, Kaul Sar lake, Kiser Sar, two Patalwan lakes and a Kothapatri lake in the Gurez sector.
Danish said that tourism in the valley was only for sightseeing in the recent past but there is beauty beyond the grasslands as there is great potential for adventure tourism that can attract tourists from all over the world.
He said that the new trekking routes will not only promote tourism but also improve the physical and mental health of the local people. “If people can go out for such treks on Sundays, it will reduce their stress levels and help them stay in shape mentally and physically,” he added.
The valley especially Bandipora, according to Danish is a paradise for adventure tourists as it has everything that fascinates an adventure seeker. “We have everything in Bandipora like lush green meadows, mountains for trekking. We just need to attract people towards these places and I am doing it,” he said.
In 2020, Bandipora district administration choose him as an advisor to promote adventure tourism and routes of unexplored places in the district that were prepared by the Forest department for trekking.
It is pertinent to mention that Danish is a government employee posted at Bandipora district headquarters.
