Guns fall silent, Kashmir’s no-go zones woo tourists

With guns and cannons falling silent since India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire in February 2020, villages closer to the Line of Control (LoC) are opening up for tourists visiting Kashmir. These villages were out-of-bounds for outsiders for almost three decades as their physical proximity to the LoC made them virtual battlefields.

A group of 40 people, including women and children, became the first outsiders to visit the border village of Machil in Kupwara district in north Kashmir from July 16-17 this year. In the past, Machil was known for being shelling-prone. Just four months before India and Pakistan agreed to abide by the 2002 ceasefire agreement, one civilian was killed and eight others were injured in shelling in the Machil sector on October 31, 2019.

In the ‘silence’ that has come with the ceasefire, a new reality is emerging from these once no-go zones of the Kashmir valley. "Machil has jaw-dropping meadows and ethereal pastures. It is surrounded by the mighty Nuwan mountain range. We were able to visit Malik mohalla, a tiny hamlet located on the sensitive LoC. Villagers narrated the local stories and incidents," Farah Zaidi Ali, co-founder of the Kashmir Off Road (KOR), the organisation behind the trip, told The Hindu.