Pahalgam: On a May afternoon, as the sun plays hide-and-seek behind the clouds, Nadeem Ahmed enjoys a nap while sitting on a chair at the toll plaza in Pahalgam. The fabled hill station located on the banks of Lidder River in Anantnag is 90 kms south of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
On business-as-usual days, Ahmed would be busy in his capacity as a toll operator at the go-to tourist destination in Kashmir. But for about a month now, it has been anything but business as usual. Not since 22 April, when terrorists killed 26 people, mostly tourists in Baisaran, a meadow seven kilometres from the toll gate.
Ahmed says he now falls asleep waiting for cars to pass by.
“Az aayi chour gaadi Kalkata pethi. Asi gouv reth pyaran tourist yin na (Today, as the day is about to end, four cars (tourists) from Kolkata (West Bengal) have entered Pahalgam. We have been waiting for tourists since 22 April,” Ahmed told this reporter on 20 May.
The massacre of tourists in Pahalgam was one of the deadliest attacks on Indian civilians in decades.
Since 2019, when the Narendra Modi government at the Centre revoked Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir’s semi autonomous status, tourists have flocked to the Union Territory (UT) during summers to escape the scorching heat in many parts of India.
What a difference a few days make.
“Up to 4,000 taxis would cross this toll daily until 22 April happened. Today we saw the first commercial taxis after so many days,” Ahmed said.
There are reminders everywhere of a tourist haven. After a short drive past the toll gate, one is greeted by a cold breeze from the Lidder River flowing on the left. A succession of lush green pine trees unfolds on the right against pristine mountains.
On a typical May day, this road to the main market would be teeming with cars. That day, it was deserted. The hustle and bustle has been replaced with an uneasy calm.
A few metres away is a selfie point bench with an ‘I Love Pahalgam’ signboard on a bench and a wrongly-spelt Persian couplet ‘Agar Firdous-e-baroye zameen ast’ meaning ‘If there is heaven on earth…..’ inscribed on it.
A group of locals sit on the rocks by the river, while a family from Rohini, Delhi, takes selfies.
"Our flights were booked for 11 May. But the Srinagar airport was closed. The travel agent offered us an alternative flight on 18 May after the airports opened. We thought it through and decided to come. We had not imagined that it would be deserted. The silence around brings a strange fear," said Ankit, one of the family members.
In 2024, about 35 lakh tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir, according to the UT’s Department of Tourism. The number was 27 lakh in 2023 and 26 lakh in 2022. About 5 lakh tourists visited the region in the first three months of 2025. The Pahalgam terror attack, however, triggered widespread cancellations by tourists, affecting advance bookings.
A few miles from the selfie point is the main market of Pahalgam, a Kashmiri word for ‘Valley of Shepherds'. Most of the shops on both sides of the road are closed. The parking, usually packed, is deserted. A few pony owners trot up the hill.
“Aayiye sir, discount dedenge (Come sir, we will offer a discount),” said one of them.
Aru wildlife sanctuary, the scenic Betaab Valley, which got its name after the Sunny Deol-starrer and Tulian Lake are among popular destinations. Baisaran, the site of the deadly 22 April attack, also attracts tourists in good numbers.
Today, Baisaran, Aru and Betaab are not accessible due to security reasons.
A narrow road bisecting lines of hotels and guesthouses up the hill from the market leads up to Laripora village. Some locals had started converting their homes into homestays as tourism peaked.
At Hotel Forest Hill, one of the many hotels on the road, the reception is locked. The caretaker, Asad Kak, sits in an adjacent room. “Kheli hez bilkul (Absolutely no occupants),” laments Kak, 60, when asked how many of the 20 rooms are booked.
In the entry book, the last entry of any tourist (from Singapore) is on 22 April, the day when terrorists struck Baisaran. The hotel was vacated the next day.
“We have not seen any tourists since then,” said Kak, recalling the 1995 incident when six foreign tourists were kidnapped in Pahalgam by militants of Harkat-ul-Ansar or Al-Faran. The group sought the release of Harkat leader Masood Azhar and other militants. One tourist had an escape a few days later while another was found dead. The remaining four were never found.
There are around 2,500 hotels and guesthouses in Pahalgam, apart from about 200 restaurants. “No hotel has a tourist right now,” said Nisar Ahmad, another caretaker of the hotel.
Ahmad says there were some tourists who visited Pahalgam a few days after the terror attack.
“But when 50 tourist sites were closed a few days later, the fear multiplied,” he says. After that, Nisar said, the ‘war’ started on 7 May on the borders, and drones came into the cities, and the staff fled in fear. Everything came to a standstill again, he says.
Two weeks after the Pahalgam attack, India launched Operation Sindoor targeting terror camps in Pakistan. Islamabad retaliated, resulting in a four-day conflict. The two nations called a ceasefire on 10 May.
On our way back, we stopped at the famous shrine of Aishmuqam, 20 kilometres from Pahalgam towards Srinagar. The shrine, which houses the mausoleum of the 15th-century Sufi saint Sheikh Zain-ud-Din, is also a famous tourist destination where the song Bhar Do Jholi Meri from Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijan movie was shot.
Usually, there is a long queue of devotees to pay obeisance at the mausoleum. But that day, we were the only ones, perhaps the last visitors for the day.
Tourism may not be the mainstay, but is a vital contributor to Jammu and Kashmir’s economy. “If the hotel industry contributes about ₹2,700 crore to Kashmir’s economy annually, tourism may overall contribute ₹10,000 crores to the UT’s economy. This is about 5 percent of total GSDP estimated at ₹2.65 lakh crore,” said Ejaz Ayoub, a Srinagar-based economist.
About 30 lakh Kashmiris are directly involved in the tourism sector, with three lakh working in hotels and other tourism-related businesses, according to Mushtaq Chaya, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Hoteliers Club.
Chaya has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appeal to tourists to visit the valley. But after a trip from Pahalgam, a month after the deadly terror attack and things that followed, it seems unlikely that tourists will return anytime soon.
“Tourism is dead for a long long time,” Nisar, the hotel caretaker, says with a sigh. “It will have it impact for many tourist seasons. One season is too little (a time) to heal.”
(Some names have been changed on request)
Stay updated with the latest Trending, India , World and United States news. Get breaking news and key updates here on Mint!