Athwatoo: An Amazing Trek by Mir Tariq
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The sound of these gushing waters turns musical amid the calm ambience when one closes all the windows of self to the outside world. The mere stay for an hour seems to be a spiritual meditation of ages. This brief excursion inwards is the rewarding experience in the contemporary times when we hardly get time to be with our own self, writes Mir Tariq.
Crystal clear waters, cool breeze, mountains, and deodars — this all makes what is known as Athwatoo! Once the famous tourist destination in Bandipore has now turned into ruins due to careless attitude of government.Having beautiful natural scenery, Athwatoo 20 Km from Bandipore town was receiving huge flow of tourists till 1989. Time and the public indifference have rendered the tourist huts constructed in early 70's dilapidated and in extremely bad condition needing urgent government attention.
Athwatoo has alpine weather conditions. Summers are mild and pleasant from April to October, while winters are harshly cold accompanied by heavy snowfalls from November to March. Athwatoo is located in the midst of mountains bordering forests, where two beautiful rivers Sangam and Tanghta meet enhancing the beauty of the spot further which attracts every visitor whether tourists or locals. There are road signs to lead you to Athwatoo, which indicates that the area was once fully developed."Road was constructed with finished stones (Diver Kani) in early 70's by the government and tourists were visiting the spot in huge numbers" said Muhammad Anwar a local, adding "now only locals are visiting this spot, if government advertise this spot again same tourists flow will be regained" To reach Athwatoo one has to cross a narrow wooden bridge from where you get view of Athwatoo and other adjacent beautiful peaks of Vewan, Branar, Tanghat and Tangpatri. From here you could take pictures of the scenic beauty as well as the relieving natural showers that tourists would enjoy during the sweltering heat of summers. Now the showers seem to be waiting for the tourists and other visitors.Just keep following the track, and in a few minutes you would find yourself facing the beautiful mountains of Athwatoo and Vewan, where local mountaineers can be seen busy in making arrangements for the trekking trips."We come here every year to enjoy the trekking in the peaks of Athwatoo. It is a beautiful tourist destination and government should ensure that it appears on tourist maps of the state as it was visited by outsiders particularly foreigners before 1989"said a mountaineer Inam-ul-Rehman, adding "this tourist Spot needs immediate attention of government especially tourist department. It can boost the revenue of the government""The opening of this tourist destination will make the area peaceful. And every one can enjoy the natural beauty" said Ghulam Ahmed Kucchay, a mountaineer.One can really relax on the big boulders that dot the rivers with rushing waters. The sound of these gushing waters turns musical amid the calm ambience when one closes all the windows of self to the outside world and begins to settle within. The mere stay for an hour seems to be a spiritual meditation of ages. This brief excursion inwards is the rewarding experience in the contemporary times when we hardly get time to be with our own self. Submerging ones feet in cold water while laying back on the boulders during summers is a cool thing one enjoys a lot there. If you find the water not too cold, you could perhaps bathe in the river. This is a nice place to have a lunch, but if you don't have it packed. If you have a camera or a video camera, there is lot of photo opportunities here. Short treks could be made further up by following the river, but one must not venture too far. Even in summer, you could easily spend half a day in this place, as the wind is quite cool. The hydro Electric Project under construction (opening in September) is adding more to the beauty of the spot, it looks a foreign tourist destination. Executive Officer Wular and Mansbal Development Authority (WAMDA) Farooq Ahmed Mir said that the government is going to develop the Athwatoo tourist spot in coming few months."A project proposal worth 300 crore has been sent to the union government which has been approved also. Due to some technicalities the work has not been started on the spot, which will be initiated in coming few months" Mir said