Srinagar, Mar 29: Sonamarg, decribed as "the meadow of gold" in Kashmir valley hosted the annual Snow Fest, with hundreds of tourists flocking to this holiday resort.
Sonamarg town in Ganderbal district is an alpine valley situated on the banks f Nallah Sindh, 87 km from Srinagar.
Sonamarg lies in the vicinity of the great Himalayan glaciers of Kashmir Valley, Kolhoi Glacier and Machoi Glacier with some peaks above 5000 meters.
The J&K tourism in collaboration with Jammu and Kashmir Ski and Mountaineering association organised the snow festival, which concluded on Thursday.
Tourists danced to the tunes of traditional folk music and performed Kashmiri folk dances such as ‘Rouf', which was the main attraction of this festival.
Snow games like skiing, snow Zorbing and snow baseball were also organised.
One of the organisers of the festival, Rauf Ahmad Tramboo told reporters that such events help in promoting adventure sports in Kashmir.
“We have a lot of potential in our valley, especially in the regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. We thought that we would take an initiative to make use of the present climatic conditions. Through this we can promote adventure and recreational tourism,” said Tramboo.
In summer months, Sonamarg opens for road transport. Ponies can be hired for the trip up to Thajiwas glacier a major attraction during the summer months.
