Srinagar: Kashmir was already a favourite destination for bikers from all over India, and now bikers from all over the world are taking to the roads of Kashmir and Ladakh. Hundreds of bike rallies have been organised in the Kashmir Valley in recent months by various departments and groups. In addition, for the first time, an International Bikers rally was held in Srinagar. The rally was launched by the Jammu and Kashmir tourism department. For the first time, a group of 20 bikers from Bahrain, Oman, and Germany are on an expedition trip to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The bikers started the journey from Ladakh exploring the roads of Leh, Kargil and later Sonamarg in the Kashmir region. They went to South Kashmir's Pahalgam hill station as well. The rally was flagged off in Srinagar by Secretary of Tourism, Sarmad Hafeez. The bikers called Kashmir Valley the Paradise on earth and said it was one of the best challenging terrains for these bikers. Mehdi Hassan, Captain of Bahrain Bikers Group said
''Our group has done so many trips. When we were thinking about doing something different, it came to our mind to do Kashmir. Whenever we say Kashmir, we say why and the media portrays it as dangerous but we wanted to explore it ourselves and honestly, when we planned it, we don't regret it at all. The whole group loved it. We loved the landscape, the great food and the good people. You can't imagine how people helped us. We were given free food and snacks from locals in villages.
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He added "Our friends from Oman are interested and they will be visiting Kashmir soon as well. Bahrain Bikers was started in 2012 and we have almost 130 members on this trip we have only 18 of us travelling because everyone couldn't make it. It is a bikers group and we do a lot of social work as well,''
The group comprised twenty bikers including two women, the other bikers were mostly from the Gulf and one among them was from Germany and Europe. The bikers took a ride on the road facing Dal Lake.
"We have come from Bahrain to India. To Leh and Kashmir, I cannot even say anything about Kashmir, It's in our hearts, we have loved Kashmir since our childhood. We never came before but always heard about it. It is for real a paradise on earth. We went to the mountains and saw 4 seasons in a single day. We recommend and request people from across the world to come to Kashmir. They are lovely people and have amazing food. Kashmir is the best and Kashmir is heaven," Abdul Jasim, Biker, in Bahrain said
The bikers expressed their utmost joy over the great hospitality and welcome they received from people in Srinagar. The female bikers found the place safe and extremely challenging regarding the terrain.
Priya Shankar, an Indian Biker settled in Bahrain. Said "I have been riding with these bikers for a very long time and it's been amazing. When they said they are going to Kashmir, I said I am signing up as well. It's been fantastic. Even though I am Indian, I will go and promote it. I have seen stunning visuals of the place. I am a part of the group of Biker brothers and it's been quite safe they take care of us very well. Dr Aziz has put together this whole event. He had a crew behind us. We were safe and biker brothers are extremely protective of the lady bikers so we did not have a problem."
Secretary Tourism termed the biking expedition of Bahrain Bikers as a positive sign for Kashmir Tourism He said the expedition would open gates for many other such activities as Kashmir has much to offer in adventure tourism. He also expressed his gratitude to Bahrain Bikers and KCCI for organizing the biking expedition.
"We have a bikers group from Bahrain, these are international tourists, they have come from the gulf. There is a biker from Germany, there is a lady Biker from Oman and I think it's wonderful that our place is opening up. I think Kashmir has a tremendous potential in Biking especially looking at the terrain and climate and places and I am sure it can become the best biking destination in the world," Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary, of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism said
Jammu and Kashmir's tourism department says that Kashmir has the potential to become the world's best adventure tourism destination. And they are working on making it the hub of adventure tourism. Tourism this year had already broken all records for tourist footfall, first time since independence the tourist number that visited Kashmir had crossed 20 lakhs and now tourism players and the UT government is opening other attractions for tourist across the globe in Kashmir.
