Machhal Tourism
Machhal :
Machhal is located in the Kupwara District of North Kashmir across the mighty Shamshabari Ranges or the SSBR in short. The word Shamshabari stands for “Abode of Fir Trees” and the mountain range forms four valleys across it namely Tangdhar, Keran, Machhal and Gurez. The estimated elevation is approximately 3,500 m above sea level.
The place used to be an exclusive holiday resort for the royalty of J&K during the pre-independence era, a royal endorsement of its pristine natural beauty, salubrious climate and above all the peace & tranquility offered by the place.
Machhal Village
Machhal is a `Dardic’ word for fish. Located at an altitude of 2,450 m, it is surrounded by other villages in vicinity. Machhal is seen as a recent inhabitation. In his Gazetteer of Kashmir, Charles Ellison Bates recorded, “The villages Machhal were founded some years ago by the present Lambardar, who had migrated from the village of Satti in Gurez with only eight families initially”. Machhal Valley has a total of 13 villages having population of nearly 16,000 with ethnicity that includes Gujjars, Pahadis, and Kashmiris among others.
Machhal Nar
Machhal Valley with its uniquely pleasant climate, serene and shining landscape is undoubtedly a visitor’s paradise and jewel in the crown of Shamshabari. It is interspersed with numerous rivulets & Nars, biggest of which is the Machhal Nar. The valley derives its name from this Nar, which means ‘Abundance of Fish’.
Zamindar Gali
As the road winds up to Z Gali, one can see Nanga Parbat, an 8,126 m peak in the Greater Himalayas. The road is largely black top and partly macadamized, and remains open during summers & even winters except during periods of heavy snowfall that close the road, albeit temporarily. The area around Z Gali is flat & is called ‘Koker Seena’ (the chicken chest) by locals, with thickly forested slopes of Fir & Pine trees.
Land of Conifers
The landscape surrounding Machhal consists of hills and mountains, transforming it into a bowl with rich natural beauty, supplemented by thick vegetation and forest cover with numerous trees especially Pine and Bhojapatra. The pine trees are evergreen coniferous with dense branches and long dark needles. It grows with ease in variety of soils and is very hardy. The Bhojapatra Trees or Himalayan birch is a deciduous tree native to the Western Himalayas, growing at elevations up to 4,500 m. The tree finds multiple utilities of its different parts and is well-known for the use of its bark for writing in ancient India.
Valley of Flowers
A natural phenomenon occurring along the slopes of the Machhal Valley is blooming of numerous flowers rich in colours and diverse in their physical characteristics. These provide a rich and contrasting profile to the predominantly green outlook of the valley.