Dara emerging as new site for adventure tourism

Located on the outskirts of the city, the Dara locality is emerging as the new site for adventure tourism as the state government plans to promote it as the venue for paragliding.
“In order to tap adventure tourism potential in Srinagar, the Department of Tourism is promoting paragliding at Dara which is close to Srinagar city,” a government spokesman said.
The paragliding takes flight at Astan Marg in Dara and flies for about 10 to 15 minutes before making a landing at Harwan. Around five to six flights sail in the air on a daily basis giving a breathtakingly adventurous experience, the spokesman said.
The paragliding service at Dara is being delivered by a local company, Karakorum Explorers, which has hired expert pilots from Himachal Pradesh.
“The Department of Tourism is planning to promote this place for composite adventure tourism in which tourists will be taken from Harwan in all terrain vehicles to starting point at Astan Marg where from they will paraglide back to Harwan,” the spokesman said.
During the 15-minute flight, tourists would have a bird’s eye view of the Dal Lake also, the spokesman said.
Mahmood A Shah, Director, Tourism, Kashmir, said the department had taken up the matter of acquiring land with the Revenue Department so that a road for all terrain vehicles could be constructed up to the starting point at Dara.
The department would also acquire land at landing point at Harwan to give fillip to the paragliding in city, Shah said. “We have a lot of potential to attract tourists for paragliding at this spot and it very close to Srinagar city,” the official said.