Jai Valley

Jai Valley (/ʒæɪ ˈvæli/) is an enchanting valley[4][5] located 32 kilometres (20 mi) northeast of Bhaderwah town. The Bhaderwah-Jai road, which passes through the corniferous deodar forests of Nakshri, Balote, Bhalara and Chinta Valley connects the valley with the Bhaderwah town.[6] The valley has green meadows[7] which act as the attraction for tourists in summers and the snow-covered landscape during winters.[8] Jai valley has about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) long meadows, bisected by a stream called Jai Nallah which merges with a tributary of river Chenab at Kahara in tehsil Thathri.[5] It is also known by the names Jai Garh and Jai Top. The valley is also connected through a 37 kilometres (23 mi) long road with Gandoh.[9]

Jai Valley
Jai Top
Jai Valley in summers
Jai Valley
Jai Valley
Floor elevation7,800 ft (2,400 m)[1]
Length6 km (3.7 mi) [2]
Width0.5 km (0.31 mi)
Naming
Native nameजाय घाटी (Jaie Ghati)[3]
English translationJaie Valley
Geography
CountryIndia
StateJammu and Kashmir
RegionJammu region
DistrictDoda district
Coordinates33.027984°N 75.772830°E / 33.027984; 75.772830 

About

Jai, located in Bhaderwah tehsil (subdistrict) of Doda district, is a high altitude tourist destination,[3] 32 kilometers northeast of Bhaderwah by Bhaderwah-Chinta-Jai Road.[6] Every year thousands of tourist visits there, including the locals also.[7] It is also connected with Bhalessa-Jai-Bhaderwah road.[9] In summers, local Gurjars visit Jai along with their cattles where they have own mudhouses.[lower-alpha 1] The valley is surrounded with corniferous trees and towards its east lies the Bhalessa Valley which is connected through 46 kilometers Jai-Bhalessa Road, encompasses the hunting grounds of Bachdhar.[lower-alpha 2] Another 27 Kilometers Kahara-Jai Road also linked Kahara tehsil (subdistrict) to this valley.[5]

Wild herbs like Guchchi[lower-alpha 3] (Morels), Kasrod[lower-alpha 4] (Fiddlehead fern)[6] Foxglove, Aconitum, Mayapple and more can be found here.[5]

Tourism
Meadows covered with pines in Jai valley of Bhaderwah, Doda district

Jai gets thousands of tourist visits every year mostly in summers.[7] The Bhaderwah-Jai road climbs uphill in the last 30 kilometres to Jai passing through forests of pine and fir[5] of Nakshri, Balote, Bhalara and Chinta Valley.[6] It is one of the scenic tourist spot in Bhaderwah.[13] There are various natural waterfalls and the activities such as rock-climbing and hard-core trekking can be performed here.[4] The Jai Nallah is famous for Trout Fish Culture.[14] The source of water in Jai Nallah stream are the different natural springs which are found at various places of Jai, while Chenab Valley have hundreds of these natural springs found commonly in every village and forest areas. Due to these natural springs, this stream remain running all the year.[15]

Winter sports like skiing, ice skating and sledging can be played when the snow covers entire valley in winters.[6] There are igloo huts for tourists to stay in the valley.[2] Chinta and Jai valleys have the favourable climate and environment for basics and training in paragliding. Paragliding is the special attraction of hilly areas but it is feasible all over the year except wet seasons.[16]

Road connectivity

There are three roads which connects Jai Valley to other parts, which are as follows;

Main road
  1. Bhaderwah-Jai Road, a 32 kilometres (20 mi) road from Bhaderwah town to Jai Valley, having blacktop except some areas, is the main road which is commonly used to visit Jai. This road is located on the southwestern direction from Jai towards Bhaderwah town.[6]
  1. Gandoh-Jai Road, a 37 kilometres (23 mi) road from Gandoh (Bhalessa) to Jai, constructed but it lacks blacktop at maximum locations. This road is located in eastern side of Jai.[9]
  2. Kahara-Jai Road, a 27 kilometres (17 mi) road from Kahara tehsil (subdistrict) to Jai, which is under construction in 2020. This road is located on northern side of Jai.[5]

See also

On Wikipedia

Notes
  1. Mudhouses are the temporary houses made up of wooden walls like a shack and interior side of the walls are filled with mud to stop the passage of air through wooden walls. It have the mix material used in the shack and the hut. It is called Gwaad in Kashmiri language. Mostly used by Gurjars who visited these temporary houses with livestock in Summers, as these are mostly built on higher meadows. These are also called Gojjar Kotha (a temporary house occupied by Gurjar community of Jammu and Kashmir).
  2. a forest area having some meadows in Gandoh (Bhalessa) tehsil (subdistrict) which connects Bhalessa to Bhaderwah.[10] The word Dhar means meadows.
  3. a type of mushrooms (Morels) found in Himalayas. It is one of the most expensive mushrooms.[11] It is known as Guchchi in local language.
  4. Kasrod (Fiddlehead fern) is a dry vegetable. After cooking, it can be eaten with chapatis or breads. Kasrod is the local name of Fiddlehead fern.[12]

References
  1. Qazi, S.A. (2005), Systematic Geography of Jammu and Kashmir, APH Publishing Corporation, p. 138, ISBN 81-7648-786-4
  2. "Bhaderwah". www.jammutourism.gov.in. Directorate of Tourism Jammu. Retrieved 27 Jun 2020.
  3. "Closure of roads affects winter tourism in Bhadarwah". State Times. 18 Feb 2018. Retrieved 24 Jun 2020.
  4. Chowdhary, Charu (20 Jun 2019). "Bhaderwah: What to Experience in J&K's Mini Kashmir". India.com. Retrieved 24 Jun 2020.
  5. "Jai Valley". District Administration Doda. 2 Jun 2020. Retrieved 23 Jun 2020.
  6. "Jai Valley, an eco-health resort in Bhaderwah". JK Report. Retrieved 24 Jun 2020.
  7. Tantray, Amir Karim (9 Jul 2019). "With more than 2 lakh tourist footfall, Bhaderwah hoping for bonanza". The Tribune (India). Retrieved 23 Jun 2020.
  8. "Bhadarwah meadows covered in white blanket". State Times. 19 Nov 2017. Retrieved 25 Jun 2020.
  9. Sharma, Gopal (15 Jun 2020). "Gandoh-Jai-Bhaderwah Road incomplete even after 17 yrs, project jumps several deadlines". Daily Excelsior. Retrieved 23 Jun 2020.
  10. Malik, Sadaket (15 Mar 2015). "Picturesque mountains of Bhalessa". Daily Excelsior. Retrieved 26 Jun 2020.
  11. "Himalayas is one of the Most Expensive Mushrooms". NDTV. 23 Nov 2017. Retrieved 26 Jun 2020.
  12. "Kasrod (Fiddlehead Fern) Vegetable". Instructables. Retrieved 26 Jun 2020.
  13. "Jammu & Kashmir: Bhaderwah Like Never Before". Outlook (Indian magazine). 22 Aug 2017. Retrieved 23 Jun 2020.
  14. Census Handbook Doda (Census 2011) (PDF). Doda district: Govt of India. 2011. p. 118.
  15. Khan Yusafzai, Tahir Nadeem (12 Nov 2017). "Bhadarwah Valley heading for major potable water crisis". Greater Kashmir. Retrieved 27 Jun 2020.
  16. "Paragliding at Khanni Top". www.jktourism.org. Jammu and Kashmir Tourism. Retrieved 29 Jun 2020.
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