Kishtwar is situated 238 kms from Jammu and is at the height of 5,300 feet. Its present name is connected to ‘Kishat Rishi’ who lived here whereas its past name was Kishaswar. In 1063-1089, it was known as Rajatrangini during the rule of king Kalsa. It is said that when king ‘Uttamraja’ who reigned Kashthavata visited the Kashmiri king with his chiefs, the Kashmiri king gifted the land of Kishtwar to the Mehta family. Kishtwar is blessed with thick forests of deodar, pine and fir and are a wealth of breathtaking beauty.  It has various high altitude mountains with a range in the mid of 20,000-21,000 feet which includes Barnag, Num Kum and Burmah. It has numerous holy shrines visited by the tourists which comprises of Farid-ud-Din Sahib, Chandi Mata temple, Hazrat Asrar-ud-Din Sahib, Ziarat Zain-Shah-Sahib, Hatta Wali Matta and Athara Bhuja Devi temple.

In 1821 AD, it was consolidated in Jammu and Kashmir. Till 1948, it stayed as the Tehsil of Udhampur district and after independence, it became the part of Doda district. In 1941, it had the population of 3,235.

Present Sketch

In a blog, Kishtwar has been described as K =K(Q)uality, I = In, S = Saffron and Sapphire, H = having, T = Tremendous amount of,  W = Wealth, A = And, R = Resources. Kishtwar is situated in between the snowy mountains, fruit orchards, whispering deodar, emerald valleys and pine woods with numerous amounts of flora and fauna, chucking streams roaming around the dense green pastures, decorated with beautiful and colorful wildflowers creating a glorious environment. The beauty of the valleys gets more adventurous and energetic with its fascinating and alluring natural beauty.

It’s a beautiful and fabulous place for adventure, Eco, pilgrimage, cultural, health, rural and film tourism. Kistwar has deep green woods, buzzing heights communicating to the sky, alpine pastures and green meadows.

Places to Visit

Nagseen

It is named after a Buddhist missionary Nagseen, enclosed by wooden forests and is situated in eastern Kishtwar town.

Paddar

It is renowned for ruby mines and sapphire. It is also famous for the production of diamond in excess amount. Paddar is visited by the tourists for its wildlife resources and scenic beauty. It has a famous hot spring named as Tattapani and also has sacrosanct temple of Machail Chandi Mata which is a pilgrimage for Hindus.

Sarthal

It is 24 kms from Kistwar town and is well known for Astha Bhuja temple. It also has numerous picnic spots like agral, bandwaan, ghaan and junwas. It celebrates Zagroo, culture festival which includes Chakri dance.

Dacchan

It is the starting point for mountain climbing to the highest peaks of mountains which comprises of Brahma, Hudh Mata, Sickle North, Mahesh and Vaishno.

Travel Tips

By Road

Kishtwar is properly connected to the roads. It is 144 kms from Srinagar and Jammu and Kashmir. Numerous buses run from the Jammu & Kashmir State Road Transportation (JKSRT) to important places of India.

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