Every summer, the scenic town of Pahalgam in south Kashmir erupts into a hub of spiritual fervour as thousands of Hindu pilgrims trek to the sacred Amarnath cave.
But venture eastward from the Pahalgam Club, past the bifurcating road that leads tourists to the famed Baisaran meadows바카라recently stained by tragedy바카라and you바카라ll stumble upon a different kind of pilgrimage.
Welcome to Aru Valley, a highland retreat that some jokingly call Israel바카라s most peaceful 바카라settlement바카라 outside the Holy Land.
Nestled 12 km upstream from Pahalgam along the glacial Lidder River, Aru Valley has quietly become a summer sanctuary for Israeli backpackers. Between May and September, the tiny village hosts hundreds of young Israelis바카라most fresh out of military service바카라who come seeking peace, nature, and perhaps a touch of the mystical.
바카라We had nearly a 100 guests last year before the trouble started again,바카라 Fayaz Ahmad Malik, proprietor of the Fimi Guest House, told me when I was in the region in 2017.
바카라They come here for treks, birdwatching, and to unwind. And they clean their own rooms, help in the kitchen바카라unlike other tourists.바카라
While official maps mark Aru as a trekking base to Kolhoi Glacier and Tarsar Lake, village walls tell another story바카라one written partly in Hebrew. Local children greet tourists with 바카라shalom바카라, and weathered signboards bear instructions in a language foreign yet now familiar.
Some locals, like the elderly Abdul Gani Sheikh, have picked up conversational Hebrew without ever leaving the Valley. 바카라They come back every year. We learn from each other,바카라 he says, proudly reciting phrases he바카라s picked up over two decades.
There is more to the story than mere tourism. Some backpackers whisper of something deeper. 바카라This place has something spiritual,바카라 says one visitor, his eyes resting on the tree-lined horizon. 바카라It바카라s more than just trekking. You feel it in the air.바카라
That air, however, has not always been safe. In 1991, a little-known militant group attempted to abduct Israeli tourists from a Srinagar houseboat. Four years later, five Western backpackers vanished from the very mountains overlooking Pahalgam.
These incidents, coupled with travel advisories from the Israeli government, once reduced footfall to a trickle. But stories of warmth and glowing online reviews kept Israeli youth returning.
바카라I first went to Himachal Pradesh,바카라 says Hain Cohen, a fresh conscript from Tel Aviv. 바카라But then a friend sent pictures from Aru and said not to believe the media. So I packed my bags and came.바카라
At Rohella Guest House, eight such backpackers had checked in. 바카라We host nearly 250 Israelis each year,바카라 boasts its owner, Ghulam Qadir Sheikh. Despite the ever-present shadow of conflict in the region, the valley바카라s reputation as a 바카라safe haven for Israelis바카라 persists.
Interestingly, Aru is not Kashmir바카라s only brush with the Holy Land. In the remote village of Butho in Bandipora district in north Kashmir lies a mysterious grave nestled within the shrine complex of Hazrat Bibi Arifa바카라believed by some to be the final resting place of Prophet Moses himself.
While the custodian, Ghulam Muhammad Reshi, dismisses the theory as misplaced myth, a well-thumbed diary in his home records visitors from Uganda to Germany, drawn by stories read online about 바카라the burial site of Moses바카라.
The tale echoes local folklore and aligns curiously with academic musings. Kashmiri historian Pervez Dewan, in his book A History of Kashmir, posits that Jews frequented the Valley even in pre-Islamic times.
바카라Some may have stayed back, converting first to Hinduism, then to Islam,바카라 he writes. He highlights Hebrew influences on Kashmiri cuisine, customs, and even language.
In Bijbehara, there바카라s a weather-worn stone known as 바카라Ka Ka Pal바카라바카라a cryptic nod to the 11 lost tribes of Israel. Another stands in Baramulla. Pandit Ram Chand Kak, a former prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir, noted that names like 바카라Moses바카라 were common in the region and drew parallels between Kashmiri tribes and ancient Israelites.
Still, belief, not proof, fuels these myths. In 2016, an American woman spent three days meditating inside the Butho shrine. 바카라She thought it was sacred ground,바카라 Reshi recalls. 바카라But I told her바카라Musa isn바카라t buried here.바카라
Yet perhaps that doesn바카라t matter. Myths endure not because they are true, but because they offer a sense of belonging to those searching for meaning. For the Israeli travellers, who pitch tents in Aru and share meals with Kashmiri hosts, these stories deepen the connection to a land far from home, yet strangely familiar.
Beyond the meadows and myths, Aru stands as a curious symbol바카라of quiet resilience, unexpected friendships, and the unspoken belief that peace can flourish even in conflict바카라s backyard.
As the sun sets behind the snow-dusted peaks and a Hebrew song floats through the pine-scented air, one is reminded that borders may divide land, but stories바카라like rivers바카라flow where they will.
(Views expressed are personal)
(The author is a senior journalist)
