Last year, when heavily armed terrorists targeted tourists in the valley, there was no security present and it took more than 25 minutes for the forces to reach. Now, the 5 km road from main Pahalgam town to the grassland is heavily guarded round the clock by more than a dozen CRPF and police personnel. Security teams are also deployed inside the valley, keeping a strict vigil to prevent tourists from going near the grasslands.

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An officer from Pahalgam police station said, “It is closed for everyone. Tourists and locals. Our job is to ensure that no one goes close to Baisaran until it is officially opened.”

“The Army has been regularly patrolling the dense forests around Baisaran Valley and other parts of Pahalgam. Our day starts at 7 in the morning and ends late in the evening. This has become our daily routine since the attack,” the officer said.

Hundreds of tourists take horse rides from Pahalgam Valley to Baisaran Road and many insist on taking them to the valley. Ankush Sharma, who came with five friends, said, “Soon after the attack we heard about Baisaran. Now we want to go there. We are not scared because security forces are present everywhere.” However, they were not allowed to enter the valley.

Pahalgam city has recovered from the initial shock. Hotels and shops have reopened. Ramesh Babu, a tourist from Tamil Nadu, said, “We don’t feel any fear here. We are enjoying it and will stay for a night.” A municipal corporation official said the collection from entry toll in Pahalgam has tripled since the first week of March.

Mushtaq Ahmed Pahalgami, head of the hotel association of Pahalgam, agreed that tourism is gradually increasing. “Nobody came here for months. Now we have 30 to 40% of the tourists back,” he said. Pony operators say that the work has picked up pace. “Tourists started returning from autumn. Now hundreds of tourists are coming every day,” said Gul Mohammed, owner of three horses.

This is Ravi Kumar’s first visit to the valley. Kumar, a small businessman from Uttarakhand, said, “Because of the Pahalgam attack, there were some concerns, but there was a lot of positive feedback online, including news about people’s reaction and safety measures. We decided to try it.” He added, “And we don’t regret it. It’s the most beautiful place we’ve ever seen.”

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Around 252,000 tourists have visited the Tulip Garden since March 16. “After the attack, the garden was empty and it remained the same last year too. Despite Pahalgam, people have responded well this year,” said Imran Ahmed, floriculture department in-charge of the tulip garden.

“The garden usually remains open for a month because the average life of a tulip flower is 20 days,” Ahmed said.

But one added feature this year is security. At least 20 personnel patrolled the three gates of the garden, which has now been closed as the tulips have dried up. Ahmed said security measures were very strong. “Military intelligence, BSF, CRPF and police are present. Many security personnel in plain clothes are roaming around the garden to keep the visitors safe,” he said. Altogether 40-50 personnel were standing guard from the approach road of the boulevard to the parking and then to the garden.

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“Coming back home, the AC and fans are running continuously and here I am, wearing a woolen jacket,” said Amit Sarkar from Kolkata. “We are not afraid, we have full confidence in the security of our country.”

Police, CRPF and Army’s RR units are deployed at Sonamarg and Thajwas Glacier. About two dozen CRPF jawans and policemen keep an eye on the movement of tourists at Thajwas Glacier and remain there until all the tourists leave. A senior police officer said, “…not only is there foolproof security in Sonamarg, but all the surrounding forests and main highways are well protected.”

“This is our first time here. We were planning for years and finally we are here. We have already visited Pahalgam and Gulmarg and will now spend a night here,” said Sanjita, a software engineer from Madhya Pradesh.

At a makeshift kiosk at the corner of the market, Faiyaz Ahmed, who lives in the neighboring Gund village, rents rubber boots to tourists. “Since the morning, I have already rented 60 to 70 shoes. The earnings have been good for the last one month,” he said. Certainly, hotel occupancy is still low. “We have 40 percent occupancy,” said Musaib Ahmed, manager of Namro Hotel.

Located at the foot of the Koh-i-Maran hill overlooking Srinagar, the garden is filled with almond trees, which are in bloom early in the year. Zahoor Ahmed, a floriculture worker posted at the garden, said, “Before the Pahalgam incident, a lot of people, mostly locals and some from other states, used to come. Then people stopped coming completely. Now people have returned. There are a lot of security arrangements this year.”

“We have to inform the police every day about any international tourists and the number of domestic tourists,” he said. The park is now heavily fortified, with three-four security vehicles deployed on the approach road and dozens of police and CRPF personnel deployed around the place. At least 10 security personnel patrol the approach road from 9 am to 7 pm, and the same number of security personnel patrol the back side.

A security officer posted outside the garden said that personnel were protecting people from inside as well as outside. “We cannot take things lightly and we have been asked to remain vigilant,” he said.

A tourist from Mumbai came to Badamwari after seeing some pictures on Instagram. “This is my second time visiting Kashmir and I am coming to Badamwari for the first time. But unfortunately the almond blossom is over. Still it is a very serene, calm and beautiful place to visit,” said Sachin, who also visited in 2017.

Director of Floriculture, Mathura Masoom said that the number of customers was good this year. “From 18,000 visitors in March last year, we saw over 100% of visitors this March to record almost 40,000,” she said.

Tourists are now returning to Drang, but the landscape has changed since their last visit. A bulletproof bunker now stands on the edge of the tourist site, near a small village of 200-250 houses. From Tangmarg to Drang, at least five teams comprising four to five personnel of both police and CRPF are guarding the entrance road to this picturesque destination. Even on the 13 kilometer road from Tangmarg to Gulmarg, five checking points have been set up in the neighbourhood. Apart from this, there is regular deployment of Road Opening Party in this area which remains there from morning till evening.

Pawan Jadhav and his wife Aastha, residents of Karnataka, said, “We have never seen such a beautiful place before. This place is really like heaven.”

Police said at least six cases have been registered under the Foreigners and Immigration Act 2025 against those hiding information of foreign visitors across Kashmir. “A lot of intelligence is being shared and reviewed every day for the security of tourist places,” said a senior police officer.