Meet Danish Nabi, the ‘Ibn Battuta of Kashmir’

There are many places to visit in Kashmir and the 30-year-old Danish Nabi alias Daniyal highlights the undisclosed beauty of the state. Danish Nabi, popularly known as the “Ibn Battuta of Kashmir,” is a resident of the Bandipora district and works as a government employee in the Bandipora mini-secretariat. In his 20s, he noticed a gap in Kashmir tourism, where tourists were only travelling to well-known locations like Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonmarg, and Dal Lake, completely ignoring the real adventure tourism in Kashmir, which is located high in the mountains and has attracted travellers from all over Europe since the late 1980s.

His enthusiasm for mountains and discovering new places has paid off, and the Bandipora district administration has appointed him as an advisor to promote adventure tourism. The Forest department has also prepared some areas, such as Sheerasar, and Nagmarg routes for trekking. Danish was the first person to ride a bicycle up Razdaan Top (11,672 feet) in India and the rest of the world last year.

Every weekend, Danish heads off on foot or by bicycle to the highlands, where he explores the lakes and meadows and discovers new tourist attractions. Speaking to ANI he revealed, “I have religiously followed my schedule. I haven’t wasted a single Sunday. Sunday is my day. Come what may, I set out for a journey every weekend”. In the Bandipora and Gurez sectors of J&K’s Himalayas, he has so far rediscovered more than a dozen alpine lakes, improving the likelihood of adventure tourism in the Valley.

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He has so far rediscovered Shalpooth lake, three Handmarg or Handmenger lakes, Kaul Sar Lake, Kiser Sar, two Patalwan lakes, and a Kothapatri lake in the Gurez sector. In the Bandipora area, he has also rediscovered Shera Sar, Sarbal lake, and two Kundaplakes, Chamarsar, Zadsar, and Salnai Sar. Additionally, he has investigated the caves at Chota Amarnath and Bazar Hoi in Bandipora, Yemberzalwari in Sopore, Sheikhul Aalam in Budgam, and Kalaroos in Kupwara.

To help other travellers, Danish records his adventures using a GoPro camera and uploads them to his YouTube channel. The “Ibn Battuta of Bandipora” repeatedly investigated these lakes and discovered a variety of trekking paths for upcoming travellers. He has geo-referenced and logged every route. He said, “I do record the trails and treks besides posting them on YouTube for future travellers”.

He said, “I wish people would reserve their Sundays for such travels and work for other days of the week.” He added, “If people can set out for such treks on Sundays, it will reduce their stress levels and help them stay in shape mentally and physically”.

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Danish looks up to Dr Shariq Masood, a well-known doctor at SKIMS and an avid traveller like himself, and encourages others to follow in his footsteps. He claims that the doctor has never practised on a Sunday in the last two decades as he uses the day exclusively for travelling.

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