Popular resorts such as Pahalgam and Gulmarg are witnessing visitor numbers that can exceed their ecological and infrastructural carrying capacity during the peak season, raising concerns over waste management, water resources, transport networks and the sustainability of tourism in the Valley.
The April 2025 Pahalgam attack triggered a sharp fall in tourist arrivals, with travellers leaving the Valley and tourism activity coming to a near standstill in the immediate aftermath. Tourism, however, has rebounded strongly this year, with both domestic and foreign visitors returning to Kashmir.
Official data accessed by businessline showed that 13,97,942 tourists visited the Kashmir Valley between January and August 2026, including 13,83,987 domestic tourists and 13,955 foreign visitors.
Monthly arrivals stood at 1,00,769 in January, 1,12,430 in February, 91,710 in March, 1,32,828 in April, 2,19,449 in May, 3,21,196 in June, 2,66,363 in July and 1,53,197 in August.
Straining infrastructure
Experts say the surge is exposing the limits of infrastructure at some of Kashmir’s most popular tourist destinations. Gulmarg, for instance, has a carrying capacity of around 3,000 visitors a day, but peak-season footfall can rise to several times that level.Mutaharra A.W. Deva, a governance and climate policy strategist who has conducted baseline Environmental Impact Assessment studies in Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Pahalgam, Yusmarg and Doodhpathri, said the region’s tourism infrastructure was increasingly being pushed beyond its ecological limits.
“Kashmir’s fragile Himalayan ecology is facing a threshold crisis where tourist influx far outpaces ecological carrying capacity,” Deva said.
She said high-altitude meadows, steep slopes and fragile watersheds were particularly vulnerable to unchecked increases in human activity. At the same time, civic infrastructure such as sewage treatment, energy systems and transport networks remained inadequate to cope with the growing pressure.
“Rapid and unscientific expansion is compromising alpine biodiversity, local micro-climates and adjacent water catchments,” she said.
Waste and governance concerns
Deva said waste management was another major pressure point along tourist corridors, where collection systems often focused on removing waste rather than ensuring its segregation, treatment, and scientific disposal.“Unsegregated municipal waste and non-biodegradable waste routinely end up choking natural drainage basins and mountain streams,” she said, adding that fragmented institutional responsibility between tourism, environment, wildlife and local authorities had also weakened enforcement.
Khurshid Ahmad Ganai, former IAS officer and chairman of the Group of Concerned Citizens ( GCC) — a civil society body comprising retired bureaucrats—said that they flagged the similar environmental concerns to the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during their recent meeting with him.
“Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of development projects must be ensured as per the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change ‘Notifications”, Gania said.
Published on September 10, 2026
