Ladakh to come up as spiritual tourism destination

Ladakh, the world famous trans-Himalayan land of myriad culture, which houses age-old monasteries, is all set to become a spiritual tourism destination, with the Centre sanctioning a multi-crore project.

"Apart from being a foreigners' paradise and an ideal place for trekkers, Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir would now come up as a spiritual tourism destination," minister of tourism and culture Nawag Rigzin Jora said.

The Centre has recently sanctioned a Rs25-crore project for Ladakh.

"Here Buddhism is our USP. Under the project, Buddhist culture, heritage, way of life and landscapes would be promoted and infrastructure developed for starting spiritual tourism in the region," Jora said.

Ladakh has always attracted foreigners who have outnumbered the domestic tourists. As many as 78,573 tourists, including 41,000 foreigners visited Ladakh in 2009.

Thrust will also be on promoting adventure tourism like water rafting, trekking and mountaineering, the minister said.

"Tourism is the life-line of Ladakh," he said, adding, "for this, we hope that 104 virgin peaks in restricted areas would be opened for the mountaineers and trekkers from across the world."

Ladakh does not invite advisories from foreign countries, and since it is militancy-free, it attracts tourists from all over the world, he said.