In a bid to woo tourists from the neighbouring state, the Jammu tourism department conducted a road show in Amritsar in Punjab and exhibited major sites of the region with special focus on Patnitop circuit as an independent tourist destination.
"This was the fourth and last road show planned by the department for Punjab. Earlier the department had organised similar road shows at Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar" an official of the Jammu tourism department said here today.
A delegation of tour and travel operators and other stakeholders from Patnitop, Katra, Bhaderwah and Jammu was led by Director Tourism, Jammu, R K Varma to showcase various destinations of Jammu region in general and Patnitop and its adjoining areas in particular.
The delegation of tour, travel hoteliers from Jammu had intensive and extensive interaction with their counterparts from Amritsar and offered attractive packages for the tourists visiting Patnitop, Katra, Bhaderwah and Jammu, he said.
During the road show people of Amritsar were apprised of the city of temples, Jammu and told about the places of attraction there, including heritage monuments like Dogra Art Gallery, Amar Mahal, Mubarak Mandi, Bagh-e-Bahu, Raghunath Heritage Bazaar, Raghunath temple, Golf Course at Sidhra, Jammu and the famous Mansar Lake which is about 48 km from the main city, the department spokesman said.
"They were told about the belief in local folk that newlyweds consider it auspicious to circumambulate around the lake to seek blessings of the Lord serpents whose shrine is located on its bank" he said.
The people were also told about Patnitop, the most popular hill resort in Jammu region located at a distance of 112 km from Jammu and 87 km from Katra. At an altitude of 2,024 metres Patnitop is perched on a beautiful plateau across which passes the Jammu-Srinagar Highway passes, the tourism official said adding that the region abounds eye catching meadows and thick forests of Deodar and Kail trees.
