The high-altitude Jaie Valley meadows near the picturesque Bhaderwah in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir has emerged as a favourite destination for picnickers this season. According to Additional Deputy Commissioner, Bhaderwah, Dilmir Chowdhary, a record four lakh tourists, including 1.20 lakh students, visited the Jaie valley — which lies at an altitude of 7,850 feet, 30 kilometres from Bhaderwah — between May and September this year.
Surrounded by coniferous deodar forests, the valley has a nearly nine-kilometer-long meadow, bisected by a stream that merges with a tributary of the Chenab at Kahara. Students and their teachers also seem to be in awe of the mundane beauty of the high-altitude meadows of Bhaderwah and want to revisit in near future. Till May Guldanda meadow and Chattergalla pass on Bhaderwah-Pathankot remained the darling of visitors due to snow, but after snow melted away, the attractions of visitors shifted towards Jaie Ghati.