Home SWAT, Jan 02 (APP/DNA): As winter sunlight filters through the pine forests of the Oshu mountains, 57-year-old hotelier Ataullah Khan sits quietly on a wooden chair outside his hotel in Kalam valley, anxiously scanning the road for tourists who hardly seem to arrive unless snowfall.
For nearly three decades, Ataullah’s small hotel used to be fully booked during winter, especially around New Year, when heavy snowfall transformed Kalam into a magnet for tourists and snow sports enthusiasts. This year, however, the valley has remained largely snowless which is a worrying sign for the local tourism and hospitality industry. “The lack of snowfall in Kalam and Bahrain has badly affected the hotel industry and transport sector,” Ataullah told APP. “In the past, tourists would flood the area at this time of year just to enjoy snow.” Asking his lone servant to open the windows to let sunlight in, Ataullah said that even the recent Snow Gala at Kalam failed to attract substantial number of visitors in numbers seen in previous years.
Published: January 2, 2026 4:01 pm
Source: Islamabad Post — Read original