Kishtwar District, the third least populous district after Kargil and Leh as of the census of 2011, is a newly formed district of the state of Jammu and Kashmir of India. It is a beautiful town located on a central plateau surrounded by wooded hills, at a distance of 216 km from Jammu and an altitude of 1640 meter above the sea level. It is an upland valley in the north-east corner of Jammu region. It is at a distance of 107 km from the national highway resort of Batote. Kishtwar is surrounded by the mighty Himalayas from all the sides , kindling off in Marwa-Wadwan valley, Paddar valley and Chhatroo valley. Commonly known as the 'Land of Sapphire and Saffron' , it is also very rich in forest products. It is connected with the rest of the state by NH 1-B throughout the year. It is connected with Kashmir Valley by Chhatroo-Synthan road, which is being upgraded ad transformed into a National Highway.
Kishtwar History
The District has derived its name from "Kishat Rishi" who stayed here. It is the is the modified version of earlier name of Kishaswar. Located at a distance of 232 km from Jammu at a height of 5,360 feet, Kishtwar in its ancient form Kashthavata, is first referred to in the Rajatarangini during the empire of Raja Kalsa of Kashmir, when "Uttamaraja", the ruler of Kashthavata visited the court of Kashmiri king in company with several other hill chiefs to pay their respects to the Raja. The lands of Kishtwar was gifted to the Mehta Family by the King of Kashmir. Their family temple "Hatta Wali Mata" and their Heritage is still preserved in Kishtawar. The Commander-in-Chief of the Kashmir Army "Sip-E-Salar Sri Jiya Lal Mehta" was the founder of this family. He fought the Mughals and Northern raiders with bravery who tried to invaded the land of Kishtawar.
It was merged with the State of Jammu and Kashmir in 1821, A.D. Earlier it was a tehsil of District Udhampur. But in 1948 during the first reorganization of states post-independence, it became a part of the newly formed Doda district.
Kishtwar Tourism
Tourist places in Kishtwar
Nagseen
Dachhan
Warwan
Mughal Maidan
Bhandarkot
Zumun Palmar
Paddar
Chatroo
Chingam
