Pampore also called Pampur is a ‘notified area committee’ town in Pulwama District of the northern most State of India – Jammu and Kashmir. Situated on the eastern bank of Veth also known as Jhelum, Pampore is one of the 3 Tehsils of the Pulwama District. Pampore is located at 34.02°N 74.93°E with an average elevation of 1,574 metres (5,164 feet).Pampore derives its name from its erstwhile name which was called ‘Padmanpore’ which meant ‘Land of Gold’ (Saffron).
Important Attractions: Joint Tomb of Khwaja Masood Wali & Sheikh Sharif-u-din Wali.
General Info: Known as the ‘Land of Gold’ – Pampore’s pride and joy is its perennial produce – the world’s most sought after wonder spice – Saffron. Pampore is a beautiful town with subdivided areas whose names usually end at “bal”, like Kadlabal , Namlabal, etc. It has been India’s destination for Saffron for 2500 years making it a landmark territory in the history of Saffron civilization. The fields of Saffron are a big attraction and a crowd-puller of Pampore. Every year, thousands of curious tourists flock to Pampore to see this incredibly beautiful endless landscape of bright purple flowers which are actually spice – and the most expensive one at that.
Saffron the spice, also called ‘Kesar’ and ‘Zaffran’ in Kashmir, has medicinal properties and is known to help cure mild Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, gastrointestinal ailments and depression. It was also used in cosmetics by the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra and there on by other civilizations like the Islamic civilization as well. This explains why Saffron is in highest demand over all other spices. And what makes Saffron the most expensive spice is that it takes 1, 75,000 saffron flowers to make one kilo of dried Saffron that are ready for consumption and costs about Rs. 75, 000 per kilogram. And Pampore is the second highest high-quality producer of Saffron in the world. And Saffron is the main source for export-earnings in Pampore. The fact that Pampore is earmarked for future development by the Indian Government shows how important this geography is to the country. The Agriculture Ministry already sanctioned Rs. 373 crores last year for setting up a ‘Spice Park’ under the Spice Board of India for regulating quality of saffron and for providing local farmers better marketing facilities. The Agriculture Department also plans to send some Saffron farmers to Spain, Iran and Greece in order to teach them advanced foreign farming technologies.
At an elevation of 5100 feet above sea level and sprawled all across the Eastern bank of the Jhelum River, Pampore has Mediterranean Maquis which is best suited for the cultivation of Saffron. Today, Saffron is used as a seasoning, colouring, aromatic and curative agent.