At dawn in the high meadows, 25-year-old Shabnam Bashir walks through knee-deep grass, her boots soaked with melting snow. A mobile phone camera rests in her hand and a notebook sits tucked inside her backpack. Clouds drift low over Nagmarg as she pauses to mark a trail that, until a few years ago, existed only in the memory of shepherds.

There are no phone signals, no signboards, and no tourist infrastructure — only silence, alpine flowers, and the distant sound of grazing sheep.

For Shabnam, this solitude is not an escape but a mission. Each step she takes is part of her effort to bring Kashmir’s hidden landscapes — and her marginalised Gujjar–Bakarwal community — into a future shaped by sustainable tourism.

Breaking barriers in a conservative community

Born into a nomadic Gujjar–Bakarwal family, Shabnam grew up in a society where early marriage and limited mobility often define a girl’s life. But from a young age, she felt drawn to the mountains surrounding her village in Bandipora district. She would watch trekkers pass through the foothills of Harmukh and imagine herself on similar journeys.

Choosing to travel alone was not easy. When she began trekking, her family and relatives strongly resisted.

“People questioned my character, my safety, and even my sanity,” she recalls. Some elders warned that a girl wandering in the mountains would damage the family’s reputation.

Financial challenges followed. With no sponsorship, she relied on personal savings, often walking for hours instead of hiring transport and carrying basic food supplies during long treks.

There were moments of fear — nights in unfamiliar settlements, sudden weather changes, and navigating wild terrain without backup support.

“Sometimes I fear alone........

© The Better India