Beerwah, Jammu and Kashmir

Beerwah, Jammu And Kashmir

Beerwah is a town and a notified area committee in Budgam district of the Indian administered Kashmir of Jammu and Kashmir. kashmir Valley

Beerwah is at an height of 5200 feet above sea level. It can be identified between 75° E longitude and 34° N latitude at the base of Pir Panjal Mountain range base.

Beerwah is located between plains (to the north and eastern part and to the south and south-western part). The beautiful landscape comprises elevated table lands known as "Karewas" given by Godwin-Austin (The British Geologist) first time during 1859. The name Beerwah means "beautiful" in Sanskrit, derived from springs of beerwah known as "Behroop" also means "beautiful".

In 1766 A.D., a Fort was built by the then Muslim Governor - Lal Mohammad Khatak. This fort was repaired in 1801 A.D. by Governor Abdullah Khan but unfortunately the fort was destroyed completely in 1884 A. D. in an earthquake.

Beerwah served as Pargana during mughal reign. It was formed out of the erstwhile of Srinagar district, achieving Tehsil status in 1962 and the man behind the formation was Sir Syed Sani Mawlana Syed Ali Shah Bukhari, making it one of the oldest tehsil headquarters of Kashmir. The Budgam, Beerwah and baramullah were connected with tehsil Beerwah and it was called Tehsil Ranbir Singh.It was the headquarter and tehsil of Beerwah, budgam and Baramullah). The tehsil budgam was formed later in 1979, and henceforth achieved district status with the help of chief Minister Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah.

Beerwah is famous for its dry fruits such as walnuts, pears, apricots, cherries and almonds. The use of dried fruits dates back to the 4th Millennium B. C. in Mesopotamia – the modern-day Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. These dried fruits have been a staple diet for centuries due to their nutritive value, sweet taste and long shelf life. Dried fruits were valued for their energy by the travelers. So valuable were the dried fruits considered that they were thought important to be recorded in the Assyrian and the Babylonian monuments and temples more than 5000 years ago. Today, dried fruits are majorly used in Kashmiri type of Biryani and desserts such as pies, cakes, brownies, ‘khubani ka meetha’ etc. Dried fruits are still valued as ‘energy-bars’ by travelers today.