Baramulla Apple Orchards Wular Lake Kashmir Valley Heritage

Baramulla district in the Kashmir Valley is the primary apple-growing district of India — Sopore, Rafiabad, and Uri tehsils contain dense apple orchards producing Delicious, Maharaji, and McIntosh varieties that supply India's wholesale apple markets. The district's Wular Lake — one of Asia's largest freshwater lakes — is a Ramsar wetland supporting productive fisheries for rohu and trout, overwintering migratory birds including bar-headed geese, and the traditional Hanji fishing community. Baramulla borders Pakistan across the Line of Control at Uri — the district's hydropower potential from the Jhelum river is being harnessed through multiple run-of-river projects. Sopore's apple cold-storage and packaging industry is central to Kashmir's fruit economy.