What parts of Jammu and Kashmir are dangerous?

mushyosh

Im planning on going to Manali, Kullu, and Leh for sure.

I am not all clear on the J and K state. WHich parts of it are dangerous?

volga_volga

near LOC (Line of Control) which divides India-administered Kashmri and Azad Kashmir (Pakistani part).

a good primer on the Kashmiri conflict is here

you can find map there also

mushyosh, it is none of my business, but if you are novel traveller may be you should skip Kashmir this time?

-m2-

If you check Google News for 'kashmire violence' you get 847 entries, many of them current; you will get the most up-to-date info from recent news stories. here's the link to the page:

http://news.google.com/news?q=Kashmi...-8&sa=N&tab=wn

slowbus

As -m2- notes, there's a lot of violence in Kashmir. But that doesn't mean it is unsafe for tourists. The militants mostly only attack the army/police, and the army only attacks those that it suspects are militants. Of course, things can change. But, given the large number of tourists going to Kashmir, it's unlikely you'll be the first one to be hit if things do change.

If you want to worry, though, worry about your bus plunging into a canyon on the drive to/from Kashmir.

I think the situation is worse in Jammu than in Kashmir. In particular, Doda and Kishtwar seem like perpetual trouble spots, along with Poonch.

I also meet a large group of westerners who were going on a 10-day trek in the area north of Sonamarg, about 1 km from the line-of-control. They weren't worried about security in that region of Kashmir either.