Located to the south of the Jhelum river valley, Anantnag is the gateway to the Kashmir valley. The city, also known as Islamabad is at a height of 5,300 feet above sea level. This is one of the major Kashmiri speaking areas of the India. The population of the city is about 1, 10, 000 and that of the district is about 1 million. 36.13 percent of the population is within the working age. The city of Anantnag is a major economic hub of the state primarily because of its geographical location in the center of the Kashmir valley and secondly because of the inflow of religious tourists here for centuries to pilgrimage sites such as Amaranth. Heritage sites like the Buddhist monasteries, the ruins from the times of the great kings Lalitaditya and Avantiwarman including the Sun Temple of Martand, attract tourists and pilgrims alike. This city serves as a centralized hub for the assimilation of regional handicrafts, fruits and flowers which are from here taken to other parts of the country. Anantnag district is known as the rice bowl of the valley Handicrafts, woolen shawls, carpets and rugs (Namdahs) and production of fruits, especially apples gives maximum employment to the people of the city.
