Iraq may not be a likely destination for international tourists for a little while yet, but in the past few months tens of thousands of Iraqis have made their way to its northern provinces in search of a relaxing break.

As the British head to Spain to find sun, and young Americans to Mexico for legal alcohol, Iraqis drive north to Kurdistan lured by a selling point that rarely appears in Western holiday brochures: the opportunity not to get shot.

In a country where there is an average of 80 shootings, bombings and mortar attacks every day, the four northern Kurdish provinces have been a haven of relative calm since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

One of the most popular destinations is Lake Dukan, a giant reservoir in the mountains of Suleimaniya province where altitude also provides respite from the summer's stultifying heat. Yesterday nearly every hotel room had been booked weeks in advance.

On the surrounding roads families picnicked, while at the lake's edge a procession of cars drove up throughout the afternoon to unload their cargoes of over-excited children.

The males and young stripped down to their underwear to jump in and start splashing each other. The women sat preparing food.

"I can not put into words what I feel to be here," said Bekal Shakir, 20, as she cradled her newborn daughter. "It is wonderful - quiet and full of water. At home I feel myself to be in prison. I am always stressed and can often lose my temper. So many tragic things happen. But here I feel a different person, I feel happy."

There are no government figures for how many tourists have visited Kurdistan this summer, but tourism officials believe numbers have increased by 25 per cent.

The Kurdish government has approved 50 new hotels and ordered the printing of guidebooks in Arabic, English and Kurdish.

There is even hope that the recent opening of Irbil's airport may encourage foreigners to come. Weekly flights are already landing from Istanbul, Amman and Damascus.

By Iraqi standards Kurdistan is considered safe as security is provided by its 60,000 peshmerga militiamen. Governmental institutions are also well developed as the region has enjoyed de facto autonomy since the end of the 1991 Gulf war.

But it is not without its dangers. In May, 45 people died and 150 were wounded when a suicide bomber struck at a building filled with police recruits.