During our visit to Srinagar, we went to Gulmarg, It was the koolest trip of our life.
So if you want a place, which is Hilly, Snowy, Adventures and yet now full of rush. Go Gulmarg.
But off course, for snow-fun you have to come in Dec-Feb, the winter season. Some also call it
as off season coz of Freezing cold. Temperature swings between 0 to 10 Celcius in negative.
Still Gulmarg is hot destination for foreigners. In Winter Indian tourists are out numbered by
the foreigners. Most of them rush-in with there skiing gear. Gulmarg has one of the best(may be the only) sking track in India.
Gulmarg is a mix of Adventure, Peace and calmness. It could be a day trip if you are short of days. Otherwise more you stay more you enjoy. Snow fall is also a great sight to see.
Accessibility: 60 Km from Srinagar, it takes 2 hours. Drive to the mountain is a nice plain road but, hill top drive needs to be cautious, Road is thin, snowy wet and full of blind curves. We had a Sumo with experienced driver so didn’t had a problem, But if you are hiring a taxi, ensure that he will drop you at Gulmarg Hill and not at the taxi stand below that hill. From where you have to hire another taxi for Gulmarg.
Sightseeing: Gulmarg is not big just a road circle around the whole gulmarg.Main attraction
there is Sking and Gandola(Cable Car).Sking track is walkable from taxi stand.
Don’t hire a guide as there are enough sign board to guide. More over they misguide you
to pay for the stuff you don’t need and at the end of day charge another Rs400.00
for(mis)guiding you.
Sking is awesome experience here. Trainers are availabe with gears, make u ready to feel the
thril after just 30 min of training. They charge Rs500, which include training and Gears and
that too for the full day. Track is very good and trainers are friendly. Govt had spend millions to
make these track(Good Work). So skate and enjoyee. For experience skiers there are more tracks.
There is also a Ice Skating track here, Ice Skating Competetion is also organized here in Jan-Feb.
Echo points, Film shooting sites are also the part of trip and worth seeing.
Gandola’s: These are the cable car ride to take you to the top of mountain. Gandola I takes
you to first hill and Gandola II is to the further up. Gandola ride is great experience gives
you bird eye view of thousand of tonnes of snow. You can find Paneer Pakodas and tea even up
ther. Nice thing about these resturants are they are warm and cozy. Most of them have heaters
and nice cooks.
Food: Aloo k parathe and chai, Pakoda’s, Kahava are very good here, so don’t
miss any of them. Regular food is also taste good. Anar ki chatni is one thing you can enjoy any where in Kashmir. Resturants are available at every 100meter so don’t carry to much of food unless you are food specific.
Accomodation: Hotels are available in plenty, enusre you take hotel room with heater.
range is Rs.800 onwards.
Pack yourself with warm inners and jacket, gloves, cap and good pair of shoes with woolen socks(no sandals).
Rubber Shoes and Jackets are availble for rent, but you don’t need them, In fact rubber shoe
are slippery and make walk tough, this is a catch which enforce you to hire a sledge. So don’t take them.
Over all must place to go for youth.