Gulmarg

Gulmarg sits at about 2,650 metres in a bowl of meadow ringed by fir and pine, and the Gulmarg Gondola climbs from there in two stages to about 3,980 metres on the shoulder of Apharwat, making it among the highest cable cars anywhere. That gives a long descent on ungroomed snow which has made Gulmarg a destination for off-piste and backcountry skiing, with heli-skiing also operating. In summer the snow goes and the bowl becomes a meadow of wildflowers, walked and ridden, with a golf course laid out on it that is among the highest in the world. The name means meadow of flowers.

History

Known to locals as Gaurimarg, "path of the goddess Gauri", the place was renamed Gulmarg, "meadow of flowers", by Yousuf Shah Chak, who ruled Kashmir from 1579 to 1586. The Mughal emperor Jahangir visited and collected wild flowers here for his gardens, British civil servants made it a summer retreat in the 19th century, and the Gulmarg ski club was founded in 1927; in 1960 the skier Rudolph Matt judged it suitable for winter sports, and in 1968 the Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering was set up here (Wikipedia, Gulmarg).

What you'll find

• The gondola - two stages climbing to nearly four thousand metres.
• The off-piste skiing - long ungroomed descents from Apharwat.
• The summer meadow - wildflowers filling the bowl after the snow goes.
• The high golf course - eighteen holes on the meadow floor.

When to go

December to March for snow, with January and February the most reliable; May to September for meadows and walking. The gondola closes for maintenance periods and in high wind.

Good to know

Off-piste terrain is genuinely avalanche-prone and guides matter. Gondola queues in season are very long and tickets sell out. Weather closes the upper stage frequently.

Nearby

Srinagar lies east; Tangmarg is at the foot of the road.

Key facts