About The Gulmarg

Gulmarg is a town, a hill station, a popular skiing destination and a notified area committee in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir. The town is situated in the Pir Panjal Range in the western Himalayas. Immensely beautiful, the landscape of Gulmarg offers a pleasant and comfortable stay to its visitors. Today the place, has been famous for the different adventure activities and gives a fabulous background to many Bollywood movies.
The resort was named Gulmarg ("meadow of flowers") by Sultan Yusuf Shah of the Chak Dynasty who frequented the place with his queen Habba Khatoon in the 16th century. Wild flowers of 21 different varieties were collected by the Mughal emperor Jahangir for his gardens in Gulmarg. In the 19th century. Historians describe the famous love couples, Habba Khatoon, poetess of Kashmir and King Yusuf Shah Chak, and Jehangir and Noor Jehan visiting Gulmarg for enjoying life. British civil servants started using Gulmarg as a retreat to escape summers in North Indian plains. Hunting and golfing were their favorite pastime and three golf courses were established in Gulmarg including one exclusively for women. One of the golf courses survives and at an altitude of 2,650 metres (8,690 ft.) is the world's highest golf course. In 1927, British established a ski club in Gulmarg and two annual ski events were hosted one each during Christmas and Easter. Central Asian explorer Aurel Stein also visited Gulmarg during this period.
Gulmarg is blessed with nature- the magical meadows and the snowcapped mountains is a wonderful tourist destination in the world. One of the best adventure destinations of India, Gulmarg is called the Meadow of Flowers. The towering peaks provide the required background to the landscape of Gulmarg which is one of the finest heli-skiing resorts in the whole of Asia.

Skiing and Winter Games in Gulmarg

Gulmarg is having the best ski resort in the country. The place maintains the standards naturally friendly service for which Kashmir is famed. It has been identified European skiing resort in the past. It holds a position as one of the highest lift served ski resorts in the world. Kashmir is also one of world’s best heli skiing regions with thousands of possible 2200 meter descents. Gulmarg hosts several national winter games championship. The slopes provide excellent opportunities to cross country and downhill skiing events. The resort has modern infrastructure helps in keeping the slopes fit for skiing and other winter sports related activities all times.
The gentle slopes, having runs of up to 200 meters, are the best for beginners while the steeper runs of 500 meters for intermediate level skiers, and yet other stretches of over 2500 meters, precipitously steep, for top level skiers. T-bars and chair lifts, on five runs for beginners and intermediates, are operated throughout the day.
Gulmarg also offers heli-skiing, being the first destination in Asia to do so. A helicopter takes you up to the Apharwat peak from where you choose your own descent route.
In winters you can use toboggans, sledges, snow cycles and Snow Scooters. To get on the next level of Adventure, fun and excitement that snow generates. The tempting ski doos are used for patrolling during winter. Visitors can try their luck for a ride on one of these. Gulmarg is famous among skiers for its unique powdery snow, natural slopes and suitable combination of snow with sunshine. British Army Officers, Maj. Metcarp and Maj. Hadow, set up the first Ski Club of India at Gulmarg in 1927.
Today, every ski event from Giant Slalom to lnternational standard cross-country is organized in Gulmarg. Ski Training Courses are organized by J&K Youth Services & Sports and Indian Institute of Skiing & Mountaineering having offices in Gulmarg and Srinagar. The skiing courses generally start from December when substantial volume of snow is present. Championships are also organized by some private resort owners in Gulmarg. Ski equipment is available at government- run ski shops and private ones as well. T-Bar ski lifts are available for beginners and intermediate skiers Professional skiers passionately ski down from the Apharwat mountain base and snow board lovers try sliding from Kongdori and around Gulmarg, enticing watchers to try their feet on the board.
White Christmas celebration and Snow Festival including ski competitions are held every year in Gulmarg with much fun-fare. Gulmarg gets snowfall periodically from November to April, sometimes above 15 ft. and mostly gets the first and last snowfall of the Valley.