Gulmarg is one of the most popular hill stations in India, sought after by people all over the world. And for good reason, it is a beauty like no other. Yes, even in the non – winter season. Home to the Apharwat Peak and the second Highest Gondola in the World, at an altitude of 13,450 feet, panoramic views of snow-clad mountains welcome you with open arms.

Apart from being a ski destination, Gulmarg, literally means ‘Meadow of Flowers’. And so, a great destination all year round and a must visit on your trip to Kashmir. There are a bunch of interesting things to do here. It is a top tourist destination and hence be prepared to do touristy things. We had a few, ok a lot of, misses here, and we hope this blog helps you plan your trip better.

How to reach Gulmarg?

Gulmarg is about 65 kms from Srinagar. You can hail a taxi from Srinagar which should cost you around Rs. 2000-2500 for the round trip, including fuel. Shared taxi and buses are unavailable to Gulmarg, however you can take a shared taxi or a bus to Tangmarg and then hail a private cab from there.

How many days should I spend in Gulmarg?

As many as you like, the place is mesmerising and during the winters, there are bunch of things to do here. However, if you’re short on time, a day is sufficient to explore everything that Gulmarg has to offer. You can either end up doing a day trip from Srinagar or choose to spend the night in Gulmarg. We’d recommend the later since the view of the night sky was stunning from where we stayed.

What is the best time to visit Gulmarg?

Gulmarg is a year round destination, plenty of things to do no matter what time of the year you head up there. If you’re looking for snow and snow activities, winter month of December to February are the best. If you’re looking to enjoy the lush greenery of the meadow, sprinkled with blooming lavenders, buttercups and daisies, July to September is the best. We’d suggest the shoulder month of November to visit this beauty.

💡 Word of caution, Kashmir, and in particular Gulmarg is a popular destination for the tourist crowd. Hence, visiting during summer vacations and long weekends are best avoided.

What are the things to do/see in Gulmarg?

1. Gondola Ride: The prized possession of Gulmarg is the Gondola Ride that takes you to the peak of Apharwat. The ride is split into 2 phases. You can only buy tickets of Phase 1 at the base/entrance. You’ll have to reach Phase 1 and then buy tickets again to go higher up to Phase 2
2. Alpather Frozen Lake: Phase 2 of the Gondola ride drops you just off the peak of Apharwat. From here, you can do a short hike of 5 Km to get to this gorgeous emerald lake, that remains frozen for most of the year. During lavender bloom season, it is surrounded with lavenders and is a sight to behold
3. Gulmarg Golf Course: It is the highest green Golf Course in the World. The lush green and rolling hills of this place will make you fall in love with it
4. Maharaja’s Palace: The Royal Palace of King Ranbir Singh of Kashmir, once upon a time. Time has clearly taken its toll on this palace
5. Church & Temple: St. Mary’s Church, just off of the Golf Course has been there for a Century, quite a stunning visual. The Maharani Temple was the Royal Temple of Dogra dynasty
6. Strawberry Valley: The valley in itself is stunning. Though we didn’t visit during the season, when wild berries fill the valley, it was still a breathtaking place to stay, away from the bustle of Gulmrag town centre

How to spend 24 hours in Gulmarg?

Start early from Srinagar/Pahalgam and reach Gulmarg Taxi stand by 9:30AM. The drive up here gradually changes from rolling planes to alpine woods and you’re sure to squeal with excitement. Upon reaching Gulmarg, you’ll be allowed in your taxi to go upto your hotel. This cab will not be able to take you on local sight seeing. Suppose you are there only for a day trip, you’ll be allowed to park the taxi in the main stand, from where you’ll have to bid adieu to your taxi.

Gulmarg, unlike Pahalgam, doesn’t have taxis to hail for local sightseeing. You can either hire a pony or an ATV or a cycle or walk. The places in Gulmarg aren’t that far from each other but aren’t that close either. At this point, a bunch of people will approach you to hire a guide or a pony. You can choose to hail their services.

We, unfortunately, went to Gulmarg on the Dusshera weekend and so it was packed with tourists. For whatever reason, we didn’t anticipate this. We left for Gulmarg from Pahalgam, about 140 Kms, pretty early in the morning and we reached Gulmarg by 12:30 PM. By then, the queue to the ticket counter was as long as The Great Wall of China. Due to some confusion with our taxi driver, we were handed a guide without asking for one. Harshid, our guide, did come in handy, but more on that later.

We’d suggest you head straight to the ticket counter upon reaching Gulmarg and get yourself tickets to Phase 1. If you’re in a group, split up here, some of you can stand in the ticket counter queue and some of you can stand in the entrance queue to the Gondola. The lines tend to get long and the waiting time can go upto 3-4 hours and hence it is important that you reach there on time. This ticket should cost you around Rs. 740.

The ride up to Phase 1 takes about 10 minutes and gets you up to an altitude 8,530-ft. The ride is a little scary with frequent power cuts, which means your Gondola is stuck up in the air, swinging due to the wind. It gets scarier, when your guide chooses this time to tell you about a terrible accident a couple of years ago that took the lives of 7 people. He did reassure us that the cars have since been upgraded and hence, much safer. But that didn’t quite help at the moment. Jokes apart, the gondolas are as safe as they can get and are a lovely way to experience the Alpine woods.

On reaching Phase 1, grab a couple of things to eat and head up to the counter to buy tickets for Phase 2. Long lines entail here as well. And so it is important that you do this first. This ticket should cost you Rs. 950. On the ride up to Phase 2, you gain an altitude of 3800-ft. And this is where you see the panoramic views of snow clad mountains.

Since, we reached Gulmarg late, we had an excruciatingly long wait line at the base and it took us forever to get to Phase 1. We rushed to the ticket counter at Phase 1, however, we were informed that they have stopped issuing tickets to Phase 2. They, apparently, have a total number of tourists that they can issue tickets to in a single day which was completed for that day. Disappointed beyond measure, we gave up and decided to enjoy what time we had left in Phase 1. Now, don’t get me wrong, Phase 1 is stunning with views to die for, but since we had our hearts set on the Alpather Lake hike, we were utterly disappointed.

If you do manage to get to Phase 2, you can take up the easy, albeit steep, hike to Alpather Lake. This is where a guide would come in handy. This trek is imaginably harder during peak winters and hence tread cautiously. If you decide to do this trek, you won’t have time for pretty much anything else, which is fine.

After spending the rest of the day in Phase 1, exploring, taking long walk, rolling in the hills, picking dandelions, we headed back down. There was no snow in Phase 1 when we visited, but we could see snow in Phase 2.

The Golf Course, Church and main market are all at walking distance from the Gondola ticketing counter. And you can explore these places on foot. We were famished by the end of day and decided to have a cuppa at the main market. You should ideally be done by 6PM.

Our guide finally came in handy here when we requested him to arrange for a local car to be able to drop us to our hotel, which was pretty far off from the town centre.

Where to Stay in Gulmarg?

We stayed at a beautiful property called Gulmarg Meadows, away from the hustle bustle of the main town area. This beauty is near Strawberry Valley and it is a tent accommodation. We enjoyed the heated beds and the delectable food here. But the best part had to be the views and the night sky that we throughly enjoyed. The one con would obviously be the distance from the main market, given you’ll have to walk or hire a pony, or illegally get a local to drop you off.

There are, of course, a bunch of great properties in Gulmarg and you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Other Things to do in Gulmarg

If you visit during the winter months, you’re in for a treat, we bet you’ll squeal with child like glee at the host of snow activities and the amount of snow. Known to have the best powder snow in India, it is an ultimate ski destination for enthusiasts and veterans. You can choose to do a course and master the art of skiing here as well. There are many other snow activities on offer as well, in case skiing isn’t really your cup of tea. There are a bunch of rental shops here, where you can rent everything from skiing gear to snow boots to snow jacket. We’d recommend renting from Tangmarg, on the way to Gulmarg, since you’d find better rates there.

A short ride away is Drung, home to an impressive towering waterfall, frozen during winters. Often missed by tourists, this waterfall is definitely worth a visit, even during non winter months.

Gulmarg definitely becomes a place where we’d want to travel again to experience the snow. Can’t wait to plan that trip. We hope our misses ensure you have a great time planning and executing your trip.