[ani_meher]

Kashmir Chronicles

Ever since I read the story of Tulipmania, I was curious to see the flowers in person. In the 17th century, the random variegated varieties of tulips soon caught the fancy of market speculators and bettors, and the prices of tulips went from the best variety costing one month of pay to almost 5 years of pay. The bubble crashed spectacularly, with many people losing their investment and savings. Tulipmania gave way to tulip-fobia, where some people couldn’t even stand the sight of the flower, compelled to destroy the flower whenever seen.

In Srinagar, the government arranges Tulip festival each April, where thousands of tulips are on display. Generally this festival is from 1st April to 25th, but since it takes a lot of months for the flower to develop from bulb, the days can be slightly moved around. For best chances of seeing maximum flowers in bloom, the consensus was to visit the festival in its mid part, theoretically the second week of April.

From 9th April onwards, I planned a Srinagar tour with my family - myself, my mother, wife and 21 month old daughter Bharavee for 6 days, followed by 2 days in Delhi, and purchased tickets accordingly. We were to reach Srinagar around 2.45pm as per flight landing time. Now began the crucial step of planning the tour.

As usual, I started by reviewing itineraries of prominent travel agencies to get an idea of the must see places. Around Srinagar, the three main towns of tourist interest are Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonmarg. I had already visited Sonmarg in my Leh Ladakh motorcycle tour, so decided to skip it this time.

Some tours make Srinagar their base, and visit each of the three towns every day. I didn’t like this plan, as this added too much travel each day, and with apparently good stay options in all these towns, it didn’t make sense to me to rush back to Srinagar hotel rather than stay in those towns.

By a stroke of luck, I got a message that my departure flight was rescheduled and I needed to select an alternative. Looking at the options, we changed our flight that would reach Srinagar at 9am. This effectively gave us a whole day in Kashmir without changing the tour dates.

This year, the Sun loved Srinagar a bit much, raising and keeping the temperature too high. This led to early blooming (and corrorarily early waning) of the Tulips. The festival which was expected to begin on 1st April was opened on 23rd March itself. We were planning to visit the Tulip garden towards the end of the trip, but seeing how they had bloomed early, we felt that the flowers would wilt if we waited too long to see them. So we added a Srinagar Tulip Garden halt to the first day itself, before travelling to Pahalgam.

After reviewing the maps and the plans umpteenth number of times, we decided the following plan:
Day 1: Land at Srinagar airport - visit the tulip gardens - Martand Surya Temple at Anantnag - proceed straight to Pahalgam
Day 2: Pahalgam
Day 3: Pahalgam - Avanti Swami Temple Ruins - Gulmarg
Day 4: Gulmarg
Day 5: Gulmarg to Srinagar - Srinagar local sightseeing
Day 6: Srinagar local sightseeing
Day 7: Flight to Delhi.

People wanting to stay in houseboats stay there on the first night, going there straight from airport. But in our case, it didn’t make sense to waste the day and none of use wanted to stay stagnant in a houseboat. In case you want to stay in a houseboat, you may alter the itinerary accordingly.

[ani_meher]

Getting ready

Planning this trip on maps, the plan looked best.

Google map link

But arranging a vehicle for this was a different experience. First we were planning to make use of the prepaid taxis that appeared to be located in all the towns we had on our itineraries. But after adding up the point-to-point costs, and realizing that we had some destinations that can be out of the usual route which may require additional costs and haggling with each taxi ride, we started to look for a taxi that would pick us up from Srinagar airport itself.

In all the places over India that I have travelled, we would get a car with 250 or 300 minimum kilometers commitment per day. If you travel less, still you would be charged for the minimum kilometers. The driver doesn’t really care how one utilizes these kilometers. But in Srinagar, each taxi operator wants to know your detailed itinerary. Because here, the rates are offered point to point, and not on Kilometer basis. And the rates too varied all over the place. Sweet talking merchants would send eye-watering quotations. Finally we hired an Innova that covered our itinerary and dropped us at Srinagar, and just 5 days of travel (actually 4 days only, 1 day at Gulmarg the taxi was not with use) costed us Rs. 16,000 for Innova. This rate is bit on a higher side because of this being the tourist season.

The phone number of the tourist operator: Sonu Singh - 9622215318

Selecting a hotel by online research proved to be a bit of a headache. A decade ago, there used to be some areas of town where many hotels would be located. But with the advent of oyo and others, now each town search brings you 100s of options spread all over the town.

Also, we generally observed that the prices for many Gulmarg hotels were extremely high. After some research, we booked JKTDC hotels (not Huts) in Pahalgam and Gulmarg using JKTDC online portal https://www.jktdc.co.in, and a private hotel called Humza in Srinagar.

A warning for booking via JKTDC. Make sure you save the receipt and send the PDF to yourself on whatsapp or gmail. I had booked Gulmarg hotel, and saved the PDF on my computer. I didn't receive any email or SMS for that particular booking, and judging it as a typical government site bug, I didn't think anything out of it. As luck would have it, the motherboard of my computer decided to commit suicide just a day before the trip. I called up the JKTDC phone number, expecting them to hold my booking. Shockingly, they denied having any booking by my name or phone number! As I did not have the reference number which is displayed at the confirmation page - and ideally sent to you on SMS or email but they didn't - my booking was non existent. In fact the lady on the phone suggested me to send an email to them for refunding my amount, quoting the transaction id. Luckily I managed to connect my hard disk to another PC and get the confirmation page PDF, which alone was enough for getting me my booked room at Gulmarg.

We packed our warm clothes, usual medicines, and bedsheets. Ever since corona, we make sure that we use own bedsheets under and above us, as a layer between the hotel linen. This increased the weight of the luggage, but gave us a peace of mind too. Additionally, we had planned to do horse rides, but how do you carry a 21 month old child on a horse? Bhargavee couldn’t ride by herself, and her co-rider needed to be confident in holding her. So we bought a baby belt that is used on two wheelers to hold babies in front or at the back of the rider. This came surprisingly handy in our horse rides.

Amazon link - search for Kids Vehicle Adjustable Safety Harness

Lastly, there was an issue of connectivity. In Kashmir, only postpaid connections from other states work. Else you have to get a prepaid connection once you get there. All our mobiles are prepaid. So I bought a new Jio postpaid connection that costed some Rs.225 with free calls and SMSs and 25GB data. One can also convert his prepaid to postpaid, but that would mean sacrificing any remaining validity. I felt that rather than playing with the regular number, it would be better to have a throwaway number and connect all our mobiles to internet using hotspot. Jio worked beautifully in all of our trip, be it Kashmir or elsewhere. The process of getting a postpaid connection is straight forward, you simply visit a Jio store with your adhaar and you get the new sim card in 5 mins. Even disconnection is simple, but bit time consuming. You have to put up a request for disconnection via MyJio app using the postpaid phone's login, and it will be done in some 1-2 weeks.

With booked hotels, car and a new postpaid connection, we started counting days till our flight.

[ani_meher]

Pune to Srinagar flight

We had a 2am to 4am flight from Pune to Delhi, followed by a 7.30am to 9am flight to Srinagar. We expected little Bhargavee would be asleep on the way to the airport, but she had other plans. She kept herself and us awake till the flight, and it was not before I laid my jacket on her that she fell asleep in her mother’s arms.

Both the flights were of the same operator, so we didn’t have to do re-check-in of the luggage in Delhi. When we got down at Delhi airport, we glanced at the ticket of next flight, which said that it was from Terminal 3. Wait, so where were we then? We realised that after landing at T1, we would have to go to T3 to catch the flight. The terminals are at surprisingly a far away distance. If you have a connecting flight ticket, then you get a free pass for travelling to the final terminal by Delhi Bus.

Taking the free bus, we arrived at T3, and started walking towards the lounge.

Shocking my Pune-acclimatised eyes, Delhi airport was wide awake! Electronic shops, perfume shops, toy stores, wine shops etc were bustling with shoppers. I couldn’t decide whether it was 4.30 AM or PM, looking at the shopping crowds.

The Plaza lounge is located on the first floor of the terminal. It is a cozy comfortable lounge that offered a good spread for breakfast. I would recommend the lounge for people travelling long distances or those with having 1.5-2 hours to spend at the airport in wait.

The flight to Srinagar departed on time. Slowly we started getting a glimpse of the mighty Himalayas in the tiny windows of the aircraft. The plane went into some clouds, and when we emerged out of the clouds, suddenly the Himalaya appeared in front of the windows, towering in a distance taller than the flight itself. That grand sight brought out a collective ‘woah’ from many passengers at that moment.

Srinagar was luckily chilled when we arrived. It used to be quite hot till a day prior, but it had rained in the night and that had turned down the temperature dial of the city. We changed to more traditional attires at the airport, and soon were on way to the Tulip gardens.

I clicked this photo of prepaid taxi rates for future reference.

[ani_meher]

Srinagar airport to Tulip garden

There are two entrances to the Tulip gardens. One is from the road that goes to Botanical gardens, Chashme Shahi garden etc, and one is from the rear side of the Tulip garden. In prime days, the Dal lake road gets jam packed by vehicles and sometimes made a one-way street. But the month of Ramzan was going on, and because of the roza or the whole day fast, the local visitor crowd was minimal. Our driver dropped us off on the Tulip garden road. We bought the tickets costing Rs.59 each, and ventured in. There are free wheel chairs that are made available, against the deposit of some identity card. I deposited my driving license with them and pulled out a wheelchair, hoping to carry Bhargavee in case she slept or got tired.

The first sight of tulips is unforgettable. A single flower pointing straight to the sky, standing tall at the end of a finger thick stem. Lakhs of such flowers arranged in neat rows by colors for a carpet in front of your eyes, and you can’t help but be amazed by the sight of them.

We walked around, taking in the beautiful sights of tulip fields that spread away in both directions of the path. White, red, orange, pink, one by one a different bright colored patch of tulips was swinging proudly on winds, mesmerising the visitors.

We could see some patches where there were only stems, no flowers. These would be the first blooming tulips that prompted the government to pre-pone the opening of the festival. Some other tulips were looking slightly older, with their petals pointing slightly outwards rather than skywards, and we wondered how much longer would this bloom last, and whether the last tourist of the season dreaming to see the Tulips would get to witness at least a few of them.

On one end of the Tulip Garden, we could peep over a green mesh to see the botanical gardens, with tall fountains adorning the beauty of the lush green gardens.

On the way out, we walked by fountains and other equally beautiful flowers who were unfortunately shadowed in fame by the tulips, but were equally bright and colourful.

The flower walk that started from Tulips and ended with fountains and miscellaneous flowers kickstarted the Srinagar tour in the grandest way possible.

It was almost 12.30 that we came out of the Tulip gardens. Our stop for the day was at Pahalgam, but since it was already lunchtime, we decided to have lunch in Srinagar itself rather than searching hotels on the way. We went to a hotel named Ahdoos, a century old restaurant! There was a bakery below the restaurant, and the baked smells wafting through the window were just amazing. After a scrumptious lunch, we were enroute to Pahalgam.

Speeding in the car, we could see the beautiful tiny yellow flowers spread over acres of Sarson fields. We stopped at a dry fruit shop called Bhat, where we had a great authentic cup of Kahwa - kashmiri tea - in a nearby shop. This was not made with a premix, but rather actually putting 11 types of masalas in a big copper surahi with a pipe at the center to put hot coals to boil the kahwa hot. The thin slices of almonds and the sweet hot aroma of the Kahwa still lingers on our tongue.

We bought a badam called ‘Mamra badam’, which was supposed (and also demonstrated by the shop seller) to have oil that could be extracted by simply pinching a tiny piece of the nut.

The roads are in excellent condition. The beauty of the surrounding lush green fields is contrasted by an equally ever present army presence, either by keen eyed soldiers standing guards, or armoured vehicles travelling or standing by the side of the road. We passed by a sign saying ‘Pulwama’, and the driver told us this was where the Pulwama incident happened. The sad memories sent a chill down our spine.

While heading to Pahalgam to retire for the day, our next halt was Martand Surya temple, a historical sight on the Anantnag road.

[ani_meher]

Martand Surya Temple

Many travellers travel between Srinagar and Pahalgam, but few venture to the Martand Temple, a site of 1400 year old temple ruins located a few kilometers inside the main road. The Martand Temple site is maintained by ASI, and the entry is free. You need to tell the names of the visitors at the entry counter before entering the vast campus.

From a distance, you can see the campus of The Martand temple, and as you walk towards it, the beauty and the grandeur of the ruins becomes more visible, drowning the visitor in awe and wonder.

The stone ‘devri’ used in the construction of the temple is remarkably different, easily observable to even our unlearned but experienced eyes.

Climbing the steps, you enter the main courtyard of the temple, and your breath is taken away both literally by the XXL size steps, and figuratively by the grandiose of the remaining temple walls. Some of the figurines still show their beauty even after centuries of suffering from elements.

There is a big square well like structure at the front of the steps. Even though the roof is long gone, the walls of the main temple still stand tall, and so does the surrounding mandap.

The temple is built in a Panchayatan style, a group of five temples, one main temple in center and four smaller temples, one each at the four corners. I later read that the remaining four temples were added later.

The ruins are in excellent condition, and I highly recommend any travellers with slightest interest in history or architecture to visit the site, irrespective of their religion. There is no idol in the sanctum, but it needs little imagination to close eyes and travel back to the golden period of the temple. What a time it would have been! I hope someday technology gets advanced enough to let us witness the past glories of the temple in a virtual world.

This ancient temple is shockingly and shamelessly displayed as ‘Devil’s cave’ or ‘Shaitan ki Gufa’ in a recent flop movie. Even the locals who were present mentioned that it was malicious and improper.

There are a few touches by ASI that need appreciation. First, the seating benches provided in the campus are not simple blocks of granite, but they too are itched in the design of Srinagar's chinar leaf symbol.

Second, there was in information panel in braille! Seeing the braille information board at such a historical but bit off the map location brought me great joy. It is a sign of a healthy society to think and care for its lesser blessed members.

Before walking out of the campus, we removed our shoes and offered Pranaam to the ruins.

The road strated winding upwards towards Pahalgam - the Valley of Shepherds, as informed by a welcome board. There was a halt on the road, where there was a handwritten sign ‘Drinking water’. It was an outlet for spring waters by way of pipes, offering a continuous flowing stream of icy cold water to all passerbys. The taste of the water was great, but the greenish hue at the bottom of the pipe was slightly worrying to overcautious eyes! We also passed by a sad sight of beautiful but depilated Kashmiri houses that were once sprawling with Kashiri Pandits.

As the car kept climbing, the temperature needle kept falling below, and soon we were standing near the JKTDC Alpine hotel, which was located at an uphill climb from the road.

This photo is clicked from the hotel porch, looking down at the hill that we climbed. The road can be seen in front of the green houses in distance.

The attendants hauled up our luggage from the car to the room. The JKTDC hotel is spread over vast campus. There are many 1/2/3 BHK huts, which as standalone units having their own kitchens with some equipment too. We stayed in the Alpine hotel, which had a proper restaurant. Tourists staying in other huts too would have to come to Alpine hotel dining room for meals.

Our suite room was located on the first floor, and it was equipped with a room heater, electric blankets and geyser.

Entire hotel was carpeted, which seemed to be a norm in most hotels here. The surrounding peaks of Himalayas had donned white Christmas hats of snow. Bhargavee couldn't stop herself pointing at the strange white caps of the mountains, something that she had seen for the first time in her life.

We met a number of tourists at dinner in the hotel’s dining room. A majority had come with a Pune based tour company. Some of them were staying in far off huts, and were thoroughly pissed off making their way toward the main hotel for dinner, and were worried to walk back again in the night towards their hut. We thanked our decision to book room in a hotel with a restaurant than some hut where we would have to depend on room service or walk down to a restaurant.

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing.

[JaiHanuman]

Hope you will be posting the remaining part of the travelogue soon.

[ani_meher]

Pahalgam horse ride and local market

The JKTDC Alpine hotel as well as the huts are located only a kilometer or so from the main road where the bazaar and restaurants are located. But the kilometer is not really a walkable distance for someone with elders or young children.

Grandma and grandkid taking a detour to climb down from the Alpine hotel, rather than using the stairs:

The next morning, our car dropped us on the main road where we had our breakfast at an excellent hotel called Dana-pani, a small clean hotel serving tasty dishes with a smile.

Later, we decided to take the horse ride that would cover 6 spots as was listed in the banner displayed outside our hotel.

The rates shown on the banner are simply imaginary. This is where we realised the level of negotiations expected from the tourists. For a tour that is expected to cost more than 10k per horse as per the so-called government rates, the negotiated price was Rs.2500 per horse! A 75% negotiation over the listed price is a bit too much to comprehend, but it is how it is.

In Maharashtra, at a hill station named Matheran, one needs to ride horses to visit the different spots. But there, the horse riders have built climbing platforms at every spot, which makes saddling - getting on and off the horses - a breeze. Here, there are no platforms to get on the horses. So the saddling needs effort each time.

The horses immediately started climbing the steep hill and I began to wonder about the sanity of our decision to get on this ride, let alone bring a toddler along! But soon my worry gave way to the spirit of adventure, and we thoroughly enjoyed our guided horse ride. There was a helper who walked besides our two horses. To my surprise, Bhargavee even managed to sneak some sleep while riding the horse! Nandinee - the mom - was glad that the belt held Bhargavee in place. The horses crossed some waterfalls, climbed some huge boulders and transversed some really deep roots to get us to the top. There is simply no road, the horses make their way through nature.

Even though on paper there are 7 or 8 points of interest, some of them are literally fly-by points. The horse operator points his hand in the distance telling you the name of that valley, that’s it. We passed by some locals who were holding a pet goat or pet hare for us to pose with, at some nominal fee.

The main point of interest is Baisaran valley, or ‘Mini Switzerland’. A lot of places in North India where there is a large lawn in a circular shape are called ‘Mini Switzerland’, and I don’t understand the obsession of this ‘mini’ identification. But the valley is beautiful. After riding in isolation for some time, we were shocked to see hundreds of horses hustling around in front of a gate. This was the entrance to the Baisan valley park. After paying the fees, we entered the park and Bhargavee channelled the spirit of a wild horse. After having to be tied up wobbling on the back of a horse, she had finally found an open green park, and she intended to explore all corners of it.

Typical to Kashmir gardens, there were cloth sellers, photographers with traditional dresses and animals to pay and pose with.

There was a good sized crowd, but the park itself is large enough to accommodate many people, so we never felt the need for a social distance. We clicked the customary photos in traditional attires. Here, even though you click and pay for photos in the park, you would receive the photos down in Pahalgam in a particular shop. Something to keep in mind.

There is a paid wash room in the park, which I recommend you make use of. I don’t remember seeing any other washrooms on this journey.

Our horse manager informed us to join him at the opposite side of the park, because the amount of incoming horses had increased a lot. After spending around an hour, we exited the park and mounted the horses for the next point. Again the next few points were on the go, but the experiences of riding horses in such a region was amazing.

The horses trotted along their usual route, taking little bits of risks here and there. If there is a perfectly good road and some large boulders, horses would choose boulders. While going near a valley, the horse would take a route closer to the valley to peek down and perhaps shout 'echo!'. Humans live to take lowest risk possible, Pahalgam horses seemed to take risk at every possible opportunity!

The next point we got down at was a waterfall. I don't know who the random couple in the background is! Word of advice: at a crowded scenic location, don't hog the prime spots for a long time, else your photos will show up in random clicks.

Lastly, on our way climbing down, we stopped at a point to have a cuppa Kahwa and wafers.

I observed that so many people on the route had their daily bread dependent on the footfalls. The extremely old persons asking us to pose with a rabbit, or the horse managers.

How would they have lived in lockdowns, when their very source of income, tourism, was blocked?! The thought sent a chill down my spine.

Finally, we connected to the tar road and in a kilometer or so, were dropped at the pickup point. It was almost four and a half hours since we left. My mother was waiting at the hotel, wanting to hear the adventures of the baby and the horses.

In the evening, we strolled around in Pahalgam, taking in the sights and doing casual shopping. The shopping strip of the town is spread over a kilometer or so, on both sides of the main road.

We shopped a few items in the local shops, where the prices were quite reasonable. We found the photography shop and collected our photos clicked at Baisaran Valley. After a filling dinner in a local hotel, our driver dropped us at the hotel entrance to climb the steep hill towards our room.

[ani_meher]

Pahalgam taxi ride

There are two travel routes in Pahalgam. One is what we did yesterday, the 4.5 hours horse ride. Another was a taxi ride covering three points of interest, Aru valley, Chandanwari and Betab valley. After doing both, I thought these were more of an either-or kind of options.

The taxi collected us from our hotel post breakfast, and we travelled towards Aru valley. The taxis are very stringent on time. The driver told us that if we spent more than an hour at any of the three locations, we would be charged Rs. 400 additional. The roads are surrounded with beauty, but the taxi driver was in a hurry to reach the destinations.

The twisting winding road led us to our first stop Aru valley.

There are horses or ponies at the entrance, for visiting some places of iterest which are quite far for a walk. Since we already had our fill of a horse adventure just a day ago, we chose to walk instead, and strolled around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bkQ...ature=youtu.be

When we left, a lot of tourists had started to arrive which led to some traffic jams on our way to next point, Chandanwari.

Chandanwari is the first point from Pahalgam on the way to Amarnath pilgrimage. We walked a short distance from parking to a snow covered hill, which was bustling with tourists and sledge pullers. We instead rented two walking sticks and climbed a short distance in the snow. Bhargavee was amazed to see snow at her hands and feet, something that she had only seen in a fridge or a glass so far.

Climbing up appeared comparatively easy, but looking down, it seemed difficult to reach the starting point without falling. So we negotiated a sledge to take Nandinee and Bhargavee down.

https://youtu.be/5tnuRTw5Zls

I started taking careful steps to slide down. After promptly falling twice, I managed to reach the bottom without any more issue, and we started our last leg of the circuit - Betab valley.

Named after a Sunny Deol movie shot here in 1983, Betaab valley is a big park developed to have a beautiful walk in pink colored flowers. But the season of pink flowers was in December, and now the park was in scorching heat without any green cover. Looking at the park from top, we decided not to visit it but to be content with its long-distance photographs only.

For people visiting Pahalgam on a day trip from Srinagar, they may have to choose between one of the two options, either do the horse ride or do this circuit. If your tripmates are healthy, I would recommend going for the horse ride to Baisaran valley than this tour. If you are accompanied with seniors or people who can't climb on horses, or you have spare time, then you may prefer this taxi tour.

After having lunch in Pahalgam market, we checked out from the hotel and started making our way towards Gulmarg, a long distance from Pahalgam. Beautiful houses on the side of the road bid us adieu.

[ani_meher]

Pahalgam to Gulmarg via Pampore and Avantipur

En route, we stopped in Pampore village for cricket bat shopping. I don’t play cricket, and Bharavee is too young to play yet. But as we were passing right through the town that is so famous for its Willow bats, it made no sense not to stop and shop.

After exploring multiple options and handling many bats, we finally bought two bats, one big and one tiny.

We then moved on interior roads, to visit another historical sight, Avanti Swami Temple, Avantipur.

There was a small ticket for entrance, and as this was located on the busy road of Srinagar-Pahalgam, there appeared to be bit more visitors than Martand Temple.

The past and the present merge at the temple sight. In this photo, the remains of the original part of the temple can be seen on the left, and on the right, the new steps made to support the old structure.

Even though the temple appears to be in slightly more weathered down than Martanda temple, you can still spot the shapes and idols in its structure, painstakingly arranged by ASI.

While roaming around, I noticed that the pillars of the mandapa around the main temple were having different designs of carvings.

This temple too was in the Panchayatan style, four temples surrounding the main temple on four corners. This is how two of those four temples would look like.

There are no standing walls at the main hall of the temple. You can only imagine its beauty in the past.

Still, the historical relevance of the sites stands, and I would recommend travellers on this route to make it a point to visit this place.

It was already approaching evening, as we moved towards Gulmarg, the destination for the day. We stopped at a bakery, and the bakery products were too inviting to ignore.

While approaching Gulmarg, our driver wanted us to hire snow boots and dresses at shops located at Tangmarg, a good 8-10 kilometers before Gulmarg. But as we were staying in Gulmarg for two nights, it didn’t make sense to pay two day’s rent for a few hours of visits, and hence we passed on the shops.

Gulmarg is not a town per se, but actually it is a tourist strip developed to serve the snow-seeking travellers. There is a large parking area where the day-visitors are dropped off. As we had our booking in Gulmarg Tourist Lodge, we could venture inside the gate towards the gondola. At the halfway point, around 5 minutes walkable distance from Gondola, we spotted the JKTDC Tourist lodge, again perked up on top of a hill with a bad road leading to the top. I went to the hotel and confirmed my booking and room, and sent a coolie down to bring up the luggage. Our car would be going back to Srinagar, as he had nothing to do for the next whole day in Gulmarg.

It was more chilly in Gulmarg than in Pehelgam, because we could see snow right outside of our window. Here too, we could see JKTDC huts spread all over the campus in various states of repair, but the hotel we were staying was comparatively newer and had an AC with heater. This made our stay very comfortable.

The main attraction of Gulmarg is the ropeway, or the Gondola. There are two stages, the first stage rides to a certain height, and the second stage goes much beyond, on top of a hilly peak. At the start of the tourist season, there is snow at both the stages. As the summer progresses, the snow at the first stage receds, and one has to hire ponies to reach the snow at stage I. At stage 2, however, there is always snow all around. There are activitivies at both the stages, but the cost of same activities at stage 2 are said to be higher than that at stage 1. Most importantly, the oxygen at stage 2 is said to be scarce, being at 13500. It is a serious issue, especially for those having breathing problems or senior citizens. So the usual stopping time at stage 2 is recommended to be 15 minutes or less. Though you hear stories of how someone fainted or felt uneasy at stage 2, and had to be brought down in the Gondola.

The tickets for stage 1 cost Rs.740 and for stage 2, Rs.950. There is a possibility - in fact a strong recommendation - of booking the tickets online before coming. But I couldn’t find a site that looks reliable enough to buy the gondola tickets online. Finally in the Gulmarg JKTDC hotel, I asked around and found the proper site to buy the gondola tickets online.

https://jkcablecar.payu.in

One can book the advance tickets from next day onwards. Incidentally, the tickets for stage 2 were not showing up online. Presumably the quota for online tickets for stage 2 was over. We planned to buy the stage 2 tickets when we would get down at stage 1 tomorrow.

There is a concept of ‘guide’ who will buy tickets and stand in line for you, and will also negotiate with the rides to give you better prices. We felt equipped enough to do these things ourselves, so we didn’t opt for any guide services.

[arjyamaj]

Excellent thread so far. I'm planning my trip to Pahalgam - Gulmarg - Sonmarg and this has been very helpful. But it seems to have ended rather abruptly. How was the gondola ride? Was it very crowded? How long did you spend at Apharwat Peak?

[TurboGuy]

Originally Posted by arjyamaj

How was the gondola ride? Was it very crowded? How long did you spend at Apharwat Peak?

I know it's a late response but if it's of any help, I was there in Gulmarg on the Christmas day of 2022 and it was total chaos to get on to the gondola. I stood in queue for not less than 2 hours despite reaching the entrance by 10 in the morning. However, the wait did pay in the end. The ride is worth very penny. The view from Apharwat peak is breathtaking. It was too windy atop and the wind-chill made it difficult to stay longer. I think I didn't stay there for not more than an hour or so