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| Snowboarding down Apherwat |
SKIING in India seems an oxymoron. Travellers expect heat, dust and humidity. But, occasionally, you can throw some snow into the mix. Up north, there’s this region called Kashmir. Yeah, there used to be a war of sorts on, but someone forgot to tell the chaps in the tiny hill resort of Gulmarg, 40-odd kilometres from the capital, Srinagar. There, they went and built the northern hemisphere’s highest gondola ski lift. Reaching a lung-shrivelling 4,200m (taller than most alpine peaks), it’s high enough for your average, middle-of-the-rung snowboarder like me.
Getting off the plane in Srinagar is interesting. Blast-protected hangars for fighters line the runway and soldiers watch your every move. Photography is prohibited at the airport. We might all be foreign secret agents. You never know. The port and starboard views from the plane are pretty amazing. Just like the view from the top of the gondola station in Gulmarg. It is stupendous. Mind-boggling. Dizzying. I could throw a Roget’s Thesaurus full of adjectives at you, but they’d still be mildly inadequate. On the crystalline horizon are the Nanga Parbat and Nun Kun peaks and I even thought I spotted the great K2 on the Pakistan-China border.
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| All set to snowboard down Apherwat |
While Gulmarg is an all-weather resort with refreshing summer meadows and pastoral scenes to keep the camera busy, the main reason to come here, at least in winter, is the off-piste, deep-powder, long-run skiing and snowboarding. The Himalayan resort of Gulmarg is one of the newest and increasingly popular ski destinations – so new that of the 70-odd foreign travellers who were there during my visit, at least a third were media people extolling its virtues to everyone back home. (And enjoying a free holiday in the process, of course).
The ski resort of Gulmarg is remarkably easy to access, especially compared to other Himalayan resorts and hill stations such as Manali in Himachal Pradesh. In terms of travel time, it’s pretty much three hours from Delhi. All major airlines have daily flights from Delhi to Srinagar. The flight takes an hour and 15 minutes. From Srinagar, a prepaid taxi will get you to the twinkling lights of the small Gulmarg ski resorts, 45km away (one-and-a-half hours by car).
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Gulmarg guide for the intrepid
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| Flying past Nun Kun |
Srinagar will soon have an international airport. Currently there are daily flights from metropolitan cities. Premium airlines like Jet Airways (www.jetairways.com), Kingfisher Airlines (Tel:1800-233-3131 [toll-free] or [Tel: 91-124] 284-4700; www.flykingfisher.com) and Indian Airlines (www.indian-airlines.nic.in) are a bit more expensive (about Rs5,500 for the roundtrip from Delhi) than budget options such as Air Deccan (www.airdeccan.net) and SpiceJet (www.spicejet.com; about Rs3,500, if booked in advance). Buy tickets online through the airline websites. Kingfisher is probably the best. The exchange rate is about US$1=Rs41.
You can walk right out Srinagar airport and grab a prepaid taxi to Gulmarg. That costs about Rs1,250 for the trip. If you book in advance, it’s about Rs900, since airport parking apparently costs taxi drivers Rs300.
The taxi stand is in front of the J&K TDC (Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation) Tourist Reception Centre (TRC Taxi Stand, tel: [91-0194] 245-2527). My taxi driver was Shah Zahoor Ahmad. Try his cell phone ([91-941] 972-9634) if nobody picks up the landline at the taxi stand (don’t be surprised if this happens).
But on with our Gulmar guide. Mobile phones work in Srinagar, but not in Gulmarg, unless they’re with the Indian provider BSNL. Your only other means of contact with the outside world is through STD phone booths, such as the one below Hilltop Hotel. Look at your bill before paying the guy manning the booth (basically a phone attached to a printer). He’ll fleece you if he can. He charged my girlfriend Rs50 for an eight-minute call to Delhi. After she left she checked the bill – it was Rs26. She marched back in and got the money back. It’s all about what you can get away with, apparently.
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| Gondola swings into station |
It’s a heck of a lot more crowded – chock full of local tourists – in the summer. Kashmiris from the bigger town of Tanmarg, just below the hill, and from Srinagar, often show up for weekends. But during the quieter weeks, when Gulmargis meet an Indian-looking guy (such as me), they momentarily lose their hostility towards “mainland” Indians, cheerfully patting him on the back and shaking his hand, loudly proclaiming, “WHERE YOU FROM? YOU INDIAN? WONDERFUL! ME INDIAN TOO!”
Getting down to skiing in Gulmarg
At Kongdori, the gondola mid-station, you’ll find the largest crowds of middle-class Indian tourists, there for the mighty adventure of “touching snow”. For those born in the heat and dust of the plains (or tropical humidity of the south), the sharp cold and white expanse of mountain are rare and wondrous. Watch them get pushed along on wooden skis, vintage 1975, rented by cart-pushing “ski-wallahs”. Or join in for a totally bizarre experience.
But it’s the upper gondola (phase 2) to Mt Apherwat that’s the prime attraction for skiers, hikers and those wanting to view the awesome Himalayan horizon. The cable car ascends 1,330 vertical metres to a height of nearly 4,000m. The first phase, from Gulmarg to the Kongdori mid-station 300m above costs Rs100 each way, or Rs500 for the day (usually pointless). Phase 2, to nearly 4,000m at the ridgeline of Mt Apherwat, costs Rs250 each way. A day pass is Rs1,000.
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| First pick up your gear |
The air is thin up high. If you’re skiing or boarding, take it easy for the first few days. Ride straight down, in the easier, avy-controlled bowls. That’s quality control for the uninitiated. It’s possible to hike half an hour further up to the very top of Mt Apherwat, or left or right along the ridge to choose any of the couloirs to drop into. But initially it’ll leave you gasping for breath – both because of a minor lack of oxygen and the stupendous views.
A word of warning: The gondola is supposed to operate both during winter and summer, but it can be shut for several days for repairs or due to bad weather. During closures, it is possible to hike or pony up, depending on the season and your personal inclinations. In the Himalayas, the afternoons often get hazy and cloudy. Not to mention the dark line of pollution that’s visible from higher up.
For the ski season, J&K Tourism (www.jktourism.org) also operates two bunny-slope Poma lifts on the snow-covered golf course in Gulmarg proper. They’re also the only groomed trails, apart from the one descending from Kongdori back to Gulmarg. The crotch-pull lifts are not for snowboarders. About Rs60 gets you a full day’s use (Rs40 for a half-day). Everything shuts at 4pm anyway.
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| Poma bunny slope |
Instruction is ridiculously cheap – this is probably the cheapest place in the world to learn to ski. Rs250 gets you a whole day of being cajoled along (or yelled at) while falling repeatedly on your backside. We met up with several people from tour groups, especially one large Aussie gang with Peter Robinson’s Ski Himalaya (www.skihimalaya.com.au). One new friend spent the day learning snowboarding on the bunny slopes, trying to overcome the language barrier and the stupidity of having both your feet tied to a wooden plank. You see vast numbers (comparatively) of Kashmiris from Srinagar and elsewhere learning here, including, surprisingly, many women and children.
If you already know what you’re doing and want a guide on the big mountain, grab someone at the government shop for Rs1,000. Yasin Khan or Hamid Darand of the Kashmir Alpine Ski Shop (Tel: [91-1954] 254-638; Yassin’s cell [91-941] 952-5606; www.kashmiralpine.com; close to the Poma slopes, near the Hotel Highlands Park) will also find you guides. Yassin is a helpful chap, even if his prices are a little more expensive. Skis and snowboards with bindings cost Rs500 per day. J&K Tourism’s ski rental shops are certainly cheaper. Boots, skis and sticks (or board and boots) are half the price at Rs250 a day. Add goggles and gloves for a total of Rs300. And if you’re under 12 years old, or a student of any age, you get 50 percent discount.
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| Some prefer being hauled on a sled |
There’s also supposed to be an ice-skating rink run by the J&K TDC, but like the Health Spa (see below), we never found it open. Nevertheless, in the hope that it actually does sometimes open, I’ll mention it. Alternatively, provide the locals with some additional income by jumping on a wooden, home-made toboggan for a ride. There are scores of sled-pullers around. Just let them know that sledding means riding downhill and not being pulled along on the main road, as you might see local tourists doing.
In summer, muck about on the world’s highest golf course. The 18-hole, par 72 Gulmarg golf course is quite hilly. The golf club itself was built in 1904, by British residents feeling lost without the bare necessities. It also offers table tennis and billiards, should you feel the need for knocking other little balls about. For green fees and rental rates, talk to someone at the J&K TDC (Tel: [91-1954] 254-507, 254-424; www.jktdc.org), which manages the place.
According to Ptor Spriceniek, an all-round action-sports specialist who has trained Kashmiri ski patrollers, it’s possible to paraglide off the slopes of Mt Apherwat. I haven’t done so yet, but the wind direction and conditions are known to be decent. Bring your own canopy if you fly. I didn’t come across any certified local tandem pilots or instructors.
The 180sq km Gulmarg Biosphere Reserve is the natural habitat for Himalayan musk deer, red fox and black and brown bears. It is also said to be a bird-watcher’s paradise (the best months for bird watching is March to May). You could also check out the famous Muslim Babareshi shrine, several kilometres below Gulmarg. The complex mingling of religion everywhere in India means that there’s also St Mary’s Church in the middle of Gulmarg, and a small temple nearby.
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| Yasin Khan at his shop |
The Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering also conducts courses in the area, apart from taking groups out on “adventure courses”, which are basically treks. The institute is not considered one of India’s best, but it’s an option. The Indian Army’s High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) is nearby, at Sonamarg, but it’s not usually open to civilians – unless you’re a buddy of the President or something.
Gulmarg hotel guide and resorts
The smaller the town, the deeper the political intrigue. Or so I’ve discovered. In a tourism-driven place like Gulmarg, the politics are all about hotel choice.
The oldest one around is Hotel Highlands Park, built a long time ago by the Brits. Alpine chalet-like, it’s spread out over a hillock just above the bunny slopes and golf course. At Rs4,000 a night for a double room (or Rs5,500, all meals included), it’s one of the steeper places in town. But then, it’s the classiest place around. The visiting Australian, Canadian and American ski patrol chaps hang out here. With its superbly heated but dimly lit bar and tiny discotheque, it has possibly the only après ski scene in town. As long as you bring your own date, that is (it seems the locals believe in parthenogenesis).
Alcohol is hard to get in Gulmarg, but they do sell beer here (Rs200 for a bottle of Kingfisher). It’s probably easier to bring your own bottle of Schnapps, and an iPod and boom box – that way, you can create your own nightlife wherever you want it. Oh, and the bathrooms are nice and have hot, running water.
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| Chalet-style Hotel Highlands Park |
The newer Pine Palace is centrally heated and claims to be one of the few ski-in, ski-out hotels. Odd extras like a barber service and masseuse (currently men for men only, at least in winter) add value. The owner’s son studied in the US and is keen on promoting Gulmarg. Mir Mudasir organised a Pine Palace ski slalom competition while we were there and invited us all to party afterwards. So, yes, perhaps Gulmarg had just got its second après ski venue! They ran out of beer, but had a lot of rum, and inadvertently frozen juice (someone left the crate outside).
Other A-list hotels include Hotel Hilltop, which is similarly priced at Rs4,000 for a double room. That and Hotel Grand Mumtaz are large, commercial resort-type hotels, with lots of rooms and long corridors where you don’t meet anyone (unless parked snowboards count). The staff is polite and courteous (unlike at Pine Palace, where they tend to walk into rooms unannounced). These hotels are probably packed in summer. We were immediately shown the honeymoon suite. Discounts are possible with a little bargaining.
Further from the gondola end of Gulmarg are hotels such as Nedou’s and Kingsley, near the main market and taxi/bus stand and about a 20-minute walk away. (These were closed during our visit.) On the opposite end are more hotels, including the new Royal Park (which used to be a hospital). The rack rates at these hotels are all quite similar – about Rs3,000 for a standard room, but negotiable depending on the season. (They’re either quite empty or closed during the ski season.) If you like isolation, you could stay at these places, which – with some cajoling – offer some sort of shuttle service to the gondola base station.
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| Pine Palace room |
The best budget hotel is Green Heights. At Rs750 a night, it has clean wood-stove (bukhari) heated rooms, buckets of hot water and a dining room/lounge. Plus it’s just two minutes from the gondola station. Your average world-traveller ski bum hangs out here, along with families complete with four-year-old skier kids and globe-hopping couples in search of endless winter. It’s not bad, apart from the terribly kitsch flowery pink lamps. Probably someone’s idea of a pun on the name Gulmarg, which means “Meadow of Flowers”. Quick history lesson: Gulmarg was named by the Mughal emperor Jehangir, who was an avid horticulturist when not conquering India and chopping people’s heads off.
The J&K Tourism Bungalows (www.jktdc.org) offer a viable alternative, but are probably best in summer. We stayed in a two-bedroom hut, but the bathroom had no running water and the single tap was left running to prevent the water from freezing. Try sleeping with a dripping tap all night! Two electrodes in a plastic barrel was the makeshift water heater, and the room oil heater ran out of oil by the morning. Hey, I’m not complaining… but central heating ain’t bad once in a while.
My girlfriend and I scored a room at Pine Palace on our last night, hanging out with the Aussies. A hot shower is somewhat of a bare necessity after five days of snow surfing. In the summer, the bungalow bathrooms should have running water, but they still look kind of grimy.
Gulmarg dining and nightlife
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| JK Tourism hut: frozen taps |
The Kongdori Restaurant at the Gondola mid-station appears oddly Western. If it weren’t for the sights (and bio-hazard bathroom) outside, you could be at a ski resort anywhere in the world. The food is passably good. Try the sweet Kashmiri tea kahwa with its nuts and spices. It was my non-alcoholic substitute for Jagermeister in a flask. The Indian food is better than the Western. A meal for two is about Rs400.
Much better (in terms of taste, not ambience) is the Big Bite Fast Food café, below Hotel Hilltop. Strangely, its winter menu is restricted to pizzas and burgers, though. All the pizzas are great, but the chicken, mushroom and capsicum version really hit the spot. Nothing like junk food to combat a sports hangover. In the summer they have a wider selection, including meat-filled wraps.
Each hotel also has a restaurant. At Highlands, a meal for two is about Rs500 including beer. We didn’t find any wine. Hotel Hilltop’s food is overpriced and pointless. Pine Palace offers pretty decent Kashmiri food. Try the meatballs in gravy and the Mutton Yakhni – chunks in a yoghurt-based sauce. Mountain goat is rather chewy though, so stick to chicken for everyday consumption. There’s enough choice if you’re vegetarian, but very little if you’re vegan. Salads are hard to come by in winter and the staff may not understand the concept of “no dairy products”.
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| Cheerful Kongdori Restaurant |
Gulmarg is small, basically resembling a largish alpine village. It has aspirations to become a great ski resort in winter and a cool mountain getaway in summer. They’d like to host the 2010 Commonwealth Winter Games here. After the gondola opened in May 2005, platoons of intrepid skiers and film teams from around the world showed up.
But as with everything in India, a progressive spirit and zen-like attitude is required to enjoy the place. There’s a Health Spa supposedly run by the Gulmarg Development Authority, but we never found it open. It might be in summer. There are rescue facilities and old-fashioned avalanche control (that is, “we-told-you-not-to-go-up-today”), as well as in-bounds patrolling. But there are no groomed slopes on the mountain, minimal hazard warnings and not much to do at night.
You mostly see men on the streets, dressed in loose, dark woollen phirans (gowns). I don’t think I saw a single Kashmiri woman in Gulmarg. The town is surrounded by deep forests of birch, pine and deodar. In the evening light, the scenery is like a watercolour painting. It’s eerily empty at night – you could probably walk around the 3km perimeter without meeting anyone. There are lots of animals in the reserve forest surrounding the town – foxes, wolves, bears and possibly a snow leopard or two. We saw fat snow monkeys and ravens. But it’s Kashmir, and Kashmir is beautiful, if a little odd.
Srinagar for day trippers
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| Ski patrol takes a break |
Militancy is still sometimes an issue, so it might also be a good idea to mainly hang out in Gulmarg and make quick, lightening sorties to Srinagar, where the occasional strike, curfew or (yes, it does happen) bomb blast is not unheard of. The 2,000-year-old city has houseboats, the biggish Dal Lake, famous Shalimar Gardens and various mosques and temples. The accessible glaciers of Sonamarg and wetlands of Hokersar aren’t too far away either. In summer, thousands of migratory ducks and geese arrive at the sanctuary of the marshes. Dachigam National Park and Pahalgam are supposed to be great spots for camping and fishing.
Kashmir is beautiful – as soon as you get off the main road and escape the colourful plastic litter that’s all over the place. Army presence is ubiquitous, and often it’s the soldiers who are the best dressed and prepared. Apparently, theirs are the only vehicles with snow chains – our taxi came perilously close to skidding off the road at every switchback (although the driver did tell as that he used chains “when necessary”).
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