Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary — Attraction in Jammu and Kashmir

Gulmarg, one of the popular skiing destination is Kashmir, situated around 52 kms from Srinagar. Best time to visit Gulmarg is March to October.

Gulmarg literally means meadow of flowers. It is a majestic hill station in the district of Baramula of Jammu and Kashmir in India. The hill station, at an altitude of 2730 m, was earlier known as Gaurimarg, where Gauri stands for Goddess Parvati the wife of Lord Shiva. The name Gulmarg was given to this place by the King Yousuf Shah Chak.

Nestled with stunning peaks in the Himalayan ranges, Gulmarg is a spectacular picnic spot attracted by all kinds of tourists with its lush green backdrop, beautiful landscapes, flowering gardens, serene lakes and pleasant climate during the summers and falls.

Gulmarg is an eye catching place with picturesque surroundings, beautiful gardens with mind blogging flowers and fragrance. This is one of the best ski resorts in India as it gets heavy snowfall, especially during winter which makes it the best time to book Kashmir tour packages. Some of the highest ski slopes in India lies in the sloppy Himalayan regions in Gulmarg.

Tourist attractions

Gondola Ride Gulmarg offers the most breathtaking adventure to the tourists through the Cable Car Ride. Operated by Jammu & Kashmir State Cable Car Corporations, the Gondola ride here is acclaimed to be the world's highest one. The ride is separated into two phases, one is from Gulmarg to Kongdoor 8530 ft and the second one is till Apherwat 12293 ft. During the ride, tourists come across the beautiful pine woods, the magnificent view of the lush green hills and picturesque surroundings. After that, the Gondola ride also passes Khilanmarg - a field covered with blooming & colorful flowers.

Snow Sports Gulmarg is the hot spot for skiing. Popular in India for snow sports, tourists can try out even snowboarding here. In winters, the place is fully covered in a white blanket of snow that turns out to be the skiers paradise. There are natural & untouched slopes that offer a great challenge to the ace skiers. There is the Indian Institute of Skiing & Mountaineering offers ious ski courses for both beginners and professionals. The best time to visit Gulmarg for skiing is from January to March.

Gulmarg Golf Club Established in the year 1911 by the British, Gulmarg Golf Club is spread across the splendid green grounds. This is the highest green gold course in India offers 18 hole gold course to its guests. One can even get a temporary membership for a day to play golf.

Alpather Lake 13km from Gulmarg, there lies a dazzling and a serene Alpather Lake. Triangular in shape, the lake is surrounded by the picturesque hills fully covered with snow. To add to its beauty, there are splendid gardens besides the lake. Till June, the lake remains completely frozen and after that some floating ice pieces can be seen in the crystal clear water. The place is also popular among trekking lovers. Other than all these attractions, tourists can also enjoy horse riding to the magnificent & Leopards Valley, Strawberry Valley, and ride up to see the frozen lake of Al- Pathar. Weather

Summer 10 to 37...

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, 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 Steinalso visited Gulmarg during this period.

After the end of London colonial rule, Gulmarg became a part of the independent princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. To ensure the accession of the princely state, Pakistan planned an invasion of the state called Operation Gulmarg. One of the routes used by the invading militia of Pathan tribesmen, armed and supported by Pakistani regular troops, passed through the Haji Pir pass and Gulmarg onto the state capital Srinagar. Gulmarg fell to the invading army, but the Indian army led by the 1 Sikh Regiment, which had been airlifted to Srinagar only after the Dogra ruler of the state Maharaja Hari Singhhad signed an Instrument of Accession with India on 26 October 1947, successfully defended the outskirts of Srinagar.Thereafter, Indian counterattacks pushed the tribesmen back and many towns including Gulmarg were recaptured. In 1948, Indian Army established a ski school in Gulmarg which later became the High Altitude Warfare School of the Indian army specializing in snow–craft and winter warfare.On 1 January 1949, the war ended under UN supervision and a Ceasefire line (CFL), which was rechristened the Line of Control (LOC) by the Shimla Agreement of 1972, came into being...

There is no doubt that Gulmarg has one of the most incredibly beautiful landscape, from the rocks on the land to the flowing streams and to the Snow-capped mountain. Even the simple-looking houses and simply-dressed people looked great with a background as in Gulmarg. I came here for the snow activities. I had my son with me. The moment we reached the activity station, which is just a place where they congregate with their machines, they were all over us, offering all sorts of services. But luckily, for us the local guide has made the arrangement for us to ride on the snow bike. We got up on the bikes and the handlers rode with us as we ride pillion. There is no specific road or trail that are specific to the ride. So it was a free riding on the huge snow mountain. We stopped at the higher ground and enjoyed the scenery from that point of view. On the way back, my son took the handle of the bike and the Kashimiri guy sat pillion. As for me, I sat pillion and did not want to ride the bike. Suddenly, my rider stopped at a secluded area and told me to come down from the bike and asked for tips "to make him happy." I did not have any small change with me and felt intimidated. I was thinking that the issue of tipping was taken care of when I paid Rupee1500 per person for the ride. Apparently, it was not. I took out Rupee 500 to pay and soon after my son who was riding the bike came to the place where I was at. I was so relieved and told them to take us back to the station immediately, and totally grateful nothing untoward happen to us. I hope the authorities regulate the snow biking activities to ensure safety for tourists. In fact, the authorities must regulate and monitor all snow activities to ensure all safety measures are in place. As it is now, tourists are put at risk and anything could happen. I will not go to Kashmir for any snow activities again as it is not...