Irresistable Kashmir — A winter sojourn
Travel promises are seldom fulfilled.
How many times have we actually sworn to return to that place again but never kept our promise?
I did. Kashmir made me do it.
On my last trek in this region, I just could not get enough of the beauty of this place. Every single vista was worth crying for. And I wanted the other flavour of Kashmir as well, the one with the white carpet. Though greenery and monsoon landscapes was what I generally fall in love with, I thought if there ever is a way for me to fall in love with snowy landscapes, it had to be in Kashmir.
And so I did. By the end of 2017, I quickly charted down a plan to take my better half as well, to introduce her to the mighty Himalayas, as well satiate my desire for more Kashmir.
Having visited Himalayas in the last 2 winters, yet unable to see a great snowfall, I wanted to time this right. Our anniversary falling in the mid of February made things easier on that front. It was reasonably easy to convince my wife, as she has not yet seen snow or experienced real winter conditions.
TIP: If you want to visit Kashmir/Gulmarg, I’d strongly recommend doing it in February and not in January. In Kashmir, the month of January is called as Chillai kalan, meaning “harsh cold” in Persian. Though snowfall might be more in Jan, the temperatures would be unforgiving, especially for folks from Chennai/Tamil Nadu, where winter is just a known theoretical phenomenon.
One of the best bets, to see snow and if lucky snowfall, was on Gulmarg. Even if not for snowfall, snow is kind of guaranteed in February. Add to it the additional possibility of trying out skiing, it was enough to convince myself and my better half.
Day 1
The snowfall in the 2017–18 winter was below par. But I was not going to lose my hope. At the same time, I lowered expectations of a snowfall with my wife, just so that she does not get disappointed. When we set foot in Srinagar, the weather was not as chilly as I had expected. Till we crossed Tangmarg, it was quite an event less journey
As we started climbing towards Gulmarg, the scenery started changing, giving us the glimpse of what we had hoped for. Once we reached, we could see that the entire place around Gulmarg Gondola and the golf course was covered in snow.
As soon as our cab reached the resort town, the horsemen, pony owners, and snow sledge owners crowd upon you forcing to take up their services. If you have a hotel booking inside, like I did, make sure to have a printed copy ready to show this tourist mafia.
The evening was mostly about loitering around the hotel area, checking the rates for ski equipment and gum boots, and of course playing in the snow. Kashmiri Kahwa, in the hotel, tasted extra nice in the chilly winter night.
Day 2
The next day was for the Gondola — the cable car taking tourists to Kangdoori (~10k ft) and to Mount Afarwat (~14k ft). Though a guide is totally unnecessary, I still went ahead and used the services of Mr. Ahmed, and he was quite a good chap. He helped us in getting our tickets based on the online booking and gave us good company.
It was never just about the destination, the ride and the bird’s-eye views from the cable car were amazing.
As we were moving up towards Kangdoori maidhan (playground) — the first phase of the Gondola service, I could not stop wishing for a hike up to the same place. When checked with the guide, he said it was totally possible, and would be quite a simple one. The next challenge was to convince my wife for the same.
For now, lets enjoy the pristine white landscape.
The above view of the huts was what pushed towards trekking this route. I wanted to see these from the ground level as well.
The Kangdoori maidhan is the liveliest place in Gulmarg. There are a few restaurants and lots of snow activities.
I wanted to get to the next phase — Mount Afarwat as early as possible, eager to have more of the place just for us. And soon I did realise what a mistake that would be.
From Phase 1, we do get to see what Phase 2 would have in store for us. If you are there just for the snow, Kangdoori/Phase 1 is good enough in winters. Only if you are interested in more pristine mountain views, proceed onto the 4000m+ peak.
This section of the cable car ride is slightly longer, and is filled with wider views of the landscape. In around 14 minutes, you climb above the tree line, in a slow and steady manner. As we were going up, there were a few who were taking their skis up in the chair car. Being totally open and exposed, it seemed to be more fun, but you’ll have to ski down from there.
In total contrast to the lower phase, Phase 2 has no facilities apart from the Gondola station. No lavatories or no shops selling Kahwa and apart from the 3–4 ppl stationed for the gondola, there were just no one else. Might be a different scene in summer or monsoon.
With our guide, we continued walking around taking beautiful photos like the one above.
Our joy had a very short life though. Not more than a few minutes at 4000m+ altitude, my wife started getting severe headaches. In just around 30 minutes, we climbed up from 8700 ft in Gulmarg to 14,400ft here. With clear symptoms of AMS, we knew what next to do. Thankfully the descent here, unlike treks, is simple and just 15 mins away. We took the next cable car down to Phase I.
[TIP] Spend at least an hour at Phase I, before you take the ride up to Phase II. It might help a lot in easing out AMS concerns. Also drink plenty of water while there and don’t forget to relieve yourselves, as you cant find any restrooms above this.
After a few more cups of kahwa and almost 30 mins of rest, everything was back to normal. Meanwhile it started to get cloudy as well and our guide rung up the excitement levels saying it might snow in the afternoon. Still not sure, if he was saying just to cheer my wife, or if he really was expecting snow showers.
Post lunch there at Kangdoori, we tried out the snow scooter. It was the most worthwhile few minutes of the entire day so far. They even let us ride the scooter in non-tricky sections.
Our original idea was to return in one of the snow sledges, but with the AMS episode, we had to return back in the cable car. On the return though, I convinced my wife for a hike up here for the next day.
The sun was still shining bright and there was no sight of dark clouds or snow. And we decided to try out skiing. The golf course was right next to our hotel making things very easier for us, or so we thought. The only problem was that, no shops nearby had ski shoes that fit my legs — size 13 problem.
Our guide came in handy here, checked a couple of shops and finally found one where it was available.
With my broken understanding of Hindi, and the instructions in broken English, somehow we were able to stand up with the skis on. After a lot of struggle, we did manage to ski by ourselves without falling for a minute as well. We still did not understand how to really ski and how we are supposed to balance ourselves. Both of us have not seen anyone ski, apart from the other beginners who were there in the golf course that time. And just around sunset we stopped our ski lessons as well.
Day 3
Our guide came up to the hotel in the right time. We rented gumboots and started the hike. The gentle ascent and the crunchy snow made the hike a very pleasant experience for me
For my wife it was a different story though. The visuals, the white carpet and the shepherds’ huts in the snow kept her going, but only with a break every few minutes.
As plenty of people skied down, their posture helped me understand the balance with skiing. I began to recognise the mistakes I was repeating the previous day. In simple words, you are not supposed lean back. Lean front and let the gravity take care of the rest. Wish I had understood this yesterday.
We were planning to return down in a snow bicycle today. But again that did not happen. The trek was way too tiring for my wife and we decided to return back in the cable car. As one cannot not purchase tickets for the way down alone, we had to buy the 2-way tickets.
[TIP] It would be wiser to book onwards ticket in the gondola and then trek down. Easier on the wallet and the legs.
As the sun set for the day, it started to snow a bit. It was more like a drizzle. We waited for an hour to see if turns into a proper snowfall, but once it was dark, it became too cold to wait outside.
Day 4
I had woken up atleast twice or thrice in midnight just to check if it was snowing. When I woke up finally in the morning, we were having a heavy snowfall. Even an avalanche warning had already been issued.
Having only played with the snow so far, the snowfall tranformed everyone into kids instantly, from having the tongue out to taste the fresh snow to chasing the snowplows.
This was the day we had to leave Gulmarg, and the town gave us a perfect goodbye.
Snowfall accompanied us throughout the day as we went to Srinagar. It looked as totally different route now. Even the traffic jams became a lot more enjoyable now.
Having seen Dal Lake in a different avatar during the monsoon season, I was very eager to check what the winter had in store with the Shikhara ride.
With the tourist crowd being very lean, only very few tourist shikaras were operating, and so was the number of open shops. Dal lake oozed a sense of calmness, much more than the what I had experienced in the previous trip. Combine that with the leisurely pace of the shikara and the snow fall, what more would any vacation need? May be just a few cups of kahwa :)
Day 6
The day’s plan was to visit the Pari Mahal and then to gardens in and around Srinagar.
The snowfall yesterday had made the road towards Pari Mahal, turn into a dreamland. As the roads were too slippery for our vehicle without the snow chains, the driver requested us to walk for the last few hundred metres, an offer that we gladly took.
Pari Mahal, also known as The Palace of Fairies, is a stunning historical monument with well-maintained terraced gardens it boasts of right on top of the Zabarwan Hills. The mesmerising gardens and the view of Dal lake from the top, were truly a treat for the sore city eyes.
Having started late for the day, we went back into the city to taste the Kashmiri Wazwan at Ahdoos. Though a little overpriced, we thoroughly enjoyed the feast. The ambience and the service were also just perfect. Wish I could taste the wazwan at an actual Kashmiri wedding.
And then it was time for the flower-less winter gardens.
Without flowers, the gardens did not have that charm, yet were a lot crowded than the Pari Mahal. The architecture was majestic though and the evening sky being clear and bright, you can enjoy the play between the light and the shadows.
Day 7
Before boarding the flight in the noon, we completed our shopping and filled our bags with souvenirs, while I was still waiting for one last good picture of the Dal lake.
So are you planning for a trip to this wonderland this winter?
DM me on instagram for any help with your Kashmir plans.
Meanwhile, why don’t you check these posts as well?
