To Gulmarg and Beyond.
Gulmarg is only an hour's drive away from Srinagar but because of its altitude, it offers spectacular snow capped mountain views. Even now in March, it is covered in a thick blanket of glimmering snow, making it an ideal spot for winter sports like skiing, snowboarding and sledding. Which the locals hilariously refer to as 'sledging'.
Mesmerised by the idea of charming villages covered in snow, and ski slopes that run for many kilometres, we decided we should go and check it out. The snow had already begun to melt but we still had a chance to experience a lot of it, so we made our journey from Srinagar to Gulmarg by cab.
An Innova was arranged for just the two of us that would pick us up at our houseboat and drive us to Gulmarg in comfort. Our driver Shoqat has been ferrying Kritika's guests for almost three years now and even though they have a tight working relationship on the phone, it was her first time meeting him in person.
And what a person he turned out to be. Full of lively chatter and highly opinionated, he schooled us throughout our trip on everything from running a business and the dangers of brainwashing, to his hatred of Arnab Goswami and why women should not have data on their phones. I could write a whole novel on his hilarious opinions, dedicating an entire chapter to why he thinks Thai women wont love you and how South Indian girls like to give him their number.
He also loved posing for pictures of himself and stopped us at multiple scenic spots, where he insisted we take his picture, on our fancy 'DHLR' camera as he termed it.
Despite his highly opinionated and comical nature, he turned to be a very safe and courteous driver, who never drove fast, respected road rules and also threw in vital tidbits about local culture and history that really helped me learn a lot more about the places we went and the sights we saw.
Our drive kept getting more scenic as we drove away from the city, and soon everyone, including the chatty driver were completely silent and lost in awe as we made our way up the zig zag slopes covered the snow.
Gulmarg is spectacular. Photos don't do it justice. I've never seen this much snow in my life. There must have been a minimum of 5 feet of snow covering everything in its path. Entire houses were buried under it and all you could see of them were pointed green roofs and chimneys. There was a tranquillity and beauty there that you would only expect to find in desktop wallpapers of Switzerland.
If there is a country that's short on guides, agents and touts they can import some from Gulmarg. They outnumber the tourists 10 to 1 and like everywhere else, each agent claims that the rest are cheats, so it's best to go with him, because it will get more expensive the higher up you go. Which of course, It doesn't.
Like all other tourist places you could get fleeced here, but luckily there's a huge signboard with official rates for all gear and activities. Everything from renting a shoe to flying a helicopter is clearly mentioned with its hourly rates and all additional charges.
Oddly it only seems to have been put there as a joke because whenever you point at the rates listed there, the locals just laugh, and continue to charge you as they please.
Thankfully we did not deal with them for too long, because they can be persistent and it gets annoying. Not to mention the multiple Mafia style rules that govern which agent gets your business. A car coming from Srinagar cannot take you around Gulmarg. Only a local cab can, and even those can only drop and pick you up from places that don't have horses, or else the horse people get first preference. This can be confusing for tourists, but fortunately the agents usually have most of these arguments between themselves, in Kashmiri, and seem to sort it quickly.
Our hotel in Gulmarg was a very famous mountain lodge, that had been around for ages and was a part of tourism history in the state. Unfortunately, like many similar heritage places in India, it's glory days seemed well behind it. The decor was dated, most of the staff was lost and many facilities seemed to be in a state of disorder or just not maintained up to standard you find elsewhere. Beautiful wooden passageways and ornate woodwork had been ruined by patchwork wiring and makeshift fixes that did not do justice to the grand hotel it once was.
The manager there had been stuck to his chair by Fevicol and for the entire duration of our trip he remained stuck behind his desk, not even getting up to stretch his legs. He seemed content to watch videos on his computer and other staff would come join him and only occasionally peer over the screen at us.
We carried our own bags, had to find our room without directions, and were even tempted to chop our own firewood to start a fire for heat because no help could be found to do it for us.
Usually I'd complain about it but I can imagine that it's tough to maintain a mountain resort and keep it well staffed, especially one that gets so much snow and ice that repairs can only be done at certain times of the year and there are many hoops to jump through for heritage buildings who want to do upgrades.
Kashmiri people overall have been very kind to us here and most stays have been very hospitable, so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend coming to Kashmir on vacation, and I think this lodge was just an anomaly. Other properties in the area were much better maintained and we quickly found better places to recommend, with lively staff and more comfortable rooms.
We spent the rest of the trip exploring the area around Gulmarg but decided to skip the skiing lessons for our next trip when we are better prepared for the cold. Instead we went with a local guide to see a river and villages around Gulmarg that were free of tourists but still charming.
For the views and intimate mountain experience it offers, I think Gulmarg is amazing and there are some more destinations coming up for people who want to be in the snow, but away from the crowds.
We are back in Srinagar now, enjoying the cold rain and the warmth of good friends. More updates soon.....
