Gulmarg is a place of rhapsodic beauty, a haven for meadow lovers and a delight to every hiker, walker, vacationer and honeymooner. The land of flowers sits royally on the hills in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and breathes down the humble plains like a star shining down from the sky. The snowy mountains color this land that spreads before your eyes like a sprawling white page, dotted with rising black mountains and punctuated occasionally with streams, lakes, fields and golf courses.
Let us not dawdle further on its rhapsodic beauty but give you a more precise description of places that are on the must-see list of every fortunate tourist:
Gulmarg Gondola: The Gondola ride over the mountains is an unforgettable thing, almost like that perfect affair where the affair is brief but indelible. The Gondola that flows across the rope from one end of the valley to the other like that majestic cable car gives the tourists’ a bird-like flight, and a chance to look down at the proud snowy mountains. It is a perfect place to take your kids too.
Apharwat Peak: Almost every visitor has rated this place highly since this picturesque viewpoint offers you a breath-robbing moment. The white carpet of snow at that vertigo-giving altitude with a colossal stretch of open valley ahead is something that you find only in big-budget movies.
Gulmarg Ski Resort: This place is not just your road to outdoor sports but also doubles up as an excellent, albeit expensive, place of accommodation. Most tourists like to walk into this resort to spend a day, ski to their heart’s delight, find some repose and good food and head back to where they came from. The experience will be an unearthly thing to cherish forever.
Outer Circle Walk: This is the place which will tell you why this city is hailed as a poetic meadow. If you want to gaze at Gulmarg’s yawning open fields and verdant valleys, this is that widespread region where you can walk and walk without tiring out. A walk to remember, as a traveler had once quipped!
Gulmarg Golf Course: Golf is not the routine sports for an average Indian tourist. So, you can use this trip to try out this exotic sport which will not only enthrall you but also give you the chance to relax your body. This golf course becomes all the more inviting because of the backdrop it provides.
St. Mary’s Church: This is a quiet quaint church that deservingly finds a place in this list. It is not a glamour-stained place but one that is humble, and hence great due to that humbleness. The serenity, the isolation and piety fuse together to bring to you a tranquil altar and an amazingly charming milieu!
Gulmarg Backcountry: The backcountry is another set of open acres of white land where everything you see will be nectar to your eye. While the region’s hypnotic beauty is irreplaceable, there is enough scope for sports and adventure enthusiasts too.
Rani Temple: Unlike Srinagar, Gulmarg is not noted for a plethora of religious places. But Rani Temple is the exception. Noted for its solitude and St. Mary’s-like quietness, this temple is another bewitching place. Small, unassuming, yet so strikingly rich in its appeal!
Baba Reshi Shrine: It lies towards the outskirts and you may drop by this shrine en route to Gulmarg. It is popular for more than one reason. On one hand, there is the spiritual element which draws hundreds of pilgrims every month, and on the other hand, it is replete with legendary tales and apocryphal stories.
Children’s Park: Children’s Park is not unusual in any city or town, but this one deserves a place just for being where it is. The enthralling mountainous backdrop with that life-infusing zephyr, coupled with pleasant pony rides, make this place every child’s zannat.
Alpather Lake: This Lake does not match the popularity of Srinagar’s Dal Lake, yet it is not without its share of beauty. Its ambiance itself makes it worth a visit. Watch out for its naked frozen beauty when everything turns ice!
