car 1st/2nd stage ₹150/250) that whisks you to 3747m for outstanding clear-day views, reputedly encompassing Nanga Parbat (the world’s ninth-highest mountain across in Pakistan). The gondola’s base-station is around 1km west of the bus stand. Gulmarg offers over 40 accommodation choices. In July, musty, ageing rooms average ₹2000, newer ones over ₹5000 a night. Prices dip around 20% in winter and fall massively lower during troubles in Srinagar and in less popular months, like September. For skiers and hikers the most convenient accommodation is located on the rise just north of the gondola. Here, the new Heevan (%254455; www.ahadhotelsandre Retreat sorts.com; d/ste ₹5000/6500, incl half-board ₹6250/7750) is head and shoulders above
Green Heights (%254404; hotelgreenheights gulmarg@yahoo.com; d winter/peak season ₹1000/ 2750) has seriously ageing rooms that are far
SKIING AT GULMARG In season (mid-December to midMarch) Gulmarg is famed amongst serious skiers for its high-altitude powder. However, weather conditions can be unreliable, only a small section of piste is groomed, rescue facilities are limited and avalanche prevention is hamstrung by military restrictions on explosives and weather data. For regularly updated snow and safety conditions, consult http://gulmargsnowsafety.com. Apart from beginners’ drag-lifts on the meadow, ski access is by the Gondola (day pass ₹ 1000), which closes down when winds blow over 35km/h and whenever Kashmir has curfews. Quality equipment can be hired from Kashmir Alpine (%254638; www.kash miralpine.com) outside Hotel Highlands Park and from the Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering (IISM; %214037; www.iismgulmarg.com), 1.5km from the gondola in the conspicuous new octagonal building near the army camp.
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8 Getting There & Away
Buses and more frequent shared jeeps run from Batmalu Bus Station in Srinagar to Tangmarg (summer/winter ₹45/55). Change there for Gulmarg (₹20/30), around 13km beyond on hairpins through the pine forest. By private jeep, day returns from Srinagar cost around ₹1800 per vehicle.
Sonamarg % 0194 /POP 800/ ELEV 2800M
A beautiful 200km drive between Srinagar and Sonmarg takes you from alpine valleys over the double loops of the 3529m Zoji La, a spectacular pass that becomes treacherously muddy after rain, then descends into a series of high-sided valleys. Windows on the vehicle’s south side offer the best views. Though ugly in itself, the jerry-built onestreet strip settlement of Sonamarg occupies a memorable mountain-valley setting and could make for a great trekking base. Many Indian tourists get their first taste of snow here by walking or pony-riding two hours towards the Thajiwas Glacier, which rises on a spectacularly soaring mountain crag. The access track is 5km down a lane that starts 2km west of Sonamarg, opposite the area’s best accommodation, Hotel Snowland (%2417262; hotel.snowland@yahoo. com; s/d/ste from ₹2900/3300/4400) whose
brand-new deluxe rooms (from ₹3600) are fashionably appointed if not overly large. Sonamarg town has a strip of boxy restaurants, almost all offering poorly maintained guest rooms for around ₹1500 in season, bargainable to ₹350 when occupancy is low. Even the newest (Hotel International, Hotel Sonamarg) are already conspicuously battered by the endless procession of pilgrimtourists who start their yatra-hike to Amarnath’s famous ice lingam (p231) from Baltal Camp, a summer-only mayhem of tents, shacks and even a mobile ATM machine. Buses to Srinagar depart Sonamarg at 7.30am, 9.30am and 12.30pm (₹80, 2½ hours). Alternatively take shared/private jeeps (₹120/1200), possibly changing en route at Kangan. Eastbound buses are often full by the time they reach Sonamarg, so for Kargil consider chartering a taxi/jeep or returning to Srinagar to get a seat.
K ASHMIR VALLE Y 8 JAMMU & THE K ASHMIR (INCLUDING L ADAKH) S 8ONAMARG
most competition. Fresh pine interiors are inlayed with crewel embroidery panels and there’s a wonderfully cosy lounge. On the same hill the untidy Pine Palace (%254466; d ₹2500-3800) is the only hotel with a public bar (beers ₹200) and bakes fresh pizzas on Tuesday nights. The other side of the gondola, Hotel
from charming but they’re big and currently (at troubled time of research ₹300) about the cheapest you’ll find in Gulmarg.