Top Tips for the Perfect Winter Vacation in Kashmir

Nothing prepares you for a trip to the valley of Gods, Kashmir. In winter, a never-ending range of mountains draped in white welcome you with open arms.  The warm hospitality of the locals, rich local cuisine and picturesque views will make this a vacation like no other.

Here are the top things to do while there:

Views from our houseboat: On a very cold morning

     1. Stay on a houseboat: There are over 1500 houseboats in Dal lake. From warm hospitality, delicious food to sweeping views of the valley, White House Group of Houseboats offers an authentic experience like no other. Sipping hot kahwa on a cold day, while watching people go by their daily business on shikaras is an unforgettable experience.

        2. Dig into Kashmiri Wazwan: A trip to Kashmir without tasting some of the region’s delicacies is incomplete. Kashmiri Gustaba and naan at Srinagar’s Ahdoos restaurant (Kashmir valley’s first ever restaurant) is mouth-watering. The bakery downstairs serves delectable cakes and biscuits as well. Do pack some goodies for your trip to Gulmarg as there are no bakeries there.

Views from 14.500 ft

        3. Experience snow like never before: In Gulmarg, the exquisite beauty all around is sure to make your jaw drop. Everything is covered in a thick, white blanket of snow making it a white paradise. Fresh snow feels soft and crisp under your rubber boots (available for hire from Rs. 100 per day) and is perfect for a snowball fight. The panoramic views from Apharwat Peak (14,500 ft) of Gulmarg and the surrounding valleys including Nanga Parbat (26,660 ft) will take your breath away.

Sleighing around!

       4. Go on a sleigh ride: Although Gulmarg is known as Asia’s seventh best ski destination, there is another fun activity that you may partake in while there – sleighing. Weather conditions permitting, you can sleigh down from your hotel all the way down to the gondola or even the main skiing zone. The most enjoyable sleigh ride is from Phase 1 Gondola all the way down to the base. Prices start from Rs. 300 per person for a couple of hours.

Gulmarg

Views from the Gondola

It took us roughly two and a half hours to reach Gulmarg. We stopped on the way to buy some dry fruit at wholesale prices. I spotted some saffron face cream on one of the shelves and could not resist buying some, knowing my penchant for body care.

After renting rubber boots for Rs. 100 per day at Tungnath, we started our incline towards the snowy mountains. It was a sunny day and the snow shone bright as we followed the meandering road amidst mountains draped in white. As soon as we reached Gulmarg, we were greeted by a lovely, white landscape. A lot of tourists were trying their hand at skiing and the even more adventurous were sleighing through the snow. I could not wait to unload the luggage, freshen up and go for a walk in the snow. A short distance from our hotel, our taxi skidded on some ice and got stuck. The driver decided not to proceed further without snow chains. I put on my rubber boots and made my way up, slipping from time to time on the icy road.

We went for a short walk after relishing some mutton rogan josh and naan. Playing around, my friend slipped and fell into fresh snow, two - three feet deep. We had a good laugh. In order to warm ourselves up, we went to a closeby café called Raja Hut for some Kahwa. It was a cosy place and reminded me of the cafés in Manali; maybe because the owner was playing trance music. We met some fellow travellers there and got talking about things to do in Gulmarg. As it was about to get dark, we decided to head back to the hotel, before the temperature would start plummeting drastically.

View from the room

Hotel Lounge

Hotel Rosewood is a delightful, boutique hotel with comfortable rooms, lounge and hookah bar.  I enjoyed their food as well, especially their grilled cheese sandwiches and lamb bolognaise. The next morning, we enjoyed a sleigh ride to the gondola entrance. We had bought our tickets online so it was fairly easy getting in. The gondola ride was a lot of fun as well, offering panoramic views. I even spotted some paw marks on the snow below. Our guide told us that there were many snow leopards and deer in the area.

View From Top

We rode straight to Phase two of the gondola - Apharwat Peak, at a height of 14,500 ft. Our guide took us for a short hike through 2 ft deep snow. I was amazed by the stunning, birds-eye view of Gulmarg and the surrounding valley including Nanga Parbat (26,660 ft). There were clouds below and it seemed like we were in heaven. We saw Pakistan occupied Kashmir in the distance and learnt that that it is more beautiful than what we have.

At Apharwat Peak

After spending an hour in the freezing cold, we headed down to Phase 1 for lunch. We had some delicious Kashmiri pulao along with Kahwa. As the snow mobile ride was expensive, starting at Rs. 1500 per person for a short ride, we decided against it. We continued our sleigh tour for the rest of the afternoon. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

On a sleigh

Once back at our snug hotel, we savoured the Old Monk that we had bought from Srinagar. It was the perfect way to end a great day.

The Valley of Gods - Srinagar

View from top

My stomach was in knots as I boarded the Air India flight to Srinagar. There was a large group of old pilgrims dressed in white, ignoring the ground staff’s instructions and jumping the queue; in turn making me jumpy. I managed to get a window seat by requesting my fellow passenger; I took this to be a good omen for our impending holiday.

My nervousness dissipated into thin air as soon as we entered Kashmir’s airspace. I was greeted by swathes of high mountain ranges draped in white, with a sliver of an emerald green river passing through. The stark contrast is hard to forget. As we were about to land, the mighty, snow clad Greater Himalayan range encircled us. As we flew above the clouds, it felt like I was in heaven.

Am I in heaven?

Srinagar airport was freezing. We had to wait for some time for the luggage to be loaded onto one of the only two conveyor belts. A charter flight carrying BSF officers had just landed, giving us a sense of the fragile situation there. Our houseboat owner had sent a taxi to pick us up. As we were getting into the car, I breathed in the fresh, crisp air layered with a sweet floral scent.

Our driver gave us some tips on what to eat and where to go in a 45 minute ride to Dal Gate. We were taken to our houseboat on a shikara which was quite a novel experience. Ibrahim, our host greeted us with Kashmiri Kahwa. It felt good to hold something warm in my hands. After relishing Rista and mutton biryani for lunch, we set out on a shikara tour to the nearby floating market, Meena Bazaar as well as many other attractions. We kept ourselves warm under the blanket provided on the shikara.

Our wooden houseboat - best views!

We had mixed vegetable pakodas and hot kahwa at one of the floating shops in sub zero temperature. For me, this was the highlight of the tour. We bought Phirans from Meena Bazaar which made the cold bearable.  There was a woodworks store about three generations old, full of interesting furniture, cutlery and home décor. There was a collapsible study table made out of walnut wood that would double up as a centre table. We picked up some lovely stuff and the owner gave me a free piggy bank that I had been eying.

Maharaja's house on Dal lake

Floating market

As it was getting dark and colder, the shikara owner urged us to make our way back to the houseboat. We had spent more money than we had intended to, on our first day there. Eager to explore the area more, we headed out for dinner later to a well known restaurant - Shamyana. We gorged on their special Kashmiri pulao along with Mughlai chicken in a conservative setting.

Happy with dinner, I quickly changed into my night clothes, slipped under three blankets and huddled with a hot water bottle as the mercury dipped further into the night.