Gulmarg is a small isolated hill-village situated in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir at the western extremity of the Himalayas in a subsidiary range called the Pir Panjals. It is 35 miles from Srinagar, the state capital.

Due to its geographic location Gulmarg gets some of the heaviest snowfalls in the Himalayas and it has earned the distinction of being the best ski resort in the Himalayas. Skiing was first introduced to Gulmarg by two British Army officers who established the first ski club in 1927 although it wasn’t until 5-6 years ago when Gulmarg’s name really first started to appear on the cognoscenti’s hotlist!

The village itself sits in gently undulating meadows high above the Kashmiri plateau at about 2,700m.

DAY 1
Depart UK on evening flight to Delhi International Airport. Flight time: approx 8 hrs

DAY 2
Arrive Delhi International Airport. Transfer to domestic airport and take internal flight to Srinagar the capital of Kashmir. Flight time: 1 hr. You'll be met at the airport and transferred by private jeep for the 45km journey to Gulmarg. Book into the Hotel Highlands Park.

DAY 3-8
Six full days of off piste guided adventure skiing in the extensive backcountry covering 4 different ski fields.With a gondola rising to almost 4000m, you will enjoy uninterrupted descents of almost 2000 vertical meters of fresh powder each day - just make sure you are fit enough!!

DAY 9
Ski for most of the day and then transfer directly back to Srinagar by road and stay overnight in one of the famous house boats on Lake Dal.

 DAY 10
Return to Srinagar airport for the 1 hour flight to Delhi and international flight home

Optional extensions and excursions.
India is a fantastic vibrant country and on request we can arrange additional excursions or stopovers in Delhi.

More information
Access on to the mountain is via the Gondola. Installed in 2005 it ascends from the resort to almost 4,000m on Mt Apharwat and offers over 2,200m of vertical descent. Thanks to the gondola, Gulmarg claims to be one of the highest lift-served resorts in the world.

Gulmarg is the perfect venue for natural, wild, backcountry and off-piste skiing for intermediate to expert level skiers and snowboarders. From the top gondola station, the upper slopes and bowls of Apherwat are wide and open whilst thick conifer forest covers much of the remaining area. If you are prepared to boot pack the 30 minutes (or so) to the summit of Mt Apharwat you’ll be rewarded not only with some awesome powder turns but also with spectacular views across the Kashmir Plateau to Nanga Parbat (8126m) the most westerly eight thousander and the ninth highest mountain on Earth.

For more information on these trips click on our dedicated Gulmarg website at www.ski-gulmarg.co.uk 

Price
The price includes 7 nights half board in Gulmarg hotel (twin room share), 1 night on floating house boat on Lake Dal in Srinagar, return flights between Delhi and Srinagar, all travel and transfers in Kashmir, 7 days guided off-piste and backcountry skiing with Mountain Tracks Pro Mountain Guides, uplift costs.
Does not include; international airfares, visa costs, personal insurance, lunches, optional extras

Accommodation
We stay in the  Highlands Park Hotel in Gulmarg which is one of the most beautiful and rustic hotels in the region. It has an old world colonial charm and is very warm and comforting place where you can just lay back and relax.
The hotel has cottages set amid pretty flowerbeds and views of snow-capped mountains. The rooms are well done up, bathrooms are big and there is a stove in each room.
The two restaurants at Hotel Highland Park serve the finest delicacies from a wide choice of menu options. You can choose to savor from exclusive Kashmiri ,Indian, Continental or Chinese cuisine.

In Srinagar you will spend 1 night in a floating houseboat on Dal Lake. There are hundred’s of houseboats, most very fancifully decorated, and staying in one is a fascinating experience.
The boats booked for our group have a balcony, lounge, dining room, pantry and 3 or more bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms. The boats face the Lotus Garden and have a view of the mountains. A small motorboat is used to get from the shore to the houseboat and back.

Your guides
Our 2010 trips will be led by Nick Parks and Olly Allen. Nick and Olly are both UIAGM British Mountain Guides and Directors of Mountain Tracks. Nick skied in Gulmarg for the first time in 2008 and Olly skied there for 3 weeks in 2009. Nick and Olly will be assisted by other UIAGM Mountain Guides.

Group Size
The off-piste and backcountry guiding is provided on all 7 days with a maximum ratio of 1:6.

Likely Weather
Mid Jan to mid Feb is the optimum time to visit Gulmarg for powder skiing. Expect similar or slightly colder temperatures to the Alps at this time. When its not snowing - which of course it only does at night!- the clarity of the Himalayan winter mean the mountain views are wonderfully clear.

Equipment
To really enjoy the light, dry powder wide all-mountain skis are essential (a minimum of 95-100mm under the boot is recommended). They should be mounted with touring bindings. Touring boots are recommended but are not essential as the walking distances are not very great. Without touring bindings you will struggle to walk in deep snow and on the odd occasion when the lift isn’t running – i.e. if there’s too much wind – we will go touring. (Going up through the wonderful forest in deep fresh snow is almost as good as coming down!)

Snowboarders must bring snowshoes and collapsible ski poles.

As always you must ski at all times with avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe.

Bring a small day pack (25ltr max) to carry these and other bits and bobs - skins, camera, water, snacks etc which you might want during the day.

For this trip you must have skins but you do NOT need to bring ski crampons, boot crampons or an ice-axe.

Getting there
Flights from London to Delhi in January are usually priced at around £500-£600. Please note that this price cannot be guaranteed as seat prices change every minute. If you would like to book these please call Max Travel 020 7095 0920 who will be more than happy to make all of your travel arrangements.

International flights to Delhi arrive at the International Terminal and the connecting flight to Srinagar departs from the Domestic Terminal. The 2 terminals are a few miles apart and it takes 20-30 minutes to travel between the 2 terminals by taxi. It is essential that you have at least 3 hours between your scheduled arrival into Delhi and the connecting flight to Srinagar.
The last flight to Srinagar leaves Delhi at about 1pm (times change slightly depending on the date) which means your international flight should arrive no later than 9am.

From the UK British Airways offers the most convenient connections with 2 flights daily from Heathrow arriving in Delhi at 0155am and 0455am.
Virgin and Airindia both have 1 flight each day from Heathrow but both flights arrive after 11am which is too late to make the connecting flight to Srinagar on the same day.

If you need (want) to arrive early and spend the night in Delhi we can arrange accommodation in the Hotel Shoba which is conveniently located withing 20 minutes drive of the airport and the cost is £70 per person including transfers.

Air India Express have (allegedly) introduced flights from Dubai direct to Srinagar (a 5½ hour flight) which would be a good alternative if you want to avoid travelling to Delhi. To-date we have been unable to obtain information on their 2010 schedule, so flights via Delhi remain the most viable option until we hear otherwise.

What our guests said about our 2008 and 2009 trips
"That was a fantastic trip - much debate as to whether it was the best one yet. Certainly I had one of, if not the best days skiing I have ever had.
Highland Park was perfect - even the 'tracing paper' loo roll, hole in the tooth mug, terrible soap, lack of plug, complete inability to deliver the correct type of omlette to the correct person is to be entirely expected of India and I would have it no other way. It has a massive amount of character which I hope will never go.
We had a laugh and a good time from start to finish. Thankyou."

"What a fabulous trip . Met all my expectations!
Skiing was wonderful, and definitely got the flavour of Kashmir in the accommodation at Highlands Park. Thanks to Nick- really enjoyed it."

"Really really cant tell you how much we enjoyed it all...loved every minute
of it...the Alps will never be the same again..."

 Security and Insurance
For the past 10-15 years the UK government has advised against all but essential travel to Kashmir. This is due to the ongoing troubles between Pakistan and India and the threat of terrorist attacks. We take this advice very seriously and continuously monitor the threat level. However based on our experience over the past 2 years, the experience of other tour operators and travelers and regular contact with locals in Kashmir, we believe it is safe to run these skiing trips. Our trips in January and February 2009 took place only 2 months after terrorist attack in Mumbai in November 2008. Our clients and staff encountered no problems whatsoever whilst travelling via Srinagar to Gulmarg or in Gulmarg itself and the local Kashmiri people were, without exception, friendly and helpful and very pleased to see tourists coming to their beautiful country.
As a result of the UK government’s advice against travel to Kashmir it is difficult to find UK-based insurance companies who will provide insurance cover for this trip. We therefore recommend the insurance provided by IHI, a Danish subsidiary of BUPA. For details on their policies click on http://global.ihi.com

Altitude Sickness
Gulmarg resort is at 2650m which is not an elevation at which altitude sickness is typically experienced, however the gondola goes up to just short of 4000m and altitude sickness is possible.
The symptoms of altitude sickness are headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, mild shortness of breath, dizziness or light-headedness, slight swellings of hands and face.
To minimise any risk of discomfort and inconvenience from even mild altitude sickness, guests should take the following measures on their arrival in Gulmarg:
- drink plenty of water
- avoid alcohol and sleeping tablets
- do not over-exert yourself on the mountain on your first day or so.
Let one of the guides know if your feeling unwell. There is a quick and simple cure to altitude related illness…simply to go to a lower elevation.

Visa Requirements
All foreign nationals visiting India require a visa and for this trip, a short term tourist visa is required. This will cost £30 plus the visa application fee and any relevant postage charges.
The visa must be obtained in the UK prior to departure.
In May 2008 the Indian High Commission has outsourced the visa application to a private agency called VF Services (UK) Limited
You can apply for the visa online by going to the VF Services website: http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk
It you are going to use the postal application service you should allow 15 working days to process the application. Alternatively you can apply in person at one of the Visa Application Centres – there are 5 in the UK - click on http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk/vacs.aspx for details.
On the application form you need to provide the names, addresses and telephone numbers of 2 referees in India. We will provide these in our trip pack at the time of booking.
Together with the completed application form you also require your passport, 2 passport size photos and the visa fee. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months.