Tea Plucking in Gulmarg: Tips and a Quick Fact Check

No. Gulmarg has no tea gardens, tea estates or tea plantations, so there is nothing to pluck. It is an alpine meadow and ski resort at about 2,650 m, under snow for much of the winter, and tea is not grown commercially anywhere in the Kashmir Valley. The nearest place where visitors can walk through tea gardens and watch tea being made is Palampur in Himachal Pradesh, about 220 km from Jammu by road.

At a working tea garden such as those around Palampur, wear closed shoes with a firm grip, because the rows run on slopes and turn muddy after rain. Add a hat, sunscreen and a long-sleeved shirt for the sun, and a light rain jacket in the monsoon. In Gulmarg itself there is no tea plucking, but the same grippy, waterproof boots are the most useful thing you can pack for the meadow and the gondola area.

Pluck the tender top shoot, which is the unopened bud plus the two young leaves just below it. Pluckers call this "two leaves and a bud". Snap it between thumb and forefinger, keep to the flat top of the bush, and leave older, darker leaves on the plant. Drop the shoots loosely into the basket so they do not bruise. A guide at an estate such as Wah Tea Estate near Palampur will show you the technique.

Not at a tea estate, because Gulmarg has none. You can still taste Kashmir's two signature teas. Kahwa is a golden green tea brewed with saffron, cardamom and cinnamon and served with crushed almonds, and nearly every hotel restaurant and tea stall near the gondola base serves it. Noon chai is a salted pink milk tea that Kashmiris drink at home, so ask your hotel kitchen to make it for you.

Go between April and October. That is when the bushes around Palampur are plucked and the tea factories are processing leaf, so a garden walk or factory visit shows the whole process. Call the estate a day ahead, since visiting hours change. In winter the bushes rest and there may be little to see. If you are pairing it with Kashmir, plan two nights in Palampur or Dharamshala after your trip ends in Jammu.