Srinagar Skiing Tips: How to Ski Gulmarg with the City as Your Base

Two, one at each end. Spend your arrival night in Srinagar to rest, buy gloves and thermals, book Gondola tickets and fix an instructor, then move up to Gulmarg for the ski nights. Come back to Srinagar for your last night so a snow-closed road above Tangmarg doesn't cost you the flight. If you are only doing a day trip, sleep every night in Srinagar.

Yes for beginners, less so for experienced skiers. A first-timer can take lessons on Gulmarg's nursery slopes on day trips and sleep in a heated Srinagar hotel. Once you can link turns, stay at least two nights in Gulmarg, because Phase 1 queues build by mid-morning and Phase 2 sells out on powder days. Most travellers do both, with a last night back in Srinagar before the flight.

It is better not to. Gulmarg village is about 1,000 m higher than Srinagar, and the Gondola takes you above 3,000 m at Kongdori. If you land by midday, rest, shop for gloves and thermals, book your Gondola tickets online and fix an instructor that evening. Leave for Gulmarg at 7.30 to 8 am the next day and you will get the full morning on the snow.

Buy what Gulmarg doesn't rent. That means thermal tops and leggings, woollen socks, waterproof gloves, SPF 50 sunscreen, lip balm and sunglasses or goggles. The Lal Chowk and Residency Road markets have all of it. Withdraw cash, since Gulmarg has few ATMs, and buy a local SIM if your prepaid number is from another state. Skis, boots, poles, ski jackets and pants are rented in Gulmarg.

Choose a heated hotel on the nights before ski days. Houseboats sit on cold water and rely on a bukhari stove and electric blankets, and winter power cuts are common, which makes a 6.30 am start hard. Stay on a houseboat at the end of the trip instead, when there is no early drive. If you do sleep on one before skiing, ask for extra blankets and dry your gloves by the stove.

Leave between 7.30 and 8 am. In clear weather that gets you to the Gondola base around 10 am, with four or five hours on the snow before you start back at 3 to 3.30 pm. After fresh snow, army convoys or VIP movement, the 51 km drive can take 3 hours, and you may need to switch to a 4x4 at Tangmarg for the last 13 km.