Frequently Asked Questions

Mid January to late February for powder. January is the coldest stretch of the winter, locally called Chillai Kalan, and the snow is at its driest then. February usually has the deepest base and slightly longer days. March turns spring like on sunny slopes and is the best month for touring. If we had one trip a year, we would take January.

At least six ski days, and seven is better. Weather here eats days. Storms shut the gondola, flat light closes the upper mountain, and a three or four day trip can lose half of itself to one bad cycle. Guests who book short trips are the ones who write to us afterwards wishing they had stayed longer.

For January and February, two to four months out. Those weeks fill first, for hotels and for guides. If your dates are fixed, sort lodging before flights. If your dates are flexible, message us with the window you are considering and we will tell you honestly what that period usually looks like.

No separate permit. Foreign visitors need a valid Indian visa and nothing more for Gulmarg itself. Carry passport copies, because hotels register every guest and you will occasionally be asked at a checkpoint.

Considerably. A full day here with a guide, lift pass, rental gear and a decent hotel usually costs less than a single lift ticket at a large American resort. Instruction is a fraction of Alpine rates. For most visitors the flight ends up being the biggest line item on the whole trip.

Tourism runs right through the winter and thousands of Indian and foreign skiers come each season without trouble. Check your own government's current travel advice before you book, since that changes and we are not the right source for it. What we can speak to is the mountain, and that needs more respect than the town does.

Yes, and read the policy properly. It must cover off piste skiing, and for anything above the mid station it should cover evacuation. Plenty of standard winter sports policies quietly exclude skiing outside marked runs, which describes most of Gulmarg. Insurance is not part of any package we sell.

You can, with lower odds. Early December is often thin, and by late December the meadow is usually white and the mountain is filling in. Late March gives you corn snow, sunshine and far fewer people, which suits touring better than powder chasing. Before mid December and after early April you are gambling.

Fly into Srinagar. Direct flights run daily from Delhi and Mumbai with more connections through winter. Book the earliest arrival you can get, because winter fog delays afternoon flights and arriving with daylight left makes everything simpler. Airfare is not included in any of our packages.

About 50 km and one and a half to two hours in normal conditions. The road runs through Tangmarg, the market town at the base of the hill, then climbs roughly 12 km of switchbacks up to Gulmarg.

Regular cars stop at Tangmarg and you change into a 4x4 or a chained vehicle for the final climb. Local drivers do this hand off every winter and it is routine. Build half a day of slack before your flight home for the same reason, because heavy snow slows the road back down to Srinagar.

Yes, both ways, in every package we run. Once you have booked, send us your flight details and we handle the transfers at both ends.

Our packages include hotel accommodation in the 3 star or 4 star range with breakfast and dinner, free Wi-Fi and 24 hour hot water. Gulmarg lodging runs from simple guesthouses up to the five star Khyber. One rule from watching guests get this wrong: location beats luxury. A modest hotel five minutes from the gondola beats a smart one twenty five minutes away, on every single morning of your trip.

Prepaid SIMs from the rest of India generally do not work in Jammu and Kashmir. An Indian postpaid SIM does. A local prepaid SIM can be arranged after you arrive, though it takes documentation and some patience. Expect patchy data whatever you do, and download offline maps before you fly.

Bring what you need from Srinagar. ATMs exist in Gulmarg and Tangmarg but queues and outages are common in peak weeks. Hotels and larger operators take cards and UPI. Small shops and taxis usually do not.

Many guests do their last night there before an early flight. A houseboat on Dal Lake, the old city and a proper wazwan meal make a good end to a ski week, and it removes the risk of a snowbound road ruining your departure.

The village sits at around 2,650m. Kongdoori, the gondola mid station, is around 3,080m. The Phase 2 top station is around 3,980m, and Apharwat Peak above it is roughly 4,200m. The highest touring access, at Shark Fin, is around 4,224m, and the lowest skiable point is Drung at around 2,160m.

It runs in two stages. Phase 1 takes you from the village to Kongdoori in ten to fifteen minutes. Phase 2 climbs from Kongdoori to the Apharwat shoulder in about twelve. Tickets are sold per phase, per ride or per day, and prices are revised most seasons. Phase 2 opening is decided daily on wind and avalanche control work, so every good plan here has a plan B built into it.

There is one for the controlled area, and it covers a small fraction of what people actually ski. Above Kongdoori there are no run numbers, no signboards and no markers. Local knowledge does the job a trail map does elsewhere, which is a large part of why guides matter here and barely matter at a European resort.

The base slopes and the main Gondola Bowl at Mary's Shoulder. That is it. Avalanche control work happens around the gondola line and the most used zones near the lift, and Phase 2 stays shut after storms until that work is done. Everything else is uncontrolled, unpatrolled and not swept at the end of the day.

Roughly ten percent of the terrain, and it sits at the bottom of the mountain. Around twenty percent is intermediate and about seventy percent is advanced. Ten percent of a mountain this size is still plenty for a first week, but it is worth knowing that the famous skiing is not the skiing you will be doing on your first trip.

Around fourteen metres in an average season. Storms arrive from the west as western disturbances, usually snowing hard for one to three days before clearing to blue sky. Season totals vary a lot. Big winters bury the village past the first floor windows, and lean winters still deliver several proper powder cycles.

The lifts close and the trees open. Monkey Hill, Baba Reshi and the forests above Tangmarg give you contrast and shelter when the alpine is a featureless grey. A good storm day in the trees often beats a bluebird day up top, though the trees are not easy and the pitch runs around 35 degrees.

Point to point days rather than lap days. From the top station down to Drung is roughly 1,800 vertical metres and around eight kilometres of continuous skiing, ending in a village rather than at a lift. A vehicle brings you back. There is usually tea involved. It is one of the great runs anywhere and very few people outside Kashmir have heard of it.

Yes, and thousands do every winter. The base slopes in Gulmarg village are wide, gentle and forgiving, the snow is soft and real rather than machine made, and you are never far from a cup of kahwa when your legs give up. You need no prior experience, average fitness and warm clothes.

Most adults link turns on the beginner slope within three days and are skiing the Kongdoori run to the village within five to seven. Snowboarders usually need one extra day of suffering at the start. Our beginner courses run from 3 to 10 days for exactly this reason, and the 7 day course is the one we suggest most often.

The first day is harder. After that it evens out and many people progress faster on a board through the middle stretch. Skiing feels easier on day one and gets fiddly later. We warn every new rider that day two is when everyone wants to quit, which is usually the day before it starts working.

Every beginner course we run is one instructor to one student. Couples and families can ask to be taught together, and that often works well, but you are never added to a group of strangers you have not met. Nobody stands in the cold waiting for seven other people to have their turn.

On the nursery slopes in Gulmarg itself, at around 2,650m, on and around the golf course and served by surface lifts. Short runs, gentle pitch, soft landings, and a slope you can walk back up. Falling over here is a very different experience from falling over anywhere higher on the mountain.

Ordinary fitness is enough. If you can walk uphill for twenty minutes without stopping you will manage. Skiing at altitude tires you faster than it looks, so guests who do a bit of cardio in the weeks before the trip tend to enjoy the back half of their course more.

From about four, in short private sessions of an hour or ninety minutes. Long mornings do not work for small children, because cold and tired kids learn nothing. Under four, let them play in the snow and try again next winter.

Only gentle slopes just off the groomed runs, and only when conditions allow and your instructor thinks you are ready. Gulmarg's real off piste is avalanche terrain and it belongs in the freeride packages. A ten day course can leave you carving on blue runs, which is a good outcome, and it does not make you ready for Phase 2.

For the upper mountain and the trees, yes. Nobody legally stops you from riding the gondola and dropping in anywhere, which is precisely why people get into trouble here. No patrol controls that terrain, nobody sweeps it, and nobody knows you are out there. A guide is the difference between skiing this mountain and gambling on it.

Confident on groomed runs, comfortable at speed, able to ski or ride a full descent without needing to stop every few turns. You do not need to be a professional. If your off piste experience amounts to a few powder days at a Western resort, you will be fine in the main bowls with a guide. If you have never skied ungroomed snow at all, book a beginner course and come back for the powder.

We check the avalanche advisory and our own observations from the previous day and pick a plan plus a backup before you have finished breakfast. First gondola up. On the ride we talk through what fell overnight, what the wind did and what we are avoiding. The first run is somewhere we trust, which lets us feel the new snow and watch how you ski. Then we escalate to match the group. Lunch is maggi and kahwa at Kongdoori, or in Drung if the day has gone well.

No, and it should not be. The day order in each package shows the usual shape of a week. Overnight snowfall, wind and stability decide where you actually ski. A guide who follows a printed schedule in this terrain is a problem rather than a feature.

Gulmarg holds snow well and old powder in sheltered aspects can still be excellent. Fresh tracks last days here, not hours. We have guided guests onto untouched lines four days after a storm, five minutes of traversing from the gondola. A week without new snow will still have skiing worth the trip, though it will not be the deep day you saw in the videos.

Usually four to six guests per guide, because that is the number one person can actually watch on a big open face. Exact ratios depend on the booking and the terrain, so ask us for your dates and we will tell you straight.

They can be, and Gulmarg has a few. The runout from Kongdoori to the village catches out riders who do not know where the speed is. Our guides set traverses with boarders in mind and pick lines that avoid the worst of it, but bring legs for the occasional skate or short walk.

Weather. Five days can be unlucky. Seven almost always contains two or three genuinely good ones, and it gives your guide the freedom to sit out a poor morning rather than ski it because the clock is running. Ten days is for people chasing a storm cycle rather than a single good day, and it mostly solves the problem of the powder arriving the morning you fly home.

Yes. You should already be comfortable skinning uphill under your own power and confident skiing or riding off piste. This is not the trip to learn touring on. Your guide will sharpen your skinning, kick turns and transitions in the first days, but the basics need to be there before you arrive.

Babareshi, Drung and Tosamaidan, all outside the lift network and all reached by vehicle transport, which is included. There is no infrastructure out there. No lifts, no patrol, no marked routes and no quick way out if something goes wrong. That is why every backcountry booking goes out with walkie talkies, a snow science kit and full avalanche rescue gear.

Longer than a lift day. You earn every descent, and a full day out can mean several hours of ascent for a handful of runs. Fewer runs, longer days, and terrain almost nobody else is on. Fitness matters more on these trips than anywhere else in our programme.

Digging and reading snow pits. Your guide uses it to check how the layers in the snowpack are bonded, which is how decisions about where to ski get made rather than guessed at. On the 7 day trips there is a flexible day that often becomes a snow study day, and the 14 day trips have one written in.

Somewhat slower, mostly on transitions and awkward traverses. Mixed groups of skiers and splitboarders work fine when everyone accepts the pace, and guides plan routes with that in mind. Over a fortnight the gap mostly closes as your transitions get quicker.

Yes, and it usually reduces what you pay. Send us your equipment list before booking, including touring skis or splitboard, skins, beacon, shovel, probe and any airbag pack you own, and we build the quotation around what you already have.

Skiers and riders who already tour regularly and want a season's worth of backcountry in one go. Two weeks lets your guide watch the snowpack build and change, which alters what is possible in the second week. If you tour a few days a year and want a taste of this, the 7 day trip is the sensible choice.

Your guide covers it before anyone leaves the base, and day two includes practical beacon, shovel and probe drills in the field. Arriving with prior avalanche training makes the whole week better, and we would encourage a recognised course at home if the mountains are going to be part of your life.

On the meadow and the marked lower runs it is as safe as skiing anywhere. The upper mountain is serious avalanche terrain, and it is as safe as the decisions made on it. People have died on Apharwat, including experienced skiers, and almost every incident traces back to the same mistake: treating a wild Himalayan mountain like a managed resort because a gondola happens to run up it.

Yes. An advisory is published for the area through the Gulmarg Avalanche Centre during the season, rating the danger and describing the current problems. We read it every morning and check it against our own observations. It tells you the regional picture, not whether the specific slope in front of you has a wind loaded pocket sitting on a weak layer.

Above Kongdoori and in the trees, every person needs a beacon, shovel and probe, worn and switched on rather than sitting in a bag at the hotel. Beacon, shovel, probe and backpack are included in all our freeride and backcountry packages, along with a briefing and a beacon check before your first day on snow.

The response is slower than at a Western resort. There is no patrol toboggan arriving in eight minutes. Guides in the area, gondola staff and local authorities coordinate the evacuation, and serious cases go to Srinagar by road, an hour and a half away in good conditions. Companion rescue, meaning your own group digging you out within minutes, is the plan for a burial. Everything else is too slow.

The plan changes. That might mean lower angle terrain, a different aspect, tree skiing, or a day off the hill. Storm days are tree days or rest days. There is commercial pressure in this industry to deliver the dramatic day, and turning a group around costs money. We turn them around.

Not to ski with a guide, which is what we are for. If the mountains are going to be a regular part of your life, do a recognised course at home such as AIARE or AST and practise with a beacon until you can find a buried target in under three minutes. At minimum, watch a companion rescue video the week before you fly.

Some people do. You sleep at 2,650m and ski to nearly 4,000m, often within days of leaving sea level. Headaches, poor sleep and heavy legs are common in the first 48 hours. The fix is dull but it works: arrive a day early if you can, drink more water than you think you need, ski moderately at first and skip the big first night. Tell your guide if your head is pounding.

January days sit well below freezing before you add wind, and the top station in a gale is brutal. Frostnip on cheeks and noses is the most common injury we see all winter. Cover your face up high, carry spare gloves, and go inside when you stop feeling your toes rather than twenty minutes after.

Yes. Complete ski or snowboard equipment and essential safety gear come with every package. Freeride and backcountry trips add avalanche safety equipment, and the touring trips include touring bindings, climbing skins, poles, a snow science kit with snow saw, and walkie talkies.

Jackets, ski pants, thermals, gloves, goggles and warm socks are not part of the standard beginner packages. Bring your own or ask about the clothing add on when you book. Outerwear can also be rented in Gulmarg, which suits domestic travellers who do not want to buy winter kit for one trip.

Only if you are particular about your setup or planning serious touring. For most visitors, renting good gear here beats hauling a ski bag through two flights and a vehicle change in heavy snow. If you do want to ride your own setup, tell us before booking so we can adjust the quotation.

Boots first, if you own them. Your boots and your fit, with no surprises. After that: goggles with two lenses if possible, base layers, ski socks, gloves plus a spare pair, and your own helmet if you care about fit. The most commonly forgotten items, in the order people regret them, are spare gloves, sunscreen, a power bank and lip balm.

Yes. The better shops and guiding operations, ours included, carry recent fat skis from real brands at 100 mm plus underfoot. Ask specifically for the powder or freeride fleet and book ahead in peak weeks. Skiing Gulmarg powder on fifteen year old carving skis is a hazing ritual nobody needs.

Usually yes. Send us your equipment list before booking, including beacon, shovel, probe, touring setup or airbag pack, and we build a custom quotation around what you bring rather than charging you for kit you already own.

Two sets of thermal base layers, a mid layer fleece or light down, insulated waterproof jacket and pants, three pairs of ski socks minimum, gloves plus spares, a neck gaiter or balaclava, goggles, sunglasses and serious sunscreen. For the village, warm waterproof boots with grip, a warm evening jacket, a power bank and a headtorch for power cuts.

Dry everything nightly. Boots pulled open near the heat source rather than on it, liners out if they are soaked, gloves hung up. Keep your phone and beacon in an inner pocket, because cold drains batteries fast. If you are skiing hard, get the edges checked mid trip, since wind scoured snow dulls them faster than groomed pistes do.

Airport pick up and drop off, hotel accommodation with daily breakfast and dinner, Wi-Fi and 24 hour hot water, complete equipment, essential safety gear, your private instructor or guide, lift passes, daily transport between hotel and slopes, and emergency medical assistance. Freeride and backcountry trips add avalanche safety equipment and Gondola Phase 1 and Phase 2 passes.

Airfare to Srinagar, lunch, personal expenses, travel insurance and GST where applicable. Ski clothing is not part of the beginner packages unless you add it. On freeride trips, avalanche airbag deployment charges are not covered if a bag is triggered.

Message us on WhatsApp at +91-6005082006 or email booking@gulmargskiguides.com. Most enquiries get sorted in a few messages, which saves the back and forth that email turns into when you are working across time zones. You can also find us at Hotel Khaleel Palace, near the Gulmarg Gondola.

Your dates or rough window, whether you ski or snowboard, your ability described honestly rather than optimistically, how many people are coming and whether anyone is at a different level, and any avalanche or touring gear you already own. That is enough for us to give you a real answer and an accurate quotation.

Say so and describe what you want out of the trip. We would rather point you at a shorter course than sell you a week you do not need. If you tell us your dates and your last three ski trips, we will tell you honestly what terrain fits.

Sometimes, depending on instructor availability and hotel bookings that week. Tell us as early as you can and we will check what is possible. Switching from skis to a board partway through a course is possible in principle, but it means starting over on new muscles and losing most of your progress, so we would rather you pick one and stay with it.

Someone local. Every instructor and guide here is from Gulmarg or Tangmarg, learned to ski on this snow as a child and worked their way up through the industry here. The school was founded in 2013 by Shafat Ahmad Tantray, who grew up in Babareshi and started out carrying gear as a ski porter. There are more than fifteen instructors on the team now, and profiles for the senior guides are on our guides page.

Between the senior team: AIARE Level 1 and Level 2, Avalanche Canada Level 1 and Level 2, NOLS certification and Wilderness First Responder training, kept current through the Kashmir Avalanche Association. Every backcountry trip goes out with a beacon, probe and shovel for each person, and an avalanche backpack where the terrain calls for it.

Yes. You will be taught separately at beginner level because the techniques are different, but you stay at the same hotel, travel together and meet on the slopes. On freeride trips, mixed groups often go out together when everyone is at a similar level, and your guide will tell you honestly if it is not a good match.