Gulmarg

Gulmarg ('meadow of flowers') sits at 2,650 metres in the Pir Panjal range of Kashmir, 51 km from Srinagar. The meadow has been a Kashmiri Sultan's hunting ground, a Mughal court summer escape (Jahangir famously catalogued 21 different wildflowers here), a British-Raj sanatorium, and is now Asia's premier ski resort. The Gulmarg Golf Course, established in 1911 at 2,650 m, is the highest 18-hole golf course in the world. The Gulmarg Gondola is the area's signature attraction — a two-stage cable car taking visitors from Gulmarg town (2,650 m) to Kongdoori Mountain (3,080 m) and onwards to Apharwat Peak (3,980 m), the world's second-highest operating cable car. In winter the gondola serves the ski runs (December-March); in summer it serves trekkers and tourists. The Khilanmarg meadow above the town and the Alpather Lake (a 13-km trek away) are summer destinations. Avoid Gulmarg in November (slushy mud); the town is uniformly stunning between January (deep snow) and October (wildflowers).