Gulmarg Gondola Freeride, Kashmir

Overview

The second stage of the Gulmarg Gondola hums you up to 3,980m on Apharwat Peak and the Pir Panjal simply drops away — untracked bowls the size of entire French resorts, the Kashmir Valley 2,000m below and Nanga Parbat sharp on the northern horizon. There are no groomed pistes up here; it is one vast avalanche-controlled freeride mountain, and after a January storm you will make the deepest turns of your life for the price of a bowl of rogan josh. The catch is rhythm. Storm cycles close the top station for days at a stretch, so ten days is the honest minimum: ski the birch and pine trees towards Drang and Babareshi while it snows, then race for the bowls when the ropes drop. Hire a local guide, carry full avalanche kit and read the Gulmarg Avalanche Centre bulletin over breakfast every single morning. Fly into Srinagar (about 90 minutes by taxi), stay near the gondola base, and check FCDO advice for Jammu & Kashmir before you commit — it changes. Roughly £1,800 for ten days with guiding and half board; the lift pass itself is astonishingly cheap.

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Prefilled for 1 January 2027 — the next best-season window. Search on partner sites — opens in a new tab.