Snow Carnival beckons tourists at Gulmarg

Snow cricket and snow cycling are new additions to the snow carnival starting January 22

After a summer of discontent, the stage is all set for the snow carnival in the winter wonderland of Gulmarg. From ice hockey to snow cricket to snow sculpting, Gulmarg is gearing up to welcome domestic and foriegn tourists in the 15-day-long festival starting January 22.

Situated at an altitude of 2,650 meters, Gulmarg is famous for its lush green meadows world class peaks which is the biggest draw for the skiers during winter. The resort is also home to Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth highest peak.

The unique selling point of the resort is that it is one of the world’s highest ropeway known as Gulmarg Gandola which ascends from 2,650 metres to the height of 3,980 metres. The resort also houses elite High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) of the army which imparts training to soldiers across the globe in high altitude warfare.

The snow carnival will be held in the backdrop of massive losses suffered by the tourism sector in Kashmir following the five month summer unrest that started after the killing of self-styled Hizbul Mujahedeen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

Official figures reveal that the tourism sector suffered a loss of Rs 3,000 crore due to the unrest. Official data reveal that around three lakh tourists had visited Kashmir between July 2015 and September 2015. Tourist footfalls, however, were reduced to a trickle in the corresponding period of the 2016 because of the unrest.

“These snow carnivals provide a comprehensive peek into one facet of tourism that J&K has to offer to tourists. Successful snow carnival will open new vistas for tourist influx,” said Priya Sethi, Jammu and Kashmir Minister of State for Tourism and Culture.

Tourism planners have launched a massive promotional blitzkrieg to attract tourists and skiers to Gulmarg during the 15-day-long carnival. “We are getting a good response. We had organised a familiarisation tour for travel agents of Mumbai and Gujarat. We are thankful to them that they spent Christmas with us. They went to Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Srinagar. We wanted them to see the situation for themselves. They were pretty satisfied,” Mehmood Ahmad Shah, Director Tourism Department, Kashmir, told DNA.

This year the tourism planners are organising snow-related tourneys to attract tourists and adventure lovers from across the globe. Snow cricket and snow cycling will be add on to the festival. Artists too will be invited for the snow sculpting camps to create a wow-factor in Gulmarg.

“We will be having teams from Leh and Kargil for ice hockey and ice skating events. There will be prizes for the winners of different tournaments. Our ice rink is rock hard given the temperature in Gulmarg is minus 15,” said Shah.

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