Most beautiful Gulmarg Valley Srinagar Kashmir India

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Gulmarg
Gulmarg (Urdu pronunciation: [gʊlməɾɡ]), known as Gulmarag (Kashmiri pronunciation: [ɡulmarɨɡ]; lit. 'meadow of flowers') in Kashmiri, is a town, hill station, tourist destination, skiing destination, and a notified area committee in the Baramulla district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of 31 km (19 mi) from Baramulla and 49 km (30 mi) from Srinagar. The town is situated in the Pir Panjal Range in the Western Himalayas and lies within the boundaries of Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary.
According to CNN, Gulmarg is the "heartland of winter sports in India" and was rated as Asia's seventh best ski destination. The town is accessible from Srinagar by road via Tangmarg. The road climbs uphill in the last 12 kilometres to Gulmarg passing through forests of pine and fir.Winter sports like skiing, tobogganing, snowboarding and heli-skiing take place on the slopes of Mount Apharwat reachable by a Gondola lift.
Gulmarg Gondola
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Gulmarg Gondola
Built by the French company Pomagalski, the Gulmarg Gondola is one of the highest in the world reaching 3,979 metres. The two-stage ropeway ferries about 600 people per hour between Gulmarg and a shoulder of nearby Apharwat Peak (4,200 metres (13,800 ft)). The first stage transfers from Gulmarg at 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) to Kongdoori at 3,080 metres (10,100 ft). The second stage which has 36 cabins and 18 towers, takes passengers to a height of 3,950 metres (12,960 ft) on the Apharwat Peak 4,200 metres (13,800 ft). A chair lift system connects Kongdoori with Mary's shoulder for taking skiers to higher altitudes. The high inflow of tourists has had an effect on the fragile eco-system of Gulmarg and activists have demanded tighter regulation to save the environment of the area from over-tourism.
Yousuf Shah Chak, who ruled Kashmir from 1579 to 1586, frequented the place with his queen Habba Khatoon and renamed it 'Gulmarg' ("meadow of flowers"). Wild flowers of 21 different varieties were collected by the Mughal emperor Jahangir for his gardens in Gulmarg. In the 19th century, British civil servants started using Gulmarg as a retreat to escape summers in the Indo-Gangetic plains. Hunting and golfing were their favorite pastime and three golf courses were established in Gulmarg including one exclusively for women. One of the golf courses is located at an altitude of 2,650 metres (8,690 ft) is the world's highest golf course. In 1927, British established a ski club in Gulmarg and two annual ski events were hosted, one during Christmas and Easter. Central Asian explorer Aurel Stein also visited Gulmarg during this period.

After the end of British rule in India, Gulmarg became a part of the independent Dogra princely state of Kashmir and Jammu. Pakistan planned an invasion of the state called Operation Gulmarg. One of the routes used by the invading militia of Pathan tribesmen, armed and supported by Pakistani regular troops, passed through the Haji Pir pass and Gulmarg headed towards the state capital Srinagar. Gulmarg fell to the invading army, but the Indian Army, led by the 1st Sikh Regiment, successfully defended the outskirts of Srinagar. Thereafter, Indian counterattacks pushed the tribesmen back - many towns, including Gulmarg, were recaptured. In 1948, Indian Army established a ski school in Gulmarg which later became the High Altitude Warfare School On 1 January 1949, the war ended under UN supervision and a Ceasefire line (CFL), which was rechristened the Line of Control (LOC) by the Shimla Agreement of 1972 was established near Gulmarg