We left from Pahalgam early morning at 6:30 am towards the green meadows of Gulmarg. It is around 100 km from Pahalgam, one needs to actually touch Srinagar to go to Gulmarg, so please alter the itinerary as per your convenience.
*a day trip to Gulmarg and return to Srinagar in the evening is recommended.
If you are not staying at Gulmarg overnight, your car is not allowed inside the premises and the ticket counter for gondola ride – the highest cable car in India is a km walk from the parking area.
* locals will force you to hire a pony but don't, nothing is better than walking.
The gondola consists of two phases:
Phase 1- INR 600 per person
Phase 2- INR 800 per person
going up to the phase 2 will cost INR 1400 per person.
We took a smart decision and hired a horse up till the phase 1. It is a 45 min climb, the tracks are not well set, however the horses know there way well.
*by the end of the ride we already had an aching back for two days, so horse riding is not for all.)But the pathway and the view around is worth the pain.
The word 'scenic beauty' can actually be lived in Gulmarg.
Going up to the phase 2 is an advice, as you really are taken up to 14000 ft neither by road or by air but somewhere in middle that is the India's' highest cable car.
Phase 2 is more sorted during winters by foreign tourist for skiing (from that height better be a trained one). For us it was the view and scarcity of oxygen, still we loved every bit of it.
As people wish to get clicked with a movie star, my only wish from the start off the trip was to get a picture with a sheep. And my wish came true at the phase 1 of the gondola ride.
Don't worry I was not sitting on it....
The same day we drove back to Srinagar, stopped midway at this restaurant, the Indian food was excellent. It also had a shop along, selling trendy overcoats (how can I miss mentioning it alas I am a girl).
Do not go by the exterior!
That was end of the day 3 in Kashmir, next is all about the capital – Srinagar.