How to Travel Gulmarg

Getting to Gulmarg — 50 km from Srinagar, and 1,700 m above it

Gulmarg is a high meadow in the Pir Panjal range, about 50 km west of Srinagar at roughly 2,650 m. The road leg is short — an hour and a half to two hours — and easy. What makes Gulmarg different from every other hill station on this list is that the mountain above it needs a cable car: the meadow you can walk, but Apharwat at over 4,200 m you cannot reach on foot, and the tickets for it are the thing to sort out first.

✈️ Getting to Srinagar

By air — Srinagar (SXR) has direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai and other major cities, and is the standard gateway. From the airport Gulmarg is about 50–57 km.

By rail — and this is genuinely new. Since June 2025 a train runs through to Srinagar from Katra, on the line that crosses the Chenab bridge. Before that the nearest railhead was Jammu Tawi with a long road leg over the mountains; now rail-plus-taxi to Gulmarg is a real option for the first time. Check current services and timings, because this route is still settling in.

🚕 Srinagar to Gulmarg

Private taxi — Fares are set rather than metered: roughly ₹2,200–2,800 one way for a standard car and ₹3,200–3,800 for an SUV, about two hours from Lal Chowk.

Shared cab — These run daily from the TRC and Batmaloo taxi stands in Srinagar at ₹500–900 a seat for Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg. The cheapest way, and they leave when full.

The road climbs through Tangmarg, the last town below the meadow. In heavy snow the final stretch may need chains, and in winter shared snow jeeps run from Tangmarg to Gulmarg for about ₹700–1,000 per vehicle, negotiated at Tangmarg.

App cabs do not operate in Gulmarg. Uber and Ola are thin in Srinagar and absent on the meadow. Arrange your return taxi through your hotel before you go up, or agree a pickup time with the driver who brought you.

🚡 The gondola — book this before anything else

The Gulmarg Gondola runs in two phases and is one of the highest cable cars in the world:

• Phase 1 — Gulmarg (2,690 m) to Kongdoori (3,080 m), 9–12 minutes, around ₹800–810 return.
• Phase 2 — Kongdoori to Apharwat Peak (4,200–4,390 m), 10–20 minutes, around ₹1,000–1,010 return. You must hold a Phase 1 ticket to buy Phase 2.
• Both phases combined: roughly ₹1,800–1,820. Children under three are free.
• A separate chairlift from Kongdoori to Mary's Shoulder, near St Mary's, is about ₹300 and is not part of Phase 2.

Booking is online only, through the official Jammu & Kashmir Cable Car Corporation portal (etickets.jammukashmircablecar.com). Counter sales are limited and frequently unavailable for Phase 2, so treat the portal as the only reliable route — and agents selling "gondola tickets" outside the gate are a known misleading offer — buy from the official portal and carry the confirmation.

Tatkal quota — A limited number of last-minute tickets are released on the official portal daily at 5 pm for the next day, at a surcharge (roughly ₹1,100 Phase 1 and ₹1,300 Phase 2). This is the only realistic way to get a seat in peak season if you did not book ahead.

Timings and closures — Generally around 8 am to 5 pm, entirely weather-dependent, and normally closed on the second and fourth Monday of each month for maintenance. Wind shuts Phase 2 without notice. Book your Gondola day early in your trip so you have a second chance if it is closed.

🚶 Getting around the meadow

Gulmarg itself is walkable. The meadow, the golf course — the highest green course in the world — St Mary's Church and the gondola base are all within the bowl, and there is no local transport to speak of.

Above the meadow there is only the gondola and your legs. Skiing in winter uses the Gondola for access plus local surface lifts, arranged through the ski shops and instructors in town.

💡 Things that go wrong

Phase 2 is 4,200 m — that is altitude, not a viewpoint. Snow survives into summer, the wind is serious, and people arrive in shoes and a light jacket. Snow boots rent for about ₹100 a day and full suits ₹400–700 from the stalls before the Gondola gate. Go slowly, and turn back if you feel unwell.

Carry cash — Gondola tickets are online, but everything else on the meadow (ponies, ski hire, tea stalls, the small shops) wants notes, and there is no reliable ATM.

Winter road closures are normal — After heavy snowfall the Tangmarg–Gulmarg stretch can shut for a day. Build a spare day into a winter trip rather than putting a flight the next morning.

Do not book gondola tickets from anyone at the gate. Official portal only.

Give it two nights — A day trip from Srinagar means the road, the queues and the weather all have to go right on the same day. Staying lets you take the first gondola up on a clear morning and still have a second attempt if it closes.