By Amanpreet Singh
Hey, Cloggers! We have subdued the thin air of Spiti and trailed the green core of Khajjiar. But in our new epic, we entered a winter fairy tale: Gulmarg. This adventure was not about wilderness, but more about pure, shameless immersion in snow, deep, soft, beautiful snow.
Reaching the Clouds on the Gondola
Gulmarg is what a frozen fairytale means, and the moment we got out of the plane, we realized that this is not just another trip. The whole scenery glittered and was deafeningly covered with brilliant white.
We were on the Gondola, the highest cable car in Asia. Although we had read all the Gulmarg travelling guides we could get, none of them prepared us for the size of the ride to Phase 2 (Apharwat Peak). Once we started climbing upward, Simran was riveted to the window, Rahul was telling jokes to conceal his elevation fears, and Vikram was attempting to balance his camera. The view from the top? Only infinite mountains, white snow, ow, and heaven. It was as though one were on top of the world. It was epos, mindy, and completely intoxicating.
A Beautiful Moment in the Snow
The actual magic commenced when we walked out of the bustling places. We had discovered one of these tiny, undisturbed bowls of snow; there was but the crunching of our feet and the stifled laughs.
Here it was that we spent the beautiful moment in the snow. We made a stop on a clean slope, and the sun struck millions of ice particles, and the air sparkled like confetti. We made a terrible, cocked hat snowman that resembled more an ice cream cone that had melted than a sentinel. Then, chaos erupted. Rahul started a huge, immature, and snowball fight, which soon escalated into four of us rolling down the hill screaming, unable to breathe at all, with powdery faces.
The memory not only keeps me thinking about the scenery but also about the fact that I was lying on the cold snow and seeing the snow fall down, and making eye contact with my friends and saying, This is what life is all about. It is this uncomplicated, beautiful delight of being in the full presence of your brotherhood that is the real jewel of Gulmarg.
Fireplace Talks and Future Plans
In Gulmarg, evenings were as warm and lovely as days were chilly. We used to sit around a warm fire, drinking hot Kahwa (the local saffron tea), and discussing the tumbles that were nearly made and the victories of snowballs that were made.
Outside, it was bitter, but the love of our friendship was perennial. We talked all about it, including the best route, which the Gulmarg travel Guide suggested, and what our next gigantic, stupid escapade was to be. Gulmarg was a challenge of height and chill, but it has also provided us with the experiences of unequaled tranquility and rapport.
In case you have a vacation that promises to give both the thrill of the high altitude and the profound, heartfelt, and breathtaking moments of bonding with your family and friends, bring along your warmest clothes and visit this Kashmir marvel. You will never be sorry that it is cold, but you will only see that it was warm.
What’s your favorite memory of playing in the snow? Drop it below!
Stay warm and keep wandering, Amanpreet Singh clogtheblog.com
