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Gulmarg was originally named as Gaurimarg, the fair one, by the shepherds to honour the Hindu goddess Parvati, is a town, a hill station, in Baramulla district in the Jammu and Kashmir state. It is situated in the Pir Panjal range in the western the Himalayas and is within the Lie of Control between India and Pakistan.

It derived its name “Gulmarg” from by Sultan Yusuf Shah of Chak dynasty, in the 16th century. It means that, a meadow of flowers, 21 different varieties of flowers were gathered by the Mughal emperor Jahangir for his garden in the town. In the 19th century the Britishers were started to retreat here during summers, and that was a period to established sports activities, there are three golf courses were established, especially one golf course was developed for women. One of the three golf courses is still surviving on the highest altitude of 8,690 feet, which is world’s highest golf course. Even you can also enjoy playing golf there; it is one of the most visited places where every year many tourists come to enjoy the outdoor activities. There are a number of members in golf club you can join them.

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The best time to visit there is June to October, and for snow December & January. For adventure sports you can visit any time from June to January but if you also enjoy the snow fall December and January is the time. This town is most famous for adventurous winter sports like skiing, tobogganing, snowboarding and Heli-skiing. It is a most attractive sport for tourists who are interested in skiing. The Alpine slopes offer great runs of around 2 km have an altitude of 700 meters. These slopes are ending at the “Gondola” at the top. There are different slopes, you can choose according to your convenience. “Gulmarg Ski Resort” is there with you to make you enjoy this breathtaking adventure.

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“Gondola lift” is a cable car transport adventure on an elevation 3,950 metre that reaches to “Apharwat Peak” 4,390 m above from the sea level through “Kongdoori” (3,080 m). It is completely a unique, breathtaking and totally out of the world experience, when you will be seated in a Gondola. These are cars, among the world’s highest cable cars. It seems so beautiful when sun rays slowly spread on snow clad mountains, with a yellowish sunlight in the morning, you must wake up early in the morning for a gorgeous view.

Baba Payam Ud Din Reshi was a Sufi saint, and a courtier of Kashmir King Zain-Ul-Abidin. He had given up all the belongings to serve the common people. He sits at a place for meditation. There is a shrine on the same location at an altitude of 7000 feat, known as Ziyarat Baba Reshi, which is a three storey monument. It is located in a near Ramboh village in Baramulla District. It was in 1480, in Mughal and Persian style. The tomb is named after Baba Payam Ud Din Reshi. This shrine has a big minaret and inside the shrine is the Noor Khwan where the grave of the Sufi shrine lies, and the Noor Khwan is made wooden carving and glass.

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The “Maharani Temple” or “Rani Temple” is actually a “Shiv Temple” which was built by Mohini Bai Sisodhia, the wife of erstwhile rulers of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh (the last king of Kashmir) in 1915, is also known as Mohineshwar Shivalalaya. She decided to build here a temple when the last Dogra king in his royal palace which is a couple of kilometers away from the town, the queen would come here to worship Lord Shiva. There is shivlingam and an idol of goddess Parvati. The temple is now looked after by a Kashmiri Muslim Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh after the exodus of Kashmiri pundits; his father was a watchman of the temple for about 40 years. It is not an easy job to look after a Hindu temple from last 17 years, but he is doing so. He performs all the rituals of Arti and Prasad every day. He comes through his father to look after the temple; he also performs namaz every day along with the temple rituals. This is what India, no matter which region we are, we all comes through a nation. The view from the hillock is so energising and stunnig. “Kanchenjunga Museum” can easily reachable by bus, car. It is located in the town, inside the premises of the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS), which is a training school of Indian Army from 1947 to till date. It catches the attention of young breeds towards the old and present war and mountaineering equipment and gears of Indian Army. Inside the museum there are two models which display the Indian Army’s Kanchenjunga summit in 1997 and Everest expedition in 2001.

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The “Ningli Nallah” is nearby the museum and is worth a watch, the origin of this stream is “Apharwat peak” from which ice melts and take the form of stream and flows continues down in the valley below and join the Jhelum River, it is a long, grassy famous picnic spot, where you sit in the peace and enjoy picnic with friends. The “Outer Circle Walk” is an 11 kilometers long trek around the valley of the Kashmir, is a must see tourist place near Kanchenjunga Museum, a long row of pine tree and thriving green landscape, that draws a beautiful scenery of nature, its major attraction is to see the world’s fourth highest peak, the Nanga Parbat at an altitude of 8500 meters. The beauty of the Sunset Peak and Haramukh which are the two popular tourist spots can also be viewed by the trekkers during the walk. This is such a beautiful and adventurous place; you will always remember these attractive and unique adventures of Gulmarg.

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