Gulmarg Diary, August 14-18, on John ki Jaan

In the parking for the gondola, we hired a local guide, partly because we were contemplating walking up to the snowline (the trail was less well marked above the step) and partly because we wanted to hire someone (the tourist season had been rather slow this year).

The actual walk up to the step wasn’t all that spectacular because we just followed the cable cars and the trail was pretty worn. However, about halfway to the step, we passed through a few small Gujjar settlements, which were really fascinating.

Gujjars are herds people who graze their cattle on the mountainside during the summer months. They spend the remaining six months of the year in the valley. They build their huts from timbers and rock, and the roofs of the huts are covered with grass or gardens.

The Gujjars graze cows, sheep, and the occasional goat on the mountain. They also own a number of horses. As a result, the ground is blanketed with cattle shit. So a portion of our hike was spent avoiding the countless piles of cattle shit.

Gujjar Hut on the Mountain

(Cows and horses are almost inescapable in Gulmarg; they walk everywhere unimpeded by fences. Needless to say, their shit is everywhere—on the roads, in the fields, all over the meadows. The motto for our first day as we were walking around was “Watch out for the shit!”)

When we reached the step, we decided to take a lunch break. We could’ve eaten at the restaurant inside the gondola station, but we chose to eat at one of the numerous dhabas set up at the base of the mountain about a quarter mile from the gondola.

This area was called Seven Springs, and the views of Gulmarg in the valley were stunning. Even more impressive were the clouds that would periodically blow through and hover about 100 feet above the ground.

Clouds above Seven Springs

In the dhaba, we had aloo-pyaaz (potato-onion) paranthas, boiled egg with lal mirch (red chili) powder, and khawa (pronounce “kha-va”). Khawa is a Kashmiri tea seasoned with almonds, ginger, cardamom, and saffron, which gives the drink a peculiar yellow color. (Each shop has its own khawa recipe; some are distinctly better than others.)


Aloo-Pyaaz Parantha	Egg with Lal Mirch	Khawa (Kashmiri Tea)

After a refreshing break, we continued our trek. We had originally thought about hiking up the mountain, but because that would’ve taken at least two more hours one way, we decided to walk across the step to Khilanmarg (as the adjacent peak was named) and the “meadow.”

The terrain on the step consists of rocky patches separated by clumps of grass. Some random copses of pine trees rise from the rocks, along with some thickets of fern and tall yellowish thistles. Various wild flowers grow close to the ground, including a curious “black” flower that looks something like a clover. (See the picture to the left.)

The “meadow” is a grassy field littered with tiny boulders and more thistles. (This particular thistle, ubiquitous throughout Gulmarg, has an intriguing beauty about it, perhaps because it looks fuzzy and harmless or perhaps because it looks like a tiny Triffid.)

Black Flower

When we were there, a huge flock of sheep passed through the meadow, heading toward the base of the mountain, while a few cows grazed on the other side near the edge of the step. We also saw three Gujjar huts scattered along the horizon.

From the meadow, we returned to Gulmarg, taking a more scenic (and far less steep) trail down the mountain. Although Gulmarg is referred to as the “Alps of India” (I suspect the Swiss keep their cattle penned up to prevent a prevalence of shit on every available surface), the landscape reminded me more of Northern California, particularly Muir Woods.

"Triffid" Thistle

Huge pine trees sprung from lush mountain meadows, while the sun cast yellow-orange light through the treetops. The air was warm and clean, and we could hear the mooing of cows off in the distance. The experience was completely idyllic.

We had spent seven hours on the mountain—six hours walking, 40 minutes eating lunch, and 20 minutes napping between two brooks on the step. We figure we walked about six kilometers.

We probably could’ve covered this distance in less time, but with two camera buffs and a professional photographer in the group, we stopped frequently for photo-ops. (I shot a mere 150 photos during the trek—so many pine trees, flowers, clouds, and cattle!)

That evening, we went to our uncle’s hut for another night of food and drink. Of course, we were all pretty exhausted from our trek, so we went to bed fairly early. (We also needed our sleep because we were going fishing the next morning.)

Pine Meadow