Gulmarg's appeal is vertical. The Gulmarg Gondola sweeps you from the meadow to 3,980 m on Afarwat Peak in two stages, giving you panoramic views of the Kashmir Valley and, on clear days, Nanga Parbat. In winter those upper slopes become India's most exciting ski terrain; in summer the Gondola runs for the views and the thin, cold air at altitude.
The Alpather Lake sits just below the ridge at 3,843 m, a short walk from the upper Gondola station. The lake stays frozen well into June; in summer it thaws to a vivid blue set against snow-streaked slopes. It is one of the most beautiful short walks in Kashmir.
Down in the meadow, the Gulmarg Golf Club occupies a broad, flower-studded plateau at 2,650 m — the highest golf course in the world, according to most claims. Even non-golfers enjoy walking the fairways. The Baba Reshi Shrine, a Sufi dargah set amid chinar trees on the road down from Gulmarg, is worth a stop for its serene atmosphere and medieval carved woodwork.