The Gulmarg gondola is the single most booked thing in Kashmir, and the single most common reason a day goes wrong. People arrive without a ticket, find the slots gone, and spend the afternoon in a car park looking at a mountain they came to ride up. None of that is necessary. Here is how it actually works.
What the two phases are
The gondola climbs in two separate stages, and you buy them as two separate tickets.
- Phase 1 — Gulmarg to Kongdoori, roughly 2,650 m to about 3,080 m. This is the one almost everyone rides. The views open up, there is snow on the ground through winter, and there is space at the top to walk about, hire a sledge or take a snow lesson. For most families this is the whole experience.
- Phase 2 — Kongdoori to Apharwat, up to around 3,950 m. A genuinely high, bare, windy ridge. The view is spectacular and the weather is serious. Phase 2 is where skiers go, and where it is coldest.
There is also a short chairlift from Kongdoori towards Mary's Shoulder, ticketed separately and usually only a few hundred rupees.
You cannot buy Phase 2 on its own. A valid Phase 1 ticket is required first, because Phase 2 starts where Phase 1 ends.
Roughly what it costs
Rates are revised and different websites quote slightly different figures, so treat these as a budgeting guide and confirm on the official portal before you travel:
- Phase 1: around ₹800 per person
- Phase 2: around ₹1,000 per person
- Both phases together: roughly ₹1,800 per person
- Kongdoori chairlift: around ₹300
- Last-minute (tatkal) tickets: noticeably more — often ₹1,100 to ₹1,300 a phase
Very young children usually ride free. This is not included in a standard Kashmir package anywhere, including ours — it is a separate government-run ticket.
How the slot system works
Tickets are sold for a time slot, not for the day. Broadly there is a morning block and an afternoon block, with the last ride down in the late afternoon. Sources differ on the exact split, which is itself a reason to check at the time of booking.
What matters is this: miss your slot and the ticket is usually gone. It is not a day pass. Plan the drive from Srinagar — about two hours — with real slack in it, because the road up to Gulmarg can be slow in snow and there is a queue to park.
Six things that go wrong, and how to avoid them
- Booking on the day. In peak winter and the summer holidays, slots go days or weeks ahead. A small tatkal quota is released daily, but relying on it is a gamble. Book before you fly.
- Turning up on a maintenance day. The gondola is normally closed on the second and fourth Monday of each month. Check your travel dates against that before you fix the itinerary — it is the single easiest mistake to avoid.
- Choosing an afternoon slot. Mornings are clearer and calmer. By afternoon the light flattens, cloud builds and the queue is longer. Take the earliest slot you can get.
- Going up in street clothes. At Apharwat it can be far below freezing with wind on top of that. Hire a snow suit, boots and gloves at the base — the shops are right there and it costs a few hundred rupees. Jeans and sneakers in snow means wet and cold within twenty minutes.
- Not allowing for weather. High wind or heavy snow closes Phase 2, sometimes at short notice, and occasionally Phase 1 as well. It is nobody's fault and no operator can promise otherwise. Keep a spare day if the gondola is the reason you came.
- Skipping sunglasses. Bright sun on fresh snow is genuinely painful and gives people a headache by lunchtime. Sunglasses and sunscreen, even in January.
🎒 Trips that include Gulmarg
Gulmarg Snow & Gondola Trip Srinagar & Gulmarg Getaway Srinagar, Gulmarg & Pahalgam All Kashmir trips →How to plan the Gulmarg day
- Leave Srinagar by 7 AM for a morning slot. In winter, earlier.
- Or stay the night in Gulmarg. If snow is the point of your trip, a night up there changes everything — you wake up in it, you reach the gondola in ten minutes, and you see the place before the day visitors arrive. It costs more, and it is worth it.
- Hire gear at the base before you join the queue, not after.
- Do Phase 1 first and judge the weather from Kongdoori. If the ridge is clear, go on up. If it is socked in, you have saved yourself the climb into cloud.
- Carry water and something to eat. There are stalls, but a queue in cold air makes people hungrier than they expect.
- Keep the afternoon free. Gulmarg itself — the meadow, the church, the golf course under snow — is pleasant to walk around once you are back down.
Is Phase 2 worth it?
If the sky is clear and you are warmly dressed, yes. It is a high, open, very beautiful place and quite unlike anything else reachable by cable car in India. If you have young children, elderly parents, or the weather looks doubtful, Phase 1 is plenty and nobody comes back disappointed.
Book ahead, take the earliest slot, check it is not a second or fourth Monday, and hire proper boots. That is most of the advice there is.
Frequently asked questions
Can I book the gondola online?
Yes, through the official government booking portal. Book as early as you can; peak slots sell out well ahead.
Is the gondola included in a Kashmir package?
Normally not. It is a separately ticketed government ride, so budget it on top of the package. We will book slots alongside your trip if you ask us to.
Which days is it closed?
Usually the second and fourth Monday of each month for maintenance, plus any day the weather forces a closure.
How long does the whole thing take?
Allow three to four hours from arriving at the base to being back down, longer in peak season. Add two hours each way if you are driving from Srinagar.
Is there snow in summer?
At Phase 1 the meadow is green from about May. There is usually still snow at Apharwat, at the top of Phase 2, into early summer.
Can elderly parents manage it?
Phase 1 comfortably — it is a seated cable car ride with flat ground at the top. Phase 2 is high and cold, and worth skipping if anyone has breathing or heart trouble.
Let us handle the booking
We book gondola slots as part of the trip, so you are not refreshing a website at midnight from another state. Have a look at the Gulmarg snow and gondola trip, read the full Kashmir guide, or send us your dates.
