Jammu and Kashmir Tourism department is organizing ‘Kashmir Snow Festival’ at Gulmarg from December 24 (to Dec 29) with the view to promote the state as an adventure tourism hub, particularly for the period of the winter season, by hosting a series of adventure sports.
Also, an international skiing petrol team is being put in place on the ski slopes of Gulmarg, in order to make the skiing more safe and professional. “The team would contain experts from Australia, New Zealand and America, whose expertise would be used in rescue operations and avalanche control”
J&K snow festival kickstarts
26 Dec 2007, 0250 hrs IST,M Saleem Pandit,TNN
GULMARG: Despite terror threats, the two-day snow festival at the scenic resort town of Gulmarg in north Kashmir was a colourful event with hundreds of domestic and foreign tourists flocking to the hill station. And a Muslim, Ghulam Mohammad, took care of the resort’s lone Hindu temple in an act of religious harmony.
Mohammad said he often acts as a priest of the Shiv Mandir braving the terror threats. The hill station also have a church and mosque.
The Jammu and Kashmir tourism department, which plans to organise the Fifth National Winter Games from February 17 in Gulmarg, illuminated and decorated the places of worship to attract tourists. The health resort, also known as the Queen of Hills, received good snowfall only last week. Local Kashmiri artists entertained tourists with their performances. Kashmiri dishes were the special attraction. Sports events like ice-skating, rafting, snow hockey and snow cycling were also organised on the occasion.
Gulmarg has a snowman
Gulmarg, Dec 27: ANI – Snowman competition, held as a part of the Kashmir snow festival, enticed tourists in picturesque snow-capped Gulmarg.
Apart from snowman competition, snow games like Ice-skating, snow rugby, snow cycling and other cultural events were the highlights of the festival.
The festival started with Christmas Mass at the historic Saint Mary’s Church with Santa Claus distributing sweets to children. The three-day festival concluded on December 26.
Do you have any pictures of the event as it happened?